The Independent View: Nevada 2016 Caucus Rules

The Democratic and the Republican Parties will hold their Presidential caucuses in Nevada this month. Members of the respective parties will meet with other registered voters within their precinct to determine their preferred Presidential candidate and thereby award delegates to the candidates. These meetings are open to the public, but only registered voters of the respective party may participate in the selection process.

The Secretary of State plays a limited role in the caucus process. A caucus is governed by rules established by a political party. The Secretary of State's office will provide both parties with the official registration file for the allocation of delegates, assist both of the parties in ensuring that any applicable Federal and State election laws are enforced, and ensure that all eligible voters who qualify pursuant to the respective political party rules have the ability to participate.

DEMOCRATS - 43 Total Delegates

Dates:

Non-binding Precinct Viability Caucuses: Saturday 20 February 20161

County Conventions: Saturday 2 April 2016

State Convention: Saturday 14 May - Sunday 15 May 2016

Eligible Participants: Open to all registered Democrats. If you are not already registered but eligible to vote, you may complete a registration form and participate on the day of the caucus. If you will be 18 by November 8, 2016 and are otherwise eligible to vote, you may participate in the caucus.

Basic Caucus Process:

First, you will register or sign in at your caucus location. The Precinct Chair will welcome you and explain the rules.

Next, the Precinct Chair will count all the attendees and determine the minimum number of people that must be in a candidate's group to be awarded a delegate. This is know as "viability" (15% Minimum).

After viability is determined, participants will physically join their neighbors in support of their preferred candidates, or declare themselves uncommitted. This is as simple as going toward the corner of the room that has been reserved for a candidate.

After the first alignment, members of viable groups can make a pitch to try to recruit members of non-viable groups to join their candidate. Once the second alignment has taken place and all groups are viable, the number of delegates will be determined.

Each group will then elect their delegates who will attend the county convention on April 2. Finally, a member of each preference group will verify the results and the Precinct Chair report the results to the Nevada State Democratic Party.

Absentee Voting: Not Permitted.

REPUBLICANS - 30 Total Delegates

Dates:

Precinct Caucuses: Tuesday 23 February 2016

County Conventions: Saturday 12 March - Saturday 2 April 2016 (As of Today)

State Convention: Saturday 7 May - Sunday 8 May 2016 (As of Today)

Eligible Participants:

Must be a registered voter with the Republican Party at least 10 days prior to the Caucus, Saturday, February 13th, 2016. Also, if you are 17 years old and will be 18 years old on or before November 8, 2016, you will be welcome to participate when you register as a Republican. A government-issued photo ID is required.

Basic Caucus Process:

All Republican caucuses in Nevada will start between 5:00 pm and 7:00 pm on Tuesday, February 23rd, 2016. At that time you will sign in with a local Republican volunteer who will verify that you are a registered Republican. To participate you must show one of the following: a Nevada-issued driver license or a Nevada-issued ID card, or a federal-issued passport or military photo ID. After everyone has signed in, the caucus will start.

The caucus will begin by electing a Caucus Chair and Secretary. These two people will be in charge of running the precinct caucus. Generally the local county volunteers that called the meeting to order are elected by voice vote. After that, there will be an election of delegates and alternate delegates from your precinct caucus to the county convention in the spring. Delegates have the right to vote at the county convention. And each delegate has an alternate delegate who will vote in their place in case they are unable to attend the county convention.

Each precinct caucus will be allocated a certain number of delegates and alternates. Anyone may run as a delegate or as an alternate delegate, and the individuals that receive the most votes are elected to represent the precinct at the county convention. Most people vote for delegates and alternate delegates that support the same candidate that they do.

After that, the caucus chair will ask if anyone wants to submit, in writing, an issue to be considered in the county platform. The platform is a document that expresses the beliefs and values of the county party. Issues submitted at the precinct caucus are debated and voted on at the county convention in the spring, and those that pass become part of the official county platform.

Once all platform issues have been submitted, the caucus chair will ask one person supporting each Republican candidate to stand up and briefly tell everyone attending why they should support their candidate.

After each of the short speeches, attendees will cast their vote in the Presidential Preference Poll using paper ballots. Once all of the ballots have been turned in the, the caucus chair will read aloud the results in front of everyone. The whole process takes about 30-60 minutes. All meetings will end by 9:00 pm.

Absentee Voting: Available for military personnel, their dependents and disabled veterans.