Caucus & Convention Locations

Box Elder
Cache
Davis
Iron
Juab
Kane
Piute
Rich
Salt Lake
Sanpete
Summit
Uintah
Utah
Washington
Weber

If your county is not listed above,
please contact your County
Party Chairman for details.

Convention Dates
Beaver - April 17th
Box Elder - April 8th
Cache - April 30th
Carbon - April 21st
Daggett - April 1st
Davis - April 10th
Duchesne -April 20th
Emery - April 21st
Garfield - April 28th
Grand - April 29th
Iron - April 17th
Juab - April 22nd
Kane - April 16th
Millard  - April 22nd
Morgan - April 6th
Piute - April 28th
Rich - April 7th
Salt Lake - April 24th
San Juan - April 29th
Sanpete - April 13th
Sevier - April 13th
Summit - March 31st
Tooele - April 23rd
Uintah - April 20th
Utah - April 24th
Wasatch - March 31st
Washington - April 17th
Wayne - April 27th
Weber - April 10th

Utah Democrat Party Website

Caucus & Delegate Guide

What is a Caucus?
“Caucus” is a fancy word for a political meeting.  Every two years, citizens of the same party living in the same voting precinct (i.e. neighborhood) get together in a neighborhood meeting called a Caucus.  At the Caucus, they elect a few of their neighbors to be Delegates who will later select their party’s candidates for local political offices.  In most neighborhoods, about 5 to 20 people attend their precinct’s Caucus.

When is my precinct’s Caucus?
Date:Tuesday, March 23, 2010, 7:00 p.m.
Location: Use the links to the left to find your Caucus location.

What happens at a Caucus?  
Each Caucus is hosted by a Precinct Chairperson.  This is one of your neighbors who was elected to the position at the previous Caucus.  

Opening of the Meeting
The Precinct Chairperson begins the meeting by leading the group in the Pledge of Allegiance, and reading some documents from the party, including the party platform and open letters from the Governor and your US Congressmen.  The Precinct Chairperson will also pass around an envelope to collect donations for the county party.  It’s okay if you don’t make a donation.

Voting for precinct offices (such as Delegates)
After the opening comments, the voting for precinct offices (such as Delegates) goes as follows:

• The Precinct Chairperson will announce which precinct office will be voted on
• Anyone present at the meeting who wants to be elected to that specific precinct office stands up, gives their name, and states why they’re running for that specific precinct office
• Someone will need to second the person’s nomination.  Almost anyone will do that for someone.
• Ballots are then secretly cast for that specific precinct office
• About 3-5 minutes after casting ballots, the results are announced

Why is it important to Become a Delegate?

• Delegates attend the party's convention where they choose who the political candidates will be in the primary and general elections. As a Delegate you have the power to ensure that the best candidates are chosen for elected offices, including Utah Senators and Representatives.
• Special interest groups who are protectors of the status-quo work to monopolize this political process. By attending your caucus & becoming a Delegate YOU can make sure this doesn’t happen!
• Education is one of the most critical issues facing our state. We need to elect and defend courageous political leaders who are willing to put children ahead of the system and enact innovative policy changes that will provide students with the skills they need to succeed.
• The 1 ½ hours you spend at your caucus is one of the best things you can do to make sure that elected officials in local and state offices reflect your values.

Run as a County Delegate at your Caucus

To become a County Delegate, you must attend your precinct’s Caucus on Tuesday, March 23rd.  Since County Delegates are elected, you should bring 5 to 10 neighbors to attend the Caucus and vote for you.  Begin making a list right now of neighbors to bring with you to your Caucus.  The more people you bring, the better the odds that you get elected.

• When it’s time to vote for County Delegate(s) at your caucus, the County Delegate candidates (you) will stand up, give your name, and state why you are running for County Delegate – we will provide sample talking points if you desire.
• Someone will need to second your nomination.  Almost anyone will do that for you.
• Ballots are secretly cast
• About 3-5 minutes after casting ballots, the results are announced.
• At the end of the caucus, please contact us immediately to let us know if you were elected or not.  If you were not elected, let us know who was and which candidate they are leaning towards.

What Happens at a County Convention?
County Conventions are typically held at a convention center or high school and last a few hours on a Saturday morning.  Typically, the time frames will look something like this (and sometimes much shorter): one and a half hours for registration, two hours for speeches, one hour for voting, and about one and a half hours to tabulate the votes
If your candidate for the State Legislature receives 60% of the vote from the County Delegates in your legislative district, that person will be the official party candidate in November’s General Election.