The Nevada Democratic caucus is taking place on Saturday. But, KUNR listener Alexi Boshart who’s a massage therapist for a Reno casino says work could make it hard to participate.
“I was assuming that just like in an election, my employer would have to give me time to caucus," Boshart says. "I thought it was just like a vote and part of the democratic process.”
Reno Public Radio’s Anh Gray reached out to the Nevada American Civil Liberties Union to find out if employers are required to let workers caucus.
So, this is the response that Alexi Boshart got from her manager when she asked for extra time to caucus.
“Her knee jerk reaction was to tell me that I had to be at work and that I would get an attendance point if I was not there,” Boshart says.
Collecting eight of those attendance points in one year could put Boshart’s job on the chopping block.
To get more information, I checked-in with ACLU Executive Director Tod Story. Here’s what he had to say:
“The distinction needs to be made clear that the caucus process here in Nevada is a process that is run by the political parties not by the government," Story says. "So the government can oversee the process as far as the reporting of numbers , but when it comes to participating in the caucuses, you’ll see a number of different scenarios where some employers will work with the parties to make access to their employees to the caucus process available and other employers won’t.”
The Nevada Secretary of State works to ensure that federal and state election laws are enforced. But, as for a constitutional protection to caucus, Story says there isn’t one in Nevada until nominees are chosen.
“Once the party determines who their nominee for president is going to be, everyone will be guaranteed the right," Story says, "and their employers will have to allow them to go vote, when the employees request that, like in November on election day.”
Story encourages voters to contact their parties to let them know how they can make caucusing more accessible.
