The Presidential primaries in both parties are conducted through a series of caucuses and primaries. The caucuses and primaries each reward delegates to the candidates, but have a very different way of doing them. The caucus format is perhaps most famous in Iowa, the first state to caucus in the nation. The caucus format as it exists in the United States is not some age-old system that has been around since our country’s inception. It is, however, undemocratic, as it disenfranchises voters usually to one candidate’s advantage.
The Iowa Caucus began in the Democratic party in 1972. In this contest, more caucus-goers went uncommitted, than voted for any other candidate. In 1976, Jimmy Carter capitalized on the new format to give his failing Presidential campaign a bit of legitimacy, he then went on to win the nomination and the Presidency that year. Perhaps the most prominent example of the power of the first nominating contest comes from 2008, when Barack Obama dealt the first of several fatal blows to Hillary Clinton by coming in a commanding first place when many thought that Clinton was the inevitable nominee. While these victories are noteworthy in their own, the caucus format is not the best representation of American democracy.
The Iowa Caucus takes place on a single evening. Voters in 1,681 Iowa precincts go to their local caucus sites at 7:00 p.m. and stand in the corner of the room for the candidate they support. This disenfranchises voters on several levels: voters are required to publicly show the candidate they support, absentee votes are not permitted, the viability threshold changes the final results, voters must vote at a specific time of the day in order for their vote to be counted and ties are often broken by a coin toss. This disenfranchisement simply has no place in a Presidential nominating contest.
The photo above is an actual picture taken at a crowded Iowa Public Library being used as a caucus site this year. These aren’t voters casting ballots, these are voters being asked to publicly identify who they are supporting. This removes any notion of the sanctity of the ballot box, created so voters could vote anonymously for any candidate they choose. Furthermore, the building is simply crowded and lacks any real accommodation for anyone who may have a disability, which may keep them from voting in such a way. Why is this a problem? Because caucuses are known to occasionally take hours — especially when they are crowded.
What about those who aren’t in that photograph? What about those who may be working, or can’t make it to the caucus site at exactly 7:00 p.m. to spend any amount of hours there? Their vote simply isn’t counted. Polls are typically open in primary states for twelve or more hours, with some states offering early or absentee voting for several days to ensure that everyone who wants to vote can vote. The caucus system actively disenfranchises voters in several states in a process that is supposed to democratically nominate candidates for President of the United States.
