The doors to the Minnetonka High School are expected to open promptly after 6:00PM Central time.

The SD45 Republicans are working to schedule speakers including candidates and seated officials to address caucus goers, in addition to a general social space for like-minded neighbors to meet up, ask questions, and generally prepare to get the most out of their caucus participation and the Republican Party itself.

Due to the timing for Precinct Caucuses required by Minnesota law, you can expect to be aggressively encouraged to proceed to your Precinct Caucus room starting at 6:45 PM Central time.

The Convener of your Precinct Caucus has been trained to bring your Precinct Caucus to order promptly at 7:00 PM Central time.

Please try to be in your Precinct Caucus room sufficiently in advance to complete the attendee registration sheet before the caucus is convened.

"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

Visit www.ushistory.org for a convenient summary or the history of the Pledge of Allegiance and it's meaning.

The Convener will introduce or seek a temporary Caucus Secretary. Ideally, each convener will have selected a Caucus Secretary in advance, but if not, your are highly encouraged to help them out.  It can be a real challenge to BOTH run the Caucus and record key information that must be submitted to the BPOU, including who has been elected to delegate/alternate and Precinct Officer positions. 

It is generally expected (and encouraged) for the temporary Caucus Secretary to be elected to serve as the permanent Caucus Secretary.

Each Minnesota Precinct Caucus must be conducted in the manner provided in Minn. Stat. §§ 202A.14 to 202A.19.

It is our expectation that every Precinct within Senate District 45 will hold its Caucus in an open, friendly, and legal manner so that the opportunity to express a point of view is available to everyone.

Requirements

To be eligible to participate in a Republican Precinct Caucus, you must meet the qualifications as outlined in the Bylaws of the Republican Party of Minnesota, namely:

1. Only those individuals who are or will be eligible to vote at the time of the next state general election (November 5, 2024) may vote, or be elected a delegate, alternate, or officer.
2. An individual may vote or be elected delegate, alternate, or an officer only in the precinct where such person resides at the time of the caucus.
3. A person must be in agreement with the principles of the Republican Party of Minnesota as stated in its Constitution and Bylaws.
4. A person must have either vote or affiliated with the Republican Party in the last state general election, or intend to vote or affiliate with the Party in the next state general election.
5. A person may only participate in a single party's caucus in a given year.

In case the right of a person to participate in any caucus is challenged, the question of the right to participate will be decided by a vote of that caucus. A person so challenged may not vote on the question of their right to participate.

Observers

Like any other person present at the Caucus, all observers must sign in on the precinct attendee sign in sheet. Observers cannot participate in a caucus. If any observer disrupts the official business of the caucus, then they will be asked to leave.

A Convener has authority to instruct observers who are not eligible to participate in the caucus sit in a specified location in the room.

Students who will be 18 on or before November 5, 2024, can participate fully and are not restricted to observer status even if they are "observing" the Precinct Caucus for course credit.

 

Minnesota law provides that the business of the caucus is:

1. To elect precinct chairs and other officers;
2. To elect delegates and alternates to BPOU and county conventions; and
3. To discuss issues and resolutions.

The Convener will open the floor for nominations for the permanent Chair of the Caucus. All conveners have been trained to serve and we highly encourage each Caucus to nominate and elect the Convener to serve as Permanent Chair of the Caucus to keep things efficient.

This is not the election of a Precinct Chair, who is elected later in the night and will serve a two-year term.

 

The Convener will open the floor for nominations for the permanent Secretary of the Caucus. We highly encourage each Caucus to nominate and elect the temporary Secretary to continue to serve as Permanent Secretary of the Caucus to keep things efficient.

This is not the election of a Precinct Secretary, who is elected later in the night and will serve a two-year term.

Ideally, at least two volunteers will serve as tellers to count ballots for each Caucus. These persons can be appointed by the Chair without holding an election.

The law does not specify the manner in which Delegates and Alternates can be elected other than prescribing that “voting” must be conducted by secret ballot.

If the number of persons seeking election for Delegate is equal to or less than the number of Delegate seats allocated to the Precinct (no contest), then they may be elected by acclamation.

If the number of nominees exceeds the number of Delegate seats allocated to this Precinct, then a Caucus must nominate and vote for Delegates. Those not elected as Delegates can be elected Alternate in descending order of votes received. This method requires only one round of balloting and has the advantage of rank-ordered Alternates, which can expedite seating of Alternates at a convention. Other voting methods may be advanced and explained by their proponents, subject to a vote to approve a single, final method of election.

