Caucus.

Caucus.

So what is a caucus?

It's definitely a funny word and kind of a funny process.

But if you participate in one, be prepared to voice your opinion.

Literally leading up to a presidential election, there are primary races that narrow the field of potential candidates to the party nominee.

While most of these primaries are straightforward elections voting by secret ballot, some are a little more unusual.

Behold the rare and endangered caucus.

Let's look at the Iowa caucus as an example.

People gather in a school library, gymnasium, church or even someone's house.

Once there, they divide into groups based on the candidate they choose.

And supporters of that candidate make the case for support out loud to the group.

Then the chairman calls a vote.

If a candidate gets at least 15% of the room support, they are deemed viable and their supporters must stay put.

If a candidate does not have 50% of the vote, their supporters can realign by convincing others from an unviable candidate's group to join them.

Joining another group choose to be uncommitted or leave.

The caucus has been used to decide elections since 1796.

And proponents say this traditional method of voting encourages deliberation between neighbors, that it's democracy in action.

But because of a caucuses more public nature, the ability for party bosses to exert power and the inconvenience of voting at a single time in a process that can take hours.

Some states have changed to regular ballot voting.

Plus, voter turnout is about 19 percentage points higher at ballot elections compared to caucuses.

What do you think?

Would you want to participate in the caucus or do you think they should go extinct?

Let us know in the comments.