Week 2: Digging into Caucuses, Section 3

Brief snapshot of Caucuses versus Primaries

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In the US presidential selection process every four years the political parties hold “elections” to determine the popularity of presidential contenders. These elections can be conducted in basically two separate ways.

Most common are primary elections. In these voters can register their preference for a candidate of their party by going to polling places just as they do in general elections. They can vote from early morning until the polling places close and the results are announced. Based on the outcome candidates obtain delegates. The delegate selection process then moves on through the system, to county conventions, congressional district conventions, state conventions and finally the national convention of their party. At the national convention, held in the summer of the election year, the candidates for president and vice president are selected and they move on to the general election campaign.

Some states use “caucuses.” These are meetings of party voters and activists that take place in the precinct where the voter lives. In California there are roughly 20,000 precincts. The state of Vermont only has 275 precincts. Iowa has over 1,700 precincts and thus caucuses.

Voters assemble on Election Day normally at 7 pm in the evening and express their preference for presidential candidates of their party. Delegates are selected by either a simple secret ballot (Republican) or a very complex mathematical process (Democrats) and the results reported to the news media who declare a “winner.”

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