 

If you have any interest in serving as a Precinct Officer, then you are encouraged to notify your Convener as early as possible on Caucus Night so they can adapt their approach accordingly.

During this portion of the meeting, participants in the Precinct Caucus have an opportunity to seek election, and to vote for, the offices of Precinct Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary, and if desired, Treasurer, in each case to serve for a two-year term ending at the next Republican Precinct Caucuses to be held in 2026.

• Yes, you may nominate yourself.
• No, you cannot be nominated against your will (you must accept the nomination).
• Unlike Delegate/Alternate Nominations, you must be physically present to be nominated to serve as a Precinct Officer.
• A description of the basic responsibilities of Precinct Officers is available here.
• It is common, and encouraged, for your Caucus Convener and/or Caucus Chair to seek election to serve as Precinct Chair and the same goes for the Caucus Secretary seeking election to serve as Precinct Secretary.
• If there are no candidates for a Precinct Officer position, then you are encouraged to run.  But it is possible for the positions to remain unfilled. To ensure a fully functioning BPOU, please help us avoid vacancies in the positions of Precinct Chair or Precinct Secretary.
• If you prefer to share responsibilities, we highly encourage Chair/Vice Chair pairings over Co-Chairs, even if your Precinct has a tradition of co-chairs.

According to the caucus procedures prescribed by Minn. Stat. § 202A.18, Subd. 2, nominations for the election of Precinct Officers must be left open for at least the first "quarter hour" of the caucus.

Uncontested Precinct Officer Election(s)

Often, the nominees for election to serve as Precinct Officers are negotiated among interested persons and become uncontested. If there are multiple persons interested in running for any single office, then see the Contested Precinct Officer Election(s) discussion below.

When only one candidate is running for any Precinct Officer position(s), all nominees for those positions can be elected by a voice vote of unanimous acclamation (or raising of hands).

Please help your Caucus Secretary remember to designate each person who was elected to serve as a Precinct Officer on your Sign-In Sheet.

Contested Precinct Officer Election(s)

If more than one person is nominated (and accepts the nomination) to serve in a single Precinct Officer role, then the election becomes "contested" unless/until sufficient persons withdraw such that only one nominee remains.

Nominees in contested elections may be afforded a brief opportunity to speak if desired, but the Caucus Chair has authority to set a time limit for so long as the same limitation is applied to all nominees.

Each candidate may be asked to the Caucus that they will serve if elected and will fulfill the responsibilities of the office.

Caucus participants must vote by secret ballot if there is more than one candidate running for a position. In which case Tellers, if any, will pass out ballots (or blank paper). Tellers must announce the results for Chair before opening nominations for Vice Chair, etc.

Please help your Caucus Secretary remember to designate each person who was elected to serve as a Precinct Officer on your Sign-In Sheet.

If you are interested in running for Delegate or Alternate, please note that the next Senate District 45 Republican Convention is scheduled to be held on Saturday, April 6, 2024, at the Minnetonka High School. More information, including an official call for the convention will be sent to elected Delegates and Alternates using their contact information from the Caucus Night sign-in sheets or absentee nomination materials (as applicable) promptly after caucuses are complete.

During this portion of the meeting, participants in the Precinct Caucus have an opportunity to seek election to, and to vote for, delegates and alternates to then Senate District 45 and Hennepin County Republican Conventions, in each case to serve for a two-year term ending at the next Republican Precinct Caucuses to be held in 2026.

• Yes, you may nominate yourself.
• No, you cannot be nominated against your will (you must accept the nomination).
• Absentee nomination for delegate/alternate is possible, see below for more details.
• A description of the basic responsibilities of Delegates and Alternates is available here.
• The governing documents of the Senate District 45 Republicans provide that a person MUST be a delegate or alternate elected at Precinct Caucuses in order to be eligible to seek election to serve as a delegate or alternate to the Third Congressional District Republican Convention or the State Convention.

Election of delegates and alternates must begin within one hour of convening a caucus. Election of delegates and alternates may begin one-half hour after the convening of the caucus.

According to the caucus procedures prescribed by Minn. Stat. § 202A.18, Subd. 2, election of Delegates and Alternates must begin within one hour of convening the caucus and may begin "one-half hour" after convening the caucus.

