By Deborah Van Gundy
Special to The SUN
The Archuleta County Republicans will caucus on Saturday, March 7, at 10 a.m.
There is a separate caucus location for each precinct:
• Precinct 1 at the Archuleta County Board of County Commissioners’ meeting room, 398 Lewis St.;
• Precinct 2 at Lewis Street office, 450 Lewis St.;
• Precinct 3 at the Archuleta County Extension center, 344 U.S. 84;
• Precinct 4 at TARA Community Center, 333 Milton Lane, Arboles;
• Precinct 5 at Pagosa Brewing and Grill, 118 N. Pagosa Blvd.;
• Precinct 6 at the Senior Center, 451 Hot Springs Blvd.;
• Precinct 7 at Restoration Fellowship, 264 Village Drive.; and
• Precinct 8 at the American Legion Hall, 287 Hermosa St.
Registration will begin at 9:30 a.m. and caucus begins promptly at 10 a.m.
Republican caucuses are open to everyone; however, state and party rules dictate eligibility to vote or otherwise participate in a political party’s precinct caucus a voter must be registered to vote, a resident of the precinct and affiliated with the party holding the caucus for at least 22 days before the caucus.
Special rules
Anyone who turns 18 or becomes a naturalized citizen less than 22 days before their party’s caucus may still participate if they are a registered member of the Republican party. In addition, a preregistrant who is 17 years of age on the date of a caucus and who will be 18 years of age on the date of the next general election may vote at the caucus. If you do not meet these criteria, you must sign in as a guest.
One must attend the caucus coinciding with the precinct they are registered in and precinct boundaries have changed since the last caucus. To check online which precinct you are in, go to www.archuletacounty.org and on the home page just below the picture click on maps, then go to election precinct interactive map, type in your address, then click on election geography; your precinct will appear there.
Grass roots politics begins at the local caucus, where caucus goers elect two new committee persons to serve as members of the Archuleta County Republican Central Committee (ACRCC), election judges are recruited and resolutions for the party platform can be submitted and voted on.
Delegates to the county assembly will be elected; if you wish to be a voting delegate at county and/or wish to attend a higher assembly/convention, you must first get elected as a delegate at your precinct caucus. Republicans have a county commissioner race happening; at the county assembly, delegates get to vote on the candidate of their choice, where candidates must get at least 30 percent of the vote to be placed on the primary ballot or 10 percent of the vote to be able to petition on.
One can be absent from caucus and still run for delegate to the county assembly by completing an absentee delegate application and either returning it to an ACRCC member or have someone hand deliver it to the correct precinct caucus. There is no absentee/proxy voting; to vote, you must attend the caucus.
Any questions or concerns can be emailed to any precinct caucus captain listed at www.archuletarepublicans.org or contact Deborah Van Gundy at (719) 839-0556 or acrcc_vc@outlook.com, or Marilyn Harris at 749-4499 or marilynharris44@aol.com.
