Brandon Twp – With every election, come speeches of ‘making each vote count.?
On Feb. 7, the Michigan Democratic Party is hosting a caucus at the Brandon Township Library, to all registered democrats in the district.
When it comes to tangible proof of the power of individual ballots, a caucus provides the foundation to successfully marry individual votes to a one-party voice.
The caucus will serve local Michigan democrats who wish to nominate their choice of candidates for the president and vice-president election in 2004.
There will be 400 caucus sites statewide with at least one in every county, based on population and voting performance.
‘People can come in and vote for their candidate, like an election but an informal one,? said Karen McArthur, Elections/Human Resource coordinator for Brandon Township.
‘The caucus helps the party get an idea of who is going to vote for what candidate.?
The caucus also serves the party for adopting a platform for the 2004 Democratic National Convention held in Boston. July, 26, 2004.
At the National Convention, Michigan will be represented by a delegation of 153 delegates, 22 alternates, 18 Convention Committee members and four pages.
The representatives will be appointed based on the total vote for each presidential candidate from the all 400 caucus sites.
In April 2004, 83 additional delegates and 15 alternates will be elected at 15 Congressional District Conventions, based on the February caucus results, according to the Michigan Democratic Party information.
An additional, 47 delegates, 7 alternates, 18 committee members, and four pages will be elected, based on the February results and will make up the Michigan delegation to the National Convention.
In a move by Gov. Jennifer Granholm to save state money, Michigan will not have a primary election in 2004, saving the state more than $17 million according to McArthur. A caucus serves in place of the primary on a local level.