How the heck do the primaries work?!

I kid you not, I just googled Primaries for Dummies. I am officially no longer in denial. I DO NOT UNDERSTAND THE PRIMARIES. There, I admitted it. I feel like I am declaring my stupidity and shunning myself into some inept-voter oblivion. But judging by several conversations with fellow students, I doubt I'm alone in my confusion. How the heck do the primaries work?! And...please, somebody tell me what the hell a super delegate is (I have an image in my mind of a delegate wearing a blue spandex suit and red cape flying through the air with a giant pencil in hand, thrusting forward to go vote...not the most appetizing image).

I thought that my "primaries for dummies" search would bring me to some site that would explain the process in clear, layman’s terms and make me feel pathetic for not understanding before. But, I was wrong. After scouring the internet, I have concluded that the primaries are just ridiculously confusing! However, since I have done all the investigating, I will do my best to summarize my findings.

Ok...here we go.

The number of delegates a state gets is based BOTH on the population AND the number of registered voters. The equation gets complicated. Look at the table below to see the breakdown. And if you don't believe it's confusing,
Check out this LA Times article called Formula on delegates may muddy the field in California primary - it will confirm that confusion is justified.


Now...how do the candidates win a state?

Both parties do things differently...

For the Democrats the percentage of the votes a candidate gets corresponds to percentage of delegates the candidate wins. For example, consider a state with 20 delegates at a democratic convention with three candidates. If candidate "A" received 70% of all caucus and primary votes, candidate "B" 20% and candidate "C" 10%, candidate "A" would get 14 delegates, candidate "B" would get 4 delegates and candidate "C" would get 2 delegates.

For some states, republicans use a "winner takes all" approach. Which ever candidate gets the most votes wins all the delegates in that state.

Now...what does it mean to win a delegate?

Most delegates are required to vote for the candidate who won in their district. Which means, that the delegate votes will reflect the same percentage of the votes the candidate won (same example as above). However, there are some delegates who are not legally bound to vote the same way.

Duh da da da...Enter Super delegates

Super delegates are current elected office holders (congress, governors, or those with other substantial roles) who aren't bound to vote the same way at the party convention. They were created in 1980 to give party officials the power to shift who earns the ticket(otherwise the primaries would basically be the final word). They also are allowed to vote for candidates that aren't even on the ballot. Weird, I know.

So what does this all mean? Do the primaries decide which candidate will get the party nomination?

Well, you would think! But no. That's not how it works in the wacky world of the primaries. What ultimately decides which candidate will win the party ticket is the party convention. Generally, the person who wins the primaries wins the ticket. But, there is no rule! The party could ultimately choose someone different (although they probably won't).

FACT:

THE PRIMARIES ARE WIERD, WACKY, HARD TO UNDERSTAND POLITICAL SHINANIGANS!!

Anyways... the democratic national convention will decide who wins the democratic ticket. The convention will be in Denver, CO August 25-28 (ahhh...you mean we have to wait that long, listen to all that boring, endless analysis? Yes. You do.) It is usually earlier, but they are postponing it until after the Olympics.

HA HA republicans. You have to wait too! Even longer! The republican national convention will be in Saint Paul, MN September 1-4.