By John Porco | Archuleta County Democratic Party
In accordance with Colorado state law, the Archuleta County Democratic Party will hold its caucus and assembly on Saturday, March 5. The caucus starts at 9:30 a.m. and the assembly will follow adjournment of the caucus.
Out of concern for the health of our voters during the continuing threat of COVID, the caucus and assembly will be held virtually via Zoom. To ensure eligibility, preregistration is required to attend the events. The preregistration link is on the homepage of the party website, archuletadems.org. You must preregister by 4 p.m. on Friday, March 4, to participate. A link to join the caucus and assembly will be provided once a person registers.
Only people who meet certain criteria will be allowed to vote in caucus. If you live in Archuleta County and were registered as a Democrat on or before Feb. 11, you are eligible. In addition, 16- and 17-year-olds who have preregistered as Democrats by Feb. 11 are eligible for the caucus. Note that if you are registered as unaffiliated, you are not eligible to vote in the caucus, but you will be able to vote in the June general primary election.
If you plan to attend your caucus, it is worthwhile to ascertain what election precinct you live in. You can find out by going to govotecolorado.com and click on Find My Registration. Enter the requested information on name and birth date and click on Search. Finally, click on the County and District Information tab to find your precinct. This will facilitate the organization of participants into precinct breakout rooms during the Zoom caucus.
Due to changes in state law and party rules, the caucus and assembly process will be different from previous years. No preference polls will be conducted at caucus. Rather, caucus participants will be arranged by the eight county precincts and will vote to select precinct organizers for their precinct.
In addition, potential additions and changes to the Colorado Democratic Party platform will be considered. A link to the party platform will be provided in advance. Finally, volunteers to serve as election judges will be solicited. Candidates for various offices have been invited to participate in the caucus by live Zoom link or video.
All caucus attendees will automatically become delegates to the county assembly, which will follow the caucus. A person must attend the caucus to be a delegate to the assembly. At the assembly, preference polls will be conducted for Democratic U.S. Congressional District 3 and U.S. Senate candidates. Eight delegates to the State House District 59, Congressional District 3 and the state assemblies will be selected. All of these assemblies will be conducted virtually in April.
Questions can be directed to the county chair, Carl Young, at (970) 444-2021. Information is also available at the party website, archuletadems.org.
