Why Fil-Am Voters Play A Crucial Role in Nevada Caucuses
Bev Llorente, ABS-CBN North America News Bureau
Posted at 02/12/16 6:47 PM | Updated as of 02/12/16 6:48 PM
LAS VEGAS – Only 13 U.S. states and two U.S. territories use the caucus system to determine which Republican and Democratic presidential candidate will be supported in the nomination process.
In Nevada, the Democratic and GOP caucuses are major electoral events where open meetings of party members, leaders, and candidates are offered to speak before an open vote is taken.
Rozita Lee, former White House AAPI advisor, said, “This is a time where they make a preference as to which candidate within the party that they want to support that they want to nominate.”
U.S. Senate Minority Floor Leader Harry Reid said the Pinoy vote has played a growing role in Nevada.
“The Filipino voters matter for a long time. We just never talked much about it,” said Reid. “We have to because we are service oriented economy, and we have the nurses. They’ve been here for ages. So the vote of the Filipinos has been, always been very important.”
In 2008, Nevada held primary elections, not caucuses, to choose delegates. Party leaders and state officials believed that switching from a primary election would streamline Nevada’s move to becoming an early contender in the nomination process.
Because of the switch from a late presidential primary to an early caucus, Nevada has gained electoral prominence making it the battleground state in the west.
The Nevada Democratic Caucus is scheduled on Saturday, February 20th, while the Nevada Republican Caucus is scheduled for February 23rd, Tuesday.