http://www.wyodems.org/intro-caucuses

General Overview
The procedure used by the Wyoming Democratic Party for electing delegates to the 2016 National Convention is established by the Delegate Selection and Affirmative Action Plan (DSAAP), which was passed by the Wyoming Democratic Party Central Committee on April 25, 2015 and approved by the Democratic National Committee September, 2015. The process for selecting national delegates has three steps:
 

  1. County Caucuses/Conventions Saturday April 9, 2016 beginning at 11:00am
  2. State Caucus/Convention Saturday May 28, 2016 beginning time to be determined
  3. National Convention Monday July 25 through Thursday July 28, 2016
​
County Caucuses
The first step in the caucus and convention cycle is the county caucus:
When: Wyoming’s Democratic County Caucuses will take place on Saturday April 9, 2016 beginning at 11:00am

What: The county caucuses are your chance to help select the Democratic Presidential nominee. Voters support their candidate of choice, with each candidate being awarded the proportion of delegates that corresponds with their percentage of support.
 
Who: Any registered Democrat can participate and persons who will be eligible to vote on or before November 8, 2016.
 
Where: Every county in Wyoming will be open to participate. Click here to find your county caucus.
The principal business of the county caucuses will be the election of delegates and alternates to the state convention. Below are some guidelines for participating in the county conventions.
 
Wyoming state residents who are not qualified to register to vote because of age or citizenship will be allowed to participate in any discussion of resolutions, but will not be allowed to vote on the election of delegates or alternates, nor may they be elected as delegates or alternates.
 
 
County Caucus.  Members of the county meet to elect delegates to the State Convention.  The number of delegates selected from each County is dependent on the county’s level of support for the last statewide Democratic candidates in the previous election cycle.  Delegates are elected based on the strength of support for presidential candidates.  At the caucus,
participants will declare their support for their candidate, or uncommitted.  The delegates elected from each County will be divided on the basis of the proportion of participants who declare for each candidate, or uncommitted.
 
State Convention.  At the County Caucus, delegates are elected to the State Convention. At the State Convention, delegates are elected to the National Convention.
In even-numbered years, delegates meet to write a platform and make decisions relating to party governance.  Every four years we elect Democratic National Committee members, and select delegates to the Democratic National Convention.
 
It is important to remember that though there are rules governing the number of voting delegates and alternates in each County, everyone is welcome to attend the State Convention; it is inspiring, motivational, and fun!
 

National Convention.  Every four years the National Democratic Party holds a convention to adopt a platform, to conduct other Party business and nominate a Presidential and Vice-Presidential candidate.  This year the national convention

will be in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, July 25-28.  See: http://www.phldnc.com/


http://www.wyodems.org/frequently-asked-questions

Frequently Asked Questions:

 

1. What is the difference between a caucus and a primary?

A primary is the process of submitting anonymous ballots at a polling location based on who is running for a particular office in that primary and is an individual act happening on a certain day- like a general election but with only the candidates of one party on the ballot. A caucus is a meeting in which voters sit down with their neighbors and discuss the various candidates of that particular party prior to casting votes. While a primary happens as an individual procedure, a caucus is a group act of all the members of your party in your neighborhood and county.

 

2. Why does the Wyoming Democratic Party use a caucus system rather than a ballot
primary to allot delegates?

The Wyoming Democratic Party has a long history of allocating delegates using caucuses. The Wyoming Democratic Party believes that caucuses- meetings where voters sit down with their neighbors and discuss the various candidates prior to casting votes- encourage greater participation and involvement rather than casting a ballot alone.

 

3. What is a county caucus?

This is the first step in Wyoming's nominating process. The county caucus is your chance to help select Wyoming's Democratic Presidential nominee. For people used to casting their vote quietly in a polling place or at home via absentee ballot, a caucus is a very different experience.  In caucuses, people group together with other supporters of their candidates and speak on behalf of their candidates in the hope of both winning over undecided caucus goers as well as supporters of other candidates. At the end of the caucus,  candidates are awarded delegates to the State Convention in proportion to the number of  supporters. Delegates will be elected to attend the State Convention and folks can sign up to run as a delegate to the National Convention. The county caucus is also your opportunity to voice ideas for planks to your county platform, that may even get adopted to the State platform. Many counties also draw up resolutions to bring to state convention for Democrats across the state to vote on. 

