Open main menu
Home
Random
Recent changes
Special pages
Community portal
Preferences
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Incubator escapee wiki
Search
User menu
Talk
Dark mode
Contributions
Create account
Log in
Editing
Iowa caucuses
(section)
Warning:
You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you
log in
or
create an account
, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.
Anti-spam check. Do
not
fill this in!
===Democratic Party=== {{More citations needed section|date=January 2024}} {{Further|Walking subcaucus}} Each precinct divides its delegate seats among the candidates in proportion to caucus goers' votes. Participants indicate their support for a particular candidate by standing in a designated area of the caucus site (forming a preference group). An area may also be designated for an "uncommitted" group. Participants may try to convince their neighbors to support their candidates.<ref name="what_happens_at_a_caucus" /> Each preference group might informally deputize a few members to recruit supporters from the other groups and, in particular, from among those undecided. Undecided participants might visit each preference group to ask its members about their candidate. After some time, the electioneering is temporarily halted, and the supporters for each candidate (and for "uncommitted") are counted. At this point, the caucus officials determine which candidates or groups are viable, potentially including the "uncommitted" group.<ref name="what_happens_at_a_caucus" /> Depending on the number of county delegates to be elected, the viability threshold is no less than 15% of attendees. ''(For four or more delegates, the threshold is 15%. For three delegates, the threshold is the total number of voters, divided by 6, roughly 16.66%. For two delegates, the threshold is 25%. For one delegate, there is no threshold, and the delegate is elected by a majority vote of eligible voters in attendance, following the first round of alignment.)''<ref>{{cite web |title=Iowa Delegate Selection Plan for the 2020 Democratic National Convention |url=https://iowademocrats.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Iowa-Delegate-Selection-Plan-9.21.19.pdf |publisher=The Iowa Democratic Party |access-date=February 11, 2020 |pages=2β3 |date=September 19, 2019 |archive-date=March 16, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200316042303/https://iowademocrats.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Iowa-Delegate-Selection-Plan-9.21.19.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> For a candidate (or the "uncommitted" group) to earn any delegates from a particular precinct, the candidate or group must have the support of at least the percentage of participants required by the viability threshold. Once viability is determined, participants have an opportunity to realign: although supporters of viable candidates or groups are locked into their choice, the supporters of nonviable candidates or groups may find a viable candidate or group to support, join with supporters of another nonviable candidate or group to secure a delegate for one of the two, or abstain. This realignment is a distinction of caucuses in that (unlike in most primaries) a voter's second choice can help a candidate. When the voting is closed, a final headcount is conducted, and each precinct apportions delegates to the county convention. These numbers are reported to the state party, which counts the total number of delegates for each candidate (and delegates who are "uncommitted") and reports the results to the media. Most of the participants go home, leaving a few to finish the business of the caucus: each preference group elects its delegates, and then the groups reconvene to elect local party officers and discuss the platform. The delegates are chosen by the precinct then go to a later caucus, the county convention, to choose delegates to the district convention and state convention. Most of the delegates to the Democratic National Convention are selected at the district convention, with the remaining ones selected at the state convention. Delegates to each level of convention are initially bound to support their chosen candidate but can later switch in a process very similar to what occurs at the precinct level; however, as major shifts in delegate support are rare, the media declares the candidate with the most delegates on the precinct caucus night the winner and relatively little attention is paid to the later caucuses. In 2014, the Iowa Democratic Party introduced changes to the caucus system to allow members of the military to participate in a statewide caucus and establish satellite caucuses for voters with disabilities and others who have trouble making it to the physical location of the caucuses. They will also work for the passage of a new law that requires employers to allow employees to take time off for the caucuses.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/govbeat/wp/2014/08/01/iowa-democrats-propose-changes-to-caucus-system/?tid=hpModule_ba0d4c2a-86a2-11e2-9d71-f0feafdd1394&hpid=z11 |title=Iowa Democrats propose changes to caucus system |last=Wilson |first=Reid |date=August 1, 2014 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=August 2, 2014 |archive-date=October 2, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151002063237/http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/govbeat/wp/2014/08/01/iowa-democrats-propose-changes-to-caucus-system/?tid=hpModule_ba0d4c2a-86a2-11e2-9d71-f0feafdd1394&hpid=z11 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2016, the Iowa Democratic Party held the first-ever tele-caucus for members of the military serving outside Iowa and their families; Iowans in the Peace Corps and Diplomatic Corps; and students and Iowans living abroad.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Tompkins |first=Al |date=February 1, 2016 |title=Covering the Iowa caucuses? Here's what you need to know |work=Poynter.org |url=https://www.poynter.org/educators-students/2016/covering-the-iowa-caucuses-heres-what-you-need-to-know/ |access-date=November 17, 2022 |archive-date=November 17, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221117055156/https://www.poynter.org/educators-students/2016/covering-the-iowa-caucuses-heres-what-you-need-to-know/|url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Lapowsky |first=Issie |date=January 11, 2016 |title=Tech Is Finally Disrupting the Archaic Iowa Caucuses |magazine=Wired |url=https://www.wired.com/2016/01/the-low-tech-high-stakes-iowa-caucus-is-getting-disrupted/ |access-date=November 17, 2022 |archive-date=November 17, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221117060716/https://www.wired.com/2016/01/the-low-tech-high-stakes-iowa-caucus-is-getting-disrupted/|url-status=live }}</ref> In addition, it held satellite caucuses in 2020, in an attempt to improve accessibility and participation in the Iowa caucuses.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Stevens |first=Matt |date=February 6, 2020 |title=What Are Iowa's Satellite Caucuses? And How Did They Help Bernie Sanders? |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/06/us/politics/iowa-satellite-caucuses.html |access-date=November 17, 2022 |archive-date=November 17, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221117055153/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/06/us/politics/iowa-satellite-caucuses.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Starting in 2020, 10% of state convention delegates will be assigned through tele-caucuses.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://iowastartingline.com/2019/02/12/how-iowas-caucus-reform-will-change-campaign-strategies/ |title=How Iowa's Caucus Reform Will Change Campaign Strategies|last=Rynard|first=Pat|date=February 12, 2019 |website=Iowa Starting Line |access-date=February 28, 2019 |archive-date=March 1, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190301140029/https://iowastartingline.com/2019/02/12/how-iowas-caucus-reform-will-change-campaign-strategies/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Beginning with the 2020 caucus, the Iowa Democratic Party publishes not only "State Delegate Equivalents", based on a calculation of likely delegate results after the state caucus is held, but also a statewide raw vote count after the first alignment round (including results for all non-viable candidates) and a statewide raw vote count for all viable candidates after the second alignment round.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.newser.com/story/284413/for-first-time-in-iowa-3-winners-are-possible.html |title=For the First Time in the Iowa Caucuses, 3 'Winners' Are Possible |last=Johnson |first=John |date=December 16, 2019 |website=Newser |access-date=December 28, 2019 |archive-date=December 28, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191228211138/https://www.newser.com/story/284413/for-first-time-in-iowa-3-winners-are-possible.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
Edit summary
(Briefly describe your changes)
By publishing changes, you agree to the
Terms of Use
, and you irrevocably agree to release your contribution under the
CC BY-SA 4.0 License
and the
GFDL
. You agree that a hyperlink or URL is sufficient attribution under the Creative Commons license.
Cancel
Editing help
(opens in new window)