Does Obama understand caucuses, or, at least, the different ones?

[question everything]

Yes, in Iowa and, I think, in Nevada, and perhaps in a few others, people have to stand up and be counted - no secret ballots - and convince others that their candidate is the one to vote for.

But in Minnesota and, no doubt, in other states, people just came in and voted. In many districts there were not even ballots, only pieces of papers to write one's preference and to put in a popcorn bucket (without the popcorn..)

No one checked for the identity of the voters. For all I know, Dick Cheney and George Bush voted in my district. No one checked for their addresses, whether they should have voted at this particular room. Perhaps some voted early and often. And, yes, most voted for Obama.

And this is why Obama is doing better in caucuses. People who have never caucused before were encouraged to "participate" now, even though their participation was only to write a name and address on a registration form, write a name on a piece of paper and then leave.

In primaries, one has to at least be in some kind of a database. And if one just moved, or has not registered before, there are the provisional ballots that will be checked later.

[sunonmars]

1. so basically any idiot of the street can wander in

[question everything]

5. Yup. And if those listed later get checked - and I don't know that they are

it is too late.

[Radical Activist]

7. They're called citizens.

and they have a right to vote.

[question everything]

21. We don't know that they are citizens (nt)

[Bucky]

8. What ANYONE can vote? They don't even have to meet property requirements?

Good heavens! The riffraff hath rendered upon our fair colonies a veritable mob-ocracy! I shall issue a pamphlet and alert his Excellency Gen'l Washington of these ne'er-do-wells on the morrow!

[Radical Activist]

11. Maybe they should have to take a test first.

You know, something about the constitution.

[elixir]

25. It sounds like a less than perfect system that won't provide an accurate count. Not fair to those

that are being honest and responsible.

[sniffa]

2. Don't get distracted

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=4468754&mesg_id=4468754

[AX10]

3. And that is why Obama's handlers...

and the pundit class as well as Randi Rhodes :puke: :argh: are pushing for
caucus's in Florida and Michigan.
Randi was trying to sound funny but I saw right through her lowly bullshit.
I know where she stands.:thumbsdown:

[Radical Activist]

4. You write about barriers to participation

like its a good thing. There's nothing healthy or democratic about putting up bureaucratic barriers to voter participation. Being on a list or database doesn't make someones vote more important or valid. If people can come in and vote without restriction in some states then that's one step closer to true direct democracy.

[question everything]

13. You call them barriers, I call them honesty

if anyone can walk into any precinct and vote, what will prevent some from voting "early and often?"

(Heard that this was coined by Al Capone..)

What will prevent non citizens from voting?

(There was a heart breaking story on DU, and I don't know how it ended, of a family that was here on green cards, no, not from Latin America, where the young college student registered with ROTC, or some other military organization - don't remember the details - and was told that since he was part of the military forces he could vote. He did, and when innocently mentioned this to an immigration officer, was ordered deported. )

[Radical Activist]

17. Doesn't the caucus happen everywhere at the same time?

That would make it pretty difficult to vote multiple times. I wouldn't recommend this method in Chicago but I'd have to see evidence of abuse before I got concerned. I'm more bothered by the thousands of people who are disenfranchised in every election because of excessive voter registration requirements like having to register a month before the election.

[busymom]

18. It did, but...

from the time we walked in the door to the time we wrote our name on a piece of paper and left only about 5 minutes passed. We got there before it was super busy.

[busymom]

14. Sooooooo

If I let my teen-agers (of non-voting age), my republican friends, our friends visiting from the UK and my mom from TX in to vote for Hillary thus boosting the vote for her you would be ok with that?

My husband and I laughed at how easy it was. His comment to me was "hey, should we go and vote republican too just for fun?"

We could have.

The caucuses in MN were not healthy or democratic. It WAS ONE bureaucratic barrier. Our location was only open for an HOUR to vote for president. That's it. If you worked as a nurse, at target, wal-mart, were helping kid with homework...you NAME it...your vote did not get counted because you couldn't vote.

Brilliant. The college kids who don't work all came in huge gangs, while the grown-ups who are paying their bills were at work.

Is that the democracy of which you speak?

[Radical Activist]

19. lol

Just remember that you drive more people to vote for Obama when you make snide, condescending comments about college "kids" like that. Most people in college DO have jobs. They have to since Bill Clinton missed the opportunity to make college more affordable.

Of course, their jobs don't have regular set hours or benefits like health insurance, which apparently only seniors and children need since that's all the Clintons talked about for ten years after '94. Believe it or not, there are some serious policy reasons like that one which cause more young people to support Obama.

[elixir]

27. Not very good at dodging the subject, are you? It's a system built for abuse.

[OzarkDem]

6. I think he understands them very well

and has used them to his advantage. Not necessarily in a good way. But, hey, its the system, what are you going to do?

[Bucky]

12. What is he some kind of lawyer or something? Doesn't he lack the experience to handle this?

No, I mean experience besides running a secretive cult of clueless, gullible 20-somethings.

[busymom]

9. I caucused in MN

This is completely true. We came in at 7pm and there was initially confusion because one of the people working thought that voting ended at 7pm. huh?

Then we went to a room....they were out of ballots and we got a little cut up piece of notebook paper to write our vote on. They did have a voter roster, but my dh and I were not on it. We simply signed our names and addresses on another piece of notebook paper.

There is no way that this was verified before the official vote tally came in 2 hours later.

[Radical Activist]

10. This reminds me of complaints about students voting in the Iowa caucus.

Hillary supporters have a real fear of the masses don't they?

[question everything]

16. I think that the fear was of students from neighboring Illinois

Minnesota or Missouri who would vote in both Iowa and in their own states where they are registered to vote.

I have to ask you. If all this "allowing the masses" to vote would vote for McCain, would you not raise hell?

But you like it when this works to help your candidate.

[Radical Activist]

20. No, that's what you're doing.

I won't make myself the enemy of democracy just because the people sometimes make a bad choice.

And a student from Illinois who lives in Iowa 9 months of the year has every right to vote in Iowa.

[question everything]

24. And also in Illinois?

If you would just stop to think, instead of shooting from the hip you will realize that you promote the "vote early and often."

Is this what you want? For everyone, regardless of eligibility to vote to vote?

Are you against the age of 18 as the start age? Should 13 year old, yes, some are very mature for their age, vote, too?

[Radical Activist]

28. There are laws against voting in two states.

There's no reason to use that possibility as an excuse to start disenfranchising people or discouraging new voters.

And lowering the voting age a little would be fine with me. Maybe the legal age of consent should be the same as the voting age in any state.

[madrchsod]

15. so you don`t like what they did in Minnesota?

change it....you do know that clinton supporters did the same thing....

[question everything]

26. We may just do it

When Democrats in the House and even an editorial in the StarTribune start talking about primaries replacing caucuses, after the Strib, four years ago, gloated that the caucus system worked - there is a chance.

[geek tragedy]

22. Jeb Bush posts at DU? n/t

[elixir]

23. It would be easy to tip the scales in a situation like that. I did hear that in Iowa...

many Iowans saw young people with Illinois plates coming in for the weekend to caucus, party and leave. I guess there really is no way to check this type of thing.