The first step to attend your caucus is determining in which precinct you live.  If you do not know your precinct, you can find it on the Scott County Auditor’s website: click on the “precinct finder” link and type in your address. Once you determine your precinct you can find your caucus site either by looking on our website, or calling the auditors office; they have a list of all of our sites.

There is no charge to attend, although a donation envelope will be distributed. All donations are given to the Scott County Republican Party to offset caucus expenses and help elect Republicans at all levels.

Expect the caucus to take 1 -1 ½ hours or more depending on the number of people attending.

Get to your caucus EARLY in order to avoid the rush and get properly checked in; 6:00 is a good idea.  For check in you will need a picture ID, preferably an Iowa driver’s license.

YOU MIGHT NOT CAUCUS AT THE SAME LOCATION AT WHICH YOU VOTE!  Caucus sites are assigned by your precinct number.  Find your precinct, either by looking on your voter registration card, or by searching the Scott County Auditor website, search by your current address.  Once you find your precinct number you can find your caucus site by looking at our website, scottcountyrepublicans.org, or the Scott County Auditor’s website.

When you arrive at your location, find your specific room and go there to check in.  At 7:00 PM a temporary caucus chairman will call the caucus to order.  The first order of business will be to elect a permanent Caucus Chairperson who will run the caucus, and a permanent Caucus Secretary who will be the recorder.

In addition to voting for President, delegates will be elected to the Scott County Republican County Convention. Interest forms will also be completed for the District Convention, and the Iowa State Convention.  Those interested in attending the District/State convention need to be voted upon at the County convention. Any registered Republican is eligible to attend. Junior delegates (those younger than legal voting age), will also be asked to attend the County Convention; no vote is taken.  All who want to attend are allowed to do so.

The County Convention will be on Saturday, March 10 at the Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds. The fee for a delegate to attend is $15.00 and the alternate delegate fee is $10.00 (no fee for Junior Delegates). The District Convention is April 21, location TBD.  The state convention is June 16, and the fee to attend one or both is $50, with no alternate delegate fee.  The site for the state convention has not yet been chosen; most likely it will be in Des Moines, but it will be a full day, beginning early in the morning and continuing all day.  Fees for the county convention will be collected at the caucus, so if you think you might want to attend, please be prepared to pay the fee.  In order to attend the District and/or State Conventions, one must first be a delegate to the County Convention; no fees for district/state are collected at the caucus, as these delegates must be voted on at the County Convention in March.  County delegates can attend either both or just one of District and State Conventions.

When it is time to take the presidential preference poll, each candidate will have a campaign spokesperson who will speak on that candidate’s behalf. Then a written ballot will be taken.  The winner is the candidate who has received the most votes. Platform issues will also be requested, and must be submitted in writing on the official form that will be available.

A VERY IMPORTANT PART OF THIS CAUCUS IS TO ELECT PRECINCT LEADERS TO SERVE FOR THE NEXT 2 YEARS. Each precinct will elect 2 precinct leaders who will make up the voting members of the Scott County Republican Central Committee.  This is a very important volunteer position, as these will be the people we ask to engage folks in their own precincts, and help to get out the vote to win in 2012.  The Central Committee meets every other month, on Tuesday evening, and it is expected that at a minimum, precinct leaders attend these meetings. If you, or if you know of anyone who might be interested in serving in this vital role, and would like to discuss it further, please contact us at 563-823-5854.  There will be information available at the caucuses regarding responsibilities of the precinct leaders.

Happy New Year & Happy Caucusing!

We are working to ensure a positive experience for all Republicans during this upcoming caucus.  Locations are being secured and point people are being identified.

Several resources are available online to acquaint you with the caucus history and process.  They are listed throughout this blog post.  Our Scott County Republicans Chairwoman Judy Davidson has also created a “Caucus Cheat Sheet” which we have summarized below:

- The upcoming Iowa Caucuses will be held on January 3, 2012, at 7:00 p.m.

- Caucus locations will be published in the newspapers as well as on the Republican Party of Iowa website and Iowa Secretary of State website.  Please note: Your caucus location is often different than your usual voting location.

