I Really Need some Help!!!! 2 Main Questions for my very smart fellow Texans

[TexasLady]

My daughter and I voted Tuesday. I didnt have my voter card, but my license. They looked up the number on the license, and I told them Democrat, as did my daughter. They stamped her card, but I wondered if I will be able to do the caucus?
Can they look that up on the computer as well?

Also, I asked them, in my pathetic limited understanding, about coming back to caucus after the primary. The two old ladies acted like I was nuts. They said yes, you come back in Nov. I said no, I mean for the caucus. They repeated no, not until Nov.
Ignorance on my part? Theirs? They acted a little surprised when we said Democrat, and repeated the question to us, Democrat, are you sure? Were we hornswaggled?

[MagickMuffin]

1. I never vote early, it a traditional thing for me to vote on election day

So, I'm pretty certain you show up at your precinct on March 4th, after the primaries close.

I'm sure there are some other DUers who could best answer your question.

Here's some info I found:

Whether voting early or on March 4, you must first cast your vote at the polls. Then on March 4, 15 minutes after the polls close, you must return to your local precinct to reaffirm your vote.

"I don't see that either candidate has an advantage or disadvantage with the system. They know what the rules are," said Jess Hay, a spokesperson for Sen. Hillary Clinton's campaign.

A total of 228 Democratic delegates in Texas are at stake. Of those, 126 of them will be decided in the voting booth, while another 67 delegates will be decided when the voters gather after the polls close.

That leaves 35 undecided delegates, better known as super delegates. The remaining 35 are the delegates that Obama and Clinton will try to win over before the Democratic National Convention in Denver.

Texas Democrats are not permitted to caucus after the polls close, unless they first cast their votes in the voting booths. However, those who vote early or on March 4 are not required to caucus.

Although their vote will count toward deciding 126 of the delegates, voters who choose not to return after the polls close will have no say where the additional 67 delegates will go.

http://cbs11tv.com/local/texas.two.step.2.658196.html

[Vincardog]

2. Contact your county Democratic office and ask them where and when your precinct CONVENTION is

They are confused because we do not have caucuses we have primaries in TX. November is the general remember to vote then too.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

3. I think they all do it the same so I'll just go by what I do

Return to the same location you just voted at at 7:15pm on March 4th. That's where and when the Democratic caucus (precinct convention) begins.

If I recall correctly you just have to sign your name and who you support. You should be on the County voter rolls so you should be good to go.

Edit to make clear: You go to where ever it is you would vote at on March 4th. Not all precincts offer the same early voting sites, so go to where ever the traditional voting location is for your precinct on March 4th at 7:15.

[sonias]

4. Yes

The person who opens your PCT convention is supposed to have a copy of the voter roll list of everyone who voted in the primary - early or on election day. You shouldn't have to provide your voter registration card if you lost it, forgot it or anything like that. You just need to prove you are who you say you are, so the usual IDs that are acceptable for voting are acceptable at the caucus. A driver's licence, a utility bill in your name, a government document/letter to you etc.

Since the voter lists are already separated out by party, the list for your Democratic party PCT caucus will only have the Ds listed anyway. They print them by precinct. A PCT packet is prepared for each PCT caucus. The party is in charge of the party primaries so your local party chair will assist in preparing these PCT packets.

You should contact your party chair to find out exactly where you caucus is on March 4th. It is true that in rural areas of Texas they may combine several of them, if they don't expect a turnout.

hornswaggled? I can honestly say that I have never heard that one before.

:hi: TexasLady.


Sonia

[Lone_Star_Dem]

5. Oh, I didn't think about some rural areas combining them.

Glad you posted that.

You're right she should contact her party chair just to be sure.

Here's a link with that contact info: http://www.txdemocrats.org/the_party/county_parties/

[TexasLady]

6. hi sonia s!

and thanks for yalls help.

I will def. contact party chair.
and my southern slang gets old fashioned and corny sometimes. hot diggetydawg,dadgummit, and dammittohell!

lol I do appreciate the help
:hi:

[sonias]

8. I know all of those sweety

I grew up in West Texas (Panhandle area). I know me some southern slang, but that was a first time I'd been "hornswaggled".

:hug:

Sonia

[againes654]

29. Where in West Tx,

I grew up near Lubbock.

[sonias]

30. Floydada

Floyd County.

Floydada Whirlwinds!

