Politics & Government

Richfield Sites Set for Tuesday's Caucus Night

The Republican, Democratic and Independent parties will set up shop at various locations throughout Richfield Tuesday night.

After seeing Republican presidential hopefuls , Rick Santorum and Ron Paul pass through town the last few days—and with Newt Gingrich planning a visit Monday—Minnesota political parties are gearing up for the state's caucus night on Tuesday, Feb. 7.

Caucus sites for Richfield residents include:

  • DFL—;
  • Republican (GOP)—;
  • Independence—.

All precincts will caucus at their respective locations and all caucuses begin at 7 p.m. Richfield Patch will be broadcasting what's happening around town live on the site Tuesday night. Directions on how to view the live happenings will come soon.

Find out what's happening in Richfieldwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

WHAT'S A CAUCUS?

A caucus helps a political party gain consensus as to how voters have aligned their political and candidate preferences.

Find out what's happening in Richfieldwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

But at a caucus, there’s more going on than just candidate selection. Participants sometimes select county committee chairs that go to a state—and sometimes national—convention.

What distinguishes a caucus from a primary is that at a primary, voters don’t have to be present at one particular location at a specific time. For a primary, voters just go to their polling place and cast a vote, the same as they would do at a general election.

For a caucus, you have to be physically present at your designated caucus site, register, show your party affiliation and then participate in the process. Attendees participate directly.

To take part in a caucus, you must be eligible to vote in the 2012 general election and live in the precinct.

Each party has its own rules and guidelines it follows.

Additional caucus information—including a caucus finder—can be found on the Minnesota Secretary of State website by clicking here.


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