Caucus chaos?

The Democratic Party is warning that chaos and legal battles could erupt if election officials botch the little-understood caucuses held on March 4. Yes, Democrats have both a caucus and a primary -- the preferred term is fast becoming Prima-Caucus.

In a memo marked “URGENT” and sent out to county and precinct election officials, Boyd Richie (that's him in the photo), chairman of the Texas Democratic Party, raised the specter of legal challenges and mayhem on the night of March 4, saying the best way to avoid it is by adhering to procedures.

“Legal challenges are likely if the rules are not followed,’’ he wrote. “We must do all that we can to ensure the precinct conventions are held in accordance with state law and (party) rules. Otherwise, our convention process and the results of the precinct conventions could be thrown into chaos.’’

Texas has 228 delegates, the biggest single cache remaining. But only 126 delegates are doled out based on the selection primary voters make when they go to the polls. Another 35 are so-called “superdelegates,’’ or party honchos free to pick whomever they choose. That leaves 67 -- nearly a third of the total and more than some states have -- that will be apportioned based on caucus participation.

“It’s an enormous caucus,’’ said David Plouffe, Obama’s national campaign manager. “This set of delegates awarded at your caucus essentially is a big state in and of itself. So we’re going to compete vigorously for that.’’

-- Jay Root