US elections 2024: what are primaries and caucuses?

What is a caucus and how is it different from a primary? On Monday, January 15, Iowa will be the first US state to vote for a presidential candidate, marking the start of the most important election of 2024.
Republicans will be in the spotlight in the Iowa caucus, as they elect future presidential candidates.
The Democratic primaries in Iowa will instead take place on March 5 and voters will vote by mail.
Historically, Iowa has always been the first state to open national elections.
According to state rules (which change for each US state), Republican elections are held with a caucus, which is a different system from primaries.
In this article we will explore what a caucus is and how it differs from primary elections.
We'll also break down why the Iowa caucus is so important to both parties.
US elections 2024: what are primaries and caucuses? How do elections work in the United States? What are primaries? What is a caucus? Why is Iowa so important? How will the Iowa Republican caucus go? How do elections work in the United States? National elections in the United States are the most watched political event of the year.
They will decide who will govern the richest and most powerful country in history.
The electoral process in the United States is long and complex.
Ultimately, however, it comes down to a national election between two major candidates, representing the two dominant political forces: the Republican and Democratic parties.
There may also be non-party candidates, but never in recent U.S.
history has an independent candidate garnered enough votes to seriously challenge the major parties.
These elections will be held in November.
Electors do not vote directly for a candidate: the President is selected by a committee of “Electors,” selected based on a state's population.
Larger states like California or Texas have more “Major Voters” than smaller states like Rhode Island or Hawaii.
The Voters gather after the November elections and vote for President based on the winning candidate in their state.
The Electoral College is made up of 538 electors and 270 are needed for a candidate to win.
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How will China react? What are primaries? Before arriving at the national presidential elections, however, voters are asked to choose the Republican and Democratic candidates who will face each other in November.
This selection process occurs with primaries or caucuses.
Usually, if the incumbent president announces his candidacy, he will most likely become his party's candidate.
In this case, Joe Biden is by far the favored candidate for the Democratic Party.
Following the Democratic primaries is therefore not that interesting for political observers.
On the other hand, they will be watching closely how the Republican primary takes shape.
The primaries follow a classic electoral scheme: a vote in which voters select their chosen candidate.
The primaries, like any traditional election, take place during the day and the votes are counted at the end.
Each state and party has a slightly different primary voting system.
For example, in some states parties allow only voters registered as members of the party to vote.
In other cases, anyone who is registered as a voter can vote in the party's primaries, even those who are not members.
What is a caucus? Completely different than primaries, a caucus is a system of choosing a party's candidate that involves direct political debate with the state's people.
During a caucus, party candidates take the stage and explain their policy agenda to the audience.
What happens next varies by party and state.
Generally, however, there are two electoral systems in a caucus: Voters cast a secret ballot.
Votes are then distributed proportionally to party delegates who will vote for a candidate at a subsequent meeting.
Voters are physically divided between the candidates of their choice.
In the conference room the voters line up according to their candidate, with a pool of "undecided" people in the middle.
At this point, voters and candidates can go around trying to convince undecideds to join them, or other voters to change candidates.
In this case, the vote is not secret and involves a higher degree of political involvement.
Caucuses are a very unique voting system, dating back to the founding of the United States.
They constitute a crucial step in the electoral campaign of presidential candidates, as they must demonstrate their skills in dealing directly with the public.
Many candidates have thrown away their campaigns because they failed to adapt well to the public during the caucuses.
On the contrary, underdog candidates like Barack Obama managed to overturn the elections thanks to their great skills in interacting with the public.
read also Trump's eligibility in the hands of the Supreme Court Why is Iowa so important? Historically, Iowa is the first state to hold an election during an election year.
The January and March caucuses are crucial for both parties to evaluate their election campaigns.
Iowa is a small state in the center of the nation.
Its nearest major urban center is Chicago, Illinois, several miles to the east.
With a population of just over 3 million people, Iowa doesn't have much constituency relevance.
In fact, Iowa can only cast 6 votes out of 538 in the November elections.
That would make Iowa unattractive for major campaigns.
However, due to the importance of its caucus, Iowa is always the center of attention during US presidential elections.
On Monday, January 15, the Iowa Republican Caucus will decide the Republican nominee for this state.
The Republican caucus follows secret ballot rules, meaning candidates will take the stage for a speech and then voters will cast their votes at the ballot box.
In the following months, delegates will meet to vote for the Republican candidate based on the outcome of this caucus.
It is therefore safe to say that by Tuesday evening we will know the Republican candidate for Iowa.
The Iowa Democratic caucus usually follows the open voting system.
This year, however, the party opted for a postal vote for March.
How will the Iowa Republican caucus go? According to the latest polls, the Republican caucus in Iowa should go comfortably in favor of Donald Trump.
He is considered the main Republican candidate for the next elections, firmly leading the other candidates in the polls.
Donald Trump enjoys a clear lead with 48% of the vote, although down from 51% in December.
Next in line is Nikky Haley at 20%, then Ronald DeSantis at 16%, Vivek Ramaswamy at 8%, Asa Hutchinson at 1%, and Ryan Binkley at 1%.
Ron DeSantis has generally been considered Donald Trump's main opponent in the primaries, even though he is consistently behind in the polls.
However, the unpredictable nature of the Iowa caucus could cause some surprises, especially given the frigid weather expected on Monday.
Article published on Money.it international edition on 2024-01-15 13:53:36.
Original title: What is a caucus and why is it so important?