Democratic Party of Wisconsin Members,

We hope this email finds you in good health during this difficult time as the COVID-19 outbreak impacts every part of our daily lives and routines. The health and safety of our party members and Democratic supporters is at the forefront of our minds as we plan how we will conduct party business for the foreseeable future. 

With that in mind, we want to inform you that the DPW’s’ Administrative Committee, with the approval of the DNC, voted to enact a number of changes to the process by which we will choose Wisconsin’s delegates to the Democratic National Convention in Milwaukee. (As a reminder, the Democratic National Convention was recently moved to the week of August 17th.) 

These changes include: 

• All Tier 1 County and Tier 2 Congressional District Caucuses are transitioning from in-person events to virtual events.
• Virtual county caucuses will be spread out between three dates: April 26th (the original date), May 3rd, and May 10th. CD caucuses will remain on May 17th. 
  • DPW will assign county caucuses to a specific date no later than April 20th.
• Anyone who wishes to participate in a county caucus (either as a voter or a delegate candidate) is now required to pre-register for the virtual caucus by no later than 5:00pm on April 17th. Instructions to pre-register are below.
• Caucuses will use electronic ballots rather than paper ballots.

We understand that these new processes for selecting delegates require internet access and the ability to use email which may be difficult for some members. These decisions were not made lightly, but due to the nature of the pandemic and the guidance from public health officials, the DPW Administrative Committee felt these actions ensured the most access to the process while prioritizing the health and safety of every caucus participant. 

How to be a Delegate Trainings

With important registration dates for delegates quickly approaching, DPW staff will hold daily webinar trainings from Wednesday, April 8th to Friday, April 17th for anyone interested in learning more about the delegate selection process and how the virtual caucus will run.

For a complete list of training sessions and to register, please visit: www.wisdems.org/delegatetraining

Important Links

Register to participate in a county caucus:  www.wisdems.org/countycaucusregistration
(Note: this link is for both those who want to vote at and/or be elected at a county caucus. If you just want to observe the process, those links will be available on the DPW website on April 20th)

Delegate candidate statement of intent form: www.wisdems.org/2020delegateform
(Note: only those who wish to be elected as a delegate need to complete this form. Those who just want to be voters only need to fill out the registration link above)

Important Deadlines:

April 8 – Registration opens for county caucus participants
April 17 – Deadline to register to participate in the county caucus
April 17 – Deadline for delegate candidates to submit a statement of intent form to be a district level delegate
April 20 – Registration opens for county caucus observers
April 20 – County caucus participants are sent electronic notice of county caucus details
April 26 – Virtual County Caucuses
May 3 – Virtual County Caucuses
May 10 – Virtual County Caucuses
May 17 – Virtual Congressional District Caucuses

For more information on the National Convention and on Wisconsin’s Delegate Selection plan, please visit: www.wisdems.org/2020NationalConvention

Thank you,
DPW Party Affairs Department