Iowa caucuses 101: Arcane rules have huge impact on outcome

[DeepModem Mom]

CNN: Iowa caucuses 101: Arcane rules have huge impact on outcome



(CNN) -- The arcane rules governing Thursday's Iowa Democratic caucuses will test even the most organized campaign, but mastery of the process could launch a candidate on a path to the White House.

Most Americans are familiar with how elections work -- secret ballots, an 18-year-old age requirement, all-day voting. But that's not how the Iowa Democratic caucuses on Thursday will work. When the Democratic caucuses begin at 7 p.m. CT sharp in school gymnasiums, libraries, churches, farm houses and other locations in the 1,781 precincts across the Hawkeye state, step one will be to stand up and be counted. "What you'll do is get up out of your seat and you'll go walk to the corner or space by the wall designated for the candidate of your choice," Chelsea Waliser, an organizer for Sen. Barack Obama, told potential caucus go-ers during a recent Obama rehearsal caucus.

After this first step, party officials will determine if a candidate meets the 15 percent "threshold" requirement. Supporters of candidates making up less than 15 percent of the vote in a particular precinct will have the option of making their vote count by voting in the second tally for a "viable" candidate -- one that got at least 15 percent of the vote on the first tally.

It is particularly interesting to watch what happens between the first and second tallies at the Iowa Democratic caucuses, as viable candidate camps vie for the votes of the unviable. It's one of the few times in American politics where voters directly interact with each other. During the "persuasion" time in between tallies, the precinct captain for the viable candidates sends a person over to each group that failed to meet the threshold to convince them to support their candidate. Once everyone has decided where to vote, a second tally is taken, and the results are then sent to Democratic state party headquarters -- not electronically but via ordinary mail.

The Iowa Democratic Party keeps the total vote tally a secret and only releases the percentage of delegates won by each candidate, so it all comes down to how many delegates each precinct has, not the popular vote....

Interactive feature at link: http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/01/03/iowa.caucuses.101/index.html

[gristy]

1. Others would call this runoff voting

Leave it to CNN to call it "arcane" in the headline.

[hayu_lol]

3. DMMom, thanks for posting this info.

Perhaps the overall purpose of the caucus is to get the blood juices running(at below 0 temps, this is clearly a survival act)and get the nation fired up so they are anxious to vote in REAL elections.

Probably good for local attorneys who advise the candidates.

[DeepModem Mom]

5. You're welcome, hayu_lol! And I think you could be right about the cold --

and the attorneys!

[Perky]

2. via snail mail?so the results we here tonigh are what? exit polls?

[DeepModem Mom]

6. I'd like some clarity on that also. nt

[youthere]

4. That is incorrect.

Everyone has the option to realign after the initial count. If your candidate is not viable, you do not have to realign with a "viable" candidate. You can join with another non-viable to help that one reach the 15%,and you can try to convince others to realign for your candidate to help them over the 15%.
This is why a person's second choice is SO important. Not being viable in the first count is NOT a death sentence for a candidate.
This is one of MANY times that CNN has given false information on how a caucus works.

[DeepModem Mom]

7. Thanks, youthere. nt

[youthere]

8. NP...CNN has been very inaccurate in it's caucus coverage.