"As a citizen and, um, a respectable journalist, I was appalled when I
learned that you didn't need a valid voter registration card or proof
of residency any identification at all to take part in Iowa's
caucuses. All you had to do was show up at a caucus site and fill out
a voter registration card. "
that's also true in california, which has a register by mail policy, generally, and the same rules at a caucus...you register, and enter...
"So I went to a caucus site, gave the address of my hotel in Des Moines
as my "residence" when I registered (no one asked how long I intended
to reside in Iowa), and took part in the caucus. As it turned out, I
didn't even need to register when it came time to indicate whom we
supported for president, slips of scrap paper were passed out to
everyone in the room. There was nothing to stop someone who hadn't
signed in, or even registered to vote, from grabbing a piece of paper
and jotting down a name."
it isn't clear how this happened...when did the writer register? was this exceptionally sloppy work by local people, or is it a regular aspect of the state's policy?
anyone seriously concerned about twisted democracy should focus on the electoral college...since dean is mentioned, specifically, this sounds a little bit like a hit piece...
a caucus is an aspect of activism; they always have been..they're like demos against war...those dedicated enough to show up will, seemingly, win...that's why jesse jackson did so well in them back in the day, but not quite so well in the "regular" primaries...if a party, candidate or movement can't bring its activist base to create a majority, well, unfortunately,that's us...usually.
fs