How does the Iowa Caucus work?

http://iowacaucuses2012.com/how-does-the-iowa-caucus-work/

by Emily Lofgren on March 28, 2011 · 

That’s a good question.

To political activists, rattling off the process of the Iowa Caucuses may seem like a piece of cake, but to most people in America, the process seems rather confusing. It actually is not anything more than people at the most grassroots level discussing their opinions and those in attendance making a decision of who to support. While some may come to the caucus to learn more about the candidates before making an informed decision, many go to the caucus to cast their vote for their predetermined favorite.

Whether you are a die-hard supporter or a newbie to the political process, your vote matters just as much as the next person’s. That is why it is crucial for candidates to connect well with the average Iowan if they want to perform well in the Iowa Caucus. I really like this aspect of the caucus process.

We saw in 2008 with Huckabee’s caucus victory that money does not buy votes in Iowa. Estimates say Romney spent approximately $12,000 per vote he received on caucus night, but he still came in 2nd place. Likability is the key to winning in Iowa.

The first step of the Iowa Caucuses is meeting with candidates. In this state, hopefuls will come to your area if they are serious about gaining your support.

The next step is actually attending a caucus on the specific date set by the state party.

For the purposes of the 2012 election, I will focus on the Republican process since the Democrats have President Obama as their incumbent for this season.

This season’s caucus is set for February 6, 2012.

Steps occur once at the caucus site (that location is determined by the precinct in which the voter lives):

1) Caucus-goers check in at the registration table. They will need to be registered with the Republican Party in order to caucus for that party. If not already registered, registration may be initiated or changed in order to vote for that particular party’s caucus. To do that, proof of residency and a photo-id must be presented. Caucus-goers may only caucus for one party.

2) Those in attendance at the caucus hear speeches from representatives of the candidates who attempt to persuade those caucusing to vote for their candidate. The speeches generally occur in a location where many precincts meet together for listening.

3) After speeches, caucus-goers are dispersed into their specific precinct location where each person who is registered as a Republican in that precinct is given a single blank piece of paper as a ballot, with which to write their vote for their presidential choice.

4) In addition to caucus voting, the precinct elects delegates, alternate delegates and junior delegates to represent the precinct at the county convention. Planks for the platform may also be submitted to the precinct chair to give to the platform committee for the county convention. The planks are statements regarding the beliefs of the political party.

As can be seen by the “every vote counts” nature of the Iowa Caucuses, this is definitely the most grassroots level of campaigning.  That is a major reason we created this site.  Iowa Caucuses 2012 is intended to be a citizen journalism site.  People can come here and see what other regular Iowans are saying about the candidates who have visited their area.  Let’s rely on the voices of the people, not just the media to give us a better picture of the candidates who so desperately desire our votes.  We can learn a lot about a candidate by the way they embrace the people of our great state.