2016 Democratic CaucusesAn Overview of the Delegate

Selection Process2016 Caucuses

Nebraska County CaucusesMarch 5, 2016

Primary ElectionMay 10, 2016

County ConventionsMay 19-29, 2016

State ConventionJune 17-19, 2016

Kearney, Nebraska

National ConventionJuly 25-28, 2016

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 2

INCLUSION• Educational seminars/workshops will be conducted in each of

Nebraska’s three congressional districts beginning in September 2015– Speakers Bureau

• Will appear before groups and other events as needed to provide information concerning the delegate selection process

• Education efforts will include outreach to community leaders within the Democratic Party’s constituencies, ensuring information about the delegate selection process is available to Democratic clubs and party caucuses representing specific constituencies

• Newspapers, radio, and television will be utilized to inform the general public how, when, and where to participate in the delegate selection process. – Specifically, this information should provide

• Details as to how to qualify to run as a delegate • Special effort will be directed to the major daily newspapers, radio, and

television stations by the NDP Chair, members of the Committee on Inclusion, and NDP staff

• Regular releases during the delegate selection process to all other media sources, weekly newspapers, and wire services should complete timely coverage

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Inclusion Committee

• Marque Snow – Chair• Joey Adler• Marta Nieves• Joe Orsi• Kate Gotsdiner• Cynthia LaMere

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DELEGATE SELECTION• The County Caucuses elect Presidential Preference

delegates and alternates to the County Convention (may be by precinct, legislative district, county, etc.)

• The County Convention elect Presidential Preference delegates and alternates by Congressional Districts to the State Convention

• The State Convention elects Presidential Preference Congressional District delegates and alternates to the National Convention– To be eligible, one must have filed a statement of candidacy, available from the

NDP on March 1, 2016. The statement must be returned and filed with the NDP by June 1, 2016 5:00PM CDT, 4:00PM MDT.

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CAUCUS TRAINING

• Video – Production will begin about September 15, 2015– Videos expected to reach the field by October 15, 2015

• Great training tool--may be viewed as many times as necessary.• NDP Lead Training begins October 15, 2015

– Each County will coordinate training as needed with the Nebraska Democratic Party Caucus Chair• Caucus/Precinct leaders training• VoteBuilder training• Voter registration training• Candidate supporter training and coordination • Dispute resolution• To schedule training contact

– Charlene Ligon email: charlene.ligon@nebraskademocrats.org phone: 402-215-1571

– Chauncey Brown email: chauncey@nebraskademocrats.org phone: 402-434-2180

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Dates you NEED to Know• September 15, 2015: NDP begins implementation of the Affirmative

Action Plan. Press kits, as described in the Affirmative Action Plan, are sent to all state media.

• December 1, 2015: County Caucus Chairs selected and reported to NDP• December 6, 2015: Deadline for counties to submit request to use an

alternate method to caucus. Preferred method of caucusing is the precinct level. – An alternate level of political unit for caucusing, legislative district,

ward, county, etc., must be approved by the NDP State Executive Committee at least 90 days prior to the Caucus.

• December 15, 2015: Caucus locations confirmed and reported to the NDP.

• January 2016 : Training for County Caucus Teams begin.– All locations will be publicized, available in local media and also on

NebraskaDemocrats.org and NebraskaCaucus2016.org7

Dates you NEED to Know (cont.)• February 1, 2016: The number of Presidential Preference

delegates and alternates shall be certified by the county chair to the NDP.

• February 4, 2016: The NDP, in conjunction with the county parties, will publicly announce the date, start time, and location of each county’s caucuses at least 30 days in advance and shall promote and encourage participation.

• March 1, 2016: State delegate and alternate statement of candidacy form made available by the NDP

• March 5, 2016: County Caucuses • March 12, 2016: Delegate pledge cards due to NDP• May 19-29, 2016: Democratic County Conventions• June 1, 2016: State delegate and alternate statement of candidacy

due to the NDP• June 17-19, 2016: State Convention, Kearney• July 25-28, 2016: National Convention, Philadelphia

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County Chair’s Job

• Schedule the Caucus! – Several counties may caucus in the same location– The county chair shall schedule a caucus to occur

on March 5, 2016• Caucus start time: No earlier than 10AM CST, 9AM MST; No later

than 8PM CST, 7PM MST

• The caucus should occur at a public location and must be ADA accessible

– Location and Time should be registered with the NDP by December 15, 2015

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Eligibility Rules for Delegates• Any person who is eligible to vote in the State of

Nebraska and will be at least 18 years old on Election Day, November 8, 2016, may participate in the Nebraska Democratic Caucuses on March 5, 2016. You must be registered as a Democrat in your county of residence or register at the caucus.

