GOP Caucus Complaints Emerge / Northern Nevada, Reno, Lake Tahoe, News Now, Live Streaming Darren Mack Trial

KOLO First Alert Weather
Current Conditions
7-Day Forecast

	Nevada State Fair
	KOLO-8 Fan Club
	Veterinarians, a Pet's Best Friend
	Go Green Guide
	Wildland Fire Tips
	Reno Cowboy Poetry

	The Road Ahead with RTC
	Entertainment
	John Tyson's Journal
	Find the lowest gas prices around town!
	Medical Minutes
	It's Not Just Politics
	Great local and international recipes right here!
	Looking for a great place to eat? Check out the Featured Restaurants or search by cuisine!
	Click Here to get in the Zone.

The Children's File is available for public viewing at the KOLO-8 studios during regular business hours

GOP Caucus Complaints Emerge

Save

Posted: 10:51 AM Jan 19, 2008
Last Updated: 11:46 AM Jan 19, 2008
Reporter: Scott Howard

19 comments

A | A | A

The KOLO 8 newsroom has received several complaints from registered Republican voters this morning about today's caucus. While some locations have reported relatively organized conditions, several participants at other locations have reported highly chaotic conditions.

In addition to bumper to bumper traffic getting to some of the Reno caucus locations, some participants said they walked out because of over crowding and no direction by organizers at the sight. Dianna Kenney of Reno said she wanted to caucus for Sen. John McCain.

"I ended up tearing up my invitation, throwing it on the ground and stomping on it in front of one of the people with the caucus," Kenney said.

One election observer with the League of Women Voters said she saw organizers at a Carson City location call off the registration process after about 1,000 participants arrived. Her account has not been confirmed, but Nancy Scott said they simply skipped the registration because it would have taken too long and went ahead with the caucus meeting, trusting the everyone was registered.

More Stories
Business leaders call for cheaper renewable energy in Nevada

Fire Investigators Say: Arson Is Cause of Blaze

College Presidents Seek Debate on Drinking Age

Reno-Sparks Housing Market on the Rebound?

Animal Control Capture Two Really Big Cats

Fire Victims Return Home

Cats on the Lam: Vegas Fugitives Turn Up in Washoe Valley

Report: Some Sentences Outside the Law

Comments are posted from viewers like you and do not always reflect the views of this station.

Posted by: Lorraine Location: Sparks on Jan 21, 2008 at 03:07 PM
I arrived at Reed High at 8:30. There were two lines from the front entrance to the rear of the school on both sides. It was obvious no one expected roughly 3,100 people to show up. I finally made it to my precinct at 9:15. We had trouble hearing the instructions because of the noise in the gym. No one spoke for two minutes about any of the candidates. We voted at 10:15 & by the time I got to my car at 10:20 FOX was calling Romney as the winner. It was so disorganized. Our chairperson had no clue what he was doing and the process was held when he had to constantly ask questions and because we could not hear him. Many people, including my were not able to vote. By the time they got to their precinct, the vote had already been taken. If we ever do this again I hope it is better prepared for.

Posted by: Michael Location: Reno on Jan 21, 2008 at 11:33 AM
I attended the caucus in Reno at Galena High School. I will never attend another caucus as long as I live. I feel as if my vote was not represented as it would have been in a primary. The process was chaotic and a waste of my time, while in a primary I could have marked my ballot in a few minutes and gone home satisfied that I had done my civic duty. As a lifelong voter, I feel cheated. Bring back the primary!

Posted by: HARRY Location: SILVER SPRINGS on Jan 21, 2008 at 07:57 AM
THE FIRST TIME CAUCUS WAS NOT PERFECT. BUT DID GIVE A CHANCE FOR ME TO HEAR WHAT MY NEIGHBORS THOUGHT ABOUT THE CANDIDATES. THIS SYSTEM WOULD OBVIOUSLY IMPROVE WITH USE.

