The caucus race is demonstrated in chapter 3 of Alice in Wonderland. I have, unfortunately, not had the opportunity to see the new movie production of the Lewis Carrol classic so I cannot say whether "caucuses" will get much popular recognition by movie-goers.

I have been trying to decide if Mr. Carrol's portrayal of the caucus race had any relevance to the caucuses that will be held all over Utah later this month. I decided there was a loose connection. It is that everybody wins. And what they win probably comes out of their own pocket!

I think we all understand that we are doing our patriotic duty by electing wise leaders who will represent us well in government. However, if you think you are doing your patriotic duty simply by voting in November, you are only partly right. Your participation in the caucus meetings is where democracy begins and where you have the greatest influence on public policy.

I am not the only one who recognizes this. Rep. Chris Herrod, who has found his latest calling as Field Marshall in the battle for States' Rights, is quoted in the New York Times today (see the last couple of paragraphs). If he is successful at sending his supporters to the caucus meetings, we'll have a full agenda next year of States' Rights message bills!

Caucus meetings are held in March, this year on Tuesday the 23rd of March at 7PM, and at these meetings, delegates are chosen from those that attend. The delegates attend the County Convention and the State Convention and their votes determine which candidates will appear on the Primary election ballots or, if there is no primary election, whose name will appear on the ballot in November. In the past, approximately 2% of the registered voters have attended the caucus meetings. That is a lot of influence by just 2% of the voting population!

You don’t have to be a political expert or an activist to be involved in the caucus meetings or to serve as a delegate. You just need to be interested in good government.

The caucus meetings are organized by precincts. To find out which precinct they live in, Utahns can turn to the Lt. Governor's Voter Information Website or the Utah County Democratic Party's Google Earth maps. Utah County Democratic Party caucus locations for each precinct can be found on the party website.

You do not need to be a registered Democrat to caucus with the Utah County Democratic Party. (You do have to be a registered Republican to attend the Republican caucus meetings.) To run or vote for delegates to the county and state conventions, you must be 18 by the August primaries and a registered voter. 

The winners of the caucus race are those who attend. They exercise greater influence on public policy and ethical government than any 1000 voters can on election day. I hope to see you there!

Deon Turley is a candidate for Utah State Legislature. For more information about Deon, visit http://deonturley.org.