Politics & Government
Where, When Can Inver Grove Residents Caucus?
Minnesota's primary—like Iowa's, a caucus—is scheduled for Feb. 7.
It's officially presidential election season after Tuesday's Iowa caucuses, when Mitt Romney to win the state's primary among the pool of candidates.
Inver Grove Heights residents will get a chance to be a part of presidential primary season on Feb. 7, when Minnesota holds its primary, which is also a caucus. Minnesota is roughly seventh in line among states on the primary/caucus calendar, with Colorado also conducting a caucus and Missouri holding a primary on Feb. 7.
For a state-by-state calendar of this year’s presidential primaries and caucuses, click here.
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There will be multiple caucus sites in Inver Grove; you'll be able to search for yours on the Minnesota Secretary of State's website starting Jan. 18.
When it comes to election districts, Inver Grove Heights is a rarity, as the city is split between two congressional districts. Roughly, residents living north of 70th Street are in the Fourth Congressional District. Residents south of 70th are in the Second Congressional District.
Find out what's happening in Inver Grove Heightswith free, real-time updates from Patch.
More information is available online in a brochure from the Secretary of State's office.
Local election and party information can also be found at:
Second Congressional District Republican Party website
Fourth Congressional District Independence Party website
Fourth Congressional District Republican Party website
Fourth Congressional District Green Party website
In Minnesota, the DFL, Independence and Republican parties are considered major parties, and the Green and Grassroots parties are considered minor parties.
For the definitions of major and minor political parties in Minnesota, click here.
WHAT'S A CAUCUS?
A caucus helps a political party gain consensus as to how voters have aligned their political and candidate preferences.
But at a caucus, there’s more going on than just candidate selection. Participants sometimes select county committee chairs that go to a state—and sometimes national—convention.
What distinguishes a caucus from a primary is that at a primary, voters don’t have to be present at one particular location at a specific time. For a primary, voters just go to their polling place and cast a vote, the same as they would do at a general election.
For a caucus you have to be physically present at your designated caucus site, register, show your party affiliation and then participate in the process. Attendees participate directly.
Each party has its own rules and guidelines it follows.
Editor's Note: Web addresses could not be found for the Second Congressional District DFL website or the Second Congressional District Green Party website.