DES MOINES, Iowa — The countdown to the Iowa Caucuses is underway, and Iowans can expect to see some differences from years past.
Both Iowa Republicans and Iowa Democrats will meet for their respective party caucuses on Jan. 15, 2024.
Rachel Paine Caufield, co-chair of the Department of Political Science at Drake University, says there are similarities and differences between the two caucuses.
"Most people don't realize that there are about 1,700 caucus locations at the same time that meet across the state of Iowa, and so these are intensely localized events," Caufield said. "That means, you know, no campaign has representatives that are gonna go out to all those caucuses, so it's just normal, average Iowans."
For Iowans who are registered as Republicans, the process is simple: Republican caucusgoers will go to their precincts, hear speeches from campaign delegates and then write their presidential preferences on a piece of paper.
The votes will be counted that night at the precinct.
For Iowa Democrats, it's a little more complicated. The Iowa Democratic Party developed a new way to caucus this year. To participate, would-be Democratic caucusgoers must request a presidential preference card ahead of the caucus, which will then be mailed in.
The votes will be tallied, but results won't be released until Super Tuesday (March 5). Iowa Democrats will still conduct official party business, outside of presidential nominations, on Jan. 15.
President Joe Biden is largely expected to gain the Democratic nomination, but the Republican nomination is still up for grabs.
"I think there's an element to the 2024 Republican caucuses that we cannot possibly predict in advance, and that presents an entirely new dimension to the voting practices that will happen on Jan. 15," Caufield said. "And that is the fact that the Democrats aren’t doing it at the same time, and the Democrats don’t really have a competitive race."
Caufield says that due to the off year for the Democratic party, left-leaning voters could decide to make their voices heard elsewhere.
"It would be entirely possible for a group of Independents or Democrats to re-register as Republicans and attend the Republican caucuses on caucus night in an effort to sway the outcome of the voting," Caufield said.
And since Republican caucusgoers have the ability to make a split-second decision, the Iowa Caucus is still anyone's game.
“If you have a neighborhood leader who is a very persuasive speaker and you go in as a voter and you say, 'You know, I’ve seen these two or three candidates, all of them seem strong'..." Caufield said. "And the person who gets up and speaks on behalf of one of those candidates is particularly persuasive, that may make you change your mind as you’re sitting there in the room."