What Role Do Delegates Play in Presidential Elections?
Presidential nominees of each party emerge through primary elections and caucuses held in each state in the months prior to the presidential election. The primary elections and caucuses are indirect elections in which voters determine the number of delegates the candidates receive at their respective parties' nominating conventions.
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Identification
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Delegates are voting members of the two major political parties. They are chosen to represent their states at their state party conventions prior to the national conventions, at which each party chooses its presidential nominee.
Significance
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Both parties award delegates in a proportion based on the number of party voters in each of the 50 states. In many states, delegates are apportioned among the candidates based on their share of the vote in a state's primary election.
Misconceptions
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The U.S. Constitution does not outline the process for selected presidential nominees. The parties dictate the rules for selecting delegates, and the process varies not only by party, but by state.
Types
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Democratic party rules require that delegates be awarded to candidates based on the candidates' share of the vote in a primary of caucus. Republican party rules allow states to apportion delegates in a similar fashion or to award all delegates to the primary or caucus winner.
Function
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At both national conventions, delegates cast their votes in favor of a presidential candidate to choose a nominee for each party.
Features
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Convention delegates are generally activists in their respective political parties, strongly committed to their candidates and more ideologically motivated than most voters.
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