The Summit County Democratic caucus is taking place at three locations: Ecker Hill Middle School, South Summit Middle School and North Summit Middle School at 6 p.m. At those sites, the county’s 66 defined neighborhoods, or precincts, will split up to elect voting delegates.
Democratic candidates for November’s election will also give short speeches Tuesday. In some cases, proxies for the candidates will speak in their place, since there are three different caucus locations.
“One of the things that I really like about caucus night is the opportunity for building community,” said Katy Owens, chair of the Summit County Democratic Party. “So, it's people from your precinct, which is essentially your neighborhood, who are Democrats who have similar values and coming together. and for one thing, just seeing each other. We haven't seen each other in person for a couple of years. If you're new to the area, being able to meet other Democrats in your neighborhood, that's the biggest appeal, I think, for caucus night. And then we are selecting those members of the party who will have a say in other races.”
Delegates elected at Tuesday’s caucus will decide who appears on the final election ballot next fall when they vote at the Summit County Democratic Convention on April 2.
There are two county-level elections with multiple Democratic candidates – one for a Summit County Council seat and one for Summit County Auditor. For those races, delegates will select between Canice Harte and Coleen Reardon for county council and between Cindy Keyes and Michael Howard for auditor.
A candidate must get 60% of the delegates’ votes to automatically qualify for the November ballot. If neither does, there will be a primary to let voters pick which one advances to the November election.
Owens says party officials will also hope to find people who want to be involved in ways like supporting future candidates or hosting fundraisers at the county caucus.
Anyone can attend, and anyone who didn’t vote in the Summit County Republican Party caucus earlier this month is invited to vote for precinct officials.
For more on the caucus, precinct meeting locations, or the Summit County Democratic Party, visit scdems.org.
