n the summer of every presidential election year, political parties in the United States typically conduct national conventions to choose their presidential candidates. At the conventions, the presidential candidates are selected by groups of delegates from each state. After a series of speeches and demonstrations in support of each candidate, the delegates begin to vote, state-by-state, for the candidate of their choice. The first candidate to receive a preset majority number of delegate votes becomes the party’s presidential candidate. The candidate selected to run for president then selects a vice presidential candidate.
Delegates to the national conventions are selected at the state level, according to rules and formulas determined by each political party’s state committee. While these rules and formulas can change from state-to-state and from year-to-year, there remain two methods by which the states choose their delegates to the national conventions: the caucus and the primary.
THE CAUCUS
Caucuses are simply meetings, open to all registered voters of the party, at which delegates to the party’s national convention are selected. When the caucus begins, the voters in attendance divide themselves into groups according to the candidate they support. The undecided voters congregate into their own group and prepare to be “courted” by supporters of other candidates.
Voters in each group are then invited to give speeches supporting their candidate and trying to persuade others to join their group. At the end of the caucus, party organizers count the voters in each candidate’s group and calculate how many delegates to the county convention each candidate has won.
The caucus process can produce delegates who are bound or “pledged” to vote for the primary winner in voting at the national convention. In other states, some or all delegates are “unpledged” and free to vote for any candidate they wish at the convention.
THE PRIMARY
In states holding them, presidential primary elections are open to all registered voters.
Just like in general elections, voting is done through a secret ballot. Voters may choose from among all registered candidates and write-ins are counted. There are two types of primaries, closed and open. In a closed primary, voters may vote only in the primary of the political party in which they registered. For example, a voter who registered as a Republican can only vote in the Republican primary. In an open primary, registered voters can vote in the primary of either party, but are allowed to vote in only one primary. Most states hold closed primaries. Primary elections also vary in what names appear on their ballots. Most states hold presidential preference primaries, in which the actual presidential candidates’ names appear on the ballot. In other states, only the names of convention delegates appear on the ballot. Delegates may state their support for a candidate or declare themselves to be uncommitted.
As in the caucuses, the primary process can produce both pledged and unpledged convention delegates, depending on the party rules of the various states.
LOL. It’s okay
lol@ Hawaii not being a state….I guess Alaska isn’t one either
TO Lydia and Dashon:
please learn to read and stop assuming things. i’ll reiterate again, if all the democratic candidates are talking about doing the same things, which they all are by the way, then of course i’m going to vote for the black guy. you see how i said, “if all the democratic candidates are talking about doing the same things” that means i did do my research and have been paying attention to what’s been going on and have concluded that they all want to do the same things maybe a little differently but all in all they’re the same things. so if they all want to do the same thing then i’m going to vote for the the guy that looks like me, white people do it all the time. it’s second nature to gravitate toward the person that looks like you and that you can identify with stop trying to fight it, lol.
i also know that all candidates and politicians do is make promises and tell lies. now don’t get me wrong, i think for the most part they all mean well but there’s only so much you can do as a president, George Bush not included because that mfker has been able to do whatever the f8k he’s wanted to and nobody seems to be able to stop him, lol, even though he meets some opposition every now and then and has to compromise he still seems to get his way in the end. so i think whoever wins the presidency will spend their first term cleaning up all the mess that Bush has gotten us into, so who better to be the janitor then the black guy— Obama, lol.
now if he was unqualified and was talking a bunch of crazy mess then no i wouldn’t consider Barack (shoot i just realized i been spelling his name wrong, he’s going to have to do something about his name, lol), but he’s not he’s as qualified as the rest of them and he’s black, so that’s a plus in my book. i bet some of you people preferred playing with white dolls as opposed to black dolls when y’all were younger, yeah i know that was a low blow but y’all made me go there when you called me stupid!! lol
and to clarify, i’m not saying that i support all black people and their endeavors but if a black person is doing something positive and is genuine then i will make sure to go out of my way to support them. but to each his own. i’m sure all black people didn’t support MLK or Malcolm X when they were leading their movements and they were fighting for OUR rights so i def. don’t expect all black people to support Barack.
I agree with Ashley….
We have had mostly white presidents…some that were concerned with the issues of minorities and many not…..just when they needed to collect votes.
I’m ready for this intelligent BLACK man to step into office and pay attention to our needs. We stay steady talking about how our culture, especially in the entertainment world, is mainly about flashy cars, big booty hoes, rappers that make songs with no meaningful messages….and we finally have a chance to put a positive BLACK leader in office and ppl debating about Barack b/c we shouldn’t vote for him only on the basis of his blackness.
Ok I’ll agree with that ..but you know what? I’m tired of putting off helping shape our black communities because we are constantly tearing down eachother and never wanna be happy about our own ppl trying to do something positive.
And let me be frank…..and I state: THERE WILL NEVER BE ANYONE *BETTER* OR MORE *QUALIFIED* TO ADDRESS THE NEEDS OF THE BLACK COMMUNITIY BESIDES A BLACK PRESIDENT.
VOTE OBAMA! 2008
And one more time……
THERE WILL NEVER BE ANYONE *BETTER* OR MORE *QUALIFIED* TO ADDRESS THE NEEDS OF THE BLACK COMMUNITIY BESIDES A BLACK PRESIDENT.
