Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party

To find your caucus location, you can use the Secretary of State's Caucus Finder.

Caucus documents are available in English, Spanish, Vietnamese and Somali at the bottom of the page.

The precinct caucus is the first level of the DFL Party structure. A precinct is comprised of the voting precinct which can be a township, an entire town, or a voting precinct within a larger community. The precinct caucuses are a foundational pillar to the DFL Party's grassroots history because all Minnesota constituents have the ability to participate at this level.

At your precinct caucus, you cast your vote in a Presidential Preference Ballot, propose resolutions that you want included in the DFL platform, and elect delegates to your local conventions. Candidates or elected officials often tour different caucuses to meet with constituents. If you are elected a delegate to your local convention, you will be part of the DFL endorsement process that chooses which candidates the DFL Party will support.

Caucuses will take place on Tuesday, February 7, 2012.  They officially convene at 7:00 p.m.  Registration for the caucus starts at 6:30 p.m. and the Statewide Preference ballot is from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.  At 8:00 Preference ballots will be tallied and certified by the caucus. The totals will then be announced   The results will be reported to Minnesota State DFL Headquarters. Those votes will determine the allocation of Democratic National Convention Delegates.

You do not need to stay at the caucus beyond voting in the Statewide Preference Ballot, but you are encouraged to

• run as a district delegate
• sign-up to be an election judge
• propose, discuss and vote on resolutions

If you want to submit a resolution to be considered for inclusion in the party platform, you can use the Platform Resolution Form (Word) (PDF). If you cannot attend your caucus but wish to be nominated for an elected position (such as convention delegate or party officer), use the Letter Nomination Form (PDF).

Who can participate at the precinct caucus?

Any Minnesotan, who will be eligible to vote by November 6, 2012, and is not an active member of another political party (or attending another political party’s caucus in 2012), can attend and vote at the DFL caucus.  A 16 or 17 year old, who will not be 18 by November 6, 2012, may also participate in general caucus business. However, they may not vote in the Statewide Preference ballot, or vote for delegates to Organizing Unit conventions.

How can you get involved in the candidate selection process?

The first thing to do is to run for delegate at your precinct caucus.  In most cases, all this takes is volunteering to be a delegate.  The precinct elects delegates to Organizing Unit conventions (organizing units are generally a county or a senate district, but there are some exceptions).  Organizing Unit conventions elect delegates to the State and Congressional District Conventions.

Delegates at the State DFL Convention will vote to endorse DFL candidates for statewide office. In 2012, the convention will endorse a candidate for US Senate.  A candidate must receive 60% of the vote to be endorsed at the convention.