Parties ready for caucus meetings

November may seem a long time away, but the first steps toward the next election are already happening with political candidates announcing their decisions to run or not, and precinct caucuses next month.

The 2022 precinct caucuses will be held at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 1, according to the Secretary of State's website.

Precinct caucuses are meetings run by Minnesota's political parties. They are the first in a series of meetings where parties may endorse candidates, select delegates, and set goals and values, called party platforms.

The Carlton County DFL party is making its caucus meetings as contactless as possible due to Covid levels, said Patty Murto, longtime DFL activist. Participants are asked to come to their local polling place (see the list on Page 17), where a volunteer will give them a form to complete and return onsite before departing. There will be no formal discussions.

"Nobody gets to sit around the fire and talk politics this year," Murto said. "If they're heavy into policy, they can also pick up the resolution form. They have 10 days to get those in."

The Carlton County Republican party is holding its precinct caucus at the Four Seasons Event Center in Carlton. The party is still working out details, but will follow local Covid protocols.

Anyone who wants to participate in the next convention must attend the precinct caucus, Murto said. Next up is a regional convention, probably in March.

"That will probably be contactless too," Murto said. "That's why we need the forms from the precinct caucuses."

Murto thinks turnout could be higher with the quicker format.

"When we did just the straw ballot for Bernie and Hillary, we got more people that year than ever," she said, referring to the 2016 caucuses when many people voted for a presidential candidate and then left before the precincts discussed resolutions and delegates.

To participate in a caucus, one must be eligible to vote in the next general election and live in the precinct. They also must generally agree with the principles of the political party hosting the caucus.