Every four years, our country holds a general election to decide
who will be our next president.
Before that happens, though, each party must choose its candidate
through primary elections.
But our system of primaries can be a bit confusing.
So here’s a quick primer on the upcoming primaries,
containing the most important things you need to know
based on the most frequently asked questions.
The Constitution says nothing about primaries or caucuses.
Or about political parties for that matter.
They came from the parties themselves.
The first major political party convention was held in 1831
by the National Republican Party
which was also known as the Anti-Jacksonian Party.
The first Democratic National Convention was held in 1832.
It’s all up to the parties at the state level.
Political parties can even decide not to hold a primary.
This year, five states have decided not to hold Republican presidential primaries and
caucuses, a move designed to stop Donald Trump’s long-shot primary challengers.
In the 19th century, the process for deciding on a party’s nominee
was controlled by party bosses, who chose the delegates
to the party conventions.
In the early 20th century, some states began to hold primaries to choose
delegates for party nominating conventions.
Although the outcomes of those primaries weren’t binding,
they did a message about how a candidate might do in a general election.
In 1960, for example, John F. Kennedy’s victory in the West Virginia primary
was viewed by Democratic Party officials as a strong sign that a Catholic
like Kennedy could win the votes of Protestants.
As recently as 1968, a candidate could still become the Democratic
nominee without participating in any primaries,
as Hubert Humphrey did that year..
But since then, both parties have changed their rules so their presidential nominees
depend on the outcomes of primaries and caucuses.
They made these changes to better ensure that their candidates would
succeed in the general election.
States that hold primaries allow voters to cast secret ballots
in support of candidates.
States that hold caucuses rely instead on local in-person gatherings
at a particular time and place
— maybe in a high school gym or a library —
where voters who turn up openly decide which candidates to support.
Here are the states that will have Democratic primaries in 2020
and those that will have caucuses.
Primaries are the easiest way to vote.
Caucuses are obviously more difficult to participate in,
so the people who turn out for caucuses
are usually the most enthusiastic and engaged voters.
In caucuses for the 2008 and 2016 Democratic nominations, for example,
Hillary Clinton lost to Barack Obama and then to Bernie Sanders.
Fewer than 5 percent of pledged delegates will be awarded by caucuses
in the upcoming Democratic primary, down from 14 percent in 2016.
One of the biggest differences is in how delegates are allocated.
In the Democratic Party delegates to the convention are allocated proportionally
— so that, for example, a candidate who wins 40 percent of a state’s vote
in the Democratic primary
will win 40 percent of that state’s delegates.
The Republican Party allows each individual state to choose how
its delegates are allocated,
with some states allocating delegates proportionally and some giving
all their delegates to the winner of the primary.
Another difference involves what are known as
“superdelegates” — typically elected officials and prominent party members
like former presidents or congressional leaders.
These superdelegates are automatically seated at the party’s national convention.
Superdelegates are still used by the Democratic Party,
but the Republican Party eliminated superdelegates in 2012.
In 2018, the Democratic Party reduced the power of superdelegates,
allowing them to vote only in contested conventions, when no candidate has
a majority of votes going into the convention.
Some states have closed primaries, where the only people who can
participate are those that have already registered as members of a political party.
Independents and members of another party are not eligible.
Other states have semi-closed primaries,
in which both registered party members and Independents can vote.
Different states also have different rules about when voters must choose
which primary they wish to vote in
— for example, registering with a party on the day of the primary
or even sometimes at the time of voting.
In open-primary states, any registered voter can participate in which
ever party’s primary they choose.
It may seem odd that the first two states to select candidates are tiny
and overwhelmingly white rural states — and it is.
But hey, here we are.
Iowa’s caucus is first, by tradition.
New Hampshire’s primary must occur at least seven days before any other
primary, according to New Hampshire state law.
Originally held in March of a presidential election year, the New Hampshire primary
has repeatedly been moved forward in order to maintain its status
as the first primary.
That’s the Tuesday during primary season when the greatest
number of states hold primary elections.
This year, Super Tuesday will be March 3rd
—coming after the Iowa caucus the New Hampshire primary,
the Nevada Democratic caucus,
and the South Carolina Democratic primary.
And Super Tuesday will be really super because two huge states
with lots of delegates — California and Texas —
haveboth moved their primaries to March 3rd.
All told, 9 states will hold primaries that day, including 6 of the most-populous
— meaning almost 29 percent of the U.S. population will have a chance to pick
the presidential candidates that day.
So once a state's voters have decided on their candidates,
The national parties have left that up to their state parties,
so it varies from state to state.
Delegates are typically party activists or insiders who have been supporters of the
candidates they’re chosen to represent at the national party convention.
Both parties’ rules require that they do, at least on the first ballot.
A contested convention is one where no candidate has a majority of delegates
going into the convention.
A while back, but we could see one again this year at the Democratic convention.
In 1984, Vice President Walter Mondale entered the Democratic convention
only a few delegates short of a majority.
In 1976 Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan competed for the Republican nomination,
and at the start of their convention neither had a majority.
A brokered convention occurs when, after the first round of voting, still no candidate
has a majority of delegates.
If that happens, delegates are then free to vote for whomever they want.
You have to go all the way back to 1952 to find a brokered convention.
That year both conventions were brokered.
Adlai Stevenson finally emerged as the Democratic nominee
and Dwight Eisenhower, the Republican.
But here again, it might happen in 2020 at the Democratic convention.
By tradition, the party that holds the White House holds its nominating
convention after the party that seeks the White House.
So this year, the Democratic National Convention will be
July 13 through 16 in Milwaukee.
The Republican National Convention will be August 24th to 27th, in Charlotte.
Presidential nominees often announce their choice of running mates
in the days or weeks leading up to the nominating conventions.
Make sure you’re registered and be a voter
— in your state primaries or caucuses,
and in the general election November 3rd!
Do you have any other questions on the primaries?
Leave them for us in the comments.
If you found this video informative, please also watch our video,
"Why 2020 Won't Be Won by Centrists"
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