:hi:

Sonia

[againes654]

31. I know where that is

I grew up in Hale Center, near Plainview. I am a long way from home now, on the other side of Texas in the Piney woods of East Texas.:toast:

[sonias]

32. Well I can't say I consider it home

Austin is home. I spent the first 12 years of my life there and 6 more in the Rio Grande Valley before moving to Austin. I've lived in Austin the longest, so this is home to me.

I do have some family that still lives in the area though. That whole area is so changed from when I grew up there. My oldest brother did graduate from Floydada.

Here's cheers to you too :toast:

We are all Texans!

Sonia

[efhmc]

23. Not sure that is entirely correct since it could be a while until

one gets the rolls of that day's voting and we are suppose to begin the convention as soon as the last person votes. The safest bet is to have proof of voting with a stamped card. If that is not the case and you have voted early you will already be on the Dems' list so that can be easily checked. The TDP has made all of us precinct chairs so nervous about checking the validity of the voters that we may be in these conventions/caucuses until midnight.

[crispini]

25. Question --

why would it be awhile until you get the poll book? Voting ends, the election judge hands you the poll book, and away you go. :D

[efhmc]

27. Well, I do not remember it being that easy before and that

was when we had way less people voting. As a matter of fact it was about an 45 minutes before we got that roll. Since I have nothing to do with that side of it, I have no idea what caused the delay. Everyone at the convention then (all 8 of us) had their stamped cards so they signed in and we went on our merry way.

[crispini]

28. Well, I guess each county is different.

I'm doing both jobs so I simply plan to hand myself the poll book when we're done. :crazy:

[efhmc]

33. We have no such luck. Hopefully it will be easy but I am

not counting on it based on other experiences.

[crispini]

7. The place where you early voted is probably not the same location as the convention.

The good folks working the polls were election judges, and probably not Democrats, so they probably don't know.

As the others have said, contact your county party to find out where you will go to the convention on election night.

When you get there they should have the poll books from early voting to be able to check that you voted and they can sign you in by that.

[Honeycombe8]

13. Shouldn't matter. Mine wasn't the same. They had a notice posted re the caucus.

The early voting place had several notices posted for voters to see after entering the church. One of them pertained to the Dem. caucus.

The notice said to take your proof of voting in the Dem. primary to the Dem. caucus, and to go to the caucus, you should go to your regular March 4th voting location at 7:15 p.m.

[Melissa G]

9. Find out who your precinct chair is.

That person should know where you will caucus. I live in Sunset Valley and the 'Pubs took over City Hall (them fast little weenies) and we Dems are still looking for a home. Your precinct chair may be more organized than ours and s/he may have it all figured out by now and know exactly where to send you. I may have to help out and offer to find us a place if our beloved leader has not gotten 'round 2 it yet.
Thanks for going! Hope you make it to state! :hi:
Best,
Melissa

[sonias]

10. There are thousands of precincts across Texas without a chair

Hell we still have precincts in Austin without a Democratic pct chair.

So the first step is to contact the county party chair first. This is very common in rural areas where our party building has been lagging or just neglected. they are the definite answer on where the caucuses are held.

:hi: Melissa

Sonia

[Melissa G]

14. Hi Sonia, Glad to hear the skinny from you.

:hi: I just found out we had to draft ourselves some Dem election judges and workers to work the polls. Our regular crew are all 'pubs.

[Melissa G]

15. delete dupe

[thevoiceofreason]

11. Your local newspaper will state where your precinct will vote

That is where you show up at 7:00 p.m. on March 4. Don't show up later (although the state rules say 7:15, BE EARLY).

The voter rolls should show that you voted early. If not, just state that you did and show your drivers license. That is all you need to do. They must let you in and must let ou participate. (If it turns out that someone fudged, the state senate convention credentials committee will strike that person and reapportion deleagtes from that precinct, if necessary). So, long and short, you are OK. DO NOT LET THEM BULLY YOU AWAY FROM THE PRECINCT CONVENTION!

[efhmc]

24. E-mails, workshops and mock conventions are all mandating

the precinct chairs to validate each person's credentials as to voting in the Dem's primary. It has been strongly suggested that we are under tight scrutiny and that any mishap could have legal ramifications.

[Honeycombe8]

12. Wow...my precinct was VERY ORGANIZED on this aspect. Here's the scoop, from them:

They had a sign posted about the caucus for Dems. The sign said...Bring your proof you voted in the primary (whether on March 4th or early), and return to your REGULAR PRECINCT VOTING PLACE for the caucus at 7:15 p.m. on March 4th.

My precinct provided PROOF of primary voting:

1. They gave me a yellow slip of paper that says I voted, and I was required to sign it on site;

2. They gave me the large, page-size blue copy of my voting registration information (that they usually keep, but this time gave it to ME). This is to take with me to the caucus, if I need it.

