January marks the start of the U.S. state-by-state nominating contests that determine the presidential candidates. The voting process, which includes primary elections and caucuses, lasts for nearly six months and is followed by Republican and Democratic conventions in July and August, in which each party formally chooses its candidate for the November general election. Here is everything you need to know about the primaries.
What are primaries?
Primaries are statewide voting processes in which voters select a party's nominee who will later compete in the general elections. The rules of the primary, including who can vote, are determined by the states and the parties. Unlike in a caucus, voters in a primary cast a secret ballot for their candidates and can vote at any time when the polls are open on Election Day.
What are caucuses?
Caucuses, like primaries, are a way for a political party to select their nominees for a general election. Unlike primaries, caucuses are a system of local gatherings that typically occur at a set time and can last for several hours. They allow participants to publicly discuss the candidates running for office, and voting is sometimes done by a show of hands. Caucuses were once the most common way of choosing presidential nominees, however today only a few states and territories rely on this method.
How do the primaries and caucuses lead to the party nominees?
U.S. voters in primaries and caucuses do not directly select their candidates to advance to the general election. Instead, voters choose delegates, who in turn choose the nominees at the parties' national conventions. Those nominees will then compete in the general election in November. The more populous a state is, the more delegates it sends to the national conventions.
What is the strategy of candidates?
The staggered nature of the primary calendar allows candidates to focus their resources on groups of states at different times instead of all at once. Often candidates focus on winning some or all of the early states to gain momentum in the race as well as seeking to win large states that can earn them a high number of delegates. The largest delegate states are California, Texas and Florida.
Which states vote first?
Traditionally, Iowa has held the first caucus of the election season and New Hampshire the first primary. While the Republican Party will continue to start their nominating contests in these states, the Democratic Party has sought to make South Carolina the first Democratic contest, arguing that the state is more representative of the party's demographics. As a result, the Democratic National Committee has scrapped the Iowa caucus (instead holding a primary in the state in March) and urged candidates not to put their name on the New Hampshire ballot.
What is Super Tuesday?
Most U.S. states and territories hold their primaries or caucuses on a Tuesday. Super Tuesday is the day when the greatest number of jurisdictions hold nominating contests. This year it is Tuesday, March 5, when 15 states will choose candidates to compete in the general elections.
How are the delegates distributed?
The way delegates are distributed to the candidates depends on the rules in each state. Some states, like California, allocate all their delegates to the one candidate with the most votes, while other states, like New Hampshire, use a proportional method and award delegates based on a candidates' share of the vote.
What is the difference between 'pledged' and 'unpledged' delegates?
Delegates chosen in the primaries and caucuses are known as "pledged" delegates because they are expected to endorse the candidate that voters have chosen. But both the Republican and Democratic parties also have delegates at their conventions who are not chosen by voters. Republican conventions include "unpledged" delegates, also called "unbound" delegates, which are the party's three top officials from each state and territory. Democrats employ a system of more unpledged delegates called "superdelegates" made up of hundreds of party leaders and elected officials. Both Republican unpledged delegates and Democratic superdelegates are free to support any candidate.
What are open versus closed primaries?
In states with open primaries, all registered voters can cast a ballot for any candidate regardless of their political affiliation. For example, a Democrat is able to vote in a Republican open primary and a Republican can vote in a Democratic open primary. However, a voter cannot vote in more than one primary. In contrast, in states with closed primaries, a voter can vote only for a candidate with their same party affiliation. For example, a registered Democrat can vote in the Democratic closed primary, but not in the Republican contest.
What does the US Constitution say about the primaries?
The U.S. Constitution makes no provisions for political parties, which are technically independent organizations that can select their nominees in any way they choose — within legal limits. Furthermore, the federal system allows individual states a great deal of control over when and how their elections are conducted.
