Democrats across the state will gather next Monday evening for the Iowa Caucus, the first hurdle of Democratic presidential candidates for the 2020 election.
The Democratic caucus is open to everyone, but only registered Democrats will be able to participate in candidate selection and other business of the evening. Voters who are not registered as Democrats can change their voter registration at the county auditor’s office or at a caucus site on Caucus Night. First-time voter registration will also be available.
Caucus locations and temporary precinct chairs are as follows:
• Jefferson 1 – Greene County High School, 101 Ram Drive, cafeteria. Temp chair Jonathan Smith
• Jefferson 2 – Greene County High School media center. Temp chair Matt Wetrich
• Jefferson 3 – Greene County High School auditorium. Temp chair Rhett Brown
• Central – Jefferson City Hall, 220 N. Chestnut St. Temp chair Jack Bucklin
• West – Scranton Community Center, 900 Madison St. Temp chair Misty Bettey
• North – Churdan Library community room, 414 Sand St. Temp chair Shari Minnehan
• East – Grand Junction Community Center, 212 Main St East. Temp chair Dale Hanaman
The temporary chair, which in most cases is elected as chair as the first order of business, a secretary, and others in each precinct have completed caucus training by the Iowa Democratic Party. Volunteers are still needed in roles that do not require IDP training. Interested persons can call Greene County central committee chair Chris Henning at 515-370-2436 or caucus coordinator Sue Richardson at 515-370-1266.
Doors will open at 5:30 pm at every location. Persons must be registered or in the registration line by 7 pm to participate. Each caucus will begin when all participants are registered.
“We anticipate up to 1,000 persons will caucus in Greene County. We hope people will arrive early enough that we can start each caucus as close to 7:00 as possible,” said central committee chair Chris Henning. “We’ve been working toward Caucus Night for months and we’re eager for many Democrats to be part of a process the rest of the country is watching.”
Because of the number of candidates, the IDP has determined that only one person will speak on behalf of each candidate for a time not to exceed two minutes. The time can be shorter as determined by the precinct chair. Also, there will be only one realignment after candidates’ viability is determined.
Candidates will be awarded delegates at the March 21 county conventions depending on their support at the caucus.
