BOISE, ID –Republican party members are gathering at locations around the state this evening, for the 44 caucuses. Once inside the caucus, Jonathan Parker, head of Idaho’s Republican Party, explains the process.
Jonathan Parker “If no candidate receives a simple majority after the first vote, we do another round of voting, where we drop off any candidate who receives 15 percent or less, or any candidate who’s in last place and we continue voting until one candidate receives a simple majority or two candidates split the vote evenly at 50 percent.”
Counties have a choice, they can use a simple paper ballot, with the candidate’s names listed. But there are other options:
Jonathan Parker “Some counties are actually using coins as a voting method and they have various ways of counting those votes, from weighing them to putting them in a tube, so when you reach a certain threshold, this is X amount of coins.”
Once those votes are counted, and the final round of balloting has been cast, the county chairman calls in the results to state party headquarters in Boise.
Jonathan Parker “We’ll add up those vote totals, plug it into the formula, because it is winner take all at the county level, each county has a set amount of delegates they’re assigned to the state convention, so we’ll plug it into that formula and at the end of the night we’ll declare a winner.”
We’ll have complete coverage on Idaho’s first GOP Caucus during Morning Edition. Tune in, beginning at 6AM, on KBSX News, 91.5.
