If you have moved recently, you may wonder about your qualifications to participate in Colorado’s precinct caucuses scheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday. We’ll try to provide the answers.Question: My son is going to college hundreds of miles away, where he registered to vote. Can he participate in the caucus by his college campus?
Answer: If he has resided at his present college address at least 29 days before Feb. 5, he can fill out an eligibility form at his assigned precinct caucus on Tuesday. To prevent possible problems at the caucus – any misinformation on the eligibility form is under penalty of perjury — he may want to go to the county clerk’s office before Tuesday’s caucus to verify his residency and qualifications.
Question: I have moved in the past 20 days. Where do I go — to my old caucus location or my new one?
Answer: You would not qualify to participate in your new precinct since you missed the residency requirement. Colorado Revised Statutes states that an elector who moves from the precinct where he or she was registered 29 days prior to any caucus shall be permitted to participate and vote at the caucus in the precinct of the elector’s former residence. However, you will not be eligible for election as a delegate or for nomination as a precinct in your former precinct.
Question: What if I get sick and can’t go to my caucus? Can I send in a proxy of my presidential preference?
Answer: No proxies are allowed at the precinct caucuses.
There is an exception for registered Republican military personnel stationed overseas:
Pursuant to discussion and approval by the Colorado Republican Executive Committee on December 7th 2007, only active-duty military personnel do not need to attend their precinct caucus in order to vote in the Presidential Preference Poll. In order to submit an absentee vote, the military personnel must submit to the Colorado Republican Committee Chairman or individual county chair a signed letter on official letterhead or an email from a .mil email address:
Attesting to which Colorado county they have been registered as a Republican since on or before December 5th, 2007
Attesting that they are on active duty with the United States Armed Forces and will be unable to physically attend their precinct caucus
Indicating which candidate they support in the Presidential Preference Poll
Question: How are challenges about caucus participation going to be handled?
Answer: Most decisions will be made at the caucus level; therefore, if you have any questions about your qualifications, you should contact your county clerk’s office as soon as possible to avoid confusion.
Question: I am an unaffiliated voter, so I know I can’t vote at the caucus. But can I come to the one in my neighborhood to watch what happens?
Answer: Caucuses are open meetings. Therefore, unaffiliated people can attend, but not participate. Attendance at Tuesday’s caucuses is expected to be high, so if the room reaches capacity, you may be asked to make room for people who are eligible to vote.
Some of the information was provided by Bill Compton, political director for the Colorado Democratic Party, and from the Colorado Republican website.
