Keeping Utah Red
Start Small
Utah's people are as diverse as the landscape. From the red rocks in the south to the Uintas in the north. The sprawling salt flats of the west to the urban landscape of the Wasatch Front. Every county is unique and so are their needs. Each will face challenges of their own. So as a state party, how do we help?
We must start at the beginning, closest to home. We must give the county parties the resources that they need to elect people who understand the issues. Not just within the caucus/ convention system, but in City Councils, Mayors, School Boards, County Officials and Commissioners. As a party, we will create a layout for the individual counties. Giving them a blueprint to organize, excite and elect qualified and vibrant representatives. Ones who understand the problems closest to home, who know the needs of their friends and neighbors. Giving them the tools to engage in issues and show them the avenues to correct any problems that may arise.
We must start at the beginning, closest to home. We must give the county parties the resources that they need to elect people who understand the issues. Not just within the caucus/ convention system, but in City Councils, Mayors, School Boards, County Officials and Commissioners. As a party, we will create a layout for the individual counties. Giving them a blueprint to organize, excite and elect qualified and vibrant representatives. Ones who understand the problems closest to home, who know the needs of their friends and neighbors. Giving them the tools to engage in issues and show them the avenues to correct any problems that may arise.
Technology in the party
Virtual Participation
Over the past decade, there has been extreme advancements in technology. It is time that we bring the party up to speed. Over the past few years I have garnered nearly 20 Million video views on social media, as well as a reach of close to 100 Million people. My background in social media, audio/visual, live stream and technology will be used to attract more people to the state party, maintain communication and help engage the younger voters.
If we are to accomplish our goal of 30% of the party under 30 years old, technology is a must. With young families or fast-paced lives, we must take the party, and our convention, to where the voters, and our delegates are. If we want to attract new and vibrant voters to the Caucus/Convention system. We need to make the process as painless as possible.
To accomplish our goals of expanding the party, increasing attendance, and encouraging engagement, we must look to lessons learned over the past year. As many counties have attested to, with a virtual attendance option, record numbers of delegates are attending events. For example, one county held a special election for the nomination of a new county sheriff. 242 of 276 delegates voted in that election with the virtual option. As I engage with delegates from across the state, many are advocating for more virtual options
I believe that we can craft a hybrid system, allowing those who are able to attend events in person to attend. Also, making it possible for those who want to attend but because of travel, monetary issues or for other reasons cannot attend. Giving them an avenue to participate as well.
Some say, " Well Carson, these systems are expensive, how can the party afford to do these things?" We are able now to do things, that we have never been able to before. My background in technology and audio/visual has led me to find cheap and efficient ways of creating high quality video streams. For example, I am setup to broadcast live, to anywhere in the world. From the comfort of my basement, in full high definition. This technology can be brought to the party for less than $1000.
This system can also be used throughout the year, to hold virtual fundraisers. Creating speaking events, virtually. Patrons would pay a small fee to listen to the speakers, generating funds for the party. Not to mention a real time, hands on communication system to the delegates.
On top of this, instead of a weekly or monthly news letter. We can establish a bi-weekly or monthly podcast/radio show for the state party. Once again, for less than $25 a month. We can have a way to communicate with the Republican voters of Utah. Straight from the party leadership. Clear communication and transparency will always be an asset to the party.
Party Organization
While I was running for CD 2 in 2020. I saw a need inside of the party. The system that is used to organize the delegate lists and information was very labor intensive. I saw countless county officials hounding their chairs for delegate information. I saw secretaries scouring voter records to find a phone number to be able to contact a delegate. Then after much prying, getting a valid email address for that delegate. They then would manually add that to a list. Those lists then were sent to the state party to be added manually to a spreadsheet. That spreadsheet was then emailed out to the delegates once, sometimes twice a day.
I then began to talk with a few developers about a system, that would allow the party to have seamless access and communication from the delegates on up to the party leadership. Where every individual can log into an app. That app then knows what precinct, senate district, leg. district, congressional district, etc. that you belong to. It then displays all of the information pertinent to you, who is under you, who is over you, when caucus night is, dates and times that are relevant to you. This way, we will not have candidates contacting those who are no longer delegates, we will have correct contact information, and also a means to distribute information among the delegates. The list will always be in real time. Also making the leadership positions less labor intensive and time consuming for the volunteers. Thus attracting many new people to these positions who otherwise would not have had the time to volunteer.
(Some developers inside of the party have offered to develop the platform for free to the party. The party would then only pay the cost for the use of the servers.)
I then began to talk with a few developers about a system, that would allow the party to have seamless access and communication from the delegates on up to the party leadership. Where every individual can log into an app. That app then knows what precinct, senate district, leg. district, congressional district, etc. that you belong to. It then displays all of the information pertinent to you, who is under you, who is over you, when caucus night is, dates and times that are relevant to you. This way, we will not have candidates contacting those who are no longer delegates, we will have correct contact information, and also a means to distribute information among the delegates. The list will always be in real time. Also making the leadership positions less labor intensive and time consuming for the volunteers. Thus attracting many new people to these positions who otherwise would not have had the time to volunteer.
(Some developers inside of the party have offered to develop the platform for free to the party. The party would then only pay the cost for the use of the servers.)