Q: What is involved in voting during a caucus? I heard on the news that it is more than showing a valid ID and pressing a button. An explanation did not follow.
—Kathy McDonough, Peachtree Corners
A: To vote in the Iowa caucus, people must gather at a caucus site that consist of several voting precincts, the Washington Post reported.
The meetings – Democrats and Republicans are in separate places — start at 7 p.m., generally at libraries, churches, schools and other public places.
People are not admitted after the meetings begin.
The voting method differs for each party.
In the Republican process in Iowa, supporters have an opportunity to discuss their candidate before the vote is held.
The votes are then submitted by marking a printed ballot by hand or writing the name of the candidate on a piece of paper and then submitting it.
Votes are counted by hand and “sent to Iowa GOP headquarters, where a running count is kept,” CNN.com wrote.
Democratic voters gather in groups for each candidate at their meeting places and are counted.
If a candidate fails to receive 15 percent of the voters at the meeting, their supporters are released and “caucus captains for the surviving candidates can personally lobby and answer questions, enticing them to join up,” the Post wrote.
“After all groups are viable (meaning each group has enough members to be eligible to elect at least one delegate to the county convention), your group will elect your county convention delegates from its members,” the Iowa Democratic Party states.
Andy Johnston with Fast Copy News Service wrote this column. Do you have a question? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
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