A flier attributed to the Clinton campaign had the correct address for the Wyandotte County Democratic caucus in the 4th District.
by Mary Rupert
On Monday, some letters were received in Wyandotte County that gave the wrong address for a Saturday, March 5, Democratic caucus location.
The letters were attributed to Bill Clinton and they said the address of the 4th District caucus site was at 7250 State Ave., where Kansas City Kansas Community College main campus is located. The letter also contained a website address for voters to check their caucus site.
However, the caucus is actually at the KCKCC TEC Center this year, at 65th and State, said Norm Scott, Wyandotte County Democratic Party chair.
Some doorhangers from the Clinton campaign also went out this week, giving the correct address for that caucus location. In addition, postcards with the correct address are being sent out to frequent Democratic voters, those in the top 20 percent of voter frequency, Scott said.
Scott said there was no dirty trick involved by the opposition in this wrong address. Instead, he said that he had been trying to reserve the KCKCC location on 72nd, but discovered that the site was already booked by a student group for the morning. The Democratic Party volunteers needed to be there in the morning to set up the site, he said. He changed the location to the KCKCC TEC Center at 65th and State, which is a former Walmart building. The KCKCC Jewell Building main campus had been used in previous years’ caucuses.
Scott said volunteers will be at the college’s main location to tell people to go to the TEC center, which is seven blocks away.
There are two other Democratic caucus sites in Wyandotte County, Scott said.
Senate District 5 in Wyandotte County will caucus at the Oak Ridge Missionary Baptist Church, 9301 Parallel Parkway, Kansas City, Kan., Scott said..
Senate District 6 in Wyandotte County will caucus at the new Turner High School, 2211 S. 55th St., he said.
Scott said Democratic voters may check caucus information at www.kansasdems.org/caucus-2016/.
At the Democratic caucuses, voters must arrive between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Saturday, March 5, in order to participate, he said. Organizers hope people arrive by 2:30 p.m. Anyone who arrives after 3 p.m. will not be able to participate, he said. The caucus process will start around 3:30 p.m.
Voters will declare their presidential preference. Scott said.
Democrats have a rule that anyone who is eligible to vote in Kansas and will be 18 years old on Election Day, Nov. 8, may participate in the caucuses. They must reside in the Senate district in which they participate, and they must be registered as a Democrat. They will be able to register as a Democrat on the day of the caucus at the caucus site, according to information on the state party’s website.
That is in contrast to the Republican caucus, where voters must register as Republicans by Feb. 4 to participate. The Republican caucus is also on Saturday, March 5, and in Wyandotte County, the Republican caucus site is at Open Door Baptist, 3033 N. 103rd Terrace.
Democrats in Kansas traditionally caucus by walking to a group of people who are representing the candidate they support. It is not a secret vote.
Scott said he is hoping for a good turnout at the caucus Saturday. It may not be as much as in 2008, but he hopes for 10 percent, or more than 4,000 voters.
While the Democratic caucus may have four candidates who signed up earlier and who are still listed as candidates, there are actually only Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders still left in the running now. Scott said there is also an undecided caucus group here.
His feeling currently, although he is not certain, is that Wyandotte County could be divided 60 percent for Clinton and 40 percent for Sanders, he said. It’s largely based on the telephone calls and feedback he’s been receiving.
“They’ve got a good ground game going, both of them,” he said, adding that it could be close. “I wouldn’t bet much money either way.”
It will be important for supporters of either candidate to turn out for the caucus, Scott believes.
Joe Ward, Wyandotte County Republican Party chair, said the voting time at the GOP caucus will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. March 5 at Open Door Baptist Church, 3033 N. 103rd Terrace.
Registered Republicans attending the GOP caucus must have photo identification in order to vote, he said. If there is a question about identification, voters will be able to vote a provisional ballot, and will have to provide a ballot ID within two weeks to the Kansas GOP, he added. Registration as a Republican was required by Feb. 4.
At the GOP caucus, there will be speakers from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. from representatives of the candidates, followed by voting.
The GOP caucus in Kansas is not like the Iowa caucus, but it is by paper ballot, he said. Voters will be able to walk in, cast a ballot, and walk out. The ballots are secret.
There are some names on the GOP ballot who have already dropped out of the race. Delegates will be selected based on the caucus results, and the Republican Party’s nominee will be selected at a convention in July, he added.
Ward said at this point, he would say Wyandotte County GOP voters’ top three candidates are probably Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz and Donald Trump.
“I have not heard anything that would lead me to a clear-cut winner there yet,” he added.
Rubio seems to have a lot of support in Johnson County, but it is difficult to tell with the rest of the state, he added. It could be an equal showing for the top three in Wyandotte County, he said.
Ward said he has seen more interest this year than in the past two caucuses.
Four years ago, between 300 and 400 voters cast a ballot in the Wyandotte County GOP caucus, out of 11,000 registered Republicans in the county, he added.
This year, he’s hoping for a better turnout, of 800 to 1,000 people, he added.
“We’ve been trying to get the word out, so we can get as many voters out as we can,” Ward said.
