Vermont Public is independent, community-supported media, serving Vermont with trusted, relevant and essential information. We share stories that bring people together, from every corner of our region. New to Vermont Public? Start here.

© 2024 Vermont Public | 365 Troy Ave. Colchester, VT 05446

Public Files:
WVTI · WOXM · WVBA · WVNK · WVTQ · WVTX
WVPR · WRVT · WOXR · WNCH · WVPA
WVPS · WVXR · WETK · WVTB · WVER
WVER-FM · WVLR-FM · WBTN-FM

For assistance accessing our public files, please contact hello@vermontpublic.org or call 802-655-9451.
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Explore our coverage of government and politics.

How The Iowa Caucus Works, In 2 Minutes (Starring Legos)

Taylor Dobbs/Angela Evancie
Many of you have asked us what exactly goes on during the Iowa caucus. Scroll down to check out a video explaining the process for Democrats.

When we asked our audience (that's you) for questions about the Iowa caucuses, a lot of people were curious about the unorthodox process of caucusing.

How do they work? Who gets to participate? It's definitely not like Vermont's primary process — here are the basics.

To participate in the Democratic caucus in Iowa, a person must: 

  • Be 18 years old by the day of the general election. This cycle, that means if your 18th birthday is on or before Nov. 8, 2016, you can participate in the Iowa caucus. 
  • Be a registered Democrat. Technically the caucuses are "closed," meaning only party-members may participate, but according to the Iowa Democratic Party, it's possible to register as a Democrat on caucus night itself.
  • Be a resident in the precinct you plan to caucus in. While there is no minimum residency requirement, *Iowa defines residency as spending nights at your in-precinct address.*

So, day of, how does the caucus work? 

We cast a few Legos to help us explain.

--jyXPg

Music by Minden. Something Small (Instrumental) is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License.

How do the results of the caucus at each precinct translate into the final statewide results?

After the caucuses are over, the citizens of Iowa are done picking presidential candidates until the general election in November. However, Democratic party officials still have quite a bit of convoluted math to do (you can find more about that here) in order to determine how Iowa's delegates' support will be split up at the Democratic National Convention in the summer.

VPR’s coverage of the 2016 presidential campaign is made possible in part by the VPR Journalism Fund.

Taylor was VPR's digital reporter from 2013 until 2017. After growing up in Vermont, he graduated with at BA in Journalism from Northeastern University in 2013.
Angela Evancie serves as Vermont Public's Senior VP of Content, and was the Director of Engagement Journalism and the Executive Producer of Brave Little State, the station's people-powered journalism project.
Latest Stories