A Missouri has primary elections AND -sort of- caucuses too. The purpose of primaries is to determine which candidates within each political party Missouri will support during the parties' national conventions...who will run against whom for President in 2008. The purpose of post-primary caucuses is to choose some of the Missourians who will attend the great, big, exciting national political party conventions as part of their respective parties' Missouri's delegation there.
A You must register to vote by Wednesday, January 9 2008 if you want to cast a vote in the 2008 Presidential Preference Primary on Tuesday February 5. This February 5 primary election is what decides which Presidential candidates Missouri's political parties will support at each party's national convention. And it's only for President - the primary election for other candidates, such as those running for Congress, is in August.
A If you'd like to actually attend your party's national convention as a delegate, or help someone else do so, you can go to a series of caucuses and mix with the Big Party Animals. Unlike in Iowa, Missouri's caucuses don't determine which candidates Missouri will cast its votes for...just which individual people will go cast those votes at the parties' national conventions. No matter which Missouri citizens go to the convention, their vote is pre-determined by the result of the primary election.
A Yes and no. All parties have a primary election first, and use the results of the primary to assign delegates to candidates. The leadership of both major parties also select "superdelegates" outside of this caucus process. However, the details differ by party. For instance, all delegates going to the Republican convention will go representing the winner of the primary election, whereas delegates to the Democratic convention will be divided among candidates who got 15% or more of the Democratic primary vote. The Libertarian Party in Missouri is small enough to choose its delegates more informally. Libertarians who wish to be a part of their party's delegation should contact the party secretary at secretary@lpmo.org.
A No! You do not! You just register to vote, period. In Missouri, there is pretty much no such thing as being "a registered" Republican, Libertarian or Democrat.
A When you walk into the polling place, you show your voter ID card and photo ID, the poll workers have you sign next to your name their list, and ask you which party's ballot you want. This year, not only Democrats and Republicans have candidates to choose from, but so do Libertarians. Everyone's got choices! You can only choose one party's ballot for any given election. This does NOT commit you to choosing the same party next time there's an election. However, the parties often send "poll watchers" to polling places to write down names of people who pick their party's ballot, so they can deluge you with political messages later on.
A Quite a few! In the order they'll appear on the ballot: Ron Paul, Fred Thompson, Mitt Romney, Rudy Giuliani, John McCain, Mike Huckabee, Virgil L. R. Wiles (no Web site), Tom Tancredo, Duncan Hunter, Hugh Cort, Alan Keyes and Daniel Gilbert. The links are to each candidate's campaign Web site.
A Quite a few! In the order they'll appear on the ballot: Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, John Edwards, Ralph Spelbring, Dennis J. Kucinich, Bill Richardson, Joe Biden, Chistopher J. Dodd, Mike Gravel. The links are to each candidate's campaign Web site.
A Quite a few! In the order they'll appear on the ballot: Wayne A. Root, Daniel Imperato, George Phillies, Michael P. Jingozian, Steve Kubby and Dave Hollist. The links are to each candidate's campaign Web site.
A Your party won't have a primary ballot if it couldn't either gather sufficient petition signatures to get the party on the general election ballot, or win a certain percentage of the last election's votes to stay there. Missouri's a tough state for small political parties, though there are tougher ones. Wikipedia has a pretty good list of ballot access laws by state.
A Because it's too late to get off the ballot. You can still vote for candidates who have stopped running, to register your opinion, but be aware that just because a candidate is on the Missouri ballot does not mean they'll still be running for President on February 5. As of this writing (January 16, 2008), Democrats Dodd and Richardson had stopped running.
A No, once you're registered in Boone County, you need not re-register. But if you change addresses or change your name, you have to update your information with the County Clerk. If it's just a move within Boone County, it's just an easy online form at the County Clerk Web site.
A Yes, but it's a lot easier to register in Boone County, and to vote here. Our County Clerk is great, our county dedicates money to ensure well-run elections, our voting machines actually work, and any time you change your address within the county, after you register the first time, it's just an easy online form to update your address. The easier it is for you to vote, the more likely it is you will actually get around to it.
But if you really want to vote absentee, look at the next couple questions and apply them to your "home" district. And contact your "home" election official (often the county clerk) ASAP.
A You go to the County Clerk Web site and find the link for requesting an absentee ballot. You'll fill out an online form, but you must PRINT it out, SIGN it, and MAIL it (you know, with a STAMP!) to the County Clerk, and it needs to arrive there by the Wednesday before the election. The County Clerk will then mail you your ballot by Certified Mail, but then you still have to mail it back there in time for the election. AND you have to vote that ballot in the presence of a Notary, too. It is a pain and takes a lot of planning. Only choose this method if you're going to be out of town all the way from now through election day or if you are new to Boone County but didn't change your registration.
A Yes! You'll have to go to the County Clerk's office at 801 E. Walnut St. (map) in person between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday-Friday, but then you can vote right there on the spot, before you leave town.
A You can still vote. A bipartisan team will deliver your ballot to your house if you call the Elections Office at (573) 886-4375.
A According to the County Clerk's Web site, if you are in the military, you do not have to apply for each election. You will be sent a ballot for all elections for a four year period. Please be sure to keep your address updated if you have a transfer.
A The easiest way is to contact your political party, since they all work a little differently. The Democrats have an online How To Be a Delegate guide to the process, which for Boone County starts at the end of February 2008. Republicans have published the call to the state convention in Branson at the end of May, and the Missouri Libertarians have announced their state convention in Kansas City in April. Libertarians wishing to become a part of Missouri's delegation to the national Libertarian convention should contact the party secretary at secretary@lpmo.org.
A Until 1988, Missouri's system for selecting Presidential candidates was more like Iowa's - no Presidential primary election at all, and all the parties' decisions about their candidates were made at the caucuses, by people who cared enough about politics to go through the caucus process. You went into your local caucus supporting one candidate, but if that candidate seemed to be losing, other candidates' people would court you and try to get you to change to their candidate. But in 2000, 2004 and now in 2008, Missouri has held a primary election followed by a caucus.