How does a direct primary differ from a caucus?

The first step in the US Presidential Elections is the caucuses and primaries.

A caucus involves people attending a meeting, or a debate, before they vote for their preferred candidate. Voting usually happens via a head count or a show of hands. Unlike primaries where voters can just go to a polling booth to cast their ballot, caucuses are held in just a few select locations.

A primary is much simpler. A citizen shows up at a polling booth and casts their vote. There are two types of primaries — open primaries are when anyone can vote for a candidate of any party, regardless of their own affiliation.

Closed primaries are where voters get the choice of candidates only within their affiliated party.

However, the curtain raiser in the primary season is not a primary at all, it's the Iowa caucus. Caucuses were used by most states till the 1970s, but now only nine states and three Union territories, including Alaska, Nevada, Kansas and the US Virgin Islands, conduct caucuses.

The first primary is held in New Hampshire, after which other states follow suit. The first major event in the primary calendar is the Super Tuesday — when a majority of the states hold primaries or caucuses to vote for their preferred candidate.

About one-third of all delegates to the presidential nominating conventions can be won on Super Tuesday, making it a strong indicator of the likely nominee of each party.

This year, 16 states held their primaries and caucuses on Super Tuesday.

The more votes a candidate gets in a caucus or primary, the more "delegates" they are awarded. All candidates aim to win an unbeatable majority of delegates.

The last step before the presidential nominee for each party is announced is the convention. The convention is where all the delegates, who have won in the primaries and caucuses, come together to choose one nominee from all the candidates.

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The Basics

Caucus: Organized by political parties, a caucus is a meeting of supporters of a specific political party who gather to elect delegates to choose whom they believe should be the candidate in a given election.

Primary: A primary is a method of selecting a candidate similar to that of a general election. It is an organized statewide event put on by the state government where voters cast a secret ballot for the candidate of their choosing. Whomever receives a majority of the votes is the winner.

Digging Deeper

The election cycle in the United States is long. Years before the date of the election, possible presidential candidates begin speaking and touring, trying to get a sense of how much public support for their candidacy exists. The majority of candidates belong to one of two major parties in the United States, the Republican Party and the Democratic Party. Both parties select their candidates in nominating conventions which occur in the months before the national election in November of the election year. Who the parties select is dependent upon which candidate possess the majority of delegates at the nominating convention. It is these delegates that voters are truly making the selection of the candidate, not your vote!

There are two main methods by which these candidates are selected. These methods are a primary and a caucus. A primary is a method of selecting a candidate similar to that of a general election. It is an organized statewide event put on by the state government where voters cast a secret ballot for the candidate of their choosing. Whomever receives a majority of the votes is the winner. In state and local elections, this candidate goes on to run for the office. In a presidential primary, however, the winner is given a majority number of the state’s delegates to the nominating convention. Most states only allow voters to participate in the party’s primary in which they identify as a member.

A caucus is a very different process. Organized by the political parties themselves, caucuses are a “meeting of neighbors”. Groups of citizens come together in local assemblies to discuss who they think will be the best candidate. At the end of the meeting, an election is held where by delegates to a county or state convention who pledge to support the majority candidate are selected. These delegates go on to select the delegates to the national convention, who will eventually choose which candidate from that party will run for office.

So how did this complex system come about? And why do the political parties have so much control? Well stay tuned to Think the Vote to find out!

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