Caucus Script
Good evening everyone, my name is _________, and I will be tonight’s Caucus Host.
The Utah Republican Party has set our agenda for tonight. We do not need to adopt this agenda and our meeting tonight will be as indicated on the board behind me.
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Welcome/Introductions
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Prayer
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Pledge
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Reading of the State or County Platform
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Review of Rules, Procedures, Duties of Precinct and Delegate Positions
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Presidential Preference Poll Ballots Collected
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Nominations and Elections for:
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Precinct Chair
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Precinct Vice Chair
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Precinct Secretary
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Precinct Treasurer
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State Delegates
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County Delegates
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Election Volunteers
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Other Business as directed by State/County Parties including the solicitation of donations
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Adjournment of the Meeting
We will begin with a prayer offered by _____________.
We will then recite the Pledge of Allegiance led by ______________.
We can read the Cache GOP platform now, or read sections while votes are counted.
Throughout this meeting, we will be passing around a donation envelope to collect donations for the county party. These funds will be used to help county and state candidates, cover costs of building rentals, printing materials, candy for parades, and events. Your donations tonight are a significant part of the money the party receives during the year, so even a few dollars is helpful!
We have some absentee ballots that were submitted that we will review to make sure that they meet the requirements and will also be included in the tallying for the presidential preference poll.
We plan on adjourning the meeting around 9 PM, but if we conclude earlier than that, we can adjourn the meeting earlier. We want to ensure that everyone who wants to participate in the Presidential Preference Poll can do so.
Before we adjourn, we will be asking for volunteers to assist in counting the Presidential Preference Poll ballots. Anyone is welcome to stay and observe this process. The results will be announced verbally in the room, after the ballot counting, and then reported to the county party and state party.
Review of Rules & Procedures
Anyone may attend and observe the neighborhood caucus election as long as they do not commit a breach of decorum.
The official policy of Utah’s Republican Party regarding this states: “Any person at a mass meeting who, after being advised, persists in an obvious attempt to divert the meeting to a different purpose from that for which it was called, or who otherwise tries to disrupt the proceedings, becomes subject to the disciplinary procedure” meaning the host can ask the individual to leave the room.
Only credentialed Republicans will be allowed to address the caucus, run for precinct offices or delegate positions, or cast a vote in tonight’s meeting.
Everyone has an opportunity to speak to an issue once before anyone can speak twice. If time limits on debate/speaking become necessary they can be imposed by a majority vote of the participants.
Utah's political process begins every two years in neighborhood caucuses, where members of each precinct vote for delegates to represent them at county and state party conventions. These conventions are a vital part of Utah’s political system. It is very important that delegates make every effort to attend conventions and cast a vote on behalf of their neighbors. Please make sure you are committed to this process before you accept the nomination for a position tonight. Delegates then attend the conventions to vote for candidates who will represent the Republican Party on the general election ballot.
The County Nominating Convention will be held on April 13, 2024 at 9 AM at Mount Logan Middle School. (write on board). The Precinct Chair & County Delegates elected tonight vote at the Nominating Convention.
The State Nominating Convention will be held on April 27, 2024 at 9 AM at Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City. (write on board). State Delegates attend the State Nominating Convention.
Duties of Precinct and Delegate Positions
We will be electing Precinct Officers, State and County Delegates, and Alternates during this meeting. Before we begin nominations, we will discuss the duties for each position. Visit cachegop.com/precinct for a complete description.
All Precinct Officers are expected to attend County Central Committee meetings (at least two each year of the two year term), assist in representing the Cache GOP in parades and events, and attend all training meetings.
Precinct Chairs are responsible for delivering election results to the Executive Committee before the end of caucus day. They will notify the delegates and alternate delegates in their precinct about the county and/or state conventions. They will serve as ex-officio county delegates at the county conventions. They will assist the County Party leadership in the next cycle’s caucus preparation. They are responsible for hosting the next caucus, and running the meeting. They will appoint a new Vice-Chair, Secretary, and/or Treasurer if those positions become available in between caucus cycles.
Precinct Vice-Chairs will assist the Chair in the above listed responsibilities, and attend County Central Committee meetings. The vice-chair becomes the chair if the precinct chair resigns.
