What are the Iowa Caucuses?

Every four years, when Americans from both political parties vote to pick their party’s presidential candidate, we hear about a weird trend from the Midwest: the Iowa Caucuses.

Instead of holding normal primary elections like the vast majority of other U.S. states, Iowans have long selected their party’s candidate through in-person caucuses — a political process that dates back to the 19th century.

The fact that the Iowa caucuses have been the first elections in the presidential primary season for nearly 50 years has made them a favorite of American politics junkies, who embrace the old-school style of the in-person caucuses.

Plus, they are a real-life example of deliberative democracy, an idea that has gained popularity in an age of social media-enabled populism and worsening political polarization.

But the Iowa caucuses, this vestige from an earlier era in American politics, could soon be relegated to the junk bin of history. That would be a shame, because then we wouldn’t get pictures like this:

How do caucuses work?

Caucuses are closed-door meetings of voters that take place across ~1,600 precincts in Iowa's 99 counties.

Attendees pick a chair to lead the discussion. The chair invites people, usually party activists or campaign staff, to speak on behalf of each candidate. Some candidates even go and speak themselves.

Then, voters write down their preferred candidate and the votes are tallied. Whenever possible, the precinct caucuses are held in publicly-owned buildings or public places.

Iowa Democrats use a proportional representation system for their caucuses, meaning that each candidate to win a substantial number of votes wins the support of a number of delegates proportionate to their share of the overall vote.

Should we keep the caucuses?

The caucus process is controversial, and some — notably the DNC — have argued that caucuses should be replaced by normal primaries.

Voting rights experts like Stanford Law Professor Rabia Belt argue that in-person caucus events scheduled on a weeknight make it hard for people with disabilities (or families) to attend and fully participate.

Others, like Professor Chad Marzen, defend the Iowa caucuses on the grounds that they promote civic engagement while connecting voters personally to the political process.

Iowa Caucus History

Until 1972, the Iowa caucuses were an ordinary part of the American caucus and primary schedule ahead of presidential elections.

The Iowa Democratic Party moved their caucuses from March or April to January that year, making Iowa the first state to vote during the 1972 presidential primary cycle.

Republicans followed suit, and both major parties agreed to hold their caucuses on the same day between 1976 and 2020.

Iowans have long been proud to be the first state to vote on nominating presidential candidates. As political scientist Elaine Kamarck observed in her book Primary Politics:

Movin’ on from the caucus?

Thanks to pressure from the Democratic National Committee, the Iowa Democratic Party changed from a caucus to a traditional primary this year. That will land on Super Tuesday in March, when 14 other states will also hold their primaries.

In 2020, miscounted votes and delayed results at the Democratic Iowa caucus drew criticism (and conspiracism) from politicians in both parties.

Sen. Dick Durban of neighboring Illinois said that Iowa should retire the caucuses:

For now, the Republican Party is continuing with a January 15 caucus.

As a result, would-be GOP presidential candidates from Trump to Haley to Vivek flocked to the snowy midwestern state this weekend, giving speeches and trying to win the votes of the Iowans who are aggressively courted by politicians every four years.

How many people will vote: There are more than 750,000 registered Republicans in Iowa, a state of 3.1 million people. Roughly 187,000 caucus votes were cast by Republican voters in 2016, up from around ~120,000 in 2008 and 2012.

LEARN MORE:

If you want to learn more about the history of the Iowa Caucuses, read “The Evolution of the Iowa Precinct Caucuses” by Hugh Winebrenner.

Want to get a sense of what Republican voters are thinking about ahead of tonight’s caucus? Watch this video of Trump, Haley, and DeSantis supporters from Iowa talking to ABC about their views on American politics today:

ART OF THE DAY

Thank you for reading. Please reply to this email if you have any thoughts or feedback.

Yours,
Dan