Request to Free Press: Caucuses should be investigated
Cross-Posted from the John Edwards 08 Blog
http://blog.johnedwards.com/...
Isn't the Ballot box the safest place for a Primary vote, rather than in a Caucus?
Ever since my time in Iowa during the Caucus there, when I worked as a volunteer for John Edwards, I have been pondering the question of process and results. Though I admired the energy and commitment of Iowa citizens in the process, I have been left with the nagging feeling that there were some real drawbacks to the process there.
Thus, I wrote a letter to Free Press http://www.freepress.org/... asking them to put a journalistic investigatory spotlight on the process of Caucuses as a way of nominating candidates.
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To Free Press:
Free Press has been in the forefront of advocating for election reform and insisting on fair election and voting results.
I believe that it is time for the caucuses, as a tool for selecting Party candidates, be thoroughly investigated and evaluated for appropriateness, validity, and electoral justice.
It is my impression that the caucuses are too open to corruption, arm twisting, brutish group dynamics and even possible packing of the vote. Moreover, they are too exclusionary of people who can not get away for the brief, designated time to come and caucus and that certain categories of people are favored by virtue of availability at a single point in time.
I observed a caucus in operation in Iowa. Though, I was impressed with the energy and investment of the citizens who participated, I was also concerned about those who could not attend and be counted and with the last minute nature of the registrations that took place minutes before the caucus was too start, allowing for little if, any time, for verification of ID.
I believe that the caucus process deserves good investigative journalism to learn what did happen in Iowa and Nevada in the caucuses and think that the Free Press would be an ideal vehicle for such investigation.
Karita Hummer
San Jose, CA