March 7, 2020 HD29 Precinct Caucus Information

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 House District 29 Democrats

    2020 Precinct Caucus Information

When and where is the House District 29 Precinct Caucus? 

The House District Precinct 29 Caucus is scheduled for Saturday, March 7th. Check in will begin at 1:00pm with the Caucus starting promptly at 2pm. Please plan to arrive early, or by 1pm, for check in, (the important business of the afternoon must start on time)!

The event will take place at Standley Lake High School in Westminster.

Among the most important items of business to be conducted will be the following:

  1. The election of Precinct Committee People in your precinct to a 2 yr. term.
  2. Delegate selection and preference poll for Colorado U.S. Senate candidates. 
  3. Deciding which U.S. Senate Candidates have met a 15% threshold among Precincts.  
  4. Planks for County Platform as well as consideration for our State Platform. 

Caucus is a community gathering of Democrats held every two years. All currently registered Democrats of House District 29, and those registering to be Democrats before February 14th, 2020 are invited to participate.

Caucus Agenda in 12 Easy Steps

A Guide To Planning Your Day

From the moment of walking into Standley Lake High School to returning your precicnts’ Caucus packet to end the day, there are 12 steps for us to complete.

The diagram below notes the Caucus agenda for the afternoon. The completion of these steps is normally 3.5-4.0 hours. Therefore, please plan your day accordingly from 1pm, (check in), to ending Caucus between 4:30- 5pm in the afternoon.

Steps 1 and 2:  These steps will begin as you walk into the high school. Upon checking in you will be advised of  your precinct number. This number designates where you live within House District 29 and how you will gather with fellow Democrats of your precinct to complete your Caucus.

After checking in, you will proceed to the  auditorium of the High School where the Call to Order will occur.  At that time, you will hear from our three 2020 State House District 29 Candidates. (Click  https://www.cohd29.com/house-district-29-2020-candidates/for more information). Also speaking will be our State Senator, Rachel Zenzinger, as well as our current House District 29 Representative Tracy Kraft- Tharp. (Click : https://www.cohd29.com/elected-officials/ for more information). As we will be selecting Delegates for U.S. Senate, you will also hear from the candidates running to represent us in the Senate in Washington. Finally, the rules of the Caucus as well as other important information regarding the day will be announced by our House District 29 Chair, Tom Jurgens, and our Caucus site coordinators.

Steps 3-12: After gathering in the auditorium, you will then move to the classroom where your precinct caucus will be held. Maps of the High School will be provided to you, as well as signs noted throughout the school to direct you to your precinct caucus classroom. The 3 digit number you were advised at check in regarding your precinct will be used to direct you to your designated classroom.

When arriving in the classroom, you will see a book and a packet of the directions you are to follow to complete your Caucus. Your first step is to find yourself in the precinct check in book located on the table. The book will note a list of names of all Democrats in your precinct. It is necessary for you to review your name and sign next to your name to verify you are a Democrat currently living in the precinct. After verifying your name in the book,  you will proceed with the business of your precinct caucus.

Please see steps 3-11 noted in the picture below referring to the process you will complete. After finishing all steps in the booklet, please have your Caucus Chair or another designated individual return the booklet to the check out desk. The check out desk will be located in the hall where you entered the school.

 

Caucus Training Schedule

Responsibility to advise all Democrats in the House District of our March 7th Caucus comes from leadership and Precinct Committee People, (PCP). To help those we reach and invite to Caucus understand the process of the items of business we must complete, a series of Caucus training classes are available throughout the county.

As we approach the March 7th Caucus, please advise your fellow Democrats of the following Caucus classes:

Wednesday, February 12th 

           Time: 6pm-8pm            

Golden Library

1019 10th St

Golden, CO 80401

 

Thursday, February 13  (HD29 Monthly Meeting) 

Time: 6:30-8:30pm 

Lake Arbor Police Department

8198 Vance Dr.

Arvada, Colorado 80003

 

Saturday, February 15    

          Time: 1pm-3pm            

Lakewood Library

10200 W 20th Ave

Lakewood, CO 80215

 

Sunday, February 16 (HD29 Caucus Training)    

             Time: 1pm-3pm            

Standley Lake Library Meeting Room

8485 Kipling St

Arvada, CO 80005

 

Sunday, February 16   

          Time: 3pm-5pm            

Lakewood Library Meeting Room

10200 W 20th Ave

Lakewood, CO 80215

 

Saturday, February 22 

           Time: 1pm-3pm            

Lakewood Library

10200 W 20th Ave

Lakewood, CO 80215

 

Saturday, February 22

Time: 3pm-5pm

Columbine Library

7706 W Bowles Ave

Littleton, CO 80123

 

Monday, February 24  

             Time : 6pm-8pm            

Lakewood Library

10200 W 20th Ave

Lakewood, CO 80215

 

What are Delegates to Assembly/Convention?

