Published January 3, 2008
Every four years, the Iowa Caucus kicks off a primary cycle, serving as the first proving ground for presidential candidates.
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A strong showing in the caucus can give a candidate momentum and a boost in the polls, while a poor performance can drive a candidate out of the race. But exactly how that process unfolds is a mystery to many.
The Iowa Caucus that will be held today began in 1972. The process is comprised of many intimate meetings where voters discuss policy issues and choose who they want to be the next president of the United States.
These meetings take place in churches, schools, homes and other civic locations throughout the state.
The number of participants at each location varies based on the area's population. There are 1,784 precincts in Iowa.
Some political strategists expect the turnout today to reach 160,000 caucus-goers.
The Republican and Democratic parties do not use the same process to determine their respective caucus winner.
For Republicans, voters flock to designated precincts to listen to candidates campaign, and then later vote for their candidate of choice in a secret ballot, "one head, one vote" system.
Democrats use a different system. Voters indicate which candidate they support by standing in a particular area of the room.
A section of the room is designated for each candidate and one section is designated for undecided participants.
In order for a particular group of supporters to be "viable" and move onto later rounds of voting, they must gain a certain percentage of all the caucus participants' votes.
Though the percentage threshold varies based on the number of delegates each precinct receives, candidates generally need to garner 15 percent of the vote to advance.
If a certain candidate is deemed not viable, caucus-goers who used a vote on an non-viable candidate are allowed to realign by choosing to support another candidate. They can also abstain from the caucus if they choose.
Realignment can significantly effect the results of the caucus. After several rounds of voting, a final count takes place to determine how many delegates each candidate gets.
JAKE SMILOVITZ
