If you think your job Tuesday — choosing between the Democrats who will be on the ballot — is hard, think about the work of Laura Sanchez.

Sanchez, the state Democratic Party's executive director, is ready for vacation as she and other party officials head into the last hours of preparing for the caucus.

"I haven't had a day off in three weeks, if that's any indication," she joked.

Her work with a slew of volunteers, with the phones ringing off the hook, with the frenetic pace picking up, is just part of the effort to make sure Democrats can vote on Super Tuesday.
Sanchez isn't alone: To handle the caucus, the party has a communications person and two temporary staffers who mainly work the phones. It's also got two field staff, a voter file manager, a researcher, a caucus director.

And, Sanchez has also got outside help stirring up voters. The visits by Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama last week "drummed up a lot of interest and phone calls," she said.

To pull off the event, the party will spend between $250,000 and $300,000 on the caucus. A regular primary election is paid for by the state, but the party had to raise money to pay for Tuesday's voting.

Remember: Technically, the event is a caucus, but for the most part it works like a primary.

Registered Democrats — and Democrats only — will go to a polling site, stand in line and cast a ballot for their favorite presidential candidate.

Voters can chose from seven Democrats, fill in a write-in line or check an uncommitted spot.

Republicans will nominate someone for president during the June 3 primary election. Residents who registered as "declined to state" or independent aren't allowed to participate in the nominating process in New Mexico.

If you are a Democrat, your polling place might be different than your usual spot. See the accompanying lists of polling sites in the area. You also can check out www.nmdemocrats.org for location information or call 505-830-3650. Voting will be from noon to 7 p.m.

The caucus sends delegates to the August Democratic National Convention in Denver. New Mexico has 38 delegates and four alternates.

For updated candidate election information on Tuesday night, visit www.nmdemocrats.org.