Primary Elections (Primary Elections Explained)

How do the Democrats and Republicans choose their nominee (choice) for president?

• Whoever wins a series of mini elections called primaries gets to be the nominee

• Whoever has the most money gets to be the nominee

• Whoever the electoral college chooses gets to be the nominee

What are the two types elections to choose a party's nominee?

What happens during a primary?

• You go to a polling place and vote anonymously (so no one knows who you voted for). 

• You put a sign in front of your house that says who you want to be president. 

• You go to a place and announce who you are voting for.

Which takes longer to do?

• Vote in a primary

• Vote in a caucus

What is NOT true about a caucus?

• Caucuses happen in public. 

• You can change your mind about who you want to vote for. 

• Everyone at the caucus knows who everyone else there wants to be president. 

• You can caucus alone at your house if you want to. 

Can an independent voter who is not a Democratic or a Republican vote in a primary? 

• Never

• Yes, always. 

• Sometimes

Primaries happen

• At different times

• All on the same day

What is the first state to vote? 

• Massachusetts

• Connecticut

• New Hampshire

Iowa has the nation's first ________ and New Hampshire has the nation's first ________.

• Primary, Caucus

• Caucus, Primary

How does a state get to have more delegates than other states?

• The states that support the current president get more votes. 

• The states that go first get more delegates. 

• They have a higher population than other states.

• Geographically larger states get more votes.