RENO, Nev. ? I?m probably the only person enrolled at the
University of Wisconsin who caucused in Nevada Jan.19, and let me tell you ?
Wisconsinites have it easy when it comes to electing presidential candidates.
In case you?re unfamiliar with the term, a caucus is
essentially a town meeting at which presidential candidates are chosen. It
differs drastically from Wisconsin?s presidential primary election, in which
you simply vote for your candidate of choice. If only caucusing was that easy.
My caucus took place in the lunchroom of a Reno elementary
school, where hundreds of people gathered next to their respective precinct
signs for each candidate. The people in my precinct were predominantly
supporters of Barack Obama ? as was I ? and our group spilled into a Hillary
Clinton group in another precinct, which all but swallowed the followers of
Dennis Kucinich.
The whole neighborhood was there. Many people promoted their
choice of candidates by displaying stickers on their shirts. Others were
engaged in friendly debate about which candidate to support. If there is an
advantage of a caucus over a primary, this is it: In a primary election, you
must make up your decision before you go to the polls. But at a caucus, you are
welcome ? even encouraged ? to come undecided and let the masses sway you back
and forth.
Things got started around noon when a precinct captain
opened the caucus. It was hard to hear her voice above the bustle of hundreds
of people without any sort of auditory aid, and everyone felt the first sharp
pangs of disorganization.
Our precinct captain was an old woman who did not seem
capable of performing her duties. The first task on the agenda was to count the
people in our precinct. This was the most convoluted thing I have ever
witnessed. Kindergarten classes that count themselves off are much more
efficient. Three people volunteered to help her, and after three or four
counts, they established that there were 45 people in the precinct.
Next, she was supposed to count the number of supporters for
each candidate. I?m not sure why any of these counts were necessary. We were
handed paper ballots when we registered ? why couldn?t we just mark our ballots
and turn them in, giving her both the total count as well as the count for each
candidate?
Four more counts later, and after marking our ballots and turning
them in, it was decided there were 31 Obama supporters, 12 Clinton supporters
and two Kucinich supporters ? surprisingly, not a single one for John Edwards.
A candidate needs to have at least 15 percent of the votes
to be ?viable? and remain for the second round of voting. Obama and Clinton
were, but Kucinich was not, and his supporters split in the realignment ? one
to Obama and one to Clinton. Now the count stood at Obama, 32; Clinton, 13.
In a normal election, 71 percent of the vote is a landslide
victory. But according to the caucus math, it?s a tie. The equation gave Obama
1.42 delegates, compared to 0.58 delegates for Clinton ? however, since 0.5 is
the rounding mark, they each won one.
Thus, a few things stand out from my caucus experience. First,
the lack of organization was inexcusable. I can?t tell you if there were really
45 people there. There could have been 44 or 46, depending on who was counting.
Plenty of people felt disenfranchised ? an old man in my precinct was so
frustrated with the process that he walked out in the middle of the caucus.
Secondly, in my humble opinion, a 70-30 split of votes
should never constitute a tie, but maybe I?m just bitter that Obama needed two
more votes to win the second delegate.
The Green Bay Packers scored almost half of the total points
in the NFC Championship Game and they got nothing for it because they scored
fewer points than the New York Giants. Why should politics be any different?
Finally, the caucus was at noon on a Saturday. Plenty of
people work on the weekend, and holding it at any one time makes it impossible
for some voters to turn out. A primary election allows more people to
participate because voting takes place throughout the day and absenteeism is
not penalized.
Be glad that Wisconsin holds primary elections and not
caucuses. A caucus, while providing a forum for debate, does not accomplish
anything that a primary election can?t solve more easily and more efficiently ?
although, if you apply the caucus math to the NFC Championship Game, it was
really a tie.
?
Abe Rubenstein
([email protected]) is a sophomore
majoring in computer sciences.
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