How do they differ from PCPs?

This explanation is intended as a framework for thinking about the process.

At Caucus, each precinct elects two PCPs and a specified number of Delegates. Because they do different jobs (described below), the same person may be elected as both a PCP and a Delegate, but in both cases, only people eligible to participate at Caucus may be elected. In some rare cases, precincts may decide to elect people who are not present at Caucus if they’ve sent in a letter requesting one of these positions, provided that they would have been eligible to participate had they been present.

Who is Eligible to Participate at Caucus? A person may vote at the precinct caucus, be elected as a precinct committee person and/or be elected as a delegate from the caucus if they have been:

  • A resident in the precinct by February 14, 2020, and
  • Registered to vote as a Democratic voter in the precinct by February 14, 2020 (or pre-registered if they are 17 years old), and
  • Are currently or will attain the age of 18 on or before November 3, 2020.

Precinct Committee Persons (PCPs) are duly elected members of the Colorado Democratic Party and their names are filed with the Secretary of State. At Caucus, each precinct elects two PCPs who serve a two-year term until the next Caucus. PCPs represent the Democrats in their precincts on district Central Committees which conduct the business of the Party, and on Vacancy Committees if needed to replace an elected official who leaves office before end-of-term. PCPs also organize and inform the voters in their precincts to help elect Democrats to office.

Assemblies are used to put non-presidential Democratic candidates onto the June Primary Ballot by having Delegates vote at various district assemblies. This year these are the US Senate and down-ballot races. Other Democratic Party work is also accomplished at assemblies.

Conventions determine the Democratic Presidential nominee by electing Delegates from Colorado to the Democratic National Convention in Wisconsin in July.

Delegates from Caucus to County Assembly. At Caucus each precinct chooses people (delegates) to represent them at County Assembly as follows. Each precinct is notified of the total number of delegates it may send. (The number of delegates is calculated from the number of that precinct’s Democrats who voted in a previous election multiplied by a formula in the County’s Delegate Selection Plan.) The precinct then conducts a Preference Poll to determine how the delegates will be divided among the US Senate candidates. Only the US Senate candidates ‘going through Caucus’ are part of the poll. Candidates who earn at least 15% of the precinct’s vote get a proportionate number of delegates (who favor them) equal to the proportion of votes earned in the preference poll, rounded to a whole person. The infamous “Caucus Math Worksheet” helps with this calculation.

Delegates elected at Caucus must be able to attend the Jefferson County Assembly & Convention scheduled for Saturday, March 21, at Bear Creek High School in Lakewood, CO. These Delegates become the voting members of the County Assembly and vote candidates onto June Primary ballot for districts that are wholly within the County (for example, County Commissioner races and most state house and senate races). These vote totals also determine the order the candidates will appear on the June Primary ballot. For races whose districts are not wholly within the County (for example Congressional Districts and Judicial Districts but also some state house and senate districts that cross boundaries into more than one county), the Delegates/voting members elect a new, smaller number of delegates to represent them at future Assemblies where votes are taken to determine who will make it onto the June Primary ballot for those mult-district races. (State Board of Ed and CU Regent candidates get on the ballot in future, multi-county assemblies too.) Delegates/voting members also elect another group of delegates to represent them at the State Assembly on April 18, where a vote is taken to put US Senate candidates onto the June Primary Ballot.

Delegates elected at Caucus to attend County Assembly also serve as Delegates during County Convention. County Convention takes place at the same time and place as County Assembly (by gaveling in and out of each).  At County Convention, Delegates vote to elect people who want to attend the State Convention with the hope of being elected as a Delegate to the Democratic National Convention in Wisconsin in July. Democratic National Convention Delegates will also be elected from Congressional District Conventions.

Unlike PCPs whose term lasts two years, a Delegate’s duties end at the adjournment of the Assembly or Convention they were elected to attend. Of course, they may run and be elected to serve as a delegate to a future assembly.

People who want to become a Delegate to the Democratic National Convention in Wisconsin in July have several paths to that goal. The process technically begins at County Convention, however, they should attend Caucus and become Delegates to County Assembly/Convention if they want to be able to vote for themselves.

Important Dates: 

Please share this information widely as you canvass and advise your neighbors not only of the Caucus, but also of important registration and voting dates upcoming this year.

As we begin the process to defeat Donald Trump and win our federal, state, and local elections, its all hands in. All of us play a part to make 2020 the continuation of the blue wave!