Kentucky’s GOP caucus: What you need to know
Kentucky Republicans will hold their first presidential caucus Saturday, and that vote is drawing a string of top GOP contenders to campaign in the state this week. Here’s what you need to know about how the caucus will work, how to vote and much more. Answers are provided by state GOP executive director Mike Biagi and the state party’s website.
Q: What’s the purpose of the caucus?
A: To allow the 1.3 million Republicans in the state to cast their votes for Republican candidates for president. Party leaders say the caucus will give Kentucky Republicans more influence on the presidential race at a time when candidates are still competing to win more states and delegates to secure the presidential nomination.
Q: When will the caucus be held?
A: Voting hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. local time Saturday. Republican voters may go to their assigned caucus locations any time during those six hours to vote.
Q: How will the voting work?
A: The voting process will be similar to a typical Kentucky election. Voters will show identification, sign in and vote by secret ballot. However, the voting locations are different.
Every voter has been assigned to one caucus location. A voter has to vote at the assigned location.
Most counties have a single caucus location, while some of the most populous counties have multiple locations; Fayette County will have four. Republican voters may determine their assigned caucus location by going to the state Republican Party website at Rpk.org or by calling the state party hotline at 502-607-8970.
Q: What if my county party does not hold a caucus in my county?
A: A total of 111 of the state’s 120 county parties have chosen to hold caucuses within their counties. If you are registered to vote in one of the nine remaining counties without a caucus location, then you will be part of a regional caucus in a nearby county.
Q: What counties will not be holding a caucus?
A: Carlisle, Knott, Trimble, Estill, Owsley, Harlan, Livingston, Morgan and Elliott.
Republicans in those counties have been assigned voting locations in a nearby county to participate in the caucus.
Q: Who is allowed to vote?
A: Kentucky voters who were registered as Republicans by Dec. 31, 2015, are eligible to vote in the caucus.
Q: Who will be on the ballot?
A: The following candidates have paid their $15,000 filing fee for the Kentucky caucus, though six already have dropped out of the race. The 11 on the ballot are Jeb Bush, Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, Ben Carson, Marco Rubio, Rand Paul, John Kasich, Chris Christie, Carly Fiorina, Rick Santorum and Mike Huckabee.
There also will be a place to vote for “uncommitted.”
Every ballot will be counted.
All 11 candidates who filed to participate in the caucus will remain on the ballot. However, signs will be posted at caucus locations to inform voters about which candidates have dropped out of the race.
Q: Why did the Kentucky Republican Party go to a caucus instead of a primary election?
A: To allow Republican U.S. Sen. Rand Paul of Bowling Green to run for the presidency while remaining as a candidate for re-election to the Senate.
Paul dropped out of the presidential race in early February.
Q: What will a county caucus location look like?
A: Voters will arrive any time between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. to a central caucus location, for example, the county high school gymnasium. Inside they will see other Republicans visiting tables for each of the presidential candidates who have elected to participate in the Kentucky Caucus.
There might be a representative for each candidate who can answer questions. Voters also might be given information from the local county party or groups such as the Republican Women’s Club, or College Republican organization.
When voters are ready to cast their votes by secret ballot, they will move to the balloting area. At this point, the caucus will be more like a typical election. Voters will present identification to a trained caucus official, who will look them up on the voter roster. Voters will sign in, just as they would during a typical election, and will be handed a ballot. After marking a selection, they will insert their ballot into a ballot box.
Q: Who is eligible to vote by absentee ballot?
A: Feb. 19 was the last day the Republican Party of Kentucky accepted absentee applications.
Once an absentee ballot was mailed to a voter, that voter became ineligible to vote in person at any caucus location.
Completed absentee ballots have to received at the state party headquarters by 5 p.m EST Friday.
The party got about 6,000 applications for absentee ballots, said executive director Mike Biagi. There will be no write-ins.
Q: Who will count Saturday’s votes?
A: All ballots will be counted at the voting site. A trained team of volunteers will count the votes. Some will be electronic ballots. Some will be handwritten.
The results will be forwarded to state party headquarters, where the final results will be tabulated.
Q: When will the results be made public?
A: Party rules say no results may be released before 7 p.m. EST Saturday.
They will be released on the party’s website and to the Associated Press.
Q: How are Kentucky’s Republican presidential convention delegates allocated?
A: Kentucky’s Republican delegates will be allocated proportionately among the delegates as described in the state party rules. Each candidate who receives at least 5 percent of the total votes cast at the caucus shall be awarded a portion of the authorized delegate vote for the Kentucky Republican Party at the Republican National Convention.
Q: Will there still be a primary election in May?
A: Saturday’s caucus replaces the usual Republican presidential primary in May, so the caucus is the only opportunity for Kentucky Republicans to vote in the race for the Republican presidential nomination.
However, primary elections for local, state and congressional races still will occur May 17.
That election also will include the presidential primary for Kentucky Democrats.
Q: How will the state GOP determine whether the caucus is a success?
A: Biagi said it’s already a success because it allowed Paul to run for president and has brought Republican presidential candidates to the state this week.
Jack Brammer: (502) 227-1198, @BGPolitics
This story was originally published February 29, 2016 at 5:20 PM with the headline "Kentucky’s GOP caucus: What you need to know."