Reply #20: Sorry I find caucuses to be incredibly undemocratic. [View All]

[rinsd]

Candidates are deemed not viable and people are forced to vote for someone they did not intend to.

Its one thing to not have one's candidate win an election, its quite another to have your vote ignored and applied to another candidate.

The peer pressure involved in a caucus vs being able to vote as one wishes via secret ballot. (ie: Did my boss support another candidate? Did my pastor?)

The limited time frame for participation. Primaries polls open early in the morning and close in the evening. Even if someone works a 12 hour shift they may be able vote that day.

Look at the participation rates for primaries vs caucus. Even this year with the huge turnbouts, the biggest caucus was Iowa with perhaps 25% of the electorate participating (both GOP & Dem). That is pathetic.

It also ignores the popular absentee voter/vote by mail options.

I think the idea of getting more people involved and being politically educated would be more town halls and better civic education vs once every 4 years being held "hostage" by activist who consider it their time to shine.