Everything You Need to Know About the Iowa Caucuses

The Iowa caucuses are the first primary contest in each presidential election. But caucuses differ from the primary elections held in most states in two important ways. First, a caucus is a group meeting, not a polling place. These meetings are essentially gatherings of neighbors to conduct the local business of a political party. A caucus is held for each of Iowa’s 1,765 voting precincts at the same time on the same day. It is not open all day for people to drop by and cast a ballot. Second, caucuses are held by political parties, not the state of Iowa. There are some laws governing caucuses, but each caucus is conducted by party volunteers according to the rules of that party. That means only members of the parties can participate. But anyone can join the party, even on the day of the caucus....