Final 2014 Caucus Information

As you may know the Republican Caucus meeting is coming up this Thursday, March 20th. It will be held at Ridgeline Elementary School (6250 W 11800 N, Highland, UT 84003) in the cafeteria. We will be the only precinct there and so there should be plenty of room for everyone. The formal meeting starts at 7 PM. Candidates and precinct members are invited to come and 6 to meet and mingle. Please come at least 20 minutes early so that we can take care of registration and start on time.

There are some important rule changes that you should be aware this year.

• You can preregister for the meeting, which will greatly reduce the sign-in process and I encourage everyone to do so. Here is the link: https://voterclick.com/utgop_menu.php. Our precinct name is HI02.
• You can also use this same link to file for office (chair, vice-chair, secretary, treasurer, state delegate, or county delegate). As of the moment no one has filed file office. You can also nominate yourself for office at the caucus.The current officers are not planning on running again. If you have not been a delegate before please consider running. It is a great experience and one I believe everyone would benefit from doing. If you have the time and interest please consider running. I have posted "job descriptions" for all positions on our precinct blog, http://www.highlandprecinct2.blogspot.com, along with more detailed information about the Caucus system.
• Another significant rule change is that Republicans currently residing in our precinct who is unable to attend (can't find a babysitter, has a conflict with another activity, ...) can vote in abstentia. He or she will need to print out a ballot within 24 hrs of the meeting ( from the same link I provided to preregister), write in the names of the candidates you want to support for precinct officers and delegates, (pick up to 3 state and 5 county delegates), put the ballot in an envelop, seal it, sign it, and make a copy of valid government issued ID (drivers license or passport). The sealed and signed envelop along with ID copy can be given to a trusted person who will be attending the caucus. They will give the registration person assigned to deal with absentee ballots. The registrar will compare the signature on the envelop with the ID, give the ID back, open the envelop and ensure that it is a valid ballot (one was printed in the last 24 hours),  then place the ballot in an absentee ballot container and discard the envelop. Please note, one person can bring up to a maximum of three absentee ballots.
• Those members of our precinct who are living outside of Utah because they are doing religious service or who are serving in the military can also vote by sending an email to both the precinct chair (Rod Mann, mannrw@gmail.com) AND the vice chair (Brent Cook, brentmcook@gmail.com) letting us know their circumstances and giving us a list of the candidates whom they want to support. This will need to be sent 72 hours prior to the Caucus meeting.

If you want to review the complete 2014 caucus rules click here. Let me also mention that while I know that losing is not fun (yes I have run and lost) it can be a catalyst to get better organized next time and actually motivate someone to be more involved. So please don't be afraid to put yourself out there. If your personal  circumstances are conducive to serving (e.g. you are planning on serving a mission in the near future) then find someone who you think would represent you well and encourage them to run. As I said at the moment I know of no one who is absolutely committed to running for any of the offices or delegate positions and I do know that those of us serving do not intend to run again. 

This will be a fun evening. We will have some questions to ask and small prizes to distribute while votes are being counted. We can also discuss local issues while votes are being counted since our precinct is over-weighted on city council, again, with 2 members currently serving (Jessie Schoenfeld and myself) and at least 3 former members (Scott Smith, Brent Cook, and Glen Vawdrey) plus a former mayor (Jesse Adamson).

Have a great week and I look forward to seeing you on Thursday.

2014 Precinct Caucus Meetings Overview

Overview

Caucus meetings will be held this year in preparation for primary and general elections in Utah. These precinct caucus meetings are a grassroots level of political involvement in Utah and are best served by a broad representation of Utah citizens. Those who attend play a critical role in selecting candidates for public office.

The 2014 caucus meetings will be held on Tuesday, March 18 and Thursday, March 20, and we encourage our members to participate as an exercise of their civic responsibility and privileges.

Why do caucus meetings take place?

Utah’s system is close to the people and rewards engagement. Neighbors come together to select representatives (called delegates) from their own neighborhoods. These people are the official representatives of the views and wishes of the voting precinct within their chosen party. These delegates attend the conventions and cast votes to select candidates to run in general and primary elections on behalf of their political party. These delegates also vote on the content of the party platforms and governing documents (each party has a county, state and national platform).

2014 Open Federal, State and County Offices

State and County Delegates will have a chance to help select Republican candidates for the following State and County offices in 2014.  The filing period for these office is Friday March 14th through Thursday March 20th. This post will be updated to include the filed candidates on Friday March 21st.

Office Candidates Selected by State Delegates

• US Congress 3rd District:
• State Attorney General:

Office Candidates Selected by County Delegates

• Utah House of Representatives (District 27):
• Utah County Commissioner Seat A:
• Utah County Commissioner Seat B:
• Utah County Assessor:
• Utah County Attorney:
• Utah County Clerk/Auditor:
• Utah County Recorder:
• Utah County Sheriff:
• Utah County Surveyor:
• Utah County Treasurer:

2014 Precinct Officer Duties and Responsibilities

PRECINCT CHAIR
A Republican Precinct Chair directs Republican Party affairs within the voting precinct.  A Precinct Chair is elected in each precinct at the neighborhood caucus, which is held in even-numbered years (usually during the third week of March).  Precinct Chairs serve 2-year terms.  In Utah County, the Precinct Chair acts as a State and a County Delegate.  Precinct Chair responsibilities include:

• Presiding over voting precinct caucus.
• Directing voter registration and any fund-raising within the precinct.
• Organizing and directing Republican poll-watching and voter turn-out programs within the precinct.
• Assisting Republican Party nominees’ campaigns within the precinct.
• Serving as a member of the Utah County Central Committee (the governing body of the Utah County Republican Party) and attending quarterly committee meetings.
• Publicly support only Republican candidates for partisan public office.
• Endorsing the principles contained in the Utah County Republican platform.

2014 Delegate Duties and Responsibilities

ALL DELEGATES

• Be a registered, affiliated Republican, having on file your name, telephone number, mailing address, and email address.
• Be a resident of the Utah County voting precinct or legislative district you are elected to represent.
• Be at least 18 years old by the November 4, 2014, General Election.
• After being elected, attend legislative district training meetings for further instruction.
• Willingly receive and act upon communications from the UTGOP, elected officials and GOP candidates.
• Help distribute campaign literature and post signs.
• Educate yourself about all the candidates. Expect to receive from campaign mail, emails, phone calls, invitations, etc. during their campaigns. Study the material they send.
• Attend “Meet the Candidate” events and take other opportunities to listen to and become acquainted with candidates, in preparation for the yearly conventions.
• Be available to precinct members to discuss candidates and share your thoughts and views via meetings, email, Facebook, and Blogs.
• Serve the precinct you represent for two years.
• As part of the precinct leadership, work to advance the goals of the precinct.
• Enjoy your service to your fellow citizens and the new friends you will make in the process!