2007-12-30 01:09:30 · 5 answers · asked by Anonymous in Politics & Government ➔ Politics
On caucus night, Iowans gather by party preference to elect delegates to the 99 county conventions. Presidential preference on the Republican side is done with a straw vote of those attending the caucus. This vote is sometimes done by a show of hands or by dividing themselves into groups according to candidate. In precincts that elect only 1 delegate they choose the delegate by majority vote and it must be a paper ballot. Democratic candidates must receive at least 15 percent of the votes in that precinct to move on to the county convention. If a candidate receives less than 15 percent of the votes, supporters of non-viable candidates have the option to join a viable candidate group, join another non-viable candidate group to become viable, join other groups to form an uncommitted group or chose to go nowhere and not be counted. Non-viable groups have up to 30 minutes to realign, if they fail to do so in that time, they can ask the for more time, which is voted on by the caucus as a whole. If the caucus refuses, re-alignment is done and delegates are awarded. A "third party" may hold a convention to nominate one candidate for president and one for vice president as well. The results of this caucus activity on both the Democratic and Republican sides are not binding on the elected delegates, but the delegates usually feel obligated to follow the wishes expressed by the caucus-goers. Thus the initial caucus results provide a good barometer of the composition of Iowa's national delegation.
2007-12-30 01:18:05 · answer #1 · answered by Locutus1of1 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
The Iowa caucus is commonly recognized as the first step in the United States Presidential nomination process for both the Democrats and the Republicans.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iowa_caucus
2007-12-30 01:14:23 · answer #2 · answered by Kate 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Caucus system is a method for selecting delegates to the Convention through public meeting. It is not a private vote like a primary. People must discuss the candidates and publicly announce who they support. There are also very complicate rules that I won't get into here but that is the basic idea.
2007-12-30 01:18:20 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Don't quote me, but I believe it is the caucus they have in Iowa.
2007-12-30 01:12:36 · answer #4 · answered by hoovarted 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Hillary must of thought it was spelled cockus..only reason I could see her being there
2007-12-30 01:16:41 · answer #5 · answered by charlie s 5 · 1⤊ 3⤋