The caucus & convention system in Utah is the best way to make sure a
grassroots process can win over large amounts of money. It is the only way
someone with $100,000 can go against someone with $2 million in election
funds.
We have a system that that does NOT favor the incumbent,
wealthy or famous. This is a good thing.
Our problem with voter
turnout is it has not kept up with the population increase. The voter turnout
keeps going up but not as fast as the population. Some of that is the younger
voters, where Utah has a larger percentage of them and they aren't, as a
group, as involved. Also those moving in and not understanding our system.
We already have a "bypass" system, filing as an unaffiliated
candidate. You go straight to the general. Someone doesn't think they can
win if vetted by average citizens asking one on one questions, can run and spend
the money. Why should they be a party nominee if they are going to bypass the
party?
If you change the way our Utah primary's work, you could
have two republicans in the general election ballot (or two democrats).
Bypassing the caucus/convention system will not create
more participation. There are 4,000 state delegates and many more county
delegates that spend countless hours vetting candidates to be on the ballot.
They are selected by those that attend the neighborhood election caucus meeting.
The current one-on-one candidate vetting by delegates cannot be done well any
other way.
When people realize this Count My Vote initiative will
give them less of a chance to participate but give media and power brokers more
power, they will not sign any initiative. This is a power grab and it isn't
by the neighbors you elect as delegates.
If you are going to run as a
Democratic candidate, you have to comply with their rules. If you are going to
run as a Republican, you have to comply with their rules. If you don't like
those rules, you can run as unaffiliated, independent or as a third-party
candidate. Count My Vote is attempting to change all party rules by changing
state laws by initiative, thus bypassing the political parties and the
Legislature.
Who gets to pick the people that show up on the ballot? It is the voters through the caucus system.
The candidates get to decide if they are going to run and each of us
vote to have them vetted. We put the best ones we have that volunteered
to run on the ballot. One of the reasons we get involved in the caucus
system is to have a say as to who is on the ballot.
If we didn't
have the system we have, it would be the power brokers that would get to
decide. They are the ones trying to get rid of the caucus.
Keep Fair Elections in Utah, keep the caucus and convention system
For more information, see:
http://www.fairelectionsutah.com/
