February 5 was my first caucus experience since I just moved from CA which has a primary. It was both exciting and chaotic. Many of the precinct chairs were inexperienced and, in spite of step-by-step instructions, had trouble filling in the paperwork.
I have some suggestions to improve this for next time.
As a DNC officer, I was tasked with going through the packets (envelopes) containing returned forms from the 17 precincts. My job was to create a spreadsheet listing names, phone numbers, etc. of all the delegates and alternates for each candidate...also election judges, etc.
It turns out none of the packets were complete and one of the precincts had not filled out any of the forms, preferring to write the results on a sheet of lined paper. One precinct did the math wrong - it didn't affect the outcome but they ended up not reaching the correct number of delegates. While nearly all precincts identified who the delegates were, few of them marked all the boxes showing which candidate they were representing. It was even worse for the alternates.
I welcome any feedback from caucuses where things went like clockwork.
Based on my experience, I'm redesigning the caucus 'packets' for next time.
First, it will be a 3-ring binder instead of an envelope full of papers. Second, each step in the process will have its own tab behind which will be the associated documents.
Third, the binder will also include some 'pockets' for issues brought to the caucus by voters and for extra copies of forms, etc.
Fourth, I am redesigning the delegate sign up sheet making the candidate selection more prominent.
I know this is a dull, wonky diary but the devil is in the details. Any precinct captains have suggestions?