Adam RasmussenChannel 2 News
Everyone says this year's caucus was much more organized than in 2008, but some say there's still room for improvement.
"It's just kind of mayhem," said Julie Moore of Reno. "It's just not the way it should be."
There were a few headaches at Hug High School Saturday morning. One woman said she sat around for an hour and a half while caucus volunteers looked confused and unsure of what to do. Others in that precinct say things started off slow, but eventually picked up.
"There was a lot of dissatisfaction with the people here, still with the system," said Rob Garman of Reno.
Over at Mendive Middle School in Sparks, things seemed to be a little less stressful. Voters lined up bright and early, making their way into the registration area.
Gina Breslow of Sparks remembers standing outside in the cold back in 2008 waiting to vote in the last caucus. She says this time around, though, things couldn't have gone better.
"We walked in here," she said. "It took nine minutes to get through the door. Last year, it was almost two hours.
Not everybody was so impressed.
One man told us the lines in the registration area were confusing and not separated. He was hoping volunteers would have done a little more to prepare voters.
"Maybe some more literature in advance to let us know what we're expected to do and where we were supposed to go," said Ron McWain of Sparks.
Everyone eventually finds their precinct and the caucus experience begins. Sitting in a circle, voters are given a two minute window to speak their minds and support their candidate.
Just before 11 a.m., this precinct's results are in with Newt Gingrich taking home the victory.
"Well, this is raw America, raw democracy" said Kevin Christensen of Sparks. "This really is. This is the way things used to be done. People would travel many, many miles and meet together like this."
Voters say one of the biggest concerns from Saturday's caucus was the turnout. This precinct expected to see 90 people cast a vote, and only 30 showed up.
"I am disappointed in that," said Bette Neville of Sparks. "I think the problem with our nation today is too many of us have turned our backs and let someone else handle the problem."
One of the caucus organizers at Hug High School says the most common mistake people made on Saturday was showing up at the wrong voting location.
