JEFFERSON CITY — Missouri Republicans will need to be in line at their caucus site by 10 a.m. on Saturday, March 2, to participate in this year’s presidential nominating contest, the director of the state party said Friday.
“If you get there at 10:05, unfortunately you will not be able to (participate) because caucus will have begun,†said Miles Ross, executive director of the Missouri GOP.
Unlike recent election cycles, when Missouri voters participated in a state-run presidential preference primary along with party-run meetings that divided up delegates, the state has no official role in this year’s contests.
That’s because Missouri lawmakers repealed the state-run presidential preference primary in 2022. An effort to reinstate it last year failed.
Missouri Republicans have opted for an in-person caucus on March 2 to decide delegates to the Republican National Convention which will be held July 16-18 in Milwaukee.
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Democrats are planning a mail-in primary, with in-person polling places, on Saturday, March 23. The Democratic National Convention is set for Aug. 19-22 in Chicago.
For Republicans, the party plans to operate at least one caucus site in each county and the city of ºüÀêÊÓƵ.
ºüÀêÊÓƵ and St. Charles counties each have two caucus sites, according the Missouri GOP’s website. Participants will report to the site corresponding to the congressional district where they are registered.
No sites for the city of ºüÀêÊÓƵ, Jefferson County and Franklin County had been announced as of Friday.
In ºüÀêÊÓƵ County, 1st Congressional District Republicans will caucus at the University of Missouri-St Louis (South Campus), 2993 South Drive in Normandy while the caucus site for 2nd Congressional District residents will be at Parkway West High School, 14653 Clayton Road in Ballwin.
In St. Charles County, Republicans who live in the 2nd Congressional District will caucus in Gymnasium B, Francis Howell Central High School, 5199 Highway N in Cottleville, while 3rd Congressional District Republicans will gather in Gymnasium A, also at Francis Howell Central High.
Lincoln County Republicans should gather at Troy Ninth Grade Center, 80 Elm Tree Road in Moscow Mills.
The Warren County GOP caucus will be held in the Warren County Administration Building Training Room (lower level), 101 Mockingbird Lane in Warrenton.
Process, requirements
After a caucus chair and secretary are chosen, participants will divide into groups according to their preferred candidate, and then be counted.
“If one candidate has over 50% plus one of the caucus-goers in attendance, they win that caucus,†Ross said. “If no candidate has over 50%, they will then divide up the delegates.â€
Participants will be required to sign a pledge that says they are a Republican, Ross said.
He said voters also must present a valid, government photo ID to participate.
Only registered Missouri voters will be allowed to caucus, and they must report to the appropriate site in the county where they are registered.
Democrats
The Missouri Democratic Party’s presidential primary will be held March 23.
The contest will take on a “hybrid†form, with both mail-in voting and in-person polling sites on the day of the primary, according to the party.
“Depending on final availability, at least one in-person voting site will be held in each county, with additional sites in ºüÀêÊÓƵ and Kansas City,†a party memo said.
The memo said Democrats would be able to request mail ballots on the state party’s website starting on Feb. 1 and ending on March 12.
Missourians who register to vote by Feb. 21 may participate in the primary, the party said.
Though Missourians who are 17.5 years old may register to vote, they may not vote until they are 18.
Despite initially planning to allow 17-year-olds to participate, the Democrats said Friday participants would need to be 18 to vote in the March 23 primary.
Voters who by Monday had used a new state law to affiliate with the Democratic Party will automatically receive a ballot by mail, the party said.
Voters who are affiliated with the Republican Party are not allowed to participate.
“Unaffiliated or other affiliations are OK,†Chelsea Rodriguez, spokeswoman for the Missouri Democrats, said Friday.
In-person voting sites will be open from 8 a.m. until noon on March 23. The party will need to receive completed mail ballots by 10 a.m. that day, the memo said.