Towns to caucus September 19th, state convention on Saturday, November 4th
Earlier this week Vermont Republican Party Chairman Paul Dame notified Vermont’s Town Clerks and the Republican Party’s local Town Committees that the state party has set a date of Tuesday September 19th as the date for the Republican Caucuses.
Every two years the Vermont Republican Party reorganizes itself from the bottom up. Every Republican voter in a town has the right to select their local party leaders the same way that they elect their local municipal leaders. Republican voters who are properly registered to vote in their town are encouraged to attend their caucus to make their voices heard at their local Republican Committees. During the second week in September more towns will begin posting the dates, times & locations of their caucus, with many towns expecting to caucus on Tuesday September 19th.
“I have always said that the party belongs to the people who show up,” said State Chairman, Paul Dame. “Whether you like the direction the party is going, and want to keep it on track – or whether you think the party needs to make changes to better reflect Republicans like you – in both cases I encourage voters to come to their caucus and talk to their local Republican Committee leaders and make their voices heard. Politics is a game of addition, and so I encourage any Republicans who want to join the team to turn out and get involved. Ten years ago I didn’t even know how the party structure works, and now I’m leading that same restructuring. There are great opportunities for young people to get involved and even take leadership positions.”
Republicans who are registered voters and attend the caucus will actually cast votes on the leadership of their town party, and their town’s representatives to the county committee. If there is not already a town committee in place, three Republican voters in the town can organize a caucus to elect a new committee. Any one who wants to know more should contact the State Republican Party through their website at www.vtgop.org
Each town committee sends delegates to the County, and the County Committees organize themselves and send delegates to the State Committee. Current Republican Party rules call for a State Committee of 88 delegates with at least four from all fourteen counties, in addition to other officers. Together this newly formed committee will elect the leaders for the state party all of whom will serve a two-year term.
The State Committee is set to hold it’s reorganization on Saturday, November 4th in South Burlington at a day long convention and serve as an opportunity for Republicans around the state to gather together to prepare for the 2024 elections.
“In the past, including when I was first elected two years ago, it has always been a very low-key strictly-business kind of event,” said Chairman Dame. “Previous chairs have tried to make it a small, short and cheap meeting. This year the goal is to make it an event that any Republican might want to attend and provide some opportunities for the training of volunteers, party officials, and potential candidates, or we might bring in some other well known speakers, or engage in some policy discussions from a Republican viewpoint. Over the next two months we will be releasing more details as things get finalized, but the date and location are now set.