It's caucus and primary season, and that means we're well on our way to choosing the next president of the United States. How exciting, or rather terrifying, seeing as we have a rather bizarre selection of presidential contenders in this year's line-up. The first step in this contest is to narrow down the line-up by selecting the nominee for each party through caucuses and primaries. As the Iowa caucus wrapped up on February 1, many millennials, many of whom will be voting for the first time, and/or attending a caucus or primary for the first time, are unsure what a caucus or primary is, and/or how they can participate in one. Don't stress; I've got you covered with the quick and dirty of caucusing and participating in primaries.
Caucus -- The Ultimate Party Get-Together
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A caucus is a meeting arranged by a state or local branch of a political party where people vote as to how many delegates will be sent representing each candidate in the national party conventions. Caucuses vary from party to party, state to state, and precinct to precinct. Some states require you to be a registered member of a particular party to participate by a certain date, in others you may be able to be registered with any party or an Independent and participate. You can check those state-by-state requirements here. Participants show up at their local precinct in their neighborhood (you can find this on your voter registration information or your Secretary of State's website), at a school, office, or business and sign in. Next, participants break into groups based on their support for a particular candidate, by moving into groups, raising hands, private ballot, or other methods. Groups that have the least support, as defined by a particular precinct, must break up and move to a different group (if a private ballot is not used). This continues until there is enough support for a candidate, as defined by a particular precinct. The delegates can be assigned to the remaining candidate groups based on proportions of support towards a particular candidate, or a winner-take-all system where the candidate with the most support receives all of a precinct's delegates.
Primary -- The Election Before the Election
A primary is different than a caucus. States that don't have a caucus, which is most states, have a primary, which functions a lot like a regular election. People show up and cast a secret ballot, as in a regular election. Primaries can be open, where any registered voter can vote regardless of their party affiliation, or closed, where registered voters can only vote among candidates matching their party affiliation. Delegates are assigned to candidates based on proportions of votes received, or a winner-take-all system, as in a caucus.
To learn more about primaries and caucuses, check out this video from Khan Academy.
What happens next?
The delegates selected at the local level move on to county and state contests, and ultimately are selected for the national party conventions. These delegates, along with superdelegates, cast votes for the candidate they are representing, and the candidate with the most delegates wins the party nomination.
How do I find mine?
So now that you have the quick and dirty on primaries and caucuses, contact your Secretary of State or local party branch to find out details about location and times. You can also click here to see the dates, types, and requirements of all the upcoming contests.
Happy caucusing!
