What is a caucus?

This week, the process of nominating the Republican Party candidate began. Prospective candidates will compete in a series of state by state elections, lasting from January to June. Since 1972, the first state to vote has been Iowa. However, Iowa is unique in that it does not use a conventional system of voting to select its preferred candidate, instead it uses a political device known as a caucus.

In a conventional election, voters arrive at a polling station, put a cross next to the name of their preferred candidate and place their ballot in the box. All of which takes place in privacy. In a caucus, voters sit and listen to arguments for each candidate before moving around a room to join other voters who are backing the same candidate. Groups of voters then try to persuade others backing rival candidates to support their candidate instead.