Week 4: Future of Caucuses, Section 2

Brief snapshot of Change in Nominations? End of Caucuses?

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For over forty years of Iowa caucuses Americans have watched politicians interested in becoming president have come and campaigned in the Hawkeye State.

However, almost from the start there have been suggestions for better ways to start the presidential selection process.

I believe that eventually there will be changes both to the caucuses and to the national process.

The caucuses will clearly tighten up how each of the over 1,700 caucuses are run. Greater organization, standardization of procedures, more accurate vote counting and reporting will be put in place.

I also believe that accommodations for remote participation using technologies such as Skype may be considered in the future. I don’t think Iowa will want to switch to primaries because the caucuses are so unique and therefore valuable to the American political process.

There will also be moves to create large regional primaries that cluster 10 or more states to provide more efficiency and order to the candidate selections period that starts in January or February of presidential election years.

It’s also likely that at some point in the future the entire American presidential candidate selection process will change and the Iowa caucuses will be subsumed and transformed.

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Videos

• Interview with David Oman, Former Chief of Staff of Governor Terry Branstad and eminent caucus expert