A Cliff Notes Guide To the 2008 Presidential Nomination

What's The Difference Between a Primary and a Caucus?

Although caucuses are the older form of nomination, today only 13 states still use the method. A caucus is the lowest level meeting of members of a political party. During President election years, members select delegates to attend the party convention. Caucuses are considered grassroots events because they are held at the precinct level; venues may be school gymnasiums or someone's living room. There is usually no formal balloting.

A nominating primary election allows voters to select candidates for a subsequent election. "Primaries" are common in the U.S. and are conducted by the government on behalf of the Democratic and Republican political parties. Voters may use absentee ballots or cast their vote at a polling booth.

What Does It Mean If A Primary Or Caucus Is Closed?

When a caucus or primary is "closed" the only voters who may participate are those already registered with a party; the voter registration contains a declared party affiliation. Independents (voters not registered with either party) cannot participate in a closed primary or caucus.

In an "open" primary or caucus, any voter may chose to vote in either the Democratic or Republican event, but she may vote in only one, not both. In a "modified open" primary or caucus, independents may vote in one or the other event; party members can only participate in their party event.

How Are Caucus Delegates Allocated?

States using caucuses usually have precinct, county and statewide meetings; delegates selected at the precinct level move to the county convention, where the numbers are winnowed. The process is repeated at the state convention, where delegates and alternates are selected for the national convention.

Democratic caucuses apportion delegates based on the vote in congressional districts; sometimes delegates are also allocated at the state level. However, most Republican caucuses use some form of winner-take-all system, usually based upon the vote at the congressional district level.

How Are Primary Delegates Allocated?

States with primaries may allocated delegates on either a proportional or winner-take-all system. As a general rule, Democratic primaries are apportioned and Republican ones are winner-take-all; there are, however, exceptions. In either case, most primary delegates are allocated based on congressional district votes although some Republican contests are based solely on statewide totals. The step following the primary is a state convention, where delegates and alternates are selected for the national convention.

What's More Important, Popular Vote Or Delegate Count?

Most television reporting of primary and caucus results focuses on the popular vote total. However, it is possible to "win" the popular vote in a state but come in second in the delegate count when delegates are allocated by congressional district votes. The delegate count is the number that matters at the national convention.

What Happens At The National Conventions?

Delegates chosen at the state conventions attend the national conventions to vote for the candidates they are pledged to support. If the November election were the finish line of a horse race, the national conventions would signal the beginning of the home stretch.

The 45th Democratic National Convention is in Denver, 25-28 August; there are 4,049 delegates (including super delegates). The 39th Republican National Convention is in Minneapolis-St. Paul, 1-4 September; there are 2,380 delegates. To achieve the nomination, a candidate needs 50%+1 (D, 2,025; R, 1,191).

Because most races devolve to two candidates, the actual vote is usually anti-climatic. However, there was a time when convention delegates actually picked the nominee.