Texas Two-Step: Hard to Learn

I just finished participating in my first Texas Primary Caucus and what can I say. It was hectic. Good thing I was trained on how to be a Precinct Captain because my precinct sure needed the help. Although there were only 116 people that came out to caucus out of some 2000 eligible voters it was overwhelming. I was able to help out and sign people up and it made the process go by faster.

One thing is for sure, I did not expect it to last 90 minutes. People became agitated and many were confused why they should vote a second time. Some did not know how to spell the candidates names and others were intimidated by the process. Don't get me wrong, I felt intimidated myself at first but was able to gain composure and help people understand what was going on. This was a first for many of us. I had a great time participating in this democratic process and as a delegate I will vote in the county convention come March 29, 2008. It seems this night will be long.

The process had several hiccups in my opinion. Although my precinct was rather small we were able to tackle the procedure in a timely fashion. My girlfriend who is out in Travis County participated in a 300+ person caucus and devoted about 2 hours. It was pandemonium in other parts of the state with over 800 people in certain precincts in Austin and people herded like cattle into small rooms. Fire Marshalls had to step in in certain locations because to many people were in a room. The meetings had to be conducted with 1/3 sitting in a break room and the other 2/3 sitting outside in the cold. 

This Texas Two-Step does not come with some surprise calls of disenfranchisement. Clinton supporters reported being shutout of the process by Obama supporters and other such shenanigans. Was this really surprising? Not really, but perhaps this may turn off certain voters in the future of participating in such process in the future.