Gasconade County Democratic Party Chair Jamie Mercer said on Feb. 5 that it will host its presidential preference process from 8 a.m. to noon on March 23 in Owensville’s Scenic Regional Library meeting room.

“The Presidential Preference Primary is March 23 from 8 to noon in the Owensville Library meeting room,” Mercer said. “It will be a hybrid of in-person and mail-in.”

Mercer explained that the change from the Presidential Primary to the caucus happened during the fall 2023 legislative session.

“With the way everything went, the county is responsible for holding its own primaries,” she said. “The counties themselves should find a location and time, place, etc.”

Mercer worries that voters will go to their normal polling stations when it is time for the presidential selection process because they aren’t informed about the change or the process.

“I think it will disenfranchise a bunch of voters who will be mad because they will go to their normal polling places,” she explained.

Mercer encourages voters to spread the word about the changes, including the date and time to vote and where to apply for mail-in ballots which became available upon request on Feb. 1 via the Missouri Democratic Party by phone at 855-433-8683 or the website at http://request.mrgovote.com/missouri. Distribution of mail-in ballots is set to begin on Feb. 17 across Missouri. March 12 is the last day a proxy ballot may be requested.

Mercer said she believes ballots are due back to the parties on March 23 — the same day voting will take place. Ballots will be counted by a machine, similar to the state-ran primary.

“The democratic party at the state level has a third party vendor doing the data stuff, ballots, etc, doing stuff that day,” Mercer said. “We are not counting the ballots ourselves, just finding a place to host it. The equipment, Wifi, everything we need to make sure people have the ability to vote the normal way.”

Mercer added that checks and balances to ensure voters are registered and from the district will also be in place.

“We are locally planning so that we will have our own election judges,” she added. “We are promoting and encouraging people to mail-in ballots because it is a great big county and with one voting location, it makes it hard. This way people can at least have their voices heard.”

On the day of the Presidential Preference Caucus Primary, Democratic voters in Gasconade County will enter Scenic Regional Library and provide proof of residency.

“They will come in, show IDs, all normal stuff, get a ballot, go to their booth, and then submit the ballot,” Mercer said. “The ballots will be filled out with a pen and fed into the machine just like regular elections. There will be a process to tally and make sure the amount of people who came through and voted matches the ballots. Then the supervising judges drive the ballots to a central location.”

Mercer said the districts are still waiting to hear where the centralized location to drop off ballots will be. The Missouri Democratic Party will inform the districts when the information becomes available.

“I don’t know where that location is yet,” Mercer said. “It is similar to a regular election. Since the Democrats have the incumbents it should be easy. For the Republicans, there will be more decision-making.”

An estimated 2,100 voters in Gasconade County cast ballots during the 2016 presidential primary. Mercer expects about 30 percent of that number were Democratic voters. She hopes the turnout for the party-run caucus primary will have a decent turnout, especially since mail-in ballots are an option. However, Mercer worries the state legislature’s actions will dissuade people from voting or cause people to miss the vote.

“We have been focusing on getting the ways to vote out there — that is super important because voter turnout is big,” Mercer said. “Getting registered to vote and understanding their vote matters. We want people to vote and don’t want to restrict people from voting, but that is what this (caucus) is.”

The Missouri Democratic Party announced on Jan. 23 that the presidential candidates’ filing period closed on Jan. 22 and the following names will appear on the ballot:

• Joseph R. Biden, Jr.

• Dean Phillips

• Stephen P. Lyons

• Armando Perez-Serrato

• Marianne Williamson

• Jason Michael Palmer

• Uncommitted (which automatically appears on ballots as write-ins are not allowed).

An abortion initiative will be present for people of all political affiliations who want to sign.

Voters may look to March 25 for primary results to be released.

The party-run Presidential Pref-erence Primary Caucus is replacing the state-run Presidential Preference Primary. Voters who participate will meet in one centralized location within the county. Missouri has a total of 71 delegates and five alternates that will be assigned to candidates.

The March 23 vote is the first step in the delegate selection process. All Missouri voters are eligible to participate in the process, but to be a delegate, they must register as a Democratic voter in Missouri.

Potential party delegates must declare their candidacy by April 11 by filing a statement of candidacy along with a pledge of support. Ward, township, legislative district, and county mass meetings will take place on April 18 across the state.

Filing ends for district-level delegates on April 25 to file for Congressional District Conventions. Selection of district delegates, alternate candidates and respective presidential candidates will be announced on May 2 and on May 6 presidential candidates will be given a list of approved delegates and alternates to send to the state party.

On May 9, district-level delegates are selected at the Congressional District Conventions.

An overview and schedule for the 2024 Missouri Democratic Party Presidential Caucus is available on its website.

The Missouri Democratic Party estimates this selection process to be between $250,000 to $450,000 for outreach, voter education, and delegate process and about $174,000 estimated for election administration of which the Missouri Democratic Party is responsible.

Open house style meetings are scheduled to inform the voters about the changes from primary to caucus and educate them on the process. Meetings will be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Feb. 10 and Feb. 24 at Hermann Scenic Regional Library and from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Feb. 17 at Owensville’s Scenic Regional Library.

“We just want to be available to answer questions since it is new and different,” Mercer said.

Anyone with questions regarding the Democratic Preference Primary Caucus should contact Mercer at gasconadedems@gmail.com.

The Gasconade County Republican Party is scheduled to hold a traditional-style caucus on March 2 at Charlotte Church. Doors open at 8 a.m. and close at 10 a.m. when the caucus begins. No one will be allowed in or out during the caucusing process. Information regarding the Republican Party Caucus was printed in the Jan. 17 edition of The Republican.