The Minnesota DFL is trying something new this caucus season. Due to fears of spreading COVID-19, the DFL is holding what it calls contactless caucuses on Feb. 1. In Brown County, instead of DFLers gathering with their neighbors at some neighborhood church hall or school cafeteria to discuss issues, debate resolutions and vote for delegates, they will be logging in to a web site, downloading forms to submit resolutions or sign up as possible delegates, and then dropping them off via email to local party officials, or put them in a drop box set up at what would have been the normal caucus site.

We will be very interested to see how this works. Will it increase participation, especially among the younger, more tech savvy voters who may not have time to spend an evening in a caucus hall? Will it drive away older voters who have been faithful caucus attendees for years, but aren’t very good with computers?

We’ve long felt caucuses were sliding into irrelevancy. Will this revitalize them? We’ll see.