What to Do at a Caucus

A caucus is any meeting among members of a political organization for the purpose of reaching a consensus. It is best known in modern America because of the Iowa Caucus, the first event in the presidential nomination process. But there are other caucuses held in the nomination process, and there are caucuses that have nothing to do with nominating a candidate for president or any other office. There are many kinds of caucus, and each has its own method of participation.

Iowa Democratic Caucus

This is arguably the most well-known caucus format model. Voters turn up at their local election precinct. Once there, they divide into groups based on the candidate they support. Then 30 minutes is given as representatives of the individual election campaigns go around to try to persuade voters to defect to their candidate. This process can lead to a great deal of debate between the representatives and the voters. These representatives are also almost always chosen from among that candidate's supporters from within the precinct's voters and are therefore already known to the community. Then a first round of voting is held. Any candidate who scores less than 15 percent of the vote is eliminated. A second round is held where the now up-for-grabs voters of the eliminated candidates are in play. Another 30 minutes is spent as the representatives try to persuade these "loose" voters to vote with their candidate. A second round of voting is held, and that yields the final result.

Iowa Republican Caucus

The Republican Party opens it caucus with speeches given by official representatives of the respective campaigns. These may or may not be local voters, and this is just last-minute electioneering instead of a debate. After every speaker has delivered their speech, there is one vote by secret ballot.

Other Nominating Caucuses

As a rule, caucuses in the other states follow the style of their cousins in Iowa. Republicans and Democrats use the caucus in Alaska, Colorado, Hawaii, Kansas, Maine, Minnesota, Nevada, North Dakota and Washington. Democrats also use the caucus in Idaho, Nebraska, and Wyoming.

Congressional Caucuses

In Congress, caucuses often form to represent collections of representatives and senators from both parties who share a common viewpoint on a special issue. They are not always bipartisan. For example, there is a Congressional Hispanic Caucus for both parties. How these caucuses reach a common opinion on policy matters varies with the caucus. As a rule, there are no enforcement procedures among these congressional caucuses. Achieving a consensus opinion is very important in their inner workings. Some organizations are so loose even this isn't possible, and they represent little more than talking shops.

Caucuses in Other Organizations

Other organizations also use caucuses. Labor unions have been known to use them to reach decisions and choose leaders, and have also organized them among their supporters from outside the union to publicize certain issues. Just as with congressional caucuses, there is a wide variety of caucus mechanisms, with each having its own rules and ways of doing things. The general rule is the less able a caucus is able to impose discipline upon members, the more consensus-oriented and debate-heavy it is likely to be.