What is the Difference Between a Caucus and a Primary?
A primary election is just that: an election. People vote for who they want to win. Any discussion is held outside of the event. The primary election is different from the general election because it’s where people vote for the nominee of a particular party. (Many primaries are just for members of that party, but others are open to anybody.) A caucus is a meeting, where people get together and discuss things. A caucus doesn’t have to involve any voting. The Iowa caucus is a more complicated event than the primary, where you just go into a booth, pull a lever, and leave. The Iowa caucuses are people gathering in rooms to listen to each other campaign for the candidate. People gather in different corners of the room (or under banners) to represent what candidate they’ve decided to support. At the end of the meeting, a head-count is taken in the various corners. If a corner doesn’t have enough people in it, people are allowed to move to support their second choice. This all takes several
