@someone_else Said
Okay, I was just looking up those two things "primaries" and "caucus" and they seem to be alternatives to each other.
"Primaries are common in the United States, where their origins are traced to the progressive movement. Primary elections are usually the responsibility of political party organizations themselves and not the government.
Other methods of selecting candidates include caucuses, conventions, and nomination meetings."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primary_election
"In the state of Washington, the caucus has become controversial.[12] According to the Website for Washington Democrats, even though the Washington State Legislature decided the state would hold a primary, the Washington State Democratic Party decided to continue choosing its delegates through the traditional caucuses. As a result, votes for a Democratic candidate in the State Primary do not count toward delegate selection, although the state will spend $9 to $10 million on it."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caucus
From all that, I got that they're different methods of doing the same thing. Apparently you're only supposed to do one or the other.
Lol, I think you're right. Seems like an awful lot of money to waste if you're doing both.
Quote:
In presidential campaigns, a caucus is a system of local gatherings where voters decide which candidate to support and select delegates for nominating conventions. A primary is a statewide voting process in which voters cast secret ballots for their preferred candidates.
FULL ANSWER
Caucuses were once the most common way of choosing presidential nominees. Today, Alaska, Colorado, Hawaii, Kansas, Maine, Minnesota, Nevada, North Dakota, Wyoming and Iowa are the only states to rely solely on the caucus, according to the Federal Election Commission. The territories of American Samoa, Guam and the Virgin Islands use the caucus also. All other states and Puerto Rico use primary elections or a combination of the voting formats.
Caucus meetings are arranged by either the state or political party to take place at a certain place and time. Caucuses are unique in that they allow participants to openly show support for candidates. Voting is often done by raising hands or breaking into groups according to the candidate participants support. The results of the caucus are used to determine the delegates present at county, state and national nominating conventions of each political party. Most often, only registered voters can participate in a caucus, and they are limited to the caucus of the party with which they are affiliated.
Primaries are a direct, statewide process of selecting candidates and delegates. Similar to the general election process, primary voters cast secret ballots for the candidates of their choosing. The results are used to determine the configuration of delegates at the national convention of each party. Primaries come in two basic forms: In an open primary, all registered voters can vote for any candidate, regardless of their political affiliation. Registered Democrats may vote for a Republican candidate, and Republican voters may cast ballots for a Democrat, for instance. And registered Independents can participate in either party’s primary. But in a closed primary, voters may vote only for candidates of the party with which they are registered.
https://www.factcheck.org/2008/04/caucus-vs-primary/