Kansas Caucus Rules

Kansas caucus process explained.directional vote sign image by Pix by Marti from Fotolia.com

A caucus is a statewide election process in which voters select a presidential candidate to represent their political party. The results decide Kansas' allocation of delegate support for candidates at the parties' national conventions held later that same year. The Democratic and Republican parties in Kansas each participate in the caucus process for selecting their presidential candidates, although caucuses are on different days and follow different rules.

Requirements to Attend a Caucus

You must be a registered Kansan voter and a member of the political party hosting the caucus to participate. In some cases, you may change your party affiliation or register to vote at the door where the caucus is held, providing you will be at least 18 years old by Election Day. You just need to complete a voter registration form and provide a photo ID.

State senate districts determine the sites for Democratic caucuses and each district has its own location. The Republican Party holds caucuses in the state's congressional districts at multiple locations and participants freely choose their caucus location.
Political parties schedule caucuses during the evenings on weekdays or on weekends.

Caucus chairs oversee the caucus process in their assigned location and, at its conclusion, report the caucus results to the state party for tabulation. State parties usually select caucus chairs.

Caucus participants form into groups of supporters for a candidate of their choice. The caucus chair deems candidates with less than 15 percent of participant support nonviable. Participants in groups of nonviable candidates have 30 minutes to attract other participants to join their group or to join a group of supporters for a viable candidate.
Participants select delegates to represent the results of the caucus at the congressional district convention in the spring.
The congressional district convention follows the same caucus process, including selecting delegates to represent the party at the national convention held in the summer.
Alternate delegates are also chosen by the same process.

There are two kinds of delegates pledged and unpledged. Pledged delegates represent the results of the congressional convention with a pledge of support for a candidate. Unpledged delegates go to the national convention with no commitment to a candidate. Unpledged delegates are usually elected officials of the party, such as the governor and legislators or hold a position of authority in the State Party.
In 2008, Kansas Democrats sent 41 delegates and 5 alternates to the national convention.

Candidates, or their surrogates, make a speech asking for participant support prior to the vote process. Republican caucus participants have 15 minutes to vote by secret ballot for a candidate. Once voting is complete, the caucus chair counts the ballots and provides results to the state party.

Each of the state's congressional districts selects three delegates for the Republican National Convention. Those delegates pledge to support the winning candidate from their congressional district's caucus. In 2008, Kansas had four congressional districts.
The state committee selects another 24 delegates at its meeting, held sometime between April and June. The final three delegates are party leaders: the national committeeman, the national committeewoman, and the chairman of the Kansas Republican Party.
These 27 delegates pledge to support the candidate with the most Republican caucus votes and the largest vote total in at least two of the four congressional district caucuses. If no candidate meets this requirement, then the delegates go to the national convention as uncommitted.
In 2008, KansasnRepublicans sent 39 delegates and 36 alternates to their national convention.