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Understanding the process of choosing a presidential candidate comes down to understanding three basic terms: delegates, primaries, and caucuses. For starters, though, we recommend you consult the excellent summary of the process at Project Vote Smart. Delegates - the party representatives who attend the party convention (held the summer before the election) to vote for a specific candidate. The number of delegates per state is determined by population and registered voter statistics. The Democratic Party also has roughly 700 superdelegates,
who are party establishment leaders. They generally vote according to the dictates of the primary election. Primaries - the statewide elections that determine how many delegates will vote for the prospective candidates. For the Republican Party, it's a winner-take-all method; whoever wins the most votes receives all of that state's delegates. The Democratic Party uses a proportional method, so a candidate with 20% of the vote gets 20% of the delegates. Caucuses - these serve the same purpose as a primary, but a caucus includes group discussion and debate, followed by an informal vote. For more on the differences between primaries and caucuses, make sure to read this Ask
Yahoo! column. Whoever has the most delegates at the party convention is the presidential nominee. Easy, right? Not exactly. This is just a general description of the process. For specifics on how your state chooses its candidate for the White House, check out these guidelines.
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