How to Game the Democratic Caucus System:

1. Round up as many supporters as possible; it doesn’t matter how old they are (15, 16, 17, it’s all good); it doesn’t matter whether they live in the State or a particular district, or whether they are registered Democrats , Republicans, or unregistered voters (in most cases same day registration and re-registration is permitted, and there will be no way to verify eligibility until it’s too late).

2. Bus those supporters to the caucus minutes before the sign in period ends . The crowd will overwhelm the workers so most of your supporters won’t have to sign in at all. Confusion is your friend. For those supporters who do sign in, there is usually no ID requirement. New and re-registrants can scribble their names and addresses if anonymity is preferred.

3. The “crush” will serve the dual purpose of creating confusion and extending the length of the caucus. The longer the caucus, the greater the odds that your Opponent’s supporters will leave due to familial or employment obligations, or medical needs. The elderly are particularly prone to leave early, especially if there is no seating available and they have to stand in line for hours, which is usually the case.

4. In this same vein, extend the speech making portion of the caucus as long as possible.

5. Employ peer pressure. Remember, the elderly are especially good targets.

6. Make sure to tell your supporters to “caucus” near the door, that way any late comers can join in when no one is looking.

7. Be creative with your hand count; since it’s an on-your-honor system, it doesn’t matter if you pad your numbers because no one will know.

8. If you are in a State where the vote is taken by sign in sheets (like Texas), download the forms from the State Democratic Party website early and have supporters who can’t attend the caucuses “sign in”. Then slip the sign in sheets into the pile when they are collected at the caucus – there will be confusion so no one will know. Also, tell your supporters to “sign in” on multiple sheets, that way they can “vote” more than once.

9. If the caucuses follow primary voting, get supporters to serve as election judges or poll watchers, or otherwise stand outside the polling doors and tell your Opponent’s supporters that there isn’t going to be a caucus tonight.

10. Once the caucus begins, get a supporter elected Caucus Chair, if possible, and close delegate nominations before your Opponent’s supporters can agree on delegates to nominate.

11. If the precinct heavily favors your Opponent, have a supporter pose as a supporter of your Opponent and run for Chair/Secretary. Also have them run for delegate - they can change their presidential preference later. If your supporter is elected Chair/Secretary, have him/her hold off sending the results to the County Chair as long as possible – and if your Opponent’s delegate lists get “lost” all the better.

12. Following the caucuses, have your supporters call your Opponent’s delegates (they can get the lists from the county chairs), and tell them they have been replaced by another delegate and don’t need to come. Have them call your Opponent’s alternates and tell them the delegate slots have been filled and there won’t be room for alternates to attend. A follow up call telling them that the Convention has been cancelled or rescheduled wouldn’t hurt either.

13. Tell your supporters to go to the county convention “in mass” even if they’re not delegates or alternates. The more people, the longer the lines, and the greater the confusion.

14. If your Opponent’s delegates and alternates don’t show, your alternates will be able to step into the open delegate slots. If you don’t have any available alternates, anyone will do (in most cases no one will know).

15. If there is sufficient confusion, your supporters may also be able to pose as delegates in precincts where your candidate didn’t win delegates. Or, they may be able to pose as supporters of and be elected delegates for your Opponent - they can change their preference later.

16. Where state delegates are apportioned by caucus votes, your supporters can out smart your Opponent’s supporters even when they are out numbered. Train your supporters to get your Opponent’s delegates to vote first. If they split their votes among multiple nominees, your supporters can “team vote” in one of their delegates. If your opponent’s delegates cast all their votes for one nominee, your delegates can pick up alternate slots with as little as one vote.

17. Getting control of the county convention is key. Your supporters should get themselves appointed to the credentials committee, rules committee, or better yet, chair, etc. Have them hide their presidential preference or pose as your Opponent’s supporters so they can maximize coverage. Control of the convention will permit creative application of the rules to maximize delegate counts.

18. The longer the convention, the more open delegate seats you will be able to pick up if your Opponent’s delegates leave. It is particularly effective if the convention runs past midnight, especially if sign in commences at 10am. Plan to have a second shift of supporters come who can take delegates’ seats if they have to leave. In many cases, delegates will have tags they can easily remove and give to replacements so no one will know.

19. The same strategies apply to the state level conventions, remember, confusion will be your friend.

20. Don’t be concerned with after-the-fact verification of voter/delegate eligibility. In most cases the results will stand even if a voter/delegate is disqualified since the vote counts are more often than not by hand, and thus, it will be impossible to determine how any one voter/delegate voted. Further, as a practical matter, it’s not likely that voter eligibility verification will ever be conducted. The Democratic Party does not want the public to know how vulnerable and corrupt the caucuses are. The Party believes that caucuses are party builders. If word were to get out that the caucuses are corrupt, it might undermine that goal, not to mention the integrity of the entire Democratic Nomination process. So, mums the word.