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PRIMARY
A primary election allows registered voters more say in who they want to be in the run for president. They may vote for a certain party's candidate through a secret ballot. There are two main types, open or closed. In a closed primary. the voter can only vote for a candidate in their registered party. In the open type, a voter can vote for anyone regardless of the party they are affiliated with. -
CAUCUS
A caucus occurs around the same time of a primary and is another form of voting for a candidate. Not many states partake in this method anymore as a primary is more common. In states that do participate in a caucus however, the time, place and location are announced for each and voters come to the location to participate in the voting. The voting is done by separting into groups based on who you are rooting for. -
CONVENTION
The next step is the convention. This is prior to the general election and works to show who will represent the party in the nationwide election process. This is done at the state level and usually done through the previous mentioned methods of primaries and caucuses. -
DELEGATES
After the voting and decision of who will be the people representing each party, the awarding of the delegates begins. The Democratic party does this in a very proportional way while the Republican party lets the voter decide the winner through their votes in a "winner-takes-all" process. -
GENERAL ELECTIONS
General Elections for the candidates for presidency start to take place around May. This is when the political people for each party are chosen. -
ELECTORAL COLLEGE-PRESIDENCY
Later on, the electoral college, citizens, and those chosen to represent each state vote on who they want to become the president. The electoral college is based off of how big of a population each state has. Once this is determined, mentors who represent each state take into account who their states want and what they think and make a suggestion into who should be president.
