What is... The Republican Candidates Ron Paul Rick Santorum Mitt Romney Newt Gingrich Super Tuesday It is the day when the greatest number of states (10) hold primary elections to select delegates to national conventions where each partys presidential candidates are officially nominated. Primary Election The purpose of a primary election is to narrow down the candidates who want to be President. Voters use a secret ballot to select delegates. In an open primary, registered voters, regardless of their party affiliation, can vote in any party primary they choose. In a closed primary, voters must declare a party affiliation and can only vote in that primary. Over 40 states and territories and the District of Columbia use primaries. Caucuses Party members and party leaders meet to select delegates and usually must demonstrate their support for a presidential candidate by public declaration. Caucuses are often used in combination with a state convention to elect delegates to the national convention. 15 states and territories use caucuses. Delegate Selection Party members in each state select delegates to go to the national conventions to represent their choices for presidential candidates. The candidate who obtains a majority of delegate votes at that partys convention receives the partys nomination. National Convention Each party holds a convention during the summer and chooses the one candidate that theyll support in November running for President. Electoral College The first candidate to reach 270 electoral votes becomes President. On election day, we really vote for people called electors, who then vote for the President. The electors are chosen from the Primaries. History of Electoral College VoteralCollegeHistory.pdf Electors Each state is allocated a number of Electors equal to the number of its Senators and the number of U.S. Representatives. The political parties in each State submit a list of individuals pledged to their candidate for president. The major political parties select these individuals at their State party conventions or through appointment by their State party leaders. Electors On the Monday following the second Weds. of Dec. each States Electors meet in their State capitals and cast their electoral votes. The electoral votes are sealed and sent to the President of the Senate who opens them and reads them on Jan. 6 th. The candidate for president with the most electoral votes is declared president.h/electoral_college.shtmlh/electoral_college.shtml 2012 Presidential Candidate Positions on 45 Issues summary-chart.phpsummary-chart.php Understanding Caucuses and Primariesws/01/03/one.sheet.caucus.primary/ws/01/03/one.sheet.caucus.primary/