Allamakee County to take part in first-ever Statewide Iowa Youth Caucus; Local event set for this Thursday

The Iowa Secretary of State’s Office, in conjunction with the Iowa Democratic Party and the Republican Party of Iowa, is organizing a statewide Iowa Youth Caucus. Allamakee County’s Youth Caucus is scheduled for Thursday, November 19 at 5:30 p.m. at the Waukon High School.
There will be an optional social time from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. followed by registration and supper from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. Students from Kee High School, Postville High School and Waukon High School will be participating.
The purpose of the Iowa Youth Caucus is to inform and engage students in the political process. Due to Iowa’s First-in-the-Nation status, Iowans play a major role in deciding the next President of the United States. By conducting a caucus with the students, the goal is to increase their understanding of how the caucuses work and that this experience will move them to register to vote when they reach eligible voting age.
The Iowa Youth Caucus is a purely bipartisan event. Students will participate in both a Republican Caucus and a Democratic Caucus and cast votes for the presidential candidate of their choice in both parties’ caucuses. The results will be tallied at the site. Statewide vote totals will be reported that night by Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate.
The Iowa Youth Caucus began as the Polk County High School Mock Caucus in 2013, a bipartisan event put on by the Polk County Democrats and the Republican Party of Polk County. This year, in addition to expanding the Youth Caucus outside of Polk County, the parties have partnered this event with the Caucus 101 program implemented by the Secretary of State’s Office.
Caucus 101 is a non-partisan, voluntary curriculum written by Iowa teachers to be utilized by teachers to educate students about the Iowa Caucus. The curriculum is available online for anyone to use at www.caucus101.com.
Parents are welcome to attend the Iowa Youth Caucus as observers. Middle School students are also encouraged to register and attend. For more information about the local event contact Shala Llewellyn at 563-217-0570, Ann Hart at 563-380-7714, Kristi Hager at 563-568-2631 or Karen Pratte at 563-535-7254.