Hand votes are counted for their candidates via precinct during the Democratic Caucus at Rancho High School on Saturday, February 20, 2016.
Sunday, Feb. 2, 2020 | 2 a.m.
What’s a viability threshold? How long will this take? Why is there a deck of cards in the room?
How it works
1. During the caucus, voters will select their preferred candidate by physically standing in a specific spot in the room designated for that candidate, said Nevada State Democratic Party communications director Molly Forgey. Each candidate will need to receive at least 15% of the total vote to be considered “viable.”
2. In situations where candidates are deemed unviable and one or more voters do not immediately pick a second choice, decided voters can try to convince their neighbors to support their candidate. Negotiations/pitches will be capped at 60 seconds per candidate, Forgey said.
3. If your top candidate does not meet the viability threshold, you will need to select a different candidate. Voters whose preferred candidate is unviable are permitted to leave or declare themselves uncommitted as well, Forgey said.
For those new to Nevada or to the Democratic Party, caucusing can be confusing. Even those who caucused in Nevada in 2016 will likely notice changes to the process this year.
For example, the Nevada State Democratic Party has added caucus sites to casino back-of-houses on the Strip to better accommodate casino employees who are working the day of the caucus. The party also added Tagalog in addition to English and Spanish as a language option for caucus materials, and for the first time, you can vote early instead of participating in the caucus in person.
Here’s everything else you need to know about the 2020 Nevada caucus ahead of February 22. (Although President Donald Trump has some in-party challengers, the Nevada Republican Party will not hold a caucus or primary. The party will vote to pledge its delegates to Trump the same day as the Democratic caucus.)
What is a caucus?
A Nevada caucus is a neighborhood meeting in which registered party members—in this case, registered Democrats—select their preferred candidates. Caucuses are more interactive than traditional primary elections, because voters discuss their choices for a nominee with their neighbors and might have the opportunity to sway other voters.
The process typically lasts 60-90 minutes, according to Nevada State Democratic Party communications director Molly Forgey, although past reports indicate that Nevada caucuses can last several hours.
Am I eligible?
Anyone who will be at least 18 years old on Election Day (November 3, 2020) and a registered Democrat is eligible to take part in the caucus. Those not registered to vote or those who wish to change their party affiliation so they can participate can do so at registertovotenv.gov or at their precinct location the day of the caucus.
Why is Nevada important?
Nevada is the first state in the West to vote. It is also the most diverse early-voting state and will provide insight as to which Democratic candidates have backing from a more diverse electorate.
What are delegates and why do they matter?
Volunteer to help
The Nevada Democratic Party is seeking volunteers to help out on caucus day. Roles on caucus day include precinct chairs, who oversee the process in their precinct, and site leaders, who oversee the process across multiple precincts. To sign up, go to tinyurl.com/uy4kn8o. All volunteers must go through training and be certified by the party prior to caucus day. Precinct chairs and site leaders will be able to call a Nevada Democratic Party hotline if they have questions or concerns during the caucus.
The winning primary candidate in Nevada is determined based on a delegate system, rather than raw votes.
After each voter in a given precinct has aligned with one preferred viable candidate, precinct chairs will award delegates to viable candidates based on a support formula. Supporters of each candidate will then nominate people to serve as their designated delegates.
Delegates will convene at the Clark County Democratic Convention on behalf of their candidate on May 3. Forty-eight delegates from across the state will ultimately cast the state’s votes at the Democratic National Convention in July.
Nevada’s delegates are broken up into 36 pledged delegates, representing voter preferences, and 12 automatic delegates—distinguished party leaders such as former Sen. Harry Reid, Sen. Jacky Rosen and Gov. Steve Sisolak, Forgey said. Nationwide, automatic delegates will only vote on a second ballot if no candidate initially reaches a majority and are not tied to the results of the caucus.
Tiebreakers
Every viable candidate at each precinct is awarded a number of delegates by their precinct chair based on the following mathematical equation: M x D ÷ P = A
M: Number of members within a presidential preference group times
D: Total number of delegates elected from that precinct
P: Total number participants in that precinct
A: Delegates awarded to the presidential preference group
The delegate number is rounded to the nearest whole number. Every viable candidate must receive at least one delegate. In rare circumstances in which multiple candidates are tied for the loss or gain of a delegate, each candidate group will draw a card from an unopened deck of cards. Whichever group draws the highest card gets the disputed delegate.
What if I can't make it?
Democrats looking to vote on a different day or keep their vote confidential do not have to participate in the caucus. For the first time, the Nevada Democratic Party is offering early voting February 15-18. Voters can find their early voting precinct location by visiting caucus.nvdems.com.
Those who vote early will be asked to record three to five top candidates, ranked in order of preference, Forgey said. Voters’ second choices or beyond will be counted the day of the caucus in the event that their higher choices do not meet the viability threshold. As in years past, there will be no option to cast an absentee vote for the 2020 Nevada caucus.
If you go
This year’s caucus will start at noon on February 22. Check-in begins at 10 a.m.
Voters can participate at more than 130 locations in Clark County. You can find your designated precinct by visiting caucus.nvdems.com.
This story appeared in Las Vegas Weekly.