Precinct Secretaries will assist the Chair as needed, and attend County Central Committee meetings. . They will maintain an updated contact list of officers, delegates, and alternates for their precinct. They will assist the Chair in contacting the officers and delegates for meetings and conventions.
Precinct Treasurers will assist the Chair as needed, and attend County Central Committee meetings. They will collect precinct donations and deliver them to the County Party Treasurer.
Delegates are the most important volunteers in the caucus-convention system. We will elect at least one alternate delegate for every state and county delegate up to twice the number of delegates.
State Delegates will represent their precinct at the state conventions. In the even year of their term, they will vet state and federal candidates and attend the State Nominating Convention. In the odd year of their term, they will vet candidates for state party leadership and attend the State Organizing Convention. If they are unable to attend, they will notify their precinct chair in a timely manner so an alternate can be arranged. .
________ State Delegates
________ Alternate State Delegates (up to 2X)
County Delegates will represent their precinct at the county conventions. During the even year of their term, they will vet candidates for county offices and the state legislature and attend the County Nominating Convention. During the odd year of their term, they will vet candidates for county party leadership and attend the County Organizing Convention. If they are unable to attend, they will notify their precinct chair in a timely manner so an alternate can be arranged.
________ County Delegates
________ Alternate County Delegates (up to 2X)
All elected precinct officers and delegates must provide and maintain updated contact information with the county party. Officers and delegates will receive communications from both the party and candidates during their term.
Nominations and Elections
Nominations for each precinct office and delegate will be taken from the floor. Seconds are not necessary. Only credentialed participants may make a nomination, stand for election, or cast a vote. A participant may nominate themselves if they wish. A nominee need not be in attendance to be nominated. Absentee balloting and write-in candidates from party members who reside in our precinct boundaries but could not attend in person is permitted. We did/did not receive any requests. I will close the nominations when no further nominations are offered.
Voting will be by secret ballot in all races. One ballot shall be made available to each caucus participant for each race. Election results can be declared by acclamation if only one nominee is submitted for any given office or position. A majority of voters is required to win.
State Party Bylaws require the precinct to select either the multiple ballot method or preference voting method when three or more candidates are nominated for the same precinct office. Multiple balloting takes more time to vote, less time to count; preferential takes less time to vote, more time to count..
If we choose the multiple ballot method, the election will have a maximum of three rounds until one candidate receives a majority vote. If there are four or more candidates, the first round narrows the field to three, and subsequent rounds drop one candidate each time. In the event the final two candidates tie at 50% a coin toss shall determine the winner.
If we choose the preference method, voters rank candidates on the ballot in order of preference; 1,2,3 etc. with 1 being the most preferred. Ballots are counted to establish the number of votes for each candidate. If one candidate has more than half of the first-choice votes, that candidate wins. If not, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated, and the voters who selected that candidate as their first choice have their votes added to the total of the candidate who was their next choice. This process continues until one candidate receives a majority of the votes, and that person is declared the winner. In the event the final two candidates tie at 50% a coin toss shall determine the winner.
If nobody knows how to use the preference method, we should select multiple ballots. At this time, can I get a motion to use either the majority or preference voting system? Is there a second? Is there any discussion?
All in favor of __________ please hold up your credential.
All opposed to __________ please hold up your credential.
The motion to use ___________ passes/failed.
After we have nominations and speeches, we will need two or more non-candidate ballot counters. Each candidate may provide a poll watcher if desired. At the conclusion of voting, I will announce the vote counts.
Our official timer for the evening will be_________.
Candidate speeches for state delegate, county delegate and precinct leadership shall be limited to a total of three minutes per office or delegate type, evenly divided among the candidates, or thirty seconds each, whichever is less, unless modified by a majority vote. Is there a motion to change the time allocated for and/or the duration speeches?
All in favor of __________ please hold up your credential.
All opposed to __________ please hold up your credential.
The motion for speech length of ___________ minutes each passes/failed.
Disclosures of candidates with regard to platform planks, employment, personal views, and support for individual candidates are in order.
We will now accept nominations for the office of Precinct Chair.
