OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV)--The front lawn of Beals Elementary School was turned into a gathering for the democrats of District 9.
People lounged on the grass while waiting to caucus.
"It's important to know how many people you're gonna have,” said Michael Fryda, a Democrat. "One thing I'll say for sure is that Beals was definitely too small for the turnout that we had."
An overwhelming turnout this morning forced officials to move the entire caucus outside. The school's gym was too small.
"Organization was a little bit of an issue here, there were some teachers in the audience who made some recommendations," Fryda said.
Many waited in long lines just to register. One Democrat said she waited for over an hour and a half.
The district even ran out of presidential preference sheets causing more delay.
District 9 State Senator Sara Howard said she was excited to see a large turnout, and is looking for ways to improve the caucus process.
"This is only our third caucus in the state, so I think we're still learning a lot of valuable lessons about how best to run a caucus and so this was great example of everyone pitching in,” Howard said. “We had a lot of constituents just jump in and volunteer and help out, which made a huge difference."
Caucusing began around 11 A.M., an hour later than scheduled. People here want better communication in the future.
"I think if there were maybe some phone calls or some emails, even snail mail, just to let us know the process, what time we should be there, what to expect, that would have been better,” said Susan Howard, a Democrat.
Officials say Sanders won this district: receiving 932 votes. Clinton trailed with 563 votes.
