Your 2-minute guide to the Iowa caucus
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The 2024 GOP presidential primary is in full swing in Iowa, as candidates squeeze in final campaign stops ahead of the state's caucuses on Jan. 15.
Why it matters: While former President Trump has dominated polling, many will be watching how his main rivals, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, perform.
When and where the caucuses take place?
Iowa Republican caucus-goers will gather in locations like schools and churches to cast ballots in what will be the first test of the 2024 Republican presidential field.
- Starting around 7pm Monday, caucus-goers will show up at their local precincts. They'll listen to speeches, mingle and cast private ballots, similar to a straw poll.
- Iowans can find their GOP precincts and Democratic precincts here. (Democrats will just be meeting to discuss party business.)
How to participate in the caucuses
- You must be registered to vote in Iowa.
- You must be at least 18 years old on Election Day, Nov. 5.
- Your party affiliation on your registration must match the caucus you plan to participate in.
How the Iowa caucuses started
Iowa's first-in-the-nation status began as a fluke.
Flashback: In the 1960s, amid the Vietnam War and anti-establishment protests, some in Iowa felt that everyday people were not being heard by political leaders, according to Iowa PBS.
- As a result, Iowa Democrats revamped their caucus system to create a more inclusive process.
- Presidential nominations would start at the precinct level and end at the state level, rather than the existing top-down system, to prioritize opinions at the grassroots level.
Yes, but: To make the new system work, the party needed to print new materials for thousands of precincts. And with an archaic mimeograph machine, that was going to take some time.
- As a result, they set the caucuses earlier than all the other states in 1972.