How to participate in Missouri’s presidential caucuses
EDITOR'S NOTE: Missouri's Republican Party also held caucuses in 2012.
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Instead of heading to the polls this winter, Missouri voters will head to caucuses to decide who their party should support for president.
Monday is the first-in-the-nation Iowa caucus, and Republican presidential candidates are campaigning in the freezing snow to earn votes.
This year Missouri voters will also decide their presidential preference by caucus. The state amended the laws in 2022 in a move that's expected to save millions of dollars.
Each party is doing things a little differently. To participate, voters must be affiliated with the party of their choosing. Voters can choose their party affiliation online at SOS.mo.gov.
"People need to know that if they want to participate in choosing the nominee for president, they need to reach out to their local county political party," said Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft.
Republican Party caucuses
A Republican caucus will be held on March 2 in every Missouri county. Any registered voter with a Republican affiliation or who is unaffiliated can participate in the caucus in the county where they're registered.
In Boone County, the caucus is happening at the Family Worship Center at 4925 E. Bonne Femme Church Road in Columbia. Doors open at 9 a.m. and the caucusing begins at 10 a.m. The Cole County Republican Caucus will be at the Missouri Farm Bureau Office at 701 S. Country Club Drive in Jefferson City.
"They'll debate each other. They'll try to persuade each other. They will make a determination about who they want those county delegates to be for either all, for one or a combination of candidates," Ashcroft said. "That's how the people in Missouri get to participate."
A full list of caucus locations can be found on the Missouri Republican Party's website.
Democratic Party mail-in votes
Instead of in-person meetings, Missouri Democrats will have a mail-in vote to choose a presidential candidate.
The Democratic party plans to send all affiliated Democrats a mail-in ballot. These can also be requested through your county party or the Missouri Democratic party's website starting Feb. 12. Ballots must be mailed in by March 23.
The Boone County Democratic party said in-person voting will be held March 23, but the location is not yet determined.
Lyra Noce with the Boone County Democratic party said the changes to the primary were a Republican decision passed along party lines. Noce said her main concern is getting the word out on how people can participate.
"We have not had an election like this in in my lifetime," Noce said. "I have not participated in a caucus or a party-run presidential preference as the Democrats are doing. So this change is quite drastic."
Democrats are expected to choose incumbent President Joe Biden as their party's nominee.
Libertarian Party statewide conference
The Missouri Libertarian party is hosting its caucus at its statewide conference on Feb. 24. The conference is at Holiday Inn Earth City and registration is open now on the party's website.
This is not a change from how the Libertarian party usually participates in primaries, said Randy Langkreahr with the Missouri Libertarian Party.
"There's always been the presidential primary, but that's never had any binding effect on us," Langkreahr said. "We've always picked our presidential candidate as a national party at convention."
At the statewide conference, the party will pick delegates to go to the national party in Washington, D.C., on Memorial Day weekend to vote for a presidential candidate. Langkreahr said the party usually has an excess of spots available for the national party, and encourages people to sign up.
