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The Iowa Caucus: How it works and Who Might Win
On February 3rd, Iowa voters will flock to roughly 1678 precinct locations and stand with their Democratic candidate for president during the Iowa caucuses. The original influencer, Iowans are preparing for a big night ahead and candidates are hoping to win in the Hawkeye State to help their campaign gain momentum.
The Iowa Caucuses are notable since it is the first state in the nation to vote in the 2020 presidential primary season. The process in which Iowa participates in the primary election is vastly different from other states. Instead of heading to the polls and casting ballots, Iowan voters gather at pre-determined precinct locations (think: schools, churches, gyms, and libraries) and then literally stand with their candidate of choice. At each caucus site a campaign representative will stand in a designated area where caucus goers will stand in support of their chosen candidate.
Here’s how the 2020 Iowa Caucus will work:
Caucus goers have 30 minutes to divide themselves into groups based on their chosen candidate, and to convince their fellow Iowans to join them in supporting their candidate. After 30 minutes, the electioneering is paused and caucus officials count supporters of each candidate to determine viability. In order for a candidate to have viability they must have at least 15% of the support…