A good opportunity to influence Minneapolis city government starts Tuesday evening with caucuses

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It’s municipal election season in Minneapolis. On Nov. 4, voters will get the chance to vote on which candidates for the City Council, mayor, the Park and Recreation Board and the Board of Estimate and Taxation (BET) will win a four-year term to office.

In 2023, the most recent set of city elections, only 34% of registered voters participated. That’s roughly 80,000 voters. By comparison, about 225,000 participate in presidential year elections and about 190,000 participate in midterm elections.

There’s a contest, however, that takes place long before voters show up to rank their ballots in November — and City Council candidates who win that contest have over a 90% chance of being elected in November. Only about 5,000 — 2% or so — of Minneapolis voters participate.

That contest is the DFL endorsement process, which starts at 7 p.m. Tuesday at locations across the city. In a city where roughly 80% of voters are Democrats, and it’s been decades since a Republican has been elected to office, the party endorsement can be largely pre-determinative of the November elections. It’s the first step Minneapolis voters will have in determining what type of Democrat will represent them at City Hall. Participating is the single most important thing you can do if you want to see changes on the council.

Speaking to the endorsement’s power, if I had nickel for every time I’ve heard someone say they thought the party endorsement implied some level of “vetting,” I wouldn’t be typing up op-eds to inform them otherwise.

The vetting? Usually it’s about 300 to 400 people in a gymnasium in April or May voting for the candidate they prefer. And you could be one of those people!

Here’s how it works: On Tuesday night, every precinct in the city will have a meeting (the caucus) where on average about 40 delegates will be selected to become ward delegates. They’ll also select a handful of city delegates. On weekends starting April 26, each ward will have a convention where those delegates vote on which council candidate gets the party’s endorsement. The city delegates will have a convention in July, and they’ll vote on who gets the endorsement for mayor, Park Board and the BET.

It’ll take a little bit of your time, but it’s really that simple.

Here’s the craziest part: Recall I wrote that about 5,000 people participate citywide, and recall I wrote that each ward chooses 400 delegates (and 400 more alternates). Minneapolis has 13 City Council wards. Well … 13 wards multiplied by 400 delegates means that 5,200 delegates will be selected across the city. Put simply, if you show up, you’ll almost certainly secure yourself the chance to vote at a ward convention.

Our organization has spoken to thousands of Minneapolis voters who are frustrated by what they’re witnessing in city government and they want elected officials who are focused on providing safety, affordability and opportunity in this city. They want high-quality, efficient city services. They want flourishing small-business corridors. They want Democrats, but they also want pragmatic leaders who both share their values and understand that rigid adherence to ideology has been an impediment to progress in this city recently.

Nationally, geographic polarization means that most places across the country are dominated by one party or the other. Before that was the case, elections were decided on which candidate best appealed to the median voter. In this current era, it’s the intraparty contests like primaries and the endorsement process that largely determine who wins the November elections. Because only a small number of voters are participating in these contests, candidates no longer have to win by appealing to the median voter. They win by appealing to a small number of the most motivated voters.

Many people can feel the strains on our democracy today, but the fix is inherent — participation. If people want their perspective represented in government, they’ve got to show up for these early contests. If they don’t, someone else will be happy to take their place — though I can’t guarantee they’ll share your views.

Find out more about the candidates running for City Council and commit to caucus at wevotempls.com.

Joe Radinovich is currently campaign manager at We Love Minneapolis PAC and is a former DFL member of the Minnesota House. He lives in south Minneapolis with his wife and three children.