Caucus (not to be confused with couscous): A Little Old Fashion Democracy

Do you ever feel that we are a little too removed from the political process? Ever feel the disconnect between walking into a polling center, pushing a button, and magically that somehow someday translates into the new leader of the free world? Well, friends, come to Colorado where choosing a presidential primary candidate is a little like playing Oregon Trail - Presidential Election Edition.

So unlike other states were a voter shows up to a polling place and casts a ballot then swings by Starbucks on their way back to work, this evening I found myself jammed into an elementary school gymnasium with several hundred other people navigating the confusion of finding our precinct, signing in, remembering our voter id number, and finding a place to sit or stand. We got there 30 minutes early and still had to wait in a long line. After calling the caucus to order, we found our different precincts and huddled together. Then we literally chose a presidential nominee by a show of hands. Our group then chose volunteers to be our delegates for the particular candidates, people who agree to go to the county delegation meeting to vote for that candidate. I sat there thinking about the way that people have gathered together over the last few hundred years to choose a president, not in isolated little voting booths, but crammed into a building with kids playing on the floor while the adults shared their ideas with each other. At the end of the procedure, our group had I think 79 people who voted and ended up sending 7 delegates for Barack Obama and 3 for Hillary Clinton. Obama appeared to be the clear favorite at our polling location and I'm curious to see how he did throughout the rest of the state. We were just one of dozens of polling places in our county alone.

Now here's the point at which I betray the fact that I managed to pass civics, U.S. history, and U.S. government in high school without ever really understanding things like the electoral college or a lot of other things about the presidential nomination and election process. But this whole experience actually felt like democracy. On the basis of sheer efficiency the whole idea of a caucus seems very antiquated when you have a machine that will tell each party how many delegates to send for one candidate or another. But something about looking my neighbors in the eye and raising my hand for a candidate made me feel more engaged in and more responsible for the election of a new leader. There were people of all ages there and no matter who people were voting for, everyone was excited that we filled an entire gymnasium full of people who are aching to see change happen in our country. It was pretty cool to see.

For more on caucus fever in Colorado, my friend Sean has written a few really great blog posts on his perceptions of the presidential caucus (as well as further proof why Barack Obama should be the next president, if you are still unconvinced).