One of the biggest changes to the Democratic caucus process on Monday, Feb. 3, is a procedural one. Democratic Party Chair for Carroll County, Peter Leo, says they have done away with having an unlimited number of alignments.
Leo says if a caucus-goer is aligned with a viable preference group, which for most precincts in Carroll County means your candidate has support of 15 percent of the caucus or more, you must stay in that preference group. Those in non-viable groups are allowed to realign to a viable group that already exists, form a new viable group, or they can elect not to realign and their preference will not be counted. There is one very important thing to remember.
If there are uncommitted viable groups, there will be uncommitted delegates selected. The new rules, Leo says, helps incentivize having a first and second choice when you come to the caucuses. The number of people that need to be in a group to form a viable one will be announced at each precinct. Leo predicts the first alignment could take 15 to 30 minutes, depending on the size of the groups. At the conclusion, delegates are counted. Another first is being introduced this year as well.
Preference cards can also be used if a recount is needed. Leo says he is expecting these changes to cut down on the party’s caucus times. These results will be reported to the Iowa Democratic Party and they will then be able to see the raw numbers of actual caucus goers for each candidate at the end of the first alignment and the end of the second. Leo says this means they could have multiple candidates claiming victory with this new process. One who has the most raw votes at the end of the first alignment, one with the most after the second and a third candidate who has the most delegates. The caucuses will begin at 7 p.m., but organizers are urging participants to come early to get checked in. Leo says if you are in line before 7 p.m. you will be allowed to participate. You must be a registered Democrat, but for those not registered, this can be done at the precinct. Anyone wanting to change parties can do so on site as well. Those who will be 18 or older by Nov. 3, 2020 can join in the caucus and observers and volunteers are welcome too. Leo says Iowa has the privilege of being the first to tell the nation who the citizens support.
Leo wants to be sure people bring a pen and stay for the entire meeting. They will be doing other party business and selecting leadership for the local Democratic Party and representatives on the state and national level. A full listing of Carroll County precinct caucus locations and links to precinct maps can be found below.
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| Precinct | LOCATION |
| Carroll 1 | Carroll High School Auditorium |
| Carroll 2 | First United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall |
| Carroll 3 | Adams Elementary School Gymnasium |
| Carroll 4 | Swan Lake State Park Conservation Education Center |
| Wheatland-Kniest 5 | Breda American Legion Hall |
| Sheridan-Grant-Jasper 6 | Lidderdale Community Building |
| Arcadia 7 | Arcadia Legion Hall |
| Glidden-Richland 8 | Glidden Public Library, Meeting Room |
| Washington-Roselle 9 | Halbur Community Center |
| Pleasant Valley-Newton 10 | Templeton Center |
| Ewoldt 11 | Manning VFW Hall |
| Eden 12 | Templeton Center |
| Union 13 | Coon Rapids Municipal Utilities Building |
Links to precinct maps:
https://carrollcountyiowa.org/files/documents/2012CountyWideVotingPrecincts1593045420050819PM.pdf
https://carrollcountyiowa.org/files/documents/2012CityofCarrollVotingPrecincts1593045437050819PM.pdf
