| − | Each political party selects a nominee for office through a primary, and a '''caucus''' is a type of primary for selecting a nominee. A '''caucus''' consists of members of the party traveling to a central location to hear speeches, consider the issues, and then cast their votes to select the nominee of their party. Because of the significant effort required, a '''caucus''' usually results in a more knowledgeable, devoted and smaller number of voters than in broader primary systems that simply consist of voters stopping by a local polling booth.
| + | In the electoral system of the [[United States]], each political party selects a nominee for office through a "primary", and a '''caucus''' is a type of primary for selecting a nominee. A caucus consists of members of the party traveling to a central location to hear speeches, consider the issues, and then cast their votes to select the nominee of their party. Because of the significant effort required, a caucus usually results in a more knowledgeable, devoted and smaller number of voters than in broader primary systems that simply consist of voters stopping by a local polling booth. |
| − | The term '''caucus''' is from the Algonquian Indian language, having a general meaning of "to meet together." In [[Congress]] it means an informal organization of Members of the [[United States House of Representatives|House]] or the [[United States Senate|Senate]], or both, that exists to discuss issues of mutual concern and possibly to perform legislative research and policy planning for its members. There are regional, political or ideological, ethnic, and economic-based caucuses.<ref>[http://www.senate.gov/reference/glossary_term/caucus.htm] US Senate Reference</ref> | + | The term "caucus" is from the Algonquian Indian language, having a general meaning of "to meet together." In [[Congress]] it means an informal organization of Members of the [[United States House of Representatives|House]] or the [[United States Senate|Senate]], or both, that exists to discuss issues of mutual concern and possibly to perform legislative research and policy planning for its members. There are regional, political or ideological, ethnic, and economic-based caucuses.<ref>[http://www.senate.gov/reference/glossary_term/caucus.htm] US Senate Reference</ref> |