Question

Explain the differences between caucus, direct primary, closed primary, open primary, and blanket primary

Answer 1

Caucuses were once the most common way of choosing presidential nominees. Today, Alaska, Colorado, Hawaii, Kansas, Maine, Minnesota, Nevada, North Dakota, Wyoming and Iowa are the only states to rely solely on the caucus, according to the Federal Election Commission. The territories of American Samoa, Guam and the Virgin Islands use the caucus also. All other states and Puerto Rico use primary elections or a combination of the voting formats. 

Caucus meetings are arranged by either the state or political party to take place at a certain place and time. Caucuses are unique in that they allow participants to openly show support for candidates. Voting is often done by raising hands or breaking into groups according to the candidate participants support. The results of the caucus are used to determine the delegates present at county, state and national nominating conventions of each political party. Most often, only registered voters can participate in a caucus, and they are limited to the caucus of the party with which they are affiliated. 

Answer 2

A caucus is “a meeting of party leaders or party members to select candidates, elect convention delegates, and establish the party’s policy position on specific issues.” The word can also be a verb for meeting in this way (e.g., the Republicans caucused).

A primary is “a preliminary election in which voters of each party nominate candidates for office.” A voter goes to polls and casts their ballot for who they want to be the candidate for their party in the general election. The word ultimately comes from the Latin primus, meaning “first,” a reference to the order it takes in the election process—it comes first, before the general.

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