Super Tuesday: Defining Caucuses, Primaries and More

You've probably heard a lot of talk lately about Super Tuesday. Super Tuesday is the Tuesday in a presidential election year on which most states hold primaries or caucuses to vote, by political party, for the desired presidential nominee. When you caucus or vote in a primary, you are actually electing delegates to represent you at the party's national convention. Some states allow you to vote for the delegates as well, listed by the candidate they are affiliated with. Others states have local parties choose from among delegate applicants. Each state and each party by state have their own rules, so look up your state's party's Web site for the process regarding the delegate selection process.

For example, Democrats award candidates proportionally based on votes. Let's say a state selects delegates by congressional district, and each congressional district has five delegates. After the primary, Barack Obama receives 55 percent of the vote, Hillary Clinton 35 percent, and John Edwards 10 percent. John Edwards doesn't get any delegates because he hasn't reached a minimum 15 percent requirement, so Barack gets three delegates and Hillary gets two, usually split evenly between male and female. (If you get to vote for the delegates as well, whichever Barack delegate got the most votes is the first delegate, followed by the delegate of the opposite sex with the most votes, etc.) Three delegates will vote for Barack at the convention, and two for Hillary. Republicans on the other hand allow each state to decide whether to award delegates proportionally or in a winner-take-all format. In the latter case, whichever candidate earns the majority of the primary or caucus vote gets all of the delegate votes at the GOP convention.

The number of delegates a state gets is determined by the national party (for example, the Democrats stripped Michigan of all of its delegate votes for moving its primary date up a month without permission). The Democrats have 4,049 delegates, 3,523 of which are pledged delegates, and 796 of which are unpledged (usually party leaders and elected officials). Republicans have 2, 345 pledged delegates. To find out how the number of delegates are chosen, I suggest searching the parties' convention sites: http://www.gopconvention.com/ and http://www.demconvention.com/.

When is Super Tuesday?

This year, it is February 5.

Do I get to vote on Super Tuesday?

Only if you are a registered voter, registered Republican or Democrat, and live in Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho (Democrat), Illinois, Kansas (Democrat), Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana (Republican), New Jersey, New Mexico (Democrat), New York, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah, or West Virginia (Republican). Some of you will be caucusing, and some of you will be voting in a primary. If you are a West Virginian Republican, you will be having a state convention.

What's a caucus?

According to Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, a caucus is "a closed meeting of a group of persons belonging to a political party or faction usually to select candidates or decide on a policy." Party members are given a place and time to meet. Once doors close and caucus attendees assemble in the designated area for their candidate. First the entire group is counted, then individual candidate groups counted. Generally, any candidate receiving less than 15 percent of the vote is determined not viable, and supporters of these candidates are given the opportunity to (1) join with one of the viable candidate groups or (2) persuade others to join their group to make their candidate viable. You may also remain with your candidate even after he or she is determined not viable.

After the groups looks relatively settled, the chair will count again. This count will determine the candidate, which will be reported to the party's headquarters. After the candidate choice has been made, caucus goers elect convention delegates, or convention delegate nominees. The caucus setups will vary by district and state.

What's a primary ?

As in a regular election, you'll go to your usual voting place and vote in your usual manner (machine, electronically, etc.). Primaries, like caucuses, are held to determine who party members want to represent them in a subsequent election. You vote for who you want to vote for later. A primary can be closed (party members only), open (can choose which party regardless of registered party, but can vote in only one party primary), blanket (for primaries that include multiple positions, you can vote different parties for different positions), and two-round (first-round vote determines top two candidates; second round vote for top two).

Do I caucus or vote in a primary on Super Tuesday?

Caucus: Alaska, Colorado, Idaho (Democrat), Kansas (Democrat), Minnesota, Montana (Republican), or North Dakota

Primary: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Jersey, New Mexico (Democrat), New York, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah

What about the rest of us?

Iowa, Wyoming, New Hampshire, Michigan, Nevada, and Carolina Republicans are done. The New York Times has published the results here.

January 25-February 7: Hawaii Republican caucus

January 26: South Carolina Democratic primary

January 29: Florida primary

February 1-3: Maine Republican caucus

February 9: Kansas Republican caucus, Louisiana Republican caucus, Nebraska caucus, Washington state caucus, Louisiana Democratic primary

February 10: Maine Democratic caucus

February 12: DC Democratic caucus, DC Republican primary, Maryland primary, Virginia primary

February 19: Hawaii Democratic caucus, Wisconsin primary

March 4: Rhode Island, Ohio, Texas, and Vermont primaries

March 8. Wyoming Democratic caucus

March 11: Mississippi primary

April 22: Pennsylvania primary

May 6: Indiana and North Carolina primaries

May 13: Nebraska Republican advisory-only primary, West Virginia Democratic primary

May 20: Kentucky and Oregon primaries

May 27: Idaho primary

June 3: Montana Democratic primary, New Mexico Republican primary, South Dakota primary

June 28: Nebraska Republican state convention

When will I find out who my party's presidential nominee will be?

Nominees are officially announced at the conventions. The Democratic Convention August 25-28 in Denver, Colorado. The Republican Convention is September 1-4 in Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota. They will be televised on major networks. As long as you keep watching/reading/listening to the news, by spring you should have a good idea of who the nominees will be. Go vote!