The Republican Party of Iowa caucuses SHOULD be among the most transparent, honest, democratic, and grassroots-based political activities in the country. In the interests of building a stronger democracy in our great country and in Iowa, here is a detailed overview and response for what should happen at the 1,774 caucus precincts on the evening of January 3rd, 2012.
"After the chair and secretary are elected, candidate representatives from each campaign are given time to speak on behalf of their candidate." This should include a representative of those fed-up with the current system of the 1% choosing candidates for Iowans to rubber-stamp, such as "uncommitted."
"Once the speakers have finished, sheets of paper are be passed out to every registered Iowa Republican from the precinct. Voters then write down their candidate preference." We expect the right to same day registration will be fully-honored.
"Every vote is counted. The caucus chair and secretary will count the votes in front of the caucus and a representative from each campaign is allowed to observe the counting of the votes. The results are recorded on an official form provided by the Republican Party of Iowa and are announced to the caucus." A representative of those who chose not to vote for a 1% candidate must be allowed to observe and video record this procedure.
"A caucus reporter is chosen to report the results to the Republican Party of Iowa, accompanied by campaign representatives to verify the results reported to Iowa GOP officials." A representative of those who chose not to vote for a 1% candidate should be able to verify the results also.
"RPI officials do not count results; they aggregate them from around the state and report them to the media. To ensure consistency in reporting, campaign representatives have the opportunity to be present with RPI officials as votes are reported to the public." Votes should be counted on site, in full view of caucus participants, and not counted at an undisclosed location.
"We will be reporting the votes for Michele Bachmann, Herman Cain, Newt Gingrich, Jon Huntsman, Ron Paul, Rick Perry, Buddy Roemer, Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum, "No Preference," and "Other."" Good. We encourage all Iowans fed-up with a system that caters to the interests of the extremely wealthy and well-connected to caucus for "uncommitted" ("No Preference").
""No Preference" votes include those who vote "present," "no preference, "uncommitted," or "none of the above."" Finally, we have clear word from the leaders of the Iowa GOP how this shall be handled, in contradiction to the statements made recently by some GOP county chairs. "After the Presidential preference poll is completed the caucus will elect precinct committee representatives; delegates, alternates, and junior delegates to the county convention; and discuss and submit platform resolutions for consideration at the county convention." We encourage all those fed-up with a system that mostly the represents of Wall Street and the 1% to caucus for "uncommitted," and then run as delegates to the GOP county conventions.
"After the chair and secretary are elected, candidate representatives from each campaign are given time to speak on behalf of their candidate." This should include a representative of those fed-up with the current system of the 1% choosing candidates for Iowans to rubber-stamp, such as "uncommitted."
"Once the speakers have finished, sheets of paper are be passed out to every registered Iowa Republican from the precinct. Voters then write down their candidate preference." We expect the right to same day registration will be fully-honored.
"Every vote is counted. The caucus chair and secretary will count the votes in front of the caucus and a representative from each campaign is allowed to observe the counting of the votes. The results are recorded on an official form provided by the Republican Party of Iowa and are announced to the caucus." A representative of those who chose not to vote for a 1% candidate must be allowed to observe and video record this procedure.
"A caucus reporter is chosen to report the results to the Republican Party of Iowa, accompanied by campaign representatives to verify the results reported to Iowa GOP officials." A representative of those who chose not to vote for a 1% candidate should be able to verify the results also.
"RPI officials do not count results; they aggregate them from around the state and report them to the media. To ensure consistency in reporting, campaign representatives have the opportunity to be present with RPI officials as votes are reported to the public." Votes should be counted on site, in full view of caucus participants, and not counted at an undisclosed location.
"We will be reporting the votes for Michele Bachmann, Herman Cain, Newt Gingrich, Jon Huntsman, Ron Paul, Rick Perry, Buddy Roemer, Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum, "No Preference," and "Other."" Good. We encourage all Iowans fed-up with a system that caters to the interests of the extremely wealthy and well-connected to caucus for "uncommitted" ("No Preference").
""No Preference" votes include those who vote "present," "no preference, "uncommitted," or "none of the above."" Finally, we have clear word from the leaders of the Iowa GOP how this shall be handled, in contradiction to the statements made recently by some GOP county chairs. "After the Presidential preference poll is completed the caucus will elect precinct committee representatives; delegates, alternates, and junior delegates to the county convention; and discuss and submit platform resolutions for consideration at the county convention." We encourage all those fed-up with a system that mostly the represents of Wall Street and the 1% to caucus for "uncommitted," and then run as delegates to the GOP county conventions.