3. They stamped my registration card. This is proof of primary voting. I've heard that some precincts ask if voter wants their card stamped, but IN REALITY, FOR PRIMARY VOTING IN TEXAS, they are REQUIRED to stamp your card. They are NOT required to stamp your card during other elections. The reason for REQUIRED STAMPING FOR THIS OPEN PRIMARY is so that a voter doesn't return to try to vote in the other party's primary, too.

Your precinct should have provided proof to you that you voted. The caucus will not be able (or have the time to) look up to verify that everyone there voted in the primary, is my guess. You need to have that proof with you.

[sonias]

22. Well you are all set then

That was a very organized early vote location. I applaud your county.

It sure didn't happen in my early vote location here in Travis.

Keep in mind that some voters vote with some other form of ID besides their registration card. They may have lost it or forgotten to bring it with them to vote early. This does not mean that the voter has no proof just because they don't have their card stamped.

They can make whomever runs the PCT caucus look it up. It's not that big of a deal to look up. They will have a copy of the voter roll list of voters at the caucus.

Don't back down or fail to go to your caucus because your registration card does not say you voted. The voter roll is the proof you voted and all you have to do is prove you are who you say you are.


Sonia

[efhmc]

26. That is great. Wish we had done that.

But you are right about the voter needing to provide the proof. No one running that precinct convention is going to have the time to look for your individual proof.

[merci_me]

16. I posted this yesterday in another forum

When the precinct judges pick up there supplies March 1 or 2, they will have a list of all the voters in their precinct. It will include ALL registered voters in the precinct, so they are prepared for any crossover voters who may decided to declare in the Democratic party. They will also receive a computer printout of all people from that precinct who voted early/absentee. Before the polls open on the 4th, the precinct judge will go through the two lists and mark a "V" for "voted" next to the names on the master list. This isn't just so you can attend the caucus, it also prevents early voters from trying to vote again during the day on the 4th. This happens EVERY election, primary caucus or not.


Having your stamped card with you and or the receipt helps, but your name still needs to appear on that computer printout.


New voters often don't know to get their card stamped and if you live in a Republican county, where all of the people working early voting can be Republican, they don't always graciously offer to stamp the card if you don't tell them. Also, the receipt is just a sequence number that most people drop in the wastebasket on their way out and it also doesn't prove it was your sequence number. I could have picked up a dozen on my way out and in the parking lot.


If by chance, your card wasn't stamped and for some reason your name didn't appear on the printout the precinct judge gets, INSIST the judge call and get verification. However, working since 1984, I can tell you, I've never had someone show up for a caucus whose vote didn't show up on the record.

Also, be sure to check to see where your precinct is voting on March 4th. Here in Houston, Harris County, they are doing a LOT of combining. Our precinct has been paired with two others and we won't be voting and caucusing where we normally do. I heard at a meeting the other day, we will have something like 350 polling places for over 800 precincts.

[theredpen]

17. I got a yellow slip for entry into the caucuses

That may just be for Dallas County, dunno.

[merci_me]

18. Interesting

What's on the yellow slip? Does it have your name, precinct number and voter registration number as it appears on your voter ID card? Or is it the sequence number to activate the voter machine?

[theredpen]

19. It doesn't have my name

It has a stamp "EV-DEM-03-04-08" and my precinct number.

[merci_me]

20. Hum-mm

Without your name and/or voter registration number, it doesn't prove it's you who voted, just that "somebody" in your precinct voted early. But as I posted above in this thread, the precinct judge will have the record of your voting, so there should be no problem. Just take along your voter registration card or form of ID, so they can match you to the record they have of early voters.

[theredpen]

21. Thanks!

I hadn't looked at the slip until I went to answer your question. It did seem odd that there wasn't any identifying information on the slip. Their computer system seemed to be pretty well stocked with info, though. For example, a woman came in to vote, but the system said she'd also gotten an absentee ballot, which she would need to either use or return. Luckily, it was in her car.

[TexasLady]

34. I got an answer!!!

Here it is.
From my precinct captain..
" All early voters qualify to attend the convention.
In the future, just ask for a slip of paper they can sign and stamp with your name and the poll judge’s signature and date as proof of early voting, if you don’t have your card with you. I will also have a complete printout of early dem. Voters which is another way to verify you voted early. You will be fine. Just bring picture ID with you at 7:15 pm so I can look you up on the printout on March 4th."

Whew!!