Caucus learning experience starts here

If you haven't paid attention to Nevada's presidential caucus process and want to know how it will work, this column is for you.

Perhaps you already know who you will caucus for, where you need to go to caucus and how the Nevada caucuses will work. Perhaps you even know the difference between how Democrats and Republicans handle their caucuses.

But I doubt it.

Today I am writing for the last-minute types, the ones who may not grasp the intricacies that can turn an easy caucus experience into a chaotic one.

First, I must answer my hairdresser's question: Can he just go to his Republican caucus site Tuesday, vote and leave?

Yes, he can.

The GOP caucuses will start about 5 p.m. and close by 9 p.m. Republicans need to check their caucus sites for exact starting times. Republican voters can check a name on a paper ballot and skip the rest of the caucus, the speeches, and the selection of county convention delegates.

There's one caveat: Feb. 13 was the deadline to register as a Republican and be eligible to participate in the caucus. You're out of luck if you're not already a registered Republican.

The Democrats are looser in their operation. When Democratic caucus sites open at 11 a.m. Saturday, voters can register that day.

But Democrats can't just vote and run. They have to stay through the entire process, which is quite public. Voters stand with other voters who support the same candidate, and there's a head count. Everyone in the room can see which Democrat you favor in the first-in-the-West caucus.

The most memorable caucus I attended was in February 2012 at the Adelson Educational Campus in Summerlin. Dense Republican officials scheduled the caucus for the daytime on Saturday, which is the Sabbath for conservative and Orthodox Jews and Seventh-day Adventists. To accommodate them, a special caucus was held after sundown at the school.

It turned ugly when Ron Paul supporters tried to take over the single location with robocalls saying it was for anyone who missed the morning caucus. Paul supporters insisted on being admitted. They signed affidavits saying they couldn't attend the 9 a.m. caucus for religious reasons, and there was no way to prove they were lying. When the 318 votes were counted, Paul won 183, Mitt Romney won 61 and the rest were split between other Republican candidates.

I was horrified by the coded anti-Semitic slurs Paul supporters used a few times, calling one woman who supported Romney "the Goldman Sachs representative" and referring to "New York lawyers." People in the crowd recognized these terms as attacks on Jews.

This year Republicans avoided that controversy by scheduling the caucus for a Tuesday evening. Democrats stuck with a Saturday daytime caucus, more concerned with capturing working folks than religious groups. Coincidentally, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, one of the leading Democratic candidates for president, is Jewish.

If you need information on the caucuses, here are some points of contact:

If you use the Internet, Google "How to caucus in Nevada" and plenty of sources pop up for both parties and individual candidates.

Nevada Democrats are advertising this toll-free number: 888-525-8683. Their website is http://nvdems.com/caucus.

Nevada Republicans offer this telephone contact: 702-586-2000. Their website is www.nevadagopcaucus.org.

Both parties will allow participation by juveniles who are not yet 18 but will turn 18 by Nov. 8. It would be a good civics lesson for parents to take their not-quite-18-year-olds to see what it's all about.

Is this controlled chaos, or even uncontrolled chaos? Are the speakers on behalf of candidates compelling or a touch crazy, doing their candidates more harm than good?

The caucuses remain widely misunderstood. I asked two Democrats in October 2007 whether they would caucus the next January. The Democrats, both somewhat savvy, said the same thing: "I'll go if I'm invited."

We've progressed since then. They know anyone can go to their party's caucus. But will they?

Jane Ann Morrison's column runs Thursdays. Leave messages for her at 702-383-0275 or email jmorrison@reviewjournal.com. Find her on Twitter: @janeannmorrison

CORRECTION: Jane Ann Morrison's Thursday column incorrectly reported that people who register to vote at Saturday's Democratic presidential caucus sites must present government-issued identification. People who register to vote Saturday must sign an affidavit.