����vlog

AMANDA. WELL, STACEY. BEN. WHETHER YOU’RE CAUCUSING IN A NEIGHBOR’S HOME OR IN A MASSIVE COMMUNITY CENTER, IOWANS REALLY CAN ALL PREPARE THE SAME WAY. SO I WENT TO A CAUCUS SITE IN WEST DES MOINES TO FIND OUT WHAT IOWANS NEED TO KNOW TO PARTICIPATE IN A PROCESS THAT’S LARGELY UNLIKE ANY OTHER IN THE COUNTRY. EVERY FOUR YEARS, ALL EYES ARE ON IOWA. IF YOU JUST PASS IT DOWN AS THE HAWKEYE STATE PLAYS AN OUTSIZED ROLE IN PICKING A PRESIDENT, IOWANS WILL CAUCUS IN OVER 1600 DIFFERENT LOCATIONS, ALL IN PERSON, ALL REGISTERED REPUBLICANS AND ALL MEETING PROMPTLY AT 7 P.M. ON MONDAY. ANYBODY CAN DO AND RUN ONE OF THESE CAUCUSES, BUT THEY WON’T GO TO THEIR USUAL POLLING PLACE, PRINCIPAL THING THAT EVERYONE NEEDS TO KNOW IS TO FIND YOUR CAUCUS LOCATION. TERRY RICH WITH DALLAS COUNTY GOP HAS BEEN WORKING FOR MONTHS TO HELP IOWANS PREPARE AND GET THEM TO THE RIGHT LOCATION. YOU CAN FIND THAT OBVIOUSLY, BY FINDING YOUR PRECINCT ON THE SECRETARY OF STATE WEBSITE. SO YOU NEED TO GO TO THE IOWA GOP WEBSITE AND PUT IN YOUR PRECINCT NUMBER, GO TO YOUR COUNTY AND THEN PRECINCT NUMBER, AND THEN YOUR CAUCUS LOCATION WILL MAGICALLY APPEAR. AND THAT THAT WILL GET YOU TO THE RIGHT LOCATION. IOWANS NEED TO BRING A VALID FORM OF ID. ANYONE THAT STILL NEEDS TO REGISTER AS A REPUBLICAN ALSO NEEDS TO BRING PROOF OF RESIDENCY, LIKE A UTILITY BILL WITH SNOWY ROADS AND SUBZERO TEMPERATURES. RICH SAYS TO GET THERE EARLY. SO WE’RE HERE IN THE WEST DES MOINES RECPLEX, WHICH IS JUST ONE OF THE MANY CAUCUS LOCATIONS THAT WILL HAVE ON CAUCUS NIGHT. THAT’S RIGHT. AND THERE WILL BE THREE PRECINCTS IN THIS PARTICULAR LOCATION. AND WHAT WILL HAPPEN IS THEY’LL COME IN, THEY’LL DIVIDE UP BY A PRECINCT TO REGISTER, AND THEN GO RIGHT OVER HERE INTO THE GYMNASIUM. AND WE HAVE GYMNASIUMS, SCHOOLS, CHURCHES, EVEN SOME HOMES. SO OBVIOUSLY, UH, TO BE ABLE TO DO THESE CAUCUSES AT 7 P.M., THE CAUCUSES WILL START WITH A PRAYER AND A PLEDGE. THEN PEOPLE ARE INVITED TO GIVE SPEECHES ON BEHALF OF CANDIDATES HOPING TO WIN OVER THEIR FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS WHO DIDN’T CARE ABOUT THE POLLS. BUT HE HE CARES ABOUT THE PEOPLE. THEN IT’S TIME TO VOTE AND THEN JUST BRING HIM UP HERE. WHEN YOU’RE IOWANS, VOTE ON A SECRET BALLOT, WRITING WHO THEY WANT FOR PRESIDENT, USUALLY ON A BLANK PIECE OF PAPER. BALLOTS ARE COLLECTED ONE OKAY AND TALLIED. GOVERNOR RICK PERRY 59 VOTES. THE BEAUTY OF A CAUCUS IS WE’RE GOING TO ANNOUNCE IMMEDIATELY WHAT THE RESULTS WERE PER PRECINCT. SO YOU CAN HEAR THAT YOUR PRECINCT HAD THIS MANY VOTES FOR TRUMP, THIS MANY POINTS FOR OR THIS MANY VOTES FOR DESANTIS OR HALEY, UH, OR VIVEK. AND THE RESULTS FROM THOUSANDS OF PRECINCTS ACROSS THE STATE ARE REPORTED BACK TO THE STATE PARTY AND THEN REPORTED TO THE REST OF THE COUNTRY. EVERYONE LOOKING TO IO