Tuesday, March 04, 2008

To Caucus or to Primary

Man, I'm sitting here watching election coverage (yes, that makes me old and boring, I can't help it), and I'm CONFUSED (shut up). I had to figure out what the difference between a caucus and a primary was. I don't remember caucuses before, maybe I never really paid attention, not sure. Anyway, thanks to the power of the Internet, I'm only mildly less confused than before. Here's the most easily understood definition (at least for me):

From http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art16013.asp

The two main ways of assigning delegates are primaries and caucuses. A primary is simply an election that allows voters to go to the polls and cast their ballot for a candidate, thus determining their percentage of the state's delegates. A caucus is a state convention that provides a public place for party members to gather, hear speeches, and vote for delegates to represent candidates at the national convention. Some states only allow voters to participate in their party's primary while other states have no party restrictions and allow voters to participate in any one primary they choose.

I hope you feel more enlightened.

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