Does everyone here know what to do on February 9th?

[surf]

find your caucus, bring a lot of friends and neighbors, make sure you are registered (to vote, not registered as a republican), etc.

Ask all of your friends in Washington to do the same. Walk them through it if you have to.

And remember to identify yourself as a "R" republican at your caucus. You support Dino Rossi over Gregoire. You can run for a delegate position and be "undecided."

[rtil]

a lot of people can't be assed to caucus unfortunately. but i have gotten plenty to show up to vote in the primary

[JK/SEA]

When you say' registered', YOU MUST be more specific please.

There are people STILL thinking they must be 'registered republican' to attend their local caucus. THIS IS NOT GOOD PEOPLE.

YOU DO NOT HAVE TO REGISTER AS A REPUBLICAN/DEMOCRAT IN WASHINGTON STATE.

You do however have to be registered to VOTE...big difference.

Thankyou

[sinjo]

I like this as well for a how to on Feb 9th:
Republican Precinct Caucus, 2008 (WA State) (http://washington4ron.blogspot.com/2007/06/republican-precinct-caucus-2008-wa.html)

Especially the part:

** Motions to resist
Be very cautious if you hear any motions to do the following ...

Motion to Adjourn - before any delegates have been chosen. Vote NO, to adjourn, until you are certain delegates for your precinct have been selected by the voters in your precinct.

Motion to Suspend the Rules, and vote by acclamation - this may be an attempt to only nominate a block of delegates you do not support. Vote NO, to suspend the rules.
+++++++++++++++

Be civil and polite, even if you do not get delegates who support Ron Paul. To avoid this get as many Ron Paul supporters to the precinct caucuses, before the meeting. Swarming the caucus with Ron Paul supporters is critical to success!

[hellsingfan]

wait what do you mean we can run for "delegate" position?

We can become a delegate there? Someone explain this to me please!

[surf]

[
wait what do you mean we can run for "delegate" position?
Each precinct is allocated at least one delegate - the most i've seen for any precinct is 6. The PCO - if there is one -is a delegate. The remaining delegates are voted on by the precinct caucus attendees. So bring neighbors and friends.

These delegates are for the next meeting (county or district) where the whole whittling down process begins. State convention is in Spokane.

Does that answer your question?

[hellsingfan]

my precinct doesn't have any PCO. At least thats what it says when I look it up. My precinct is Windsong if anyone want to make sure.

So we willing be voting for delegates or is there time to actually BECOME one. Thats what I was wondering when you said "run for delegate position"

[nate895]

Quick questions: I'm trying to organize my precinct for the delegates so everyone knows who to vote for before we go (no pro-life/pro-family business)

1) Where can I find how many delegates my precinct gets?
2) Do they elect them all at once, or a vote for each slot?

[surf]

Yes, you can become a delegate PCOs are automatic delegates, the remainder of the delegates are chosen by the precinct attendees - so work to stack the deck. If a precinct has 3 delegates, one being the current PCO, you could possilby get two delgate position simply by bringing a friend - but that's if no one else shows up. so bring as many neighbors and friends as you can and have them nominate you to be a delegate to your district/county convention.

i received this the other day. it may answer some of your questions. please call the Washington State office if you have questions. I only know the delegate allocation in the 48th district. I believe the HQ has the information for your particular precinct:

Conducting your Precinct Caucus

1. According to Washington State Republican Party rules, your precinct caucus cannot officially begin until 1:00pm.
2. Only Republicans who live in your precinct and are registered to vote may participate.
3. If you are an eligible Precinct Committee Officer (PCO) you are the permanent chairman of the meeting. For a PCO to be considered an automatic delegate, he or she must have been duly elected or appointed no later than December 14th, 2007. If there is no eligible PCO present, the attendees must elect a permanent chairman. If it is a small meeting the Precinct Caucus Chairman may also serve as the secretary. If it is a large meeting a secretary should be appointed to assist with record keeping.
4. The priority of the caucus is to elect delegates and alternates but nominations may not begin until 1:30pm. Use the first half hour to get acquainted, review the 2008 WSRP Caucus & Convention Rules with attendees, and discuss the platform questionnaire. Most importantly, be ready for nominations and the election of delegates right at 1:30pm. If nothing else is accomplished, this job must be carried out. Let nothing else interfere with nominations and the election of delegates and alternates.
5. PCOs who are the automatic delegate for their precinct should not and cannot be nominated for the open delegate spots. All elections for delegates must be by majority vote (50% +1) so if there is a contested race it could take more than one ballot. Be prepared with extra scratch paper for balloting purposes. Alternates need not receive a majority but each alternate position must be voted on separately. It must be clear who is elected first so that credentials can determine who is first to fill a vacancy at the County Convention or District Caucus. Republicans need not be present to be nominated and elected. Study rules 11, 13, 15 and 16 of the 2008 WSRP Caucus & Convention Rules carefully. A copy of the WSRP rules will be included in your precinct caucus packet or it will be readily available at your pooled caucus location.
6. The precinct caucus chairman is the custodian of the records. Keep your copy of the registration form. It is an important source of information on known Republicans in your precinct. The completed registration form needs to be returned to the KCGOP office. Please follow your District Chairman’s directions on where to deliver this.
7. You may begin the meeting by asking each delegate for a small donation for the county central committee to defray the cost of caucus night. To comply with public disclosure regulations please remember to mark the amount of the donation next to the name of the donor on the sign-in sheet.

