The State Central Committee of the Iowa Democratic Party voted unanimously last night to hold the 2012 caucuses on January 3, beginning at 6:30 pm. I’ve posted the IDP’s press release after the jump. The Republican Party of Iowa set their caucuses for January 3 earlier this week. Traditionally Democrats and Republicans have coordinated their caucus schedule to prevent voters from gaming the system by participating in both parties’ events.

Iowans can change their party registration on caucus night. Former State Representative and Congressional candidate Ed Fallon has encouraged Democrats to become Republicans for a day. I recently ran into one active Democratic volunteer in my precinct who plans to caucus for Representative Ron Paul in January.

I would advise Democrats to stick with their own party’s caucus. It’s a good way to meet like-minded people in your neighborhood as well as an opportunity to influence the party machinery. Precinct caucus attendees elect county convention delegates and approve platform resolutions.  

Iowa Democratic Party press release of October 20:

State Central Committee Sets Democratic Caucus Date, Issues Official Caucus and Convention Call

DES MOINES – In a telephonic meeting, members of the Iowa Democratic Party’s State Central Committee voted unanimously tonight to hold the 2012 Iowa Democratic Caucuses on January 3rd, 2012, beginning at 6:30 PM and called to order at 7:00 PM. The party has issued the official caucus and convention call.

“On January 3rd, Democrats from across the state will stand by President Obama as Iowa kicks off the 2012 election,” said Iowa Democratic Party Chairwoman Sue Dvorsky. “The Iowa Democratic Party has already begun aggressively organizing around our First in the Nation Caucuses, and this will be an opportunity for supporters to get involved in the political process.”

With the precinct caucuses set for January 3rd, the county conventions are set for March 10th, 2012, district conventions on April 28th, 2012, and the state convention on June 16th, 2012. The Iowa Democratic Party has already launched TheCaucuses.com and an iPhone application where Iowa Democrats are encouraged to Commit to Caucus in 2012 and learn more about the process.

“Now that we have a caucus date set, we will continue to organize and work with our Democratic leaders across the state to prepare for this important event,” added Dvorsky.