Utah's Neighborhood Elections

There's been a lot of talk recently about scrapping Utah's caucus delegates in favor of a straight primary. Well, I think it's just talk, anyone with any political importance in Utah backs the current system, mostly because it works and, in Utah, we don't mess around with what works! (At least, not that often.) So, how do Utah elections work?

Elections are held every two years in 2,148 neighborhood caucuses for precinct delegates. These delegates represent their neighbors at county and state party conventions.

At convention, delegates vote for candidates for county, state and federal offices. (By law, municipal elections are non-partisan.) Up to three rounds of voting take place. In the first round, every candidate is on the ballot. The top three candidates proceed to the second round. The top two candidates to a final, third round. If, in any round, a candidate gets 60% of the vote, the race is over and that candidate becomes the party's nominee. If not, it goes to a closed primary election – meaning only party members vote in their respective party primaries.

It looks complex at first glance, but read it through a couple of times, it really is very simple, and it really is an intelligent, wise system. Allow me to point out a few of the advantages of Utah's neighborhood election system:

1) Delegates show up.

Ever heard the old proverb, "90% of winning is showing up"? Delegates participate in precinct caucuses, they attend county or state conventions (sometimes both) and they show up at meet the candidate events (among others). Before I was 40, I voted, but never had any other political activity. Since then, I have gotten more and more involved, and better acquainted with other political actives. When I go to my precinct caucus next spring, I'll tell my neighbors to re-elect me as their delegate because I've spent the last decade getting to know the players and I am the most qualified person to make that choice.

2) Delegates get the access they need to make good decisions.

That may sound a little screwy, but it's true: In the 2010 Senate race, we had 1 incumbent, 3 serious challengers and 4 stooges who provided comic relief. (I'm not being rude; one candidate flyer actually said he was proud to be running to be "Utah's senior senator" – clearly, this clown didn't know what he was doing.)

Think about this: About 3,500 state delegates represent over 1,500,000 registered voters. What are the chances that any candidate can get his/her message out to those registered voters? If you are the incumbent, the odds are about 100% – every media outlet in the state wants to hear from you and is "obligated" (to a point) to report your activities. If you are the challenger, it would cost a real fortune to match that free advertising. If, however, you can target just the state delegates, you, the challenger, have a chance to make your case to those who'll make the decision. Lots of people in this country talk about "the incumbent party" or "the establishment" or whatever you want to call it. Everybody knows the incumbent has huge advantages. The delegate system can’t eliminate those advantages, but it cuts them down to size a bit.

3) Majority over plurality.

Again, because it is a good example (one I hope to see more of in the future), the 2010 senate race is instructive. Suppose Utah had a primary system, what would that primary have been like? It would've had 8 contenders on one ballot. What are the chances that the primary winner – the Republican Party nominee – actually had the support of a majority of Republicans? Zero. None. Zip. Bupkis. Zilch. No way. No how. Ain't gonna' happen!

Having 8 contenders means that each contender gets an average of 12.5% of the votes cast. That means the winner could take the race with as little as 13% of the vote. More likely twice that, at the very least – a winner with 26% in an 8-way race is not at all impossible. Not impossible, but very scary, especially when you consider the average turnout for primaries. One report is estimating a 10% turnout (national average) in the 2010 primaries. Do the math: 26% of 10% is 2.6 percent or around 1 person in 40.

Okay, that's a worst case scenario, but that phrase exists because some very smart person decided that we should create a plan to prevent the worst case scenario. The delegate system is that plan. Granted, out of 3,500 delegates, the winning majority of just over 1,750 represents a bit under 1/10th of 1% of all Utah voters.

You could say that the delegates choose the party nominee.

I think it's more correct to say that county and state delegates weed out the bush-league wannabees that have no business being in the race so that, when the public gets to the primary, they can choose among fully-qualified, fully-vetted, capable candidates.

4) Delegates can't be bought.

To those who think they can be: Take a reality pill!

During my second term as a county delegate, my state representative seat had 4 Republican hopefuls. I met all of them.

Hopeful #1 came to my house for a 30-minute private chat – that impressed me. We discussed several issues – his answers did not impress me. Hopeful #2 had an open house at which I and other delegates spent about three hours discussing issues – his answers impressed me.

Hopefuls #3 and #4 bought me dinner – that impressed me and fed me well for two nights! Hopeful #3 didn’t give me the feeling that he really grasped the issues. Hopeful #4 had answers to my questions I felt were well-researched and in line with what I would do. That really impressed me and #4 got my vote in Convention.

My point: A steak dinner and tall glass of lemonade (worth, maybe $20-$25) didn't get my vote. No one who cares enough to take the trouble to be a delegate could be bought for $25! That is flat out insulting. There is no personal profit in becoming a delegate. In fact, it's sometimes a pain. (During the 6 weeks between caucuses and convention in 2010, I got more junk mail from the senate candidates than I usually get in a year!) We do it because we care.

5) While we're thinking about it...

My first Minuteman Redux post was some advise on Republican Primaries. I don't think we need to repeat it all here, but it is worth mentioning, for those who want more talking points.

The bottom line.

I'm currently serving my third term as a county delegate and my first as a state delegate. I've met hundreds of great people who spent time, effort and money (some of them spend lots of money) to attend the conventions and do the due diligence they need to do to make good decisions. They get very little in return. Delegates care; they care about Utah and they care about you, their neighbors.

And, by the way, if you are wondering about that much-referenced 2010 senate race – I voted for Cherilyn Eagar in round 1 and Tim Bridegewater in rounds 2 & 3 and the primary. As you recall, Mike Lee won that primary and the election. You might also recall that Mr. Lee and Utah got a lot of media attention for ousted a sitting, 3-term incumbent from the United States Senate.

Utah's neighborhood elections made that possible.

Thanks for listening, tune in next week for another rant.