King County GOP District Caucuses and County Convention
Frequently Asked Questions

Q If I am elected as a Delegate at my precinct caucus, what happens next?
A Becoming a Delegate makes you eligible to attend both your Legislative District Caucus and the 2008 King County Convention on behalf of all Republicans in your precinct.

Q When is my Legislative District Caucus?
A Your Legislative District Caucus is scheduled by the GOP Chairman of your district – please call the KCGOP Headquarters at 425.990.0404 to find out the date, time and location of your meeting. All 16 Legislative Districts in King County will be holding their caucus between March 1 & April 11. You may be asked to make a donation to cover the cost of the meeting when you check in.

Q What happens at my Legislative District Caucus?
A The primary purpose of this meeting is to choose Delegates to represent your Legislative District at the GOP State Convention which will be May 29-31 at the Spokane Convention Center. This is the next step in the process of ultimately choosing our state’s Delegates to the GOP National Convention set for the early fall at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. At the Legislative District Caucus, attendees will also have a chance to consider ideas or issues which could be included of the King County platform. Finally, this is a great opportunity to meet other Republicans in your community and become involved in an organization focused on getting Republicans elected in 2008.

Q When is the King County GOP Convention?
A The King County Convention will be Saturday, April 12th at the Green River Community College in Auburn. The address is 12401 SE 320th St. You will need to check in at the credentials table for your district and receive your nametag between 7:00 am and 9:00 am. Pre-registration is currently available on the KCGOP web site ($15 / $30 w/ lunch). If elected at your precinct caucus, please register as soon as possible by visiting: http://www.kcgop.org/county_convention.html

Q What happens at the King County GOP Convention?
A The primary purpose of the Convention will be to discuss and approve the King County Platform. This will also be an excellent opportunity to hear from and meet in person many of the terrific statewide and legislative GOP candidates running in 2008. All Delegates from your Legislative District will sit together.

Q What is the credentials process at these meetings.
A Credentials is the time period that a Delegate or Alternate needs to arrive and check-in for the meeting. Sometimes exceptions are made if someone arrives past the specified time but it’s best to arrive early, pick-up your nametag, make the donation and be seated. After the Credentials tables close, the Credentials Chairman determines if any Alternates can be seated for missing Delegates and as quickly as possible provides the count of how many Delegates are in attendance. Once the final count is provided the meeting can officially begin.

Q Can a person who is not a Delegate attend the meeting with me?
A Yes, but they will not be able to sit in the area designated for Delegates. There will be a special area of the Convention set aside for guest seating. You are able to sit in the guest section any time but it is important that you are in the Delegate section when any votes are taken.

Q Is there convenient parking at Green River Community College?
A There is ample parking around the campus in designated parking. Carpooling to the event is encouraged so there will be enough spaces for all attendees. There could be as many as 3,000 Delegates, Alternates and guests at the convention. There is also good bus service to the facility from parts of King County.

Q Will there be food and drinks available during the day?
A Yes, in fact, lunch is included in your fee for the convention. It will be a Bar-B-Que lunch complete with your choice of a hamburger, hotdog or veggie burger, traditional Bar-B-Que side dishes and soda or water.

Q What happens if I am elected as an Alternate Delegate from my precinct?
A There is the possibility that an Alternate Delegate in a specific precinct could be seated as a Delegate if any of the Elected Delegates do not attend the meeting. After everyone is checked in, the Credentials Chairman from your district will notify you if you may be seated.

[Cascadian]

Below is from Ron Paul's website for Washington. Earlier today it said the caucus begins at 1pm sharp (it still says 1pm in the link), but now the text on the page reads 12:30 sharp. What's the deal here? What time does the caucus begin?

February 9: Republicans meet at their neighborhood caucus at 12:30 sharp to elect delegates. We need you to bring as many Ron Paul supporters as you can to your neighborhood caucus, so Ron Paul can get the most delegates and win the nomination. You need to do this in addition to sending in your ballot. http://www.ronpaul2008.com/states/washington/precinct-caucus-feb-9-100pm/

[surf]

It still says 1pm on the GOP website and i haven't heard anything about this. i'd guess they are trying to ensure that folks don't show up late.

As you can see, it says "only republicans who live in your precinct..." w/o any requisite to being a republican. i'd guess that if you show up early and sign up early, there will be less resistance.

but i'm just guessing here.

[Cascadian]

Okay, well was planning on showing up early anyway. Thank you.

[Sarge]

All should read the Maine caucus thread to see what the Romney people tried to pull.

Be first to speak up to get the delegate slot, and don't let them pull the same dirty tricks up there.

It is going to take getting out every voter possible to get the delegates.

I hope each caucus keeps a record to compare to what is reported.

It might be that they switched McCain's and Dr. Paul's results, in Maine, as most had Dr. Paul coming in higher on the popularity vote. It is all about the delegates and not popular vote if you have one. If you do have a popular vote, you should be sure to vote as some left early in Maine and didn't vote.

Maine has 10 more to caucus today. You might want to check later to see what else goes on.

Good Luck