Caucus vs Primary

© Stephanie Hicks 2008

Welcome to election season! This year, 2012 is bound to be an interesting election year with President Obama working to keep his seat in the White House and a slew of Republican candidates in the running.

The 2012 election season is underway!

The political system of the United States includes both caucuses and primaries leading up to the selection of a candidate for each of the major political parties: Democrats and Republicans.

Let's clarify the system and consider how delegates are selected for the Presidential race. From throwing their hat into the race until the date of the convention, the guess of who will be picked to represent each party is anyone's guess.

It comes down to caucuses vs primary - and there are several different types of each. Depending on the state in which you live, you'll need to determine whether you're casting a vote in a booth, or attending a meeting to discuss (caucus) who to send to the Convention in the fall.

Unlike the privacy of a voting booth, a caucus is a gathering of members of a political party - either Democrats or Republicans - in which they choose the candidate they wish to nominate. The political party announces the date, time and location of a meeting at which the candidates will be discussed. Any voter registered with the party may attend. The candidates are discussed and debated, and delegates are usually chosen to represent the state's interests at the national convention. Most will commit to support one of the candidates, but some will remain undecided.

Caucuses were the original method of choosing party candidates. However, they have declined in use and popularity since the primary was introduced in the early 1900s. It was thought that the primary system was a more democratic method of allowing across-the-board voter participation in the candidate selection than the caucus system.

In the 2008 election cycle, the Iowa caucuses were the first to occur. The Democrats in that state decided to support Barack Obama as their candidate in these caucuses. On Super Tuesday on February 4, 2008, the state of Idaho also held caucuses and the Democrats nominated Barack Obama over Hillary Clinton.

In 2012, Iowa was once again the first state to hold caucuses, on January 2, 2012. Republican candidate Mitt Romney narrowly edged out Rick Santorum by a mere handful of votes! Of course, the presumed Democratic nominee in 2012 is President Obama.

Each state makes its own decision as to whether to hold a caucus or a primary. Some have difficulty making up their mind. In Washington State, the state legislature decided that the state would change from a caucus system to a primary. However, the Washington State Democratic Party steadfastly decided to choose their delegates through caucuses, instead. Confusingly, votes cast for a Democratic candidate in the state primary will not count toward the delegate selection because the delegates will be selected by the caucuses. With Democratic races so tight, the confusion factor will likely be frustrating to voters and the candidates alike.

In states that do not hold caucuses to nominate the presidential candidate(s), presidential primary elections will be held. Note that, as in Washington State, one party may elect its candidate by primary election (Republicans), while the other party may nominate its candidate through the caucus system (Democrats), or vice-versa. These may or may not occur on the same date.

A primary election is generally what you might expect. Voters cast ballots for the candidate that they wish to elect, either in voting booths, or by absentee ballot, as permitted by law. There are different types of primary elections allowed in each state, however.

Closed elections mean that you cannot vote for a candidate in the opposite party. If you are a declared Democrat, you can only vote for a Democratic candidate.

Open elections are those in which you can vote for a candidate in any party. Only one vote can be cast, of course. No party affiliation need be made or adhered to.

Blanket primary. This type of election allows voters to cast vote for one candidate per office, regardless of party.

This question is probably the most critical - at least this year for the Democratic candidates. The Republican Party's method is relatively simple: it allows states to decide whether to use a winner-take-all method of awarding delegates, or the proportional method used by the Democrats.

The proportional method used by the Democratic Party divides up delegates among candidates based on number of primary votes, and overall support of caucus-goers. Thus, if a state has 10 delegates up for grabs, and there are 3 candidates on the ballot, if Candidate A received 60% of the votes, she would receive 6 delegates. If Candidate B received 30% of the votes, he would receive 3 delegates. Candidate C, with only 10% of the votes, would have 1 delegate.

The differing counts you may be hearing regarding the total number of delegates for each candidate is partially due to the fact that some caucus-attendees are undecided on the candidate that they will support at the national convention. Others have thrown their support to candidates that are no longer in the race, like Senator Edwards. As a result, those delegates are basically not counted yet.

