Question about the Iowa Caucuses

[ludwigb]

I'm not sure I understand the exact meaning of this whole 15% rule. I can understand what that you don't get delegates if you lack 15%--but what about vote percentages? Will we never actually know how many caucusgoers supported Kucinich, Clark, Edwards, etc? If so, why were the vote tallies for the GOP contenders counted in 2000, when Hatch, Bauer, McCain, and Keyes all finished under 15% (and Hatch didn't finish with 15% in any country, yet he still had a percentage at the end)

http://www.gwu.edu/~action/states/iarepresults.html

Help! I don't understand.

[YellowDawgDemocrat]

1. The way I understand it

Let's say that a candidate has 14% of the support in each of 1900 caucus'. He would receive no delegates.

Let's say another candidate has 1% of the support in each of 1899 caucus' and 15% in 1 caucus. He would receive delegates.

We will see numbers on each candidate because the second scenario is far more likely than the first. If a particular caucus has only 5 people show up and 1 of them is for Kucinich, he's going to show a percentage in the final total.

[cjbuchanan]

2. I'm not sure, but I think that is due to the different precincts

There are 2,000 or so precincts in 99 counties in Iowa. The results shown are for counties. I'm guessing that some folks who did not get 15% countywide did get 15% at certain precincts, thus allowing them to get delegates.

[TLM]

3. It works like this....

A bunch of people go into a room... they all vote for who they want.

Then they look at those totals and see that each candidate got X percent. Any canddiate who got less than 15% of the votes... the folks who voted for them, have to vote for someone who did get over 15%.

So basicly it is like Sharpton and Kucinich and Lieberman aren't even running in the state... their supporters will have to vote for someone else after the first round.