Revamped North Dakota caucuses promise big turnout bump

FARGO, N.D. (AP) — Democrats in North Dakota were set to vote Tuesday in a revamped caucus system that promised far greater turnout and a chance to have a voice in a presidential contest not yet settled.

Bernie Sanders took the state just four years ago, clobbering Hillary Clinton in a traditional caucus format that rewarded highly organized campaigns with fervent followers willing to invest the time necessary to see the process through.

But Tuesday's test was in so-called “firehouse caucuses,” a modified format much closer to a standard election. Voters had an eight-hour window in which they could show up at any of 14 caucus sites around the state, cast their ballot and leave — a format seen as friendlier to Joe Biden.

Democrats were looking for turnout many times higher than the 3,400 people who took part in the 2016 caucuses.

Karla Rose Hanson, a Democratic state representative from Fargo, was willing to put up with the old caucus format. But with several rounds of voting, it took a big chunk out of a busy schedule for Hanson, who runs a business, sits on several board and is married with two children to boot.

“Really, there were others who had a lot more difficulty participating than me,” Hanson said. “I’m in a position of privilege and have a lot of flexibility. It’s even more of a struggle for people who have small children, people who work shift work, people who are homebound ... and many others.”

Democratic Party spokesman Alex Rohr said the new format brings added excitement.

“When people have an opportunity for voting to be flexible, they participate more often,” Rohr said. “I think you see that everywhere.”

Party officials are hoping for greater participation among Native Americans and have placed six of the polling spots on or near reservations. Voters do not require an ID although they must sign a pledge of support to the Democratic Party.

With only 14 pledged delegates in North Dakota, and much bigger prizes to be won Tuesday in Michigan, Washington and Missouri, neither Sanders nor Biden mounted much of a campaign in the state. Yet voters like Don Morrison of Bismarck — recently retired as executive director of the Dakota Resource Council, an environmental group — were eager to make their voices heard.

He was supporting Sanders, who he said represents the working people that have typically voted Democrat.

“This is an important part of the campaign," Morrison said. "This is great. This is exciting. It should really encourage people to go out and vote.”

Biden carried endorsements from establishment Democrats like former Sen. Heidi Heitkamp and neighboring Sen. Amy Klobuchar.

Karen Anderson, 60, who teaches at an alternative learning high school program in the Fargo area, was backing Biden. She said she saw him as the only good option.

Sanders, she said, is too polarizing and “it would just be another mess,” she said.