What are the Iowa caucuses and why do they matter? They’re essentially small local meetings where neighbors and strangers stand up to show their support for a particular candidate, and to persuade others to join them. Iowa’s 41 national delegates are up for grabs, but the real stakes for the candidates are all about momentum. The caucuses are the first opportunity for Democrats to express their preferences in what’s been a long and tumultuous primary. They set the tone for the monthlong sprint through the early primary states, after which the field of candidates is typically culled. The winner usually receives a boost in media attention and fundraising that can propel them through subsequent contests. An unexpectedly bad performance, meanwhile, can hobble a candidate. The caucuses don’t always pick the eventual nominee, but for Democrats they’ve been more predictive — every winner since 2000 has gone on to become the Democratic nominee. And historically, they’ve been known to catapult underdog candidates’ campaigns to prominence — like they did with Barack Obama in 2008, or Jimmy Carter in 1976. WHERE AND WHEN DO THEY TAKE PLACE — AND WHO PARTICIPATES? The caucuses begin at 7 p.m. CST on Monday. Democrats gather in school gymnasiums, union halls and community centers — known in caucus parlance as precincts. There are 1,678 precincts in Iowa this year and an additional 99 satellite precincts, which are for caucuses held outside of the state or at different times of the day and in locations that may be more accessible to those with disabilities or those who have to work during the main event. Some precincts could have hundreds of Iowans show up, and some may have fewer than 10. The 2008 Democratic caucuses set a record when nearly 240,000 Iowans turned out; this year, party operatives are expecting turnout to be big, but likely not record-breaking. Any registered Democrat who will be 18 by election day can participate, which includes 17-year-olds with an upcoming birthday. And Iowans can newly register or switch their party registration at their caucus site the day of — so campaigns have been courting disaffected Republicans and new voters across Iowa. WHAT HAPPENS AT A CAUCUS? There are essentially two rounds of voting in the caucuses. When all the caucusgoers at a precinct have signed in, the attendees elect a caucus chair, who directs the proceedings. Representatives of the campaigns have an opportunity to stand up and give a last-minute pitch for their candidate, and then the caucuses begin, with a process known as the “first alignment.” That’s where attendees gather in the designated area for their favored candidate. In most precincts, any candidate that receives the support of 15% of the people in the room is considered “viable” and moves on to the next round of voting. Caucusgoers who chose a viable candidate on their first round are locked in and can’t choose a new candidate on the second. Supporters of candidates who didn’t meet that threshold, however, have four options: They can support a viable candidate, or join with supporters of another non-viable candidate close to 15% support to get them to viability. Alternately, they can try to entice supporters of other non-viable candidates over to theirs to get them over the threshold. Or, they can go home. This part […]
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