caucuses

A caucus is a meeting or gathering associated with a political party or faction, used for organizing, decision making, or selecting representatives. The term has two common meanings in modern politics: a caucus as a method of choosing delegates or shaping policy within a party, and a caucus as a group of legislators who belong to the same party or ideological alignment.

In electoral systems, caucuses are organized events where party members discuss candidates and issues and then vote to determine delegates to party conventions or to express preferences for nominees. In many U.S. states, presidential caucuses involve local gatherings at schools or community centers where participants engage in discussions, align with supporters, and cast a vote that determines how delegates are allocated to state and national conventions. Procedures vary by party and state, and may include viability thresholds, multiple rounds of voting, and a transition from precinct to county or state-level conventions. Caucuses differ from primaries, which are statewide secret-ballot elections held on a single day.

In legislatures, a caucus refers to a formal or informal group of legislators who share a party or ideology. Legislative caucuses meet to coordinate votes, set policy priorities, select leadership, and organize committee assignments. They can influence legislative agendas and strategy, particularly in parliamentary systems with multiparty coalitions, as well as in stronger two-party systems.

Caucuses are often praised for encouraging grassroots participation and deliberation, but criticized for low turnout, time commitments, complexity, and potential for undue influence or strategic manipulation of the process. Examples of caucuses with notable impact include U.S. presidential caucuses and various legislative caucuses in parliamentary bodies around the world.