The Road to November…
Government & Politics
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What is a Primary Election?
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By definition, a Primary Election is an
election held before the general election
in which voters decide which of a party’s
candidates will be the party’s nominee for
the general election.
There are two types of Primary
Elections…
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Open vs. Closed Primary Elections
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OPEN: voters may vote for candidates from
any party, do not have be be registered with
political party a person is voting for
CLOSED: only people who have registered in
advance with the party can vote for that
party’s candidates (encourages party loyalty)
Characteristics: Primary Election
•Primary elections occur early in the
election season
•Why? Phenomenon known as
frontloading (states hold primaries
early in calendar to capitalize on media
attention)
•Example: New Hampshire, first
primary of the season
Caucuses: What are they?
•By definition, a caucus is a meeting of party
leaders to select candidates & elect convention
delegates.
•Much like the primary election system, there
are two types of caucuses
•Democratic
•Republican (secret ballot)
•"Iowa Caucuses 101"
Democratic Caucus: Nebraska
•Saturday, February 9, 2008
•Historically, Nebraska has always had a
secret ballot vote for presidential candidates
and delegates for the conventions.
•Terms to know:
• A Precinct is as geographic political unit.
• A Precinct Caucus is, by definition,
politics at the neighborhood level.
What does the Nebraska Caucus do?
1. The precinct caucuses will determine
the presidential preference of each
precinct.
2. They will elect county delegates
pledged to support the strongest
presidential candidates.
3. County Delegates will then elect State
Delegates who will in turn elected
Nebraska’s National Convention
Delegates.
4. The state-wide results of February 9,
2008 will bind Nebraska’s at large
delegates at the 2008 National
Convention.
How does it work?
1. Participants must register and must be a
registered Democrat who resides in the Precinct.
2. A precinct leader will call the meeting to order and
a chair of the caucus and a caucus secretary will
be elected.
3. The chair will then recognize the Democratic
Presidential Candidates who have asked to
participate and divide the room into sections for
support each candidate.
4. Candidate support groups will select a
spokesman who will state the case for their
candidate. People can then switch groups before a
“Viability” determination will be taken.
How does it work?
5. If a Candidate does not have 15% of the
participants in his group, that Candidate is
eliminated as “not viable.” Then a re-alignment can
occur in which anyone can switch groups.
6. When all the remaining Candidates are determined
to be viable, the chair will allocate the Precinct
Delegates to the viable candidates by strength of
numbers present.
7. If a viable candidate does not get allocated any
county delegates, that Candidate’s supporters may
then join the groups with Delegates.
Now What?
1. Persons can campaign to be elected the
County Delegates for that precinct for
their candidate. Alternates may also be
elected.
2. The results are reported to the State
Party for final tabulation of the Nebraska
Presidential Preferences
3. The Delegates will then convene in June
2008 County Convention to continue the
delegate selection process.
Case Study: California 2008
•Should CA move primary election from
March to June in 2008?
•August 2004, legislature passed a bill to
move primary from March to June.
FACT:
•The 2008 primary election calendar
consisted of 34 of 50 states holding their
primary elections or caucuses on or before
February 5th.
Why or Why Not?
Pros:

reverse effects of frontloading
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increased voter participation
Cons:
 later primary date decreases influence on
national scene, less media coverage
What did California do?
•Moved California’s Primary Election to
February 5, better known as
“Super Tuesday”
•Why? In recent years, nominees have
been chosen before March, making CA
voter participation insignificant.
•The move is strategic, vying to make CA a
major player in the Presidential nomination
process.
Presidential Primary Calendar 2008
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Debate: National Primary Elections
•As more and more states move
primaries and caucuses to February 5,
the debate over national & regional
primary elections heats up.
•What does this mean?
Primaries/Caucuses held on ONE day
in all 50 states.
Super Tuesday: February 5, 2008
The Morning After: Super Tuesday Analysis
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