VOTE OBAMA! 2008
OH WOW!!! I THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO HAVE TO GET ON JA FOR THAT HAWAII COMMENT BUT I SEE J DAKAR WAS THERE TO THE RESCUE, LMAO!!! BUT EVEN STILL IT’S COOL, I BLAME THE PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM, LOL!
AS LONG AS YOU KNOW NOW…
& @ JAJA, YOU WOULDN’T HAPPEN TO BE FROM THE CHI WOULD YOU???
First and foremost the Iowa Cacuse was the most entertaining thing to watch…I was happy that Obama pulled out a victory in this state because it is very conservative. I think it was all the republicans that crossed over that allowed Obama and Edwards to surge past Clinton. However, I am still happy on Hillary’s side because 4 years of Hillary means for years of Bill. Don’t get me wrong if Edwards, Obama or Clinton clinch the Democratic Nomination then they will make a great presiden….t but I LOVE BILL CLINTON!!!
“For this reason special emphasis is given to the writers and the educators of the kingdom of god concerning the power to define : the power to direct minds and conditions that will cause specific results in a struggle. The Power to Define is as important as the power to control. In fact, the power to define is one of the greatest weapons that can be used to control men and nations”
Black people
WAKE UP
YOU ARE BEING MISLED
ARENT YOU WORRIED ABOUT POLICE STATISM?
WAR ON DRUGS?
ECONOMY?
OBAMA IS NOT YOUR MAN
RON PAUL 2008
This is an exciting time in our nation’s history. The outcome of the Iowa caucus is a clear demonstration that the country is ready and is in desperate need of change–the race of the change agent isn’t important. It is about the man and what he stands for–if one of the whitest states in America can see that, why can’t we? The time is now. OBAMA 08.
WHAT DOES OBAMA STAND FOR?
Go 38!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I agree whole-heartedly.
Great post J….such a breath of fresh air!!!!!
After watching the debates and doing some research I am an Obama supporter. I am happy with the Iowa win and wish him the best.
so according to some people’s comments on this post, you have to be considered ugly to be taken seriously.
sorry j, you are deemed far too attractive to be CL’s political contributor…so therefore your assessments are invalid.
We kill eachother, rob eachother, hate on one another, etc. WHERE IS THE LOVE? Anyone who simply bashes black people for their ignorance is A PART OF THE PROBLEM!
I think the forum that has been created here is absolutely wonderful – this is where conversations about politics are needed the most. If people ARE uninterested in politics it has GOT to be for lack of knowledge because we ought to be able to realize the impact this has on each and every one of our everyday lives & the lives of our children.
For everyone who has reached a little farther, dug a little deeper and strived to educate themselves on the issues that effect them – congratulations. Now pay it forward. Give back. It’s your turn to educate others. To whom much is given much is expected. Re-direct your passion.
Don’t we get bashed enough? Doesn’t the media do a good enough job? Lets use this place to inspire one another – not provoke anger. We are ALL frustrated with the current condition of our people. DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.
I commend you, CL, for doing something about it.
With Love,
LETSLOVE!
#34. I live in NC and I see people white and black who have Obama stickers on their cars. While I was at work, I saw a man, who happened to be white, that had an Obama button on. When I asked him why he was supporting Obama, he admitted he wanted a change and he felt Obama was the man to do it. Don’t pigeonhole NC as a racist state due to ignorant people that still display confederate flags.
I believe that things are changing and will continue to change, not only in NC, but America as a whole .When I read that black people are saying that America is not ready for a Black president, it offends me. If we as a people don’t believe, why should anyone else?
i really agree with 34, all this stuff going on, i cant wait to see the results
5^hit w@5^ p0ppin with y@ll d@wg5^ 0ut th3r di5^ y@ b^0y diddy fr0m cklinton n,ck w3 ju5^t 9-m@ckin r0und h3@r 93tin d@t b^r3@d. 3@5^t 5^id3 2 @ll d@ B^l00d ni99@5^ & h@ppy n3w y3@r5^
Hilary doesn’t give a flipp about you, she just wants your vote and will say anything to get it!
Did you know that the reason millions of people are incarcerated for crack cocaine three- strikes -you’re -out is because clinton signed the bill making it mandatory?
What about powder cocaine? That was o.k. with the clintons because it was used in very large quantities by rich whites so the clintons obviously were on a mission to do damage to the african american community—and they did because many of these same brother are probably infected with hiv, and thus deemed damaged goods.
All hillary wants is power–she cares only about power…. I really dislike dumb azz people who can only see white when considering a presidential candidate.
Dumb azz ni**as who are used to being mistreated and still wanting some more!!
Mental illness runs deep in the black community and for sure comes in many forms.
Honestly, all I can do is shake my head at those of you who will continue to support the same ‘ole B*ll Sh*t folks who never gave a damn about you and never will.
Hillary will however say whatever she must to get in where she fits in….
Be aware of hillary because she is a bush clone in disguise!!!
O B A M A FOR P R E S I D E N T
Thanks for posting this information. As a young 18 year old that will be voting for the first time this year, I am happy and grateful to be able to come to the Loop and find out some vital info. Thanks again.
So what is the point to everyone voting if only the delegates can cast the only actual vote that counts? I think every vote should be counted and actually mean something. There’s so much pressure to get out and vote but in all actuality our vote really means nothing. And what is the electoral college’s role in general elections? I think its just about the same as the delegates in the primary elections. It just doesn’t make sense. Can someone explain that to me?
All the states that have caucuses, do away with them and start using primaries. It’s better for the state, better for the candidates, and above all, better for the voter.