In a big change for Alaska Democrats, we will be holding a Presidential Primary rather than a caucus. The primary will be held on April 4, 2020, with polling locations across the state. This will be a huge improvement over previous election years. Rather than all of Anchorage convening at a single location and holding district caucuses, voters will be able to go to a local polling location and cast their vote for their nominee for president. There are other improvements, too:
- Early voting by mail
- Electronic voting
- Same-day voter registration and voting
- Ranked-choice voting
One other very important difference is that the primary will be conducted by the Alaska Democratic Party, rather than the State of Alaska. There are a number of implications. First, the Alaska Democratic Party – ADP – (and the district chairs and State Central Committee members, along with other volunteers) will be securing polling locations and volunteers to staff the polls. Second, the Alaska Democratic Party counts and processes the votes, rather than the State of Alaska.
We Need Volunteers! Because the ADP is securing the polling locations, it is likely that those polling locations will be different than the locations that most voters have come to expect. At the moment, there are NO polling locations secured in West Anchorage. We are forming an ad hoc committee to research polling locations, generate funding for the rental of the polling spaces, and to find volunteers to staff the polling locations. We have a relatively short time to make these arrangements, and we are eagerly looking for volunteers to assist with this process. If you can help, please contact us at:
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There is more to the changes… but for most people, the change from caucus to primary will be enough. However, there is party business to conduct, and for that, there will be district caucuses where we will elect a district chair and State Central Committee members, and also participate in the delegate selection process for the Democratic National Convention in Milwaukee. That event will be held on April 18th 2020 where we will come together to elect new officers, elect delegates to the state convention, submit platform changes, resolutions and more.
If you’re really interested in the nuts and bolts of the 2020 delegate selection process, you can see the entire plan here.