The 2012 election comes at a time when the number of Americans living below the official poverty line, 46.2 million people, was the highest number in the 52 years the bureau has been publishing figures on it. [U.S. Census Bureau]. The question before the American people is, "Will our elected officials make choices for the common good or will they continue to weld their party’s platform at the expense of the growing discontent and suffering of so many.?"
Who do we elect?
Elections are to be held on November 6, 2012, with 33 of the 100 seats in the Senate being contested in regular elections whose winners will serve six-year terms from January 3, 2013 until January 3, 2019. Currently, Democrats are expected to have 23 seats up for election, including 2 independents who caucus with the Democrats, while Republicans are expected to have only 10 seats up for election.
Kansas does not have a primary; instead, it has Democratic and Republican Caucus. The earliest form of delegate selection for the National Conventions is the CAUCUS/CONVENTION system, which is still used in a few states. In this system, the voter does not choose the party's delegates to the National Convention through the ballot, as in a primary but, instead, participates in a "caucus" or "mass meeting" Local supporters (of the various presidential contenders) are encouraged to speak at the caucus about the merits of their particular candidate and, after some discussion in the wake of these speeches, there is a vote of some sort (whether by secret ballot or by show of hands or by actually lining up behind supporters of a preferred presidential contender in order to be counted as being for that candidate) which determines who will go to the party meeting, usually a bona fide Convention.
Saturday 10 March 2012: Republican Caucus– Each voter casts 1 ballot for the candidate of his or her choice. All voters must be registered Republican at their current address. Individuals not registered at Republicans may do so at the caucus on March 10, 2012.
Saturday 14 April 2012. Democratic Caucus–Participation in Kansas's delegate selection process is open any registered Democrat who will be 18 by 6 November 2012. To participate in the caucus, voters must be registered as Democrats at their current address. Individuals not registered as Democrats may register at the caucus on Saturday 14 April 2012.
DON'T FORGET: To vote in November you must have: The following forms of identification are valid if they contain the name and photograph of the voter and have not expired. Expired documents are valid if the bearer is aged 65 or older.
- Driver's license issued by Kansas or another state
- State identification card
- Government-issued concealed carry handgun or weapon license
- U.S. passport
- Employee badge or identification document issued by a government office or agency
- Military ID
- Student ID issued by an accredited postsecondary institution in Kansas
- Government-issued public
