Five things to know about the Iowa Caucus

Election Projection ^ | January 18, 2016 | Scott Elliott

[SMGFan]

In a short while, voters will be able to speak with their votes. After all this time, it’ll be good to get some concrete data on how the election will go. Iowa gets thing started on February 1. Here are five things to keep in mind as the curtains open on Election 2016.

1. Delegates will be awarded proportionally. Both Democrats and Republicans allocate their Iowa delegates according to the percentage of votes won. While The RNC require all nominating contests held before March 15 to divide delegates proportionally, the Democratic practice is to award delegates proportionally for every primary and caucus.

2. There is little to no correlation between who wins in Iowa and who wins the nomination.

3. Iowa’s nominating process doesn’t involve voting booths. The word “caucus” actually denotes a “meeting to further a specific cause.” What takes place every four years in Iowa is essentially a series of meetings where interested Republicans and Democrats get together to hash out who their precinct, county, district and, finally, state will support at their respective national conventions. But there are differences in the way each party conducts its Iowa “meetings.”

4. The game isn’t really over when the winners are announced. Long after the precinct caucuses are over – and the winners have been announced – the delegate allocation continues. For Democrats, this involves a progression of conventions of greater scope. From precincts, elected delegates move on to county conventions. Here, these chosen ones are initially bound to their candidate, but, similar to the precinct level, these party activists can change allegiance.

5. The Iowa prize is small in the nomination marathon. To win the Democratic nomination, a prospective candidate must earn 2,242 of 4,483 total delegates. For the GOP nominee, that number is 1,236 of 2,470. Those numbers put the relative importance of Iowa in perspective. The Democrats will battle for their share of just 54 delegates in Iowa in 2016, while the Republicans are facing off for a total purse of just 30 delegates. In the overall primary picture, Iowa doesn’t mean much, especially when you consider the proportional allotment system used by both parties here.

[SMGFan]

Scott Elliott maintains a good website and is working on it full time this year.

[mac_truck]

All you really need to know is that Ron Paul was awarded 22 or 28 Iowa delegates at the convention in 2012, despite placing third in the popular vote.

[chopperman]

Why and how did that happen?

[longtermmemmory]

People need to be there by 6:30.

Some precinct managers (apparently) hold to a 7:00 cut off.