Primary Election
An election prior to the general election in which voters select the candidates who will run on each party's ticket. Primaries are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders, and may be open or closed. State primaries begin in January 2004.

Open Primary
An election in which any registered voter can vote in any party's primary. They must pick a party, and cannot vote in more than one election.

Closed Primary
The selection of a party's candidates in an election limited to registered party members. Prevents members of other parties from "crossing over" to influence the nomination of an opposing party's candidate.

Runoff Primary
If no candidate gets a majority of the votes, a runoff is held to decide who should win.

Presidential Primary
A primary used to pick delegates to the presidential nominating conventions of the major parties.

Delegates
Every state divides itself into smaller territories known as districts. Political parties situate themselves in every district in America. These smaller groups elect officials known as delegates to represent the district during a national convention.

Caucus
Some states hold a caucus instead of a primary. This was how we originally did it back in the day, but most states hold primaries now. Generally, any voter registered with the party may attend. At the caucus, delegates are chosen to represent the state's interests at the national party convention. After discussion and debate, an informal vote is taken to determine which delegates should be chosen. Basically, in a caucus you are voting for a delegate who represents your choice rather than the actual candidate, as you would in a primary.

Winner Take All
Every state approaches the electoral process differently. Some states have an electoral system that allows the winning candidate to control the whole delegate vote, while other states split their delegations on the actual voting percentages of the population.