How, Where and When to Caucus in Iowa on Monday

The parties, not the state government, run the caucuses, which have a different feel from most other balloting.

Share full article

A caucus site at the Drake University Fieldhouse in Des Moines in 2020.

The Iowans who will brave frigid temperatures Monday for the first test of support for Republican presidential hopefuls will be caucusing — a process that’s distinct from other ballot-box affairs.

Unlike in other elections, Iowa’s Democratic and Republican parties, not the state’s government, organize and run the caucuses. And members of the two parties will conduct business a little differently.

What happens during a caucus?

Once participating Republican voters arrive at the caucus precinct, they must check in with precinct workers, who will verify that they are eligible to participate. (Only registered Republicans may participate in G.O.P. caucuses, but party rules allow unregistered voters, Democrats and independents to register or switch their party affiliation at the caucus site.)

Then, the caucusgoers will elect a chair and secretary to preside over the event. Supporters of each candidate will speak to the caucus, pitching their peers on why they should support their preferred candidates.

ImageCaucus tellers count the votes in the Republican presidential caucus in 2012.Credit…Patrick T. Fallon for The New York Times

After everyone has cast their secret ballots, workers at each caucus precinct will tally them up and report the total for each candidate to the state party. Results are typically available within a few hours.

We are having trouble retrieving the article content.

Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.