What's the difference between a "caucus" and a "primary"?

GOPBasher

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Tue Nov-11-03 10:03 AM
Original message

What's the difference between a "caucus" and a "primary"?

I'm dumb. Can someone help me? I don't know the difference between those two things.

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SadEagle

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Tue Nov-11-03 10:13 AM
Response to Original message

1. A primary...

... is just like any other election where people show up and vote for their candidate.

In a caucus, people instead go to various meeting places, and spend time discussing the various candidates, issues, etc. So it's more like a mini meeting of party members...

The offshoot is basically that the turn out for primaries is low, and that turn out for caucuses is extremely low, since few(er?) people are willing to spend a few hours on an election...

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GOPBasher

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Tue Nov-11-03 10:15 AM
Response to Reply #1

2. Thanks

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Paschall

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Tue Nov-11-03 10:52 AM
Response to Reply #1

3. Caucuses are also the places...

Edited on Tue Nov-11-03 10:53 AM by Paschall

...where party members can submit written proposals to voters in their precinct for eventual inclusion in the party platform, for example. So caucuses can also include votes on issues.

In my experience, caucuses are usually held in the primary voting place after ballots are counted.

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dofus

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Tue Nov-11-03 11:01 AM
Response to Original message

4. The caucuses also select

the delegates to the next level of delegate selection. Which means in a caucus state you don't have to be in the inner circle of party faithful to make it to the national convention. In a primary state, the delegates are all party faithful.

Personally, I want to be a delegate to Boston this summer, and I've already started campaigning with everyone I know. I'm sure I'll make it out of my local caucus to the next level, and I plan on bribing my way up the ladder. I'll bake my incredibly good chocolate chip cookies, and that should do the trick.

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