This 2024 election year, for the first time ever, Nevada will hold both GOP caucuses and a GOP primary election. The US Constitution gives each state the power to conduct their own primary elections, whatever method that may be. Nevada has historically been one of the few states to hold caucuses for their presidential candidate nomination contests, but following the national shift away from caucuses after 2020 because of Covid, there has been a lot of opposition towards the caucuses. Critics emphasize the unfairness and inefficiency of caucus meetings, arguing that they only represent a small proportion of the population (often the citizens who live the closest) and are thus undemocratic because of the low voter turnout. Taking the widespread criticism for caucuses in stride, in 2021, Nevada legislature enacted a law stating that “a primary, preceded by 10 days of early voting, be held on the first Tuesday in February” (Vox).
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Even so, many politicians believed that removing caucuses would be disadvantageous, as Nevada would miss out on the media attention and publicity that caucuses consistently gather each year. “We want to make clear that we stand together in protecting the presidential nominating schedule as it has existed for many years,” a group of pro-caucus GOP lawmakers said after the law was put in place (Miami Herald).
There is a lot of politics behind what happened next, but to quickly summarize, the Nevada Republican party invalidated the results of the primary election, scheduled a state caucus, and barred candidates who participated in the state’s primary from receiving delegates in the caucus. In other words, the only thing that will count in the coming election are the results of the caucus. If it seems unfair, it’s because it is. Trump will be a candidate in the caucus, scheduled for February 8, while Nikki Haley’s name will be on the Nevada primary ballot, of which the last day to vote is February 6. It remains unclear why Haley chose not to be a candidate in the caucus.
Photo from the Associated Press
So what’s the political significance of this mess? The biggest thing I have to say is that the double-election is disrupting the democratic process. As a journalist from Vox said, “Trump has effectively scooped up all of Nevada’s delegates before a single voter has even cast a ballot or entered a caucus site” (Vox). Plain and simple, it undermines a crucial aspect of American culture—our democracy, the ability we have to voice our opinions and VOTE for who we think will run our country the best. On top of that, this new system is bound to confuse voters, if it hasn’t already. The average citizen likely knows very little about the voting process in the first place, and this only blurs the procedure even more. Who knows what will happen when too many voters get confused about who is running in the primaries because they are not educated on how the election will work this year? The votes could be massively skewed.
Furthermore, it is important to note that Trump’s expected caucus win in Nevada won’t tell us anything about his actual political dominance (at least compared to prior caucuses in Iowa and New Hampshire). I think it’s reasonable to say that Nevada's results will be quite diluted because of the double-election. Because Trump’s only opposition comes from very small, relatively low-profile candidates, he will secure the victory quite easily, but the distribution of votes would be very different than, say, if Nikki Haley were a candidate. In other words, we don’t know the full extent of Trump’s fan base, which clouds our view of his true campaign support, something that could prove to be disadvantageous as the election progresses.
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2 comments:
I agree that this situation will definitely confuse some, if not most, voters in Nevada. Overall, it's a bad look for democracy to have both a primary and caucus to take place while only counting the results of one.
I totally agree that the caucus invalidates the results of the primary, and that continuing with a caucus is unfair, confusing, and ridiculous. This caucus is a complete undercut to democratic process, giving states too much power to distort/ obstruct people's votes. It appears trump has a chokehold on most of Nevada; this caucus exhibits the American political trend of blind following "idol" figures, as Trump seems to enact a godlike conviction from his supporters. The GOP party acts like such sore losers, ever since Trump lost the 2020 election, they rioted January 6th, and now their powerful frustration has manifested in the form of Nevada cheating primaries to advance his campaign. Furthermore, I'm sure many who attend the caucus will be pro Trump, because after all, pro Trump politicians and people supported the caucus comeback in the first place. This caucus is also very unfair and confusing for the citizens who already voted, as they may think their vote in the primary actually had value, and may disregard the caucus process. This caucus resurrection is embarrassing for Nevada and demonstrates Trump supporters undying hysteria and desperation.
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