The concept of the Iowa caucuses is hardly understood by Iowans themselves, much less New Yorkers. Usually, on Election Day, everyone goes to the polls and clicks buttons and shades in dots for about five minutes of their time. It’s not that simple for the Iowans. On February 3, Iowans gathered in a large public place like a town hall or school. Across Iowa there are over 1600 precincts, and each had a designated area for Democrats in that region.
Democratic caucuses are convened with registered Democrats in the precinct gathering. Supporters of specific candidates will speak and make their case in hopes to convince people to support their candidate. This includes a number of one-on-one discussions and debates for people who at this point still might not have decided on who they’re endorsing. This is a time to see who can make the best argument for their candidate and to convince undecided voters. This is when the room is split into different sections, as supporters for different candidates go to specific corners of the room.
The elected chair, who will be elected early on in the meeting and whose job is to keep order, will calculate the percentage of people supporting each candidate, including how many undecided caucus attendees there are. If a candidate is non-viable, meaning they do not hold 15 percent of the room, then the candidate’s supporters will have to move to another candidate’s area. This is called re-caucusing due to supporters of viable candidates having to make an argument to persuade people to join their side. This is all very literal, and could just be about 100 adults walking around a school gym for a couple hours, discussing candidates and their views.
At the end, when every voter has made up their mind on who they want to support and all candidates are viable, the elected chair calculates the amount of support each candidate gets and reports the results. For the first time ever, the results will be shared electronically.
If you live in Iowa, or if you one day plan on retiring to the Iowa cornfields, make sure you attend a caucus. Every precinct matters to winning Iowa as a whole. It’s even a running joke to most Iowans how they can’t go anywhere without a presidential candidate trying to shake their hand. Sometimes it can be annoying but more often than not, Iowans know that the situation is more sweet than bitter.
This process has always been in Iowa, most likely because candidates always promise they will make sure the caucuses aren’t moved if the Iowans vote for them. Iowans get the unique experience of talking with politicians, and the process allows voters to actually talk with multiple candidates and let lesser known candidates rise in the polls. Because the Iowa caucuses are the first real contests, it makes an impact on how other states vote. Winning Iowa can mean winning the whole country (remember the guy nobody knew—Barack Obama?) Stay tuned for the Iowa caucus results on February 3!
Thank you to Joanna Deming, former Biden campaign manager, and Catherine Deming, Iowa caucus goer, for your help!