Selecting a President 2012: Primaries & Caucuses

Presidential Selection Stage 1: Caucuses & Primaries The Battle for the Party Faithful Stage 2: Nominating Conventions “Glorified Infomercials?” Stage 3: General Election The Fight for the Center Stage 4: Electoral College Power to the People?

Stage 1: Caucuses Closed meeting of party members in each state Delegates select the party’s choice for presidential candidate Currently, six states offer party caucuses selecting presidential nominees.

Stage 1: Caucuses Questions for Discussion: Rick Santorum and Ron Paul campaign for Iowa. Questions for Discussion: The Iowa Caucus is on January 3, 2012. Why is it so important? Brainstorm pros and cons to the caucus format.

Stage 1: Primaries Presidential Primary Elections - special elections in which voters select candidates to be the party’s nominee for president in the general election. Primary Season - January - June Who Decides? - State party organizations for the most part decide the rules for the primaries in a particular state. Types of Primaries: Closed Primaries Open Primaries Mitt Romney campaigning in New Hampshire

Closed Primary Voters may vote in a party's primary only if they are registered members of that party

Open Primary A registered voter may vote in any party primary regardless of his or her own party affiliation.

Map of 2012 Primary & Caucus Dates States with split colors have different systems for Democrats and Republicans. The color on the left represents the Democratic method, the color on the right represents the Republican method. www.centerforpolitics.org

Hajo De Reijger- www.caglecartoons.com What advantage does the democratic party have in the 2012 election process?