 

4. Who can attend and participate in the county caucuses?

Any voter registered as a Democrat can participate in the caucuses taking place in the county they live in. Voters must be 18 by the time of the next election, be a resident of Wyoming and be registered as a Democrat 15 days prior to the convention- March 25th.

 

5. The deadline to register to vote as a Democrat in order to participate in the county caucuses is March 25, 2016... but how do I register to vote?

You can register to vote at your county clerk's office. You can register to vote at any point in time but in order to participate in your county caucus you must ensure that you are registered as a Democrat prior to March 25th.

 

6. I am 17 now but I will be 18 and eligible to vote in November in the general election, can I participate in my county caucus?

Yes!  You can pre-register with your county clerk by filling out the paperwork necessary to be a registered Democrat early and then when your birthday comes it will be processed and you will be a registered Democrat! Welcome!

Through this you will not only be eligible to participate in your county caucus but also eligible to become a delegate to the state and/or national conventions.

 

7. What if I am unable to attend the county caucuses?

If an attendee is unable to attend their county caucus due to:

  • Religious Observance
  • Military Service
  • Disability
  • Illness
  • Work Schedule
  • Student studying abroad

then they may submit a surrogate form to the state party. The deadline for surrogate forms to be
received is April 1st- since this deadline is past the form is no longer available.

 

8. What is a delegate?

A delegate at the county level is the lucky individual chosen to represent their county to the state convention. This person represents the interests and perspective of their part of the state.

A delegate at the state level is the lucky individual chosen to represent their state to the national convention. The number of delegates at the county and state level are limited to be proportional based on the number of Democrats and the population of the area.

 

9. How do I become a delegate to the Democratic National Convention?

In order to be a district-level delegate to the Democratic National Convention you would first need to be elected as your county's delegate to the Democratic State Convention during the County Conventions on April 9th, 2016 beginning at 11:00 a.m. These state delegates will then meet at
the Democratic State Convention on May 28th, 2016. State delegates will then meet in presidential preference caucuses and elect district level national delegates and alternates. In order to be an at-large delegate to the Democratic National Convention you do not need to be elected as a delegate prior to the Democratic State Convention.

 

10. What is the difference between a district-level and at-large delegate to the Democratic National Convention?

In states with more than one congressional district they will elect delegates at a district-level from the county caucuses as well as at-large delegates from the state convention. However in Wyoming we have only one district and so the biggest difference is that the eight district-level delegates will include those who were previously elected as delegates at the county level but the at-large do not have to be elected at the county caucus level. The voting weight of these delegates at the Democratic National Convention do not differ.

 

11. What is a Pledged Party Leader and Elected Official (PLEO)?

PLEOs include big-city mayors, statewide elected officials, state legislative leaders, state legislators and other state, county and local elected officials and party leaders. PLEO’s have until 5 p.m. on April 28th to file a statement of candidacy and a signed pledge of support.  

 

12. How are PLEOs and at-large delegates and alternates selected?

The 2 PLEOs, 4 At-Large delegates and 2 At-Large Alternates will be selected at the
State Convention May 28th, 2016.

 

13. How many delegates does Wyoming send to the Democratic National Convention?

Wyoming will be sending 18 delegates and 2 alternates. 8 are District-Level delegates, 4 are unpledged party Leaders and elected officials, 2 are PLEOs, 4 are At-Large delegates with 2 alternates.

 

14. How many delegates does my county send to the State Convention?

Each county is allotted a delegate based on the population of that county and on the proportion of votes that went to Democratic federal candidates in the last presidential election. Each county is guaranteed at least one population based delegate and one vote-share based delegate. Here is a
breakdown of each county's number of delegates to the Democratic State Convention.



County

  Number of Delegates

Albany

  33

Big Horn

  4

Campbell

  18

Carbon

  7

Converse

  5

Crook

  2

Fremont

  20

Goshen

  5

Hot Springs

  2

Johnson

  2

Laramie

  51

Lincoln

  6

Natrona

  38

Niobrara

  2

Park

  13

Platte

  3

Sheridan

  14

Sublette

  4

Sweetwater

  22

Teton

  15

Uinta

  9

Washakie

  3

Weston

  2