It’s time to reconsider Utah’s reliance on the caucus-convention system to choose party nominees. The system is very familiar to me, as the local Republican precinct met in our living room on caucus nights in my youth. For decades, as an adult, I’ve attended caucus meetings regularly, serving in GOP precinct leadership and delegate roles and, more recently, participating in the United Utah Party caucuses.
Through that participation, the limitations of the caucus-convention system have become apparent to me. Still, because the system has its strengths, I committed to doing all I could this year to promote it. As an engaged citizen, I conducted nonpartisan caucus training for local church groups and, as a member of the multipartisan group Women’s Work Utah (WWU), I conducted additional training at libraries. I shared information on social media and did text and email outreach to family, friends and neighbors.
Despite that Hail Mary investment in the current system, the reports from caucus meetings last week have convinced me that the caucus-convention system needs to go.
Relatively few people go to caucus meetings. This week, fewer than 10% of GOP voters statewide participated, and just over 1% of Democrats were projected to attend (since Democrats were able to vote for a presidential nominee in a standard primary election). If the caucus system were new to Utah, we might reasonably hope that we could achieve robust participation after a learning curve. But it’s not new. An unprecedented number of nonpartisan groups such as WWU, Utah Civics Project, Utah Women Run, and Mormon Women for Ethical Government joined the parties themselves this year in spending time and money to demystify caucus and encourage attendance. Even making caucus the only avenue for Republicans to vote for their party’s presidential nominee didn’t result in meaningful levels of engagement.
Some don’t attend caucus because they’re out of town, have other commitments that evening, can’t afford a babysitter, don’t understand what caucus night is even about, can’t participate fully because of a hearing impairment or other disability, are disenchanted with some of the extremist rhetoric they hear at caucus, etc. Many who did participate with the GOP this year were met with hurdles such as scarce parking, long lines (at some locations, even for those who had preregistered) a computer system that was glitching, complications finding the right room numbers and confusion about (or lax enforcement of) the rules.
State Republican Party Chair Rob Axson attributed much of this chaos to the GOP’s reliance on volunteers. Yet knowing that the party relies on volunteers, the GOP opted for a presidential preference poll rather than a primary. Predictably, some precinct officer volunteers didn’t have the time or inclination to master a complex set of rules — and some didn’t even show up. Even committed precinct leaders encountered contradictory information in precinct officer training and party materials.
For the comparative few who do make it to caucus, county and state delegate selection is a key order of business. Attendees may already know some who are running as delegates, yet know nothing of substance about their political views. On the basis of potentially no more than a 30-second speech and the answers to a few litmus-test questions, voters “delegate” their vote to a few party members who will represent them at conventions.
Once delegates are selected, there is no formalized accountability in the system. Precinct members who are unable to attend caucus but want to communicate with their delegates will be hard pressed to find their names and contact information. Moreover, precinct members don’t know to what extent, if at all, delegates research and engage with party candidates. They don’t know if their delegates stay for only a fraction of the day-long conventions, nor for which candidates those delegates cast a vote.
Also concerning is the fact that caucus attendees and the delegates they select tend to be more extreme in their political views than fellow party members who don’t attend. We’ve seen the number of times that popular legislators (e.g. Sen. Bob Bennett and Rep. Steve Handy) have been sidelined at convention in favor of more polarizing candidates. The signature-gathering route provides a way for more moderate candidates to secure a place on the primary ballot, but it’s cumbersome, time-consuming and expensive.
Caucus proponents tout its strengths, such as minimizing campaign expenses and building community. While it’s true that the caucus-convention path to candidacy or office (in races uncontested by another party) limits campaign expenses, campaign finance reform measures could achieve that end without also limiting voter participation. Moreover, with all the business that must be conducted at caucus, there is comparatively little meaningful engagement as a group. A strained atmosphere and divisive comments can leave attendees feeling estranged from — rather than closer to — their neighbors.
It’s time for Utah to join the states using primary elections to choose party nominees. Especially now that information about candidates is so readily available online, the benefits of using delegates as intermediaries no longer outweigh the drawbacks. Primaries conducted via mail in ballots in particular result in markedly greater voter participation while also offering greater election security than do votes conducted at caucus. Let’s stop perpetuating a system that leaves so few speaking for so many.
(Photo courtesy of Kimberly Harris Wagner) Kimberly Harris Wagner
Kimberly Harris Wagner has an M.A. in political science and a Ph.D. in organizational behavior. She’s currently on the boards of the United Utah Party and Women’s Work Utah. The opinions she expresses here are her own and not those of any organization with which she’s affiliated.
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