By the time the Iowa caucuses roll around, most Iowans are exhausted by the seemingly endless stream of political advertisements bombarding us and sick of people knocking on our doors. Despite our frustration, we love our caucus system nonetheless.
A woman I was chatting with at my caucus location said her friends in Cedar Falls started taping up signs on their front doors saying, “Baby is sleeping, please don’t knock!” and “We know who we are voting for, but thanks anyways!” We do appreciate the extra attention — our politicians and interests are more relevant on a national scale than they’d otherwise be — but, in reality, many Iowans are just people who happen to live in the state that caucuses first.
People often forget that the Republicans and Democrats caucus differently in Iowa and set their own respective rules. Thus, criticisms of the chaotic results of the Democratic caucuses should not be lumped in with all Iowa caucuses. There is independence in design, and both processes are intended to represent their respective party’s base. We are one of only six states that have a caucus instead of a primary.
At each of the 1,678 Democratic caucus locations, candidates have sections for their supporters to place themselves in physically to signal their endorsement. After initial candidate alignment and promotion speeches, it’s effectively “Red Rover”-style recruitment for each section.
If a candidate has at least 15% of the room’s support, that candidate is declared “viable” for the next round. For the second round, people who selected a candidate who didn’t reach the 15% threshold are forced to realign themselves. Meaning, they can choose to join another viable candidate, try to win over others to make their preferred candidate viable, or withdraw from the caucusing process altogether.
This system is described by some critics as an “antiquated political process” and “bizarre … no sense except for tradition.” But many Iowans disagree.
Sydney, a recent college graduate, said about the Democratic caucus, “It’s cool to see our democracy in action! Voting can be rather impersonal, and the caucuses inspire conversation around what [our] neighbors value and why.” At her precinct, there was a coin toss, she said: “There was a tie between Biden, Klobuchar, Sanders, and Buttigieg, all of who made up three delegates each. The coin toss was to determine who would lose a delegate. I’m not entirely sure of a better alternative.”
The persuasion aspect of the caucuses can be polarizing. “I came to the caucus with a backup option, but I was willing to hear what others had to say,” Sydney told me. “My mom, however, had no alternative and was very irritated that folks swarmed on her.”
When asked which party had a better caucusing process, a young Republican told me, “[The] GOP because it’s [a] secret ballot … I think forcing so many people to be vocal about their opinion is intimidating to many.”
Rather than shuffling around a room, the GOP has their caucusgoers write their choice on pieces of paper, which are then tallied up by their precinct organizer. Like the Democrats, anyone who wants to advocate on behalf of their candidate can speak to the audience.
The caucuses, with all their quirks, are representative of regular voters. People are forced to interact with one another at the Democratic caucuses and encouraged to express why they believe their candidate is the best choice at both parties’ caucuses. Instead of filling in circles behind a cardboard trifold, we actually talk to our neighbors and check in with local party organizers.
So, feel free to poke fun at the woman who broke a bottle of wine in Des Moines and the CNN hang-up call. (Trust me, no one is happier that the Iowa caucuses are over than actual Iowans.) But don’t ignore all the valid reasons many we love our system exactly the way it is.
Patricia Patnode (@IdealPatricia) is a conservative college student and the outreach director for Lone Conservative.
