Minnesota’s major political parties will hold their precinct caucuses on Tuesday, Feb. 27. At schools and community centers across the state, neighbors who identify as belonging to a party will gather to talk about issues, elect local party officers and select delegates to party conventions.
They’re the first in a series of meetings, run by political parties, where parties can endorse and select candidates and set party platforms, according to the Minnesota Secretary of State.
Never been to one? Here’s what you need to know.
Who can participate?
DFL: Participants should consider themselves a member of the party and be at least 16 years old, according to the Minnesota DFL Party’s website. Immigrants who are not U.S. citizens and others who are not eligible to vote can also participate in DFL caucuses, after the party said limiting participation in precinct caucuses to eligible voters violated First Amendment rights.
GOP: Participants must be Republicans eligible to vote in the next general election and live in that precinct, state Republican Party Executive Director Anna Mathews said.
Legal Marijuana Now: Participants have to be Minnesota residents, 18 years old, and eligible to vote by Nov. 5, said the party’s Dennis Schuller. Minors, noncitizens, incarcerated felons and out-of-state residents may only observe.
One big change from 2022? People who have been convicted of felonies and are no longer incarcerated can participate in all party caucuses. DFL caucuses have been open to people with felony convictions since 2022.
Last year’s law restoring voting rights to people with felony convictions means they now fall into the “eligible to vote in the next general election” rubric for participating in a GOP caucus, Mathews said.