The impact of "super delegates" is also a factor in the Democratic race. Nearly 40% of the delegates required for a nomination (842) are not even elected. Elected leaders, former presidents, governors, and "party elders" automatically get a say in nominating the party's candidate. These super delegates are uncommitted and can change their mind. Current counts include differing numbers for Clinton and Obama based on the super delegate counts.

Republicans do not have a super delegate system.

In short, with the race as tight as it is right now, it may be weeks before the counts are complete and a clear leader emerges on the Democratic side. Neither candidate appears ready to step aside yet. So, it looks like we'll continue down the list of caucuses and primary contests - state-by-state, as we come closer to the national conventions.

Source: 2012 Whitehouse2012.wordpress.com

Monday, January 16th; 28 Delegates Up

• Iowa 28 Caucus- Closed

Tuesday, January 21st; 23 Delegates Up

• New Hampshire 23 Primary/Proportional -Modified

Saturday, January 28th: 73 Delegates Up

• Nevada 23 Caucus Closed
• South Carolina - 50 Primary/ Winner-Take-All Open

Tuesday, January 31st; 99 delegates Up

• Florida 99 -Primary/Winner-Take-All Closed

Tuesday, February 7th; 680 Delegates Up

• Alabama 50 Primary/Winner-Take-All Open
• California 172 Primary/Winner-Take-All Closed
• Connecticut 28 Primary/Winner-Take-All Closed
• Delaware 17 Primary/Winner-Take-All Closed
• Georgia 75 Primary/Winner-Take-All Modified
• Missouri -53 Primary/Winner-Take-All Closed
• New Jersey 50 – Primary/Winner-Take-All – Modified
• New York - 95 Primary/Winner-Take-All Closed
• Oklahoma - 43 Primary/Winner-Take-All Closed
• Tennessee - 58 Primary/Winner-Take-All (by district) Open
• Utah - 39 Primary/Winner-Take-All Modified

Saturday, February 11th; 44 Delegates Up

• Louisiana - 44 Primary/Proportional Closed

Tuesday, February 14th; 56 Delegates Up

• Maryland 37 Primary/Winner-Take-All Closed
• Virginia - 49 Primary/Winner-Take-All Open

Tuesday, February 21st; 62 Delegates Up

• Hawaii 20 Caucus Closed
• Wisconsin - 42 -Primary/Winner-Take-All Open

Tuesday, February 28th; 66 Delegates Up

• Arizona - 57 Primary/Winner-Take-All Closed
• Michigan - 59 – Primary/Winner-Take-All Open

Tuesday, March 6th; -335Delegates Up

• Minnesota 40 Caucus Open
• Massachusetts - 41 Primary/Proportional Modified
• Ohio - 66 Primary/Winner-Take-All Modified
• Rhode Island - 19 – Primary/Proportional – Modified
• Texas - 152 Primary/ Winner-Take-All (by district) – Open
• Vermmont - 17 Primary/Winner-Take-All Open

Tuesday, March 13th; 37 delegates Up

• Mississippi 37 Primary/Winner-Take-All (by district) Open

Tuesday, March 20th; 105 Delegates Up

• Colorado - 36 Caucus Closed
• Illinois - 69 Loophole Primary Open

Tuesday, April 24th; 72 Delegates Up

• Pennsylvania 72 Loophole Primary Closed

Tuesday, May 8th; 132 Delegates Up

• Indiana 46 Primary/Winner-Take-all Open
• North Carolina 55 Primary/Proportional – Modified
• West Virginia 31 Primary/Winner-Take-All Modified

Tuesday, May 15th; 64 Delegates Up

• Nebraska - 35 Advisory Modified
• Oregon 29 Primary/Proportional – Closed

Tuesday, May 27th; 113 Delegates Up

• Arkansas 36 Primary/Proportional Open
• Idaho - 32 Primary/Proportional Open
• Kentucky - 45 Primary/ Proportional Closed

Tuesday, June 7th; - 57 Delegates Up

• Montana - 26 Primary/ Winner-Take-All Open
• New Mexico -23 Primary/Proportional Closed
• South Dakota 28 Primary/Proportional Closed

Monday, August 27th Thursday, August 30th, 2012;

• 40th National Republican Convention in Florida

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