The Iowa Caucuses

Most of us who are not involved directly in Iowa politics don't really know much about the Iowa Caucuses except that they are the first in the nation to name a preference for a president. The fact that there are actually 1681 caucuses that night eludes most of us. Each precinct has their own caucus and the results are then reported to the party to be tallied. Delegates to the county nominating conventions are selected at these meetings. There are 99 counties in Iowa. Once these conventions are held then there is a state nominating convention. So, actually, the February 1 caucuses are preliminary events that culminate in a state convention where the actual delegates to the party's National convention are selected. Interestingly, only about 1% of the party's delegates are selected at the Iowa state convention.  Yet, many believe the candidate who prevails will ultimately be the party's choice at the National convention. If you are interested in how it all works, this is a source for the Democratic Party:  http://iowademocrats.org/about-iowa-caucuses/ and this is a source about the process in general:  http://www.uspresidentialelectionnews.com/2016-presidential-primary-schedule-calendar/2016-iowa-caucuses/

The second link above contrasts the differences in how the Republicans and Democrats hold their party's caucuses. Rules are different, with Democrats being labeled as more complex. You can decide for yourself reasons for the differences.

As we get closer to the February 1st date, we will see many polls of both Republicans and Democrats. Please remember that not all polls are conducted professionally and not all polling data can be trusted. The most recent poll showing that Clinton and Sanders are nearly tied in Iowa actually only polled 422 likely Democratic caucus voters. We know that the smaller the sample, the less reliable is the results. For a refresher on how to understand polling data, please see:  http://www.fallacyfiles.org/readpoll.html

For a great first hand account of someone attending the Iowa caucus, please see:  http://www.thegazette.com/subject/opinion/guest-columnists/dont-let-party-identification-keep-you-from-the-caucus-20160110 And if you happen to live in Iowa, commit to caucus. You might learn something and you'll certainly not have a boring evening!