If you're one of us, then Caucus

By Grace Carballo ‘17

I’ve found this particular Monday to be more exciting than most because not only am I in my 5th favorite state, Iowa, in the company of greatness (my grandparents), but also I’m here at a pivotal time- tonight is the kickoff of the presidential nominations process and I was more than willing to travel a few hundred miles and cross the Mississippi to see the Iowa Caucus in the flesh. (For the record, I came from my home state of Illinois, not SoCal - that would probably be taking things too far). 

Tonight, February 1st, at 7 PM, precinct caucuses were held in 1,681 locations across this great state. There are different locations and procedures for Democrats and Republicans and attendees must register as one party or the other to caucus.

For Democrats, the process is a little complex.  The candidates are Hillary Clinton, Martin O'Malley*, and Bernie Sanders, but Iowa Democrats do not use a ballot system like Iowa Republicans. Instead, caucus attendees divide into preference groups by which candidate they are supporting or into another group for "uncommitted". Candidates with less than 15% of the attendees are not viable and that candidate is eliminated. Those supporting candidates that aren’t viable can then realign to the other candidates’ groups. Then, the caucus chair determines the number of delegates each group is entitled to elect.

*O'Malley, as of posting, has withdrawn his candidacy.

For Republicans, 12 candidates are on the ballot this time around- Jeb Bush, Ben Carson, Chris Christie, Ted Cruz, Carly Fiorina, Jim Gilmore, Mike Huckabee, John Kasich, Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, Rick Santorum, and Donald Trump. Each of the campaigns has someone speak on their behalf at each precinct for two minutes prior to the straw vote of those attending. The results are then sent to a central reporting system.

A few days ago I wasn’t entirely sure what a caucus even was, though I’d surely heard the word enough times in the coverage leading up to this, but now I have a slightly clearer idea. Most other states elect delegates to the national convention but Iowans elect lower-level precinct delegates tonight who will go on to one of 99 county-level conventions to advocate on behalf of the candidates they supported. At the County Convention, they vote on the delegates who go to the State Convention, where they nominate who goes to the National Convention. At the National Convention the official nominee of each party is named, but by then, the results of the primaries and caucuses in each state will already indicate who is the nominee.

Why does this matter?

Iowa holds the title “First in the Nation” in the presidential nominations process, and though the results don’t necessarily predict who will be the nominees for each party, they can seriously help, or hurt, presidential hopefuls. Those who do well in Iowa gain a lot of media attention and momentum in their campaigns. Those who don’t tend to struggle. As ABC news reported yesterday, “A good showing in Iowa is vital. No candidate that has finished worse than third has ever gone on to win the presidency.”

“What’s it like to be there in the thick of it all?”

It’s a thrill, I tell you, an absolute whirl-wind. My grandparents are from Scott County where they caucused tonight at a local middle school. I borrowed a shirt I’d given my grandma to wear to represent USC and made sure to get a photo of us all there.

(We had plenty of time for photos because these two arrive early everywhere, including caucuses.)

 It all went down a lot like I’d read the process would go. Since they are Republican, they and every attendee received a pink ballot with the names of the candidates.

(Gram fills out her ballot in the school cafeteria where her precinct was assigned).

 After four people spoke on behalf of their candidates (Bush, Cruz, Santorum, Trump), to the crowd of 118 people gathered in the cafeteria, everyone filled out their ballots and they were collected. The ballots were counted by the precinct chairs who were monitored by fellow attendees and the results were announced before being sent to be compiled via an app. At the site we were, Cruz and Trump tied with 32 of the votes, Rubio came in third, and my grandparents’ favorites- Carly Fiorina and John Kasich- each received one vote, Gram and Papa’s votes, respectively.

Their precinct’s caucus only took about 45 minutes which allowed ample time for us to get ice cream after. There was a great turnout at both the caucus and the ice cream store, Whitey’s, which surprised everyone because voter turn out has been low in recent years and also it’s February in Iowa and a little chilly for frozen treats.

(the caucus attendees discuss their precinct’s results over a generous cone)

The weeks-and especially days- leading up to the caucuses have been full of campaigning, which has its pros and cons. Just about every commercial the past few days has been bashing one candidate or another’s voting record and overall character. Gram and I have had enough of this- just let us watch Jeopardy in peace.

Since Super PACs (Political Action Committees) can spend without limits now, those candidates with the biggest financial backing are able to get their messages to the masses. And this, the 2016 election cycle, is expected to continue to outspend previous elections.

Grandma’s even been unplugging the answering machine when she leaves the house because if she doesn’t, it’s full of messages from one campaign or another by the time she returns. Still, the inconveniences of the campaigns starting in Iowa are worth it, I think, for all the opportunities they bring.

Economically, it’s good for the state as a whole, but also the citizens of Iowa get a unique opportunity to hear many presidential hopefuls locally and with relative ease. Grandma and Papa took me to the theater in their town of Davenport to see Trump (not a fan but lots of others seemed to be given the crowds), to a hotel to see Fiorina (an eloquent and empathetic force), and to an Elks club lodge to see Bush (more personable than he comes across on TV). I think it’s important to listen to and interact with candidates, even those you may not support or even like. If there’s a chance they might be President one day, you should absolutely ask them a difficult question or call them out if you find fault in their rhetoric. The people of Iowa have this amazing opportunity and I’m very happy to have been able to witness it.

(three strong female leads)

Also- shout out to Grandma and Papa for postponing their annual flight south for the winter until after the caucus. Just two 84-year-olds doing their civic duty and entertaining their grandchild for a long weekend.

“I’m not in Iowa or from Iowa- what does this have to do with me?”

Well no need to be jealous. We can’t all be in Iowa all the time. But considering this is the start of the presidential nominations process, consider it a wakeup call-you’re going to need to be taking some steps to make sure you use your right to vote and make an informed choice. If you’re from out-of-state at USC:

• You can vote by absentee ballot, which allows you to vote before the election.
• You can return the ballot by mail to your local election officials.

If you, like me, will be abroad, look into how you can vote from overseas. What a time to be alive! http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/abroad/legal-matters/benefits/voting.html

For the candidates, it’s on to New Hampshire and for me, it’s back to Illinois and then on to Buenos Aires for the semester. But, for tonight at least, all eyes are on Iowa. And that’s exactly how it should be.

Remember, Fight On and Vote,

Grace Carballo '17

Want more from Trojans 360?

Visit Trojans 360 on Facebook & Twitter to stay up to date with more student content!

Check out our Instagram, where we feature a week in the life of a USC student each week!

Trojans 360 is USC’s official student-run blog. Content created by students, for students.