The Democratic and Republican parties in Colorado are holding precinct caucuses between March 3 and March 7. These are small, neighborhood-level meetings where party members gather in person or on Zoom.
At the caucus, party members discuss candidates and party platforms and select delegates to advance to the county assemblies. Party members also elect precinct organizers for the next two years and help recruit election judges and poll watchers.
Delegates chosen at precinct caucuses advance to county assemblies, held between March 3 and March 28. From there, some delegates move on to the state assembly. At the county and state assemblies, delegates vote for candidates to advance toward the primary ballot.
Candidates need the support of 30% of delegates at a county or state assembly to qualify for their party’s primary ballot in June. However, candidates can also qualify by gathering signatures from voters.
Precinct caucus participants must be registered with the party at least 22 days before the caucus date. Unaffiliated voters cannot participate in the caucus, but they can vote in either the Democratic or Republican primary election in June.
Barb Whinery is with the League of Women Voters in Greeley, Weld County, and also acts as co-director of voter services for the Colorado League of Women Voters. She says precincts are the smallest unit of organization as far as voting is concerned.
“So these are your neighbors. You're meeting people in the same party but are in your same neighborhood. So some people you might already know, some people you are getting acquainted with, so it's kind of like a time to get to know who's all in the party,” she said.
Whinery says there has traditionally been a low turnout at caucuses, but she encourages eligible party members to participate in this grass roots democracy.
”Precincts are a really important component of this whole election process. And you get a feel for 'I'm just not a number, my precinct is my neighborhood around me.' Those are the people that, you know, we have things in common because we live in the same place,” she said.
“We’ve got to start getting people back together and building community and I think this whole caucus process is a way to do that. Both parties want to have more involvement and we want to have younger kids get involved too.”
The Democratic State Assembly will be held on March 28 at Pueblo Memorial Hall in Pueblo, Colorado. The Republican State Assembly will be held on April 11 at Colorado State University Pueblo's Massari Arena.
You can check your registration and find your precinct number at GoVoteColorado.gov. You can also find your caucus time and location on your party’s county website. Find Republican caucus locations and times here. Find Democratic caucus locations and times here.
Copyright 2026 Rocky Mountain Community Radio. This story was shared via Rocky Mountain Community Radio, a network of public media stations in Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, and New Mexico, including Aspen Public Radio.
