REPUBLICAN CAUCUS GUIDE

Arrive at 8 a.m. on Feb. 4 to register. The meeting begins at 9 a.m.

1. CHECK-IN
You must show ID to participate. Also, you need to be registered with the Republican Party ahead of time. The deadline to join the GOP is Friday. After signing in, you’ll be given a presidential preference poll ballot, which you’ll fill out near the end of the caucus meeting.

2. CALL TO ORDER
A party-trained temporary chair of the caucus explains the agenda, which includes electing county convention delegates, submitting resolutions for the party platform and voting for your favorite presidential candidate who’s still in the GOP contest. The caucus as a whole elects a permanent chair and permanent secretary to run the rest of the meeting after a call for nominations.

3. DELEGATE ELECTION
Each precinct elects delegates and alternates to the county convention: one for every 50 registered voters, according to Nevada law. Typically, caucus-goers vote for delegates who support their presidential picks, but those delegates are not yet bound to vote for a particular candidate at the national GOP convention. The top voter-getters become delegates. The county delegates can go on to the state convention and run to become one of the GOP’s 28 elected national delegates, who then will be bound to certain candidates on the first ballot. The Clark County GOP convention is scheduled for March 10. The state party convention is set for May 5-6.

4. OTHER BUSINESS
Candidates for nonfederal offices can give short speeches to introduce themselves to voters. Caucus-goers also can submit an issue to be considered for the party platform

5. CANDIDATE SPEECHES
One person supporting each of the presidential candidates is allowed to give a speech of two minutes or less to try to persuade other caucus-goers to support their pick.

6. PRESIDENTIAL PREFERENCE POLL
Each precinct captain will read a list of eligible candidates who are still in the race on Feb. 4. Secret paper ballots are then filled out and deposited into a ballot box. The captain will tabulate the results and read them aloud to precinct members. Absentee ballots will be accepted for military personnel who have returned ballots by Feb. 3. Applications for absentee ballots can be found on the Nevada GOP caucus website or by contacting the county parties.

7. REPORTING RESULTS
Each caucus location will count ballots twice to verify the results, which will be reported immediately to the county central committee and the Nevada GOP. The ballots will be preserved in sealed envelopes as well. The 28 GOP delegates to the national convention at stake will be awarded in proportion to the percentage of the vote a candidate gets. For example, if a candidate wins 50 percent of the vote, he will be awarded half the delegates, or 14. A candidate must receive at least 4 percent of the vote to gain 1 delegate because fractions can’t be awarded. The meeting would then be adjourned.

8. NATIONAL CONVENTION
Nevada’s 28 delegates plus three official delegates — the state party chair and the national committeewoman and committeeman — will join hundreds of delegates from other states at the Republican National Convention Aug. 27-30 in Tampa, Fla. The delegates will be bound on the first ballot to candidates who gained votes in the presidential preference poll at the caucus but can switch on later ballots to other candidates if there’s a contested convention. It’s been several generations, however, since either party had a contested convention that required more than one ballot.