Posted by: curtis Location: silver springs on Jan 20, 2008 at 02:47 PM
It is agreed that a caucus is way cheaper than a primary. But the education of the participants was lacking. Many of the people at mycaucus location were really unaware what a caucus was. Either the governor or chief election official has to make the caucus process understandable by as many of the participants as possible. Lacking education about caucuses and the process that was involved and the inexperience of the officials led to a comedy of errors. During the counts many people were counted 2-3 times and then had 3 different numbers on the recounts. Separate the precincts better than having 4 precincts in one room, too much confusion and no one could hear any announcements.

Posted by: Chuck Location: Bishop, Ca on Jan 20, 2008 at 10:39 AM
Hopefully we will never have a Caucus in California.

Posted by: Patrick Schlosser Location: Reno on Jan 20, 2008 at 06:20 AM
I don't agree with the caucus system. I vote in all elections but I would not go to the "rats nest" caucuses because I knew they were going to be a hassle, I hate crowds and they were going to be time consuming. Let me vote(in and out) and I would love to participate.

Posted by: Larry Location: Sparks on Jan 19, 2008 at 09:57 PM
The Primary election process is much better. The locations of the caucus were not large enough for the number of people that atteneded or wanted to attend but didn't due to the overcrowding.

Posted by: Richard Location: Douglas County on Jan 19, 2008 at 09:28 PM
To Todd from Dayton: I would gladly stand in line for a day to make sure the process was done fairly. What a joke this caucus was, you have no idea how many times one person voted, they did not ask for id when handing out ballots, i could have gone to every precint and got a ballot and voted, what a joke. We need to go back to a primary where things are run a little bit more organized, but then we all know that big goverment is not allways run on the up and up.

Posted by: Richard Location: Douglas county on Jan 19, 2008 at 09:21 PM
Todd from Dayton, i would stand in line for a day to make sure the vote was done right, what a joke this caucus was, you have no idea how many people voted more then once, they did not ask for i.d. when they gave out the ballots, you could have someone going up there wqay more then once to get ballots. We need to go make to a primary vote were ii is more organized.

Posted by: McKeel Location: Carson City on Jan 19, 2008 at 08:41 PM
The Caucus at Eagle Valley School was anything but a caucus. It was a comedy of errors. Some did not get to vote. They kept changing the rules and telling no one. They use the excuse that "Well we didn't expect this many people. That is no excuse to not run the Caucus right. You can't just change thr rules of a caucas to suit yourself. And I see you have Clinton as winner. That just goes to show what a mess things were. If you bare going to have these things you need to have people there that know what they are doing. There was no one there. And like I said the way it was handled was Comic. Iv'e never seen such a mess.

Posted by: Elaine Location: Fallon on Jan 19, 2008 at 07:59 PM
I went to the democratic caucus with my mother, grandmother and elderly friend. The lines were very long. I could not subject my 90 yr old grandmother & elderly friend to standing in very, very long lines in the cold. Upon my return groups were caucusing outside and the buildings at the fairgrounds were full to overflowing. Obviously Fallon was not prepaired for the large crowds and this caucus became 'The Survival of the Fittest'.

Posted by: Jim Location: Reno on Jan 19, 2008 at 07:34 PM
Sorry Todd, the GOP Caucus was total chaos and a fiasco. The process that I observed today was completely contary to the democratic procedures that we expect to be followed. The 3 designated locations in Reno were not properly prepared to handle the number of registered voters who attended, nor the precinct Captains and Recorders trained in caucus procedures. After voting, volunteer delegates were requested to come forward, and then approved to attend the County Caucus without regard to their affiliation to any candidate or ability to support a particular candidate based upon the vote of the individuals attending their precinct caucus. The Nevada Republician Party officials, appointees, and volunteers from the Chairwoman on down failed in their duties to conduct any type of a fair and unbiased electorial process.

