Super Tuesday

My wife and I went to our caucus last night. We were the first there for Precinct 107 so the packet of precinct information was given to us. Our first job was to check the names of people who came against the list of registered Republicans in our precinct. We were told to do this until the precinct committee people arrived.

From our past experience, we knew that there probably wasn’t precinct committee people. I went through the packet, becoming familiar with what we would need to do if someone else wasn’t in charge.

This was our first caucus in Denver. We lived in Jefferson County for eighteen years and went to most of the caucuses while there. We didn’t know what to expect in Denver especially since this was Super Tuesday. A record turnout was expected.

In our precinct there are about a hundred registered republicans. Six showed up. Soon my wife and I were elected as delegates to the upcoming county and state conventions. It’s at these meetings where decisions will be made of who will run in the upcoming elections. It’s grassroots politics at it’s basic level.

All of the District 1 precincts met at the same location. Looking around it was easy to see that most did not have a high turnout. At the beginning of the meeting, a woman who had run for State Representative last election got up and encouraged everyone to vote. She said that after her loss they analyzed the voter turnout. A little over two thousand registered republicans didn’t show up to vote. She lost by about eighteen hundred votes. The message was clear.

Now I’m not advocating that as a republican I will vote for someone just because they are republican. The point is that each of us needs to be involved and vote. It’s really a small commitment. Even if you go to the caucus, get elected as a delegate and go to the conventions, it’s only a few days time every couple years. Involvement in this system is essential if you want to influence our government.

I have little respect for people who whine about our elected officials and what our government is doing, yet won’t even vote. You and your single vote matters. It really does. If you are not registered to vote, start there. Next, find out what candidates best represent your views and help get them elected.

If you live in Colorado, here is the link for a voter registration form.

We should be thankful we live in a country where we can be involved in government and that the people have the power to determine what government does. Use it or lose it applies here. If we are not involved, someone will come along and impose their will on us. To me it’s an easy choice.

Philip