- You must be a registered Republican and 18 years old by November 6, 2012, to participate.  You may register to vote on site that evening.

- No cost to attend, although a donation is encouraged

- Arrive to your caucus site early to allow plenty of time for check in, and plan to be there for an hour or longer.

- While the presidential poll receives the most attention during presidential election years, the caucus includes various other important points of business, including electing precinct leaders to serve for the next two years, and electing delegates to the county, district, and state conventions.  Platform issues are also submitted in writing.

- The presidential poll commences via paper ballot after one person has been given a chance to speak on behalf of each presidential campaign.  The candidate who receives the most votes on this ballot is considered the winner.  Only one round of voting occurs.  (The Democrats’ process differs on this point.)

If this sounds interesting to you and you fit the criteria to participate in the caucus, we invite you to join us!  Be a part of history!

This election includes the areas of Marion, Hiawatha, Robins, and rural Linn County. We are asking the wonderful activists in Scott County to help with this very important election.

Republican Cindy Golding, candidate for State Senate District 18

Governor Rick Perry will be our featured speaker at our third annual Ronald Reagan Dinner to be held on Monday, November 14, 2011, at the Waterfront Convention Center in Bettendorf.

The Scott County Republicans Ronald Reagan Dinner has become a premier event in the state of Iowa, and we are honored to have Governor Perry attend as our featured guest.

Governor Perry traveling to the Quad Cities highlights the importance of Scott County in the upcoming caucuses

Doors will open at 5:00 p.m., and dinner will be served at 6:30 p.m.  A silent auction will be held in conjunction with the dinner.   Tickets are $50 per person and may be purchased online here.  For more information about this event or to get involved with the upcoming caucuses, contact the Scott County Republicans via email at republicanssc@gmail.com, Facebook, Twitter, or call the headquarters at 563.823.5854.

The keynote speaker will be announced on Tuesday, October 4, 2011.  Stay tuned to our website, Facebook, and Twitter pages for the breaking news.

Past keynote speakers have included New York Governor George Pataki and Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney.  Will we have a governor again this year?  A member of Congress?  Or someone else?  Share your guesses with us.

This annual event will be held at the Waterfront Convention Center in Bettendorf.  For only $50 per person, you can enjoy a wonderful evening that includes a sit down dinner with various republican guests.  We will also hold a silent auction with very exciting items.

If you would like more information, feel free to call our headquarters at 563.823.5854 or email us at republicanssc@gmail.com.

The Iowa Straw Poll was a fabulous event.  Republicans had fun and voted for their chosen candidates.  The weather was gorgeous.  It truly was American democracy at its best.

But what happens now that the cameras have mostly gone home?  Sure, we have the caucuses coming up.  But the media have a lot of other states and issues to focus on in the meantime.

Now is the time to keep those first time straw poll attendees engaged.  We must also reach out to additional new voters and those who lean Republican but voted for Obama in 2008 (and won’t make the same mistake twice!).

In Scott County, we are involved with several outreach projects communicating our message and recruiting activists.  We are personally inviting newly registered voters to join us, and we have sent 1,500 letters to them.

We started this blog and have become more active in social media to not only provide information, but to also become a place where like-minded people can connect.

We communicate via email with 1,400 people regarding our events and strategies.  Please email us at republicanssc@gmail.com to request to be added to our list.

And that is just the beginning.  Stay tuned for more new projects.

Soon we will be revealing our new website with featured videos of past events, highlights of current elected officials, and the how tos of participating in an Iowa caucus.

We will also be announcing our featured guest at our annual Ronald Reagan dinner to be held in early November.

As we near the winter months, we will remember the caucus fundamentals.  We will organize the ground game for Republicans and train our precinct chairs well.  We need your help to reel in young, new faces!  And it’s also the time to fire up veteran activists who have been in the political trenches through several election cycles.

Remember: This is just the beginning!  We still have 412 days to go!

Please follow us on Twitter, like our Facebook page, and take a look at our website.  Please also let us know if you would like to be added to our email list to receive notifications of upcoming events.  Our email address is: republicanssc@gmail.com.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Judy Davidson, Chairwoman
Scott County Republicans