(Write nominations on the board. When a person is nominated, ensure they are credentialed and ask them to accept the nomination. Candidates may all speak. Pass out ballot papers to those with a credential mark on their hand, vote, collect ballot papers from those with a credential mark on their hand, count. Announce vote totals. Provide winner with form to complete and return.)
We will now accept nominations for the office of Vice Chair.
(Write nominations on the board. When a person is nominated, ensure they are credentialed and ask them to accept the nomination. Candidates may all speak. Pass out ballot papers to those with a credential mark on their hand, vote, collect ballot papers from those with a credential mark on their hand, count. Announce vote totals. Provide winner with form to complete and return.)
We will now accept nominations for the office of Secretary.
(Write nominations on the board. When a person is nominated, ensure they are credentialed and ask them to accept the nomination. Candidates may all speak. Pass out ballot papers to those with a credential mark on their hand, vote, collect ballot papers from those with a credential mark on their hand, count. Announce vote totals. Provide winner with form to complete and return.)
We will now accept nominations for the office of Treasurer.
(Write nominations on the board. When a person is nominated, ensure they are credentialed and ask them to accept the nomination. Candidates may all speak. Pass out ballot papers to those with a credential mark on their hand, vote, collect ballot papers from those with a credential mark on their hand, count. Announce vote totals. Provide winner with form to complete and return.)
We will now elect state and county delegates. These elections differ from officer elections as there are multiple positions to fill. For example, if your precinct is allowed 5 state delegates and 12 candidates run in the election, the top 5 become delegates, and candidates with fewer votes become alternates in the order of the number of votes they receive. Voters write the names up to the number of delegates allocated to the precinct, in this example, 5. An election vote among multiple candidates to fill more than one position that does not produce enough majority vote winners to fill the positions shall be completed either by additional rounds of voting among the remaining candidates or by ratifying the plurality vote winners by a majority vote.
We will now accept nominations for the office of State Delegate. Remember we need to nominate ______ delegates and up to twice the number of delegates as alternates
(Write nominations on the board. When a person is nominated, ensure they are credentialed and ask them to accept the nomination. Candidates may all speak. Pass out ballot papers to those with a credential mark on their hand, vote, collect ballot papers from those with a credential mark on their hand, count. It is essential to record the percentage of total vote each delegate and alternate receives for the reporting form. Announce vote totals. Ask the body to approve plurality votes. Provide winners with forms to complete and return. Take a picture of the results.)
We will now accept nominations for the office of County Delegate. Remember we need to nominate ______ delegates and up to twice the number of delegates as alternates.
(Write nominations on the board. When a person is nominated, ensure they are credentialed and ask them to accept the nomination. Candidates may all speak. Pass out ballot papers to those with a credential mark on their hand, vote, collect ballot papers from those with a credential mark on their hand, count. It is essential to record the percentage of total vote each delegate and alternate receives for the reporting form. Announce vote totals. Provide winner with form to complete and return.) Ask the body to approve plurality votes. Provide winners with form to complete and return. Take a picture of the results. Please note: Because the precinct chair is an ex-officio county delegate, they should not run for a separate county delegate spot because they will already be serving as a delegate at the county conventions.)
We will now accept nominations for Election Volunteers who will act as poll watchers during the 2024 General Election. Each precinct may select up to 5 volunteers.
Thank you for participating in this important process. Each newly elected precinct member and election volunteer will need to come forward after the meeting to fill out a reporting form with their contact information, and receive a description of the duties for each position.
Newly elected precinct officers and delegates, please inform the precinct chair if you move outside of the precinct or need to resign anytime during your two year term. The precinct chair will then notify the county party and bylaws will be followed to fill the vacant seat.
Delegates, please visit cachegop.com for a list of candidates to start you research. Follow the Cache County Party on social media to stay updated, search for CacheRepublicans on Facebook & Instagram and CacheGOP on Twitter.
We do/do not have any other business as directed by the State or County parties. Thank you again for your attendance and participation. This meeting is now adjourned.
We need some volunteers to stay and count the Presidential Preference Poll ballots. Anyone who would like to stay to watch the ballot counting may do so.