12 Questions About The Jan. 3 Iowa Caucuses

12 Questions About The Jan. 3 Iowa Caucuses
By Greg Giroux, CQ Staff

1. So what is a presidential precinct caucus, anyway?

A caucus is essentially a meeting of local political party activists who convene to express their candidate preferences. As is the case in most caucus states, Iowa’s precinct meetings start a multi-tiered process that will culminate at the state party conventions with the final selection and allocation of the state’s delegates to the national Democratic and Republican Party conventions.

2. How does a caucus differ from a primary election?

Unlike a caucus, a primary is carried out in a virtually identical manner to a general election contest, with participants going to polling place or, depending on state election procedures, voting at home for their preferred candidates. A primary election attracts a broader swath of the electorate, in part because it requires a shorter time commitment. A caucus takes longer to conduct and tends to attract dedicated party activists.

3. It seems as though the Iowa caucuses are always the first event of the presidential nomination season. Why is that?

The Iowa precinct caucuses have been the kickoff presidential nominating event since 1972, when the Democratic Party scheduled them for Jan. 24. Since 1976, Democrats and Republicans have held their caucuses on the same date. Until that era, Iowa’s caucuses had been extremely low-profile and weren’t the media circus they are today. But the 1972 and 1976 Democratic contests helped turn the precinct caucuses into a major force in presidential selection: the stronger-than-expected performance by South Dakota Sen. George McGovern in the first of those events and by former Georgia Gov. Jimmy Carter in the latter helped boost both to the party’s nomination, which in turn turned future Iowa precinct events into media magnets. Iowa officials since have zealously guarded their state’s tradition as the host of the kickoff nomination contest.

4. Where are these caucuses held?

In a wide variety of locations such as schools, churches, community centers, public libraries and even private homes. Democrats and Republicans will hold caucuses in each of Iowa’s nearly 1,800 precincts; in some places, both party’s caucuses will be held in the same locations. For a list of precinct caucus locations, click here for the Democrats and here for the Republicans.

5. How many people show up to caucus?

It depends on a contest’s competitiveness, but usually about 10 to 20 percent of a party’s voters will participate in the caucuses. About 124,000 people participated in the 2004 Iowa Democratic caucuses (there were no Republican contests that year because President Bush was unopposed for renomination).

6. Who can participate in a precinct caucus?

Any Iowa resident can participate, provided he or she is 18 years of age or will be by Nov. 4, 2008, the date of the general election. To participate in a party’s caucus, a voter must have previously registered as a member of that party or chooses to register with the party on caucus night. Any prospective participant must show up at the caucus site by 7 p.m. central time, when the caucus begins.

Six more at link...

http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?parm1=5&docID=news-000002649800