Volunteers Diane Southworth, left, Becky Sutterfield, center, and Kathi Smith, right, train for the Democratic caucuses in Pahrump on Monday, Jan. 6, 2020.
Friday, Jan. 24, 2020 | 2 a.m.
Diane Southworth was raised by Republicans. Her life experiences led her in the opposite direction.
“I think when I became a single parent, raised my daughters by myself, it made it more viable to be a Democrat,” said Southworth, a retired call center worker.
Southworth was one of a handful of volunteers this month at a caucus volunteer training session hosted in Pahrump by the Nevada Democratic Party. As the February 22 presidential caucuses on inch closer, the party is amassing a slew of volunteers to make sure the process goes as smoothly as possible.
Volunteers can have multiple responsibilities—staffing sites on caucus day, registering voters and making calls, for instance. The party is looking for about 2,500 volunteers to staff approximately 250 caucus sites statewide, and it’s working to ensure all the volunteers are ready to be deployed. As witnessed at the event in Pahrump, some 70 miles outside Las Vegas, the party is looking to reach all Democrats in the state—regardless of which candidate they support for the nomination.
“It doesn’t matter [who you support],” Southworth said. “It matters more that we get the people in there to vote. We have a very low voting record here, and the more people we can get out to vote, the more we can help our community.”
While the party has most of its volunteer spots filled, it’s still looking for assistance. After all, it’s better to be overstaffed than have a repeat of the hiccups of 2016, when check-in problems at some caucus sites—and allegations of bias toward Hillary Clinton by supporters of Bernie Sanders—caused complaints.
Southworth, who has volunteered in past caucuses, says 2020 should be improved due to early-voting sites, among other factors. After 2016, the party worked to implement an early-voting option—now set for February 15-18—for those who can’t make it to on February 22.
“I think having the early voting gives more people an opportunity to come in, make their selections and leave, because … we’re in Nevada, people work shift [and] people work Saturdays and Sundays. This just gives them a better opportunity to voice their opinion,” she said.
Kelly Fitzpatrick, chair of the Nye County Democrats, led the training in Pahrump. Even though this was her first time going through the caucus process, she raves about the training the party has given her. She’s so comfortable that she’s the one now giving the lessons.
Fitzpatrick was teaching Southworth and others about how to run early-voting sites. She assuaged concerns from one attendee about the role the media plays in covering the event, and went over the tight schedule around opening and closing early-voting sites and how to help voters update their registration if they’re not registered Democrats.
The party has been aiming to attract help from a diverse group of Nevadans who can work at caucus sites in their neighborhoods. Information on volunteering is available at nvdems.com.
“Anyone is a good candidate, because everyone has a skill that is better than somebody else,” Fitzpatrick said. “Each of us as human beings has a strength and a skill that nobody else has. So, bring your skill, and we’ll figure out a place [for you].”
Party spokeswoman Molly Forgey said it’s important to have a volunteer at each of the 250 caucus sites, including locations that might not have any registered Democrats. There’s same-day registration for those looking to participate, and the party is determined for each member to have his or her voice heard in the nominating process.
“There’s a precinct in every single neighborhood, so it’s … intentional for us to recruit volunteers who are from those neighborhoods and live there and will participate and facilitate this meeting with their [neighbors]” Forgey said.
Ultimately, anyone with time to spare would be welcome to train as a volunteer, she said. “We would highly encourage anyone to volunteer their time, even if it’s just a couple hours or one shift at one early vote site. … Anyone is welcome to participate and volunteer here,” she said.
The party this month hosted large volunteer summits in both Las Vegas and Reno, including hundreds going through a mock caucus at Centennial High School as part of the training.
Renee Roberts, a public relations consultant, said she came to the training because she wants President Donald Trump “out.” A lifelong Democrat, she said people should stand up for what they believe.
“I think we all have a responsibility to make a difference in this country, and I’m here to help do that,” Roberts said.
This story appeared in Las Vegas Weekly.
