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The Convention
A selection process to determine which candidate will appear on the ballot for a given political party in the nationwide general election. Undertaken at state level -
The Caucus
This is where delegates are chosen to represent the states needs and wants and interests at the national party convention. Possible delegates are then determined as either favorable or uncommited. After the discussions, a vote is hekd to decide which delegate should be chosen -
The Primary
Through a "secret" ballot, registered voters vote to elect a memebr of each party, only in which the voter is affiliated with. This determines the two canidates, usually from Republican and Democrat parties, that will then be the running for the presidency. -
Awarding the Delegates
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.
In the Republican Party, each state chooses either the proportional method or a "winner-take-all" method
Rules and methods differ state-to-state and can be changed by party leadership
