How many times has this happened? Someone comes into the primary polling place and asks for a Democratic Primary ballot only to be told there are none, or we don't let Democrats vote here, or they snicker when you ask for it and make a joke about how short it is. If you do locate the Democratic Primary ballot you are directed to one lady who has been stuck at a card table in the back of the room, or maybe is even in a corner closet in the basement of the courthouse. People harass your Democratic voters trying to vote in the primary, by calling them communists or baby killers or worse.
The one consistent comment we have heard over the past two years from rural county chairs are real complaints just like this. There is an option available to solve this problem and that is to stop participating in a combined primary with the local Republican Party, and instead hold your own separate Democratic Primary. This is the way we used to do it all the time. There are many rural chairs that still run their own separate primary. But how to do it is knowledge that is not widely known across the state.
For that reason, THE 134 PAC is considering hosting a Saturday conference/seminar in the spring of 2023 so county chairs can learn from those who have done it and are still running a separate Democratic Primary. We want to gauge the level of interest to see whether enough people are interested and where it should be held and what size of venue we need. This will be a live in person seminar and will not be broadcast live on the internet.
If you are interested in learning about this option and how it can help your build community among your Democrats and a separate identity in your county, please take two minutes to fill out our survey at the link below so we can gauge interest in putting on such a seminar and provide input on where it should be held.