• Must be present at the caucus– Exception: Absentee Preference Cards will be allowed if

requested by a registered Democrat and the written request card is filed in a timely manner as determined by the Nebraska Democratic Party Caucus Committee (NDPCC)

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Preparing for the Caucus

• The NDP, in conjunction with the county parties, will publicly announce the date, start time, and location of each county’s caucus at least 30 days in advance and shall promote and encourage participation

• Recruit volunteers to assist with registration and other caucus duties

• Make copies of forms needed for the caucus

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County Chair

Precinct/Legislative/County Leader

Secretary

Precinct/Legislative/County Leader

Secretary

Precinct/Legislative/County Leader

Secretary

County Caucus Chair

Data Manager

Each Caucus Location Should Have 3 or more traffic directors (Greeters)1 TroubleshooterCheck-In Table, 4-6 positions with print out of registered voters1 Data coordinator**Data manager will ensure an individual trained on votebuilder is at each Caucus location.

SAMPLE CAUCUS ORGANIZATION

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Use VoteBuilder to Identify Dems

• Utilize your county’s FREE VoteBuilder account to bring Democrats to the caucus– Find Registered Dems who voted in ALL of the last

three primaries (Super Democrats!)– Find newly registered Dems who might want to

get involved for the first time• Encouraging involvement in the caucus

strengthens county organizations

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Caucus Day• Arrive at least two hours before scheduled start

time• This is an open Democratic Party meeting– No person shall be denied admittance– An area shall be set aside for those not eligible to

participate in the caucus, such as press, observers– Only registered Democrats residing in the precinct,

district, county etc. may participate and/or run for Delegate/Alternate

• Registration should begin one hour prior to the starting time and remain open until 10 minutes after the scheduled starting time

• Post and distribute the Agenda for the Caucus14

Potential Caucus Agenda• The participants at the caucus may conduct other political

activities. These are determined by the NDP, the county party or by caucus participants, and may include:– electing precinct committeepersons to serve on the County

Central Committee (if appropriate to the county)– electing delegates and alternates to the County Central

Committee (if appropriate to the county)– discussing and indicating priorities regarding issues of national,

state, and local importance– drafting resolutions to be presented at the county convention or

state convention– providing a forum for Democratic candidates for other offices; or

transacting any other party business as seen fit and is appropriate at the caucus level

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After the Caucus• The County Chair must submit caucus pledge

cards and sign in sheets to the NDP in the manner prescribed by the NDPCC within seven days following the caucus. Failure to supply the NDP with this information will result in the loss of seating of a county's delegation at the State Convention.

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VoteBuilder for your Results• Use VoteBuilder to collect caucus results

online– Counties who have not yet registered for

VoteBuilder should contact the NDP immediately• Keep track of all Caucus Attendees!

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Caucus 2016 Preparation ChecklistCounty Caucus:

1. Will the county caucus by Precinct? Yes/NoIf yes continue to step three.

2. Will the county caucus by Legislative District, Ward, or County? Yes/No

If yes, the County Chair must submit a request to the NDP Executive Committee.

An alternate level of political unit for caucusing (legislative district, ward, county, etc.) may be approved by the NDP State Executive Committee at least 90 days (December 6, 2015) prior to the caucus.

3. How many caucus Locations will the county have?

Who will caucus at each location?

Is there one leader and one secretary per caucus unit?

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Caucus 2016 Preparation Checklist (cont.)

4. Do the caucus locations meet the following criteria: Do the locations have internet access? Yes/No Are the locations ADA accessible? Yes/No

5. Designated Caucus Chair/Site Leader:

6. Designated Caucus Secretary:

7. Designated Data Manager: Has the data manager been trained to enter data into the VAN? Yes/No

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Items Needed will include but are not necessarily limited to:

– Internet Wireless Connection (one per location)– PC, Laptop, Tablet, IPAD– Public Address System– Power Strips– Presidential Preference Pledge Cards (download from website)– Absentee Preference Cards (NDP will supply)– Voter Registration Forms (Election Commission/County Clerk)– Early Vote Request Application (Election Commission/County Clerk)– Printed Voter List; the list will also serve as the sign in sheet (Produced

by the NDP for each county)– Tally Sheets, Delegate and Alternate Sheets (download from website)– Paper, pens, markers, and folders– Name Tags and Signs identying check-in order and press/observer

location– Delegate Selection Plan, Caucus Rules and Checklist (available on

website)20

Tips for a Successful Caucus

• Make sure you have plenty of volunteers. Recruit volunteer staff to help with registration and to help set up.

• Have a space big enough to accommodate unusually large turnouts. Make sure there are separate areas and identifying signs for voting attendees versus other attendees.

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Who to contact for Caucus Information?

• Charlene Ligon, NDP Caucus Chair– Email: charlene.ligon@nebraskademocrats.org– Phone: 402-215-1571– Chauncey Brown, NDP Data Director• Email: chauncey@nebraskademocrats.org• Phone: 402-434-2180

Caucus Rules, documents, forms and county caucus locations are available on the Caucus Website http://NebraskaCaucus2016.org

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