Posted by: Lauren Slovic Location: Reno on Jan 19, 2008 at 07:16 PM
Very unfair process. Myself and other Edwards supporters weren't even allowed to speak, we were told we didn't have a big enough presence and were not given a chance to state our platform, told to move to another group right away and our votes were not even considered. With this process how is it ever going to appear that Edwards was even represented at all? Two precincts met in one tiny location, one precinct had to stand outside for their caucus. Half of their group stayed inside, not wanting to go out in the cold. How does that allow for equal participation? It did not appear that with this process there are and balances in place to make sure outcomes were not changed once people left the caucus site. Also having the caucus for a limited time frame and on a Saturday morning did not necessarily allow for anyone who wanted to participate to do so (work schedules, child care issues, etc.) unless they could devote a couple hours in a slim time frame to be present.

Posted by: Kevin Location: Carson City on Jan 19, 2008 at 07:04 PM
The Repub party was not well prepared for this caucus (locations, horrid, communication, even supplies lacked). The primary worked fine for me the past 37 years. Real nice, not!!

Posted by: Pat Location: Spanish Springs on Jan 19, 2008 at 05:36 PM
The GOP should have had volunteers with the precinct numbers readily availabe to tell people where their precinct was meeting. There should have been more locations as well. Unfortunately, both the GOP underestimated how many people would show for the caucuses. They should have planned for every registered voter attending.I did have to sign in at Reed HS and my chairperson made sure that no one voted more than once.

Posted by: liz Location: reno on Jan 19, 2008 at 04:52 PM
too many issues to list. watch local reno channel CNCAT wed. night at 8pm for a 1 hour story on what went wrong and needs corrected at the GOP caucus.

Posted by: kevin Location: elko county on Jan 19, 2008 at 03:41 PM
This is exactly what happened in Spring Creek as well, total chaos, they did not ask me for my id or anything!!!!! romney could have packed our precint with people who aren't even residents!!! this is an injustice!!!

Posted by: Todd Location: Dayton on Jan 19, 2008 at 03:26 PM
No one ever said democracy would, or should, be easy. Stop crying, lady. Voting in the US is streamlined compared to most other countries. Most citizens of the world wait in line for an entire day, or longer, to cast their ballots, and they are THANKFUL for the line. Thankful they have the opportunity to vote at all. Miss Kenney, you should be thankful YOU had the chance to make a difference, but apparently convenience is more pressing than democracy for you.

Posted by: Ron Location: Fallon on Jan 19, 2008 at 02:38 PM
What a unorganized fiasco. The deck was stacked for Romney. there was no accounting for your vote and they ran out of ballots so people were leaving with out a vote.

	Double Dollar Deals Buy Two $25 Certificates for Only $25!
	Northern Nevada Jobs Find great local jobs here!
	Stay-Cations Find a Stay-Cation close to home!
	Nevada Best Deals Biggest selection of New and used cars Online!
	HDTV Information Everything you need to know about the Digital TV Transition.

Coming Soon: Northern Nevada Medical Center Weather Cam

Would lowering the drinking age to 18 help curb binge drinking in college?

	Yes
	No


Share Your Thoughts With Us!

The "C" Word - 1 Comments Posted

Don't worry, I'm not talking about that "C" word...I'm talking about cancer. (Read Blog)

Wolf Pack Football presented with big opportunity - 1 Comments Posted

The WAC has given the college football world a BCS buster two years in a row. First Boise, then Hawaii. Now Nevada has been given the opportunity to make it three years in a row. (Read Blog)

What a Wonderful Getaway - Post Your Comments!

You know, every once in awhile you just need to get away. Even for one day. When I want out of the daily grind I try and bail to the great outdoors. (Read Blog)

Our Coverage Sometimes Causes Discomfort for the Innocent - Post Your Comments!

"Can I be on TV?" I wish a had a dime for every time I've heard that question while reporting in the field. The source is usually young, an adolescent, and my response is usually "Believe me, you don't want to be on TV." (Read Blog)

Update on Reno's Dancing With the Stars - 2 Comments Posted

Help raise money for Multiple Sclerosis awareness and prevention... and help Sarah win the contest! (Read Blog)

More Blogs >>>