END caucuses

[Trapsy]

Please end them.

[Mike Thick]

x Ted Bessell

[This account no longer in use.]

x Assemblyman Smith

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

x Harry S Truman

For the record, I am a Clinton supporter.

[IceSpear]

X IceSpear

[Classic Conservative]

No, I like caucuses tbh.

[This account no longer in use.]

No, I like caucuses tbh.

I can see the appeal of caucuses, but neither of the two Democratic caucuses so far seem to have gone well.

[President Johnson]

I agree.

I pledge to have one national primary in May or June. Just like governors and senators. If that were the case, TRUMP would cream to rest of the pack.

[President of the great nation of 🏳️‍⚧️]

x Peebs

I pledge to have one national primary in May or June. Just like governors and senators. If that were the case, Trump would cream to rest of the pack.

[CatoMinor]

There is nothing wrong with the idea of caucuses. It keeps things less boring and is still democratic. Both parties just need to train people to run them better.

[SingingAnalyst]

I think the plural of "caucus" should be "cauci". Then "cauci" would end, because no one would be quite sure how to pronounce it.

[Classic Conservative]

No, I like caucuses tbh.

I can see the appeal of caucuses, but neither of the two Democratic caucuses so far seem to have gone well.

So do the caucuses the way the GOP does them and train people better.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

Caucuses are structurally less democratic than primaries, because it is harder for people who work the day of the caucus to vote. In a primary, you can vote early or by absentee ballot - not so in a caucus.

In any case, the purpose of our electoral system is not to be "interesting" - it is to represent the will of the electorate as accurately as possible. The best way to do that is to abolish caucuses and conduct a nationwide primary in which delegates are awarded proportionally according to the popular vote.

[muon2]

One interesting feature is how unique US primaries are in the world of modern democracies. I visited Germany in 2002 during their election cycle and they explained how members of the party got together to pick the slate of candidates on the ballot. It sounded like a form of caucus to me. When I described our primary system they were quite puzzled at the idea that the party didn't control which names would go to the voters. I understand that some parties in some countries have used primaries in the last decade, but they seem the exception and not the rule.