Uncontested Delegate/Alternate Election(s)

When there are exactly enough or fewer candidates seeking election to serve as Delegate or Alternate than there are delegate or alternate seats, respectively, all nominees for those positions can be elected by a voice vote of unanimous acclamation (or raising of hands).

Please help your Caucus Secretary remember to designate each person who was elected to serve as a Delegate or Alternate on your Sign-In Sheet.

Contested Delegate Election(s)

If there are more candidates seeking election to serve as Delegate than there are delegate seats, then the election becomes "contested" unless/until sufficient persons withdraw such that the number of Delegate candidates is equal to or less than the number of seats.

Nominees in contested elections may be afforded a brief opportunity to speak if desired, but the Caucus Chair has authority to set a time limit for so long as the same limitation is applied to all nominees. Each candidate may be asked to the Caucus that they will serve if elected and will fulfill the responsibilities of the office.

Caucus participants must vote by secret ballot if there is a contested election. In which case Tellers, if any, will pass out ballots (or blank paper). 

Please help your Caucus Secretary remember to designate each person who was elected to serve as a Delegate on your Sign-In Sheet.

Contested Alternate Election(s)

Most commonly, alternates are elected in connection with the election of Delegates, with the persons receiving insufficient votes to be elected to serve as Delegates becoming Alternates ranked by descending vote totals.

If there are more candidates seeking election to serve as Alternate than there are alternate seats and/or candidates for Alternate are unable to agree on their rank order, then the election is "contested."

Nominees in contested elections may be afforded a brief opportunity to speak if desired, but the Caucus Chair has authority to set a time limit for so long as the same limitation is applied to all nominees.

Each candidate may be asked to the Caucus that they will serve if elected and will fulfill the responsibilities of the office.

Caucus participants must vote by secret ballot if there is a contested election. In which case Tellers, if any, will pass out ballots (or blank paper). 

Please help your Caucus Secretary remember to designate each person who was elected to serve as an Alternate and any applicable rank ordering on your Sign-In Sheet.

 

We have an envelope for contributions. SD45 would appreciate your pocket change or a bill or two, or a check made out to “45^th Senate District RPM.”

Your contributions tonight will help cover caucus expenses and help support our efforts and candidates.

The State of Minnesota also has a Political Contribution Refund, or PCR, program where each voter can be reimbursed up to $75 per calendar year for a contribution to a state candidate, BPOU, or the Party.

Please take a minute to look over the PCR form, and carefully consider whether you can donate $75 tonight and be reimbursed in a few weeks. If you can donate tonight, complete the bottom portion of the PCR form, detach it, and drop it in the envelope with your donation. Legally, donations equal to or greater than $20 are not allowed to be taken anonymously.

Additionally, there are boxes in the Commons for each Presidential Candidate appearing on the Minnesota Presidential Primary Ballot with an active campaign, you may express your preference by putting a dollar or two in the box for your preferred candidate.

Resolutions are official proposals to change the platform of the Republican Party of Minnesota.

1. At your 2024 Precinct Caucus: resolutions are considered and, if approved by a majority vote, are forwarded on to the next level.
   • The SD45 Republicans' Resolutions Committee reviews all resolutions approved at Precinct Caucuses.
2. At our 2024 SD45 Republicans Convention, the resolutions produced by the resolutions committee are considered by delegates and seated alternates and, if approved by a majority vote, are forwarded on to the next level.
   • The Third Congressional District Republicans' Resolutions Committee reviews all resolutions approved at the SD45 and other basic political organizing unit (BPOU) conventions.
3. At the 2024 Third Congressional District Republicans (CD3) Convention, the resolutions produced by its resolutions committee are considered by delegates and seated alternates and, if approved by a majority vote, are forwarded on to the next level.
   • The State Party Resolutions Committee reviews all resolutions approved at the CD3 and other congressional district conventions.   
4. At the 2024 State Convention, the resolutions produced by the state party resolutions committee are considered by delegates and seated alternates and, if approved by a majority vote, are incorporated into the Standing Platform of the Republican Party of Minnesota.

Please use the Resolution Form (PDF) to submit resolutions to your Precinct Caucus.

Once all of the required business of a Precinct Caucus has been completed, it may be adjourned.

Section 202A.15 of the Minnesota Statutes provides that a Precinct Caucus must remain open for at least one hour.