This won’t be like 2016. Those crowds. That chaos. The hordes of politically minded caucus-goers overwhelming schools, classrooms, other public meeting locations, and volunteers — all across Minnesota, including in Duluth.
On caucus night four Februaries ago, ballots ran out, and makeshift voting cards had to be handmade. Emotions roiled, and more than a few DFLers and Republicans went home frustrated, unable to find a place to park or a way to get inside before the caucusing ended.
Caucus night 2020, which is Tuesday, promises to be a far different, far more accessible opportunity with an almost certainty that anyone who wants to participate will be able to this time. That’s because, for just the fifth time in state history, Minnesota will host a presidential primary in addition to the parties’ caucuses.
Minnesota’s primary — like a traditional election at which party participants posit their presidential preferences for this fall’s election — is in a little over a week, on Super Tuesday, March 3.
The caucuses that still will be held this Tuesday will be used for everything else: taking care of selecting delegates for party conventions, determining candidate preferences in races other than president, debating party-platform priorities, and conducting other party business.
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A primary in addition to caucusing isn’t without its drawbacks, of course. The primary may feel like an election, allow Minnesota to be a player on the Super Tuesday national stage, and “give a lot more people the chance to participate,” as Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon said in an interview with the News Tribune Editorial Board. “But one disadvantrage is there’s no meaningful absentee provision. So if you’re in the military or you’ve got a sick kid or you’re sick or you're working a night shift or whatever, and you can’t go out on a winter night at 7 p.m. to the junior high, you’re really just out of luck.”
Also, despite proposed fixes and pressure to act swiftly, the Minnesota Legislature still hasn't finalized legislation to address legitimate privacy concerns related to the primary. To get their ballots, voters need to declare a party affiliation, and when they do their names will go on lists of each of the parties’ participants. Those lists will then go to each of the state's major parties, namely the Minnesota DFL, Minnesota GOP, Legal Marijuana Now, and Grassroots-Legalize Cannabis. The chances of those voter lists being leaked and made public? Or of someone overhearing a voter's party declaration when requesting a ballot? Good enough for would-be participants to already be declaring they’ll sit out rather than risk their political anonymity.
And that’s the opposite of the aim behind holding a primary in addition to caucusing. The goal was to encourage and allow more voting-eligible Minnesotans to take part — by avoiding the chaos and hordes and roiled emotions of 2016.
The effectiveness and quality of our representative government depends on our participation and voting. Lawmakers can still take action to ensure privacy, though time is quickly running out. And Minnesotans can make their plans to seize the chances — two of them this year instead of just one — to fulfill their civic duty and responsibility to their communities and neighbors. To make their voices heard.
