BY Katie Steed
Have we given up on our grassroots democracy and the principle of representation?
My husband and I went to our neighborhood caucus meeting last week. If you weren't aware that these happened, you are not alone. My husband estimated our precinct probably includes about 500 registered voters and only 34 people showed up.
This appears to be the status quo because they only had one classroom ready for us to meet in. Do you know how many people elected our precinct chair/state delegate for our precinct? Eighteen people! This would be the individual who selects the Republican Party's candidate we get to vote for in the elections (aka-the candidate who will most likely be elected in Utah).
Other precincts had similar turnouts to ours. We estimated with this information that about 3 percent of registered voters in our area will actually have a voice in who their representatives will be (that would be: members of Congress, senators, presidential nominee, governor, etc). Wow!
As I have discussed this issue with friends, many seem to be in the dark about what a caucus really is all about. They feel like their civic duty does not require anything more than voting on election day. According to Joe Pyrah of the Daily Herald, "A caucus is a group of voters in a precinct [geographical boundary about 1/4 the size of an elementary school boundary] who get together to talk out political issues. It is the roots of grassroots. Attendees are supposed to be members of the same [political] party."
We need to stop and think when we vote about how the person on our ballot got there in the first place. It was through the delegates who chose them. These delegates came from the caucus meetings being held in your neighborhood. Delegates we should all have a voice in selecting.
I think two simple actions could help to remedy this predicament. First, we need better advertisements about when and where the caucus meetings are taking place. I looked up on Provo city's Web site for this information, and I received a list dated in 2006, which sent me to the wrong location at first. I believe the media and local cities can do a better job to make the process of finding your caucus location much more user friendly.
Second, I will end as I began. We must believe in the power of grassroots democracy and the principle of representation. Our nation cannot meet its fullest capacity when close to 97 percent of its citizens choose to sit back and not be a part of the process.
Katie Steed is a BYU student from Provo.
Copyright Brigham Young University 1 Apr 2008
