Cast your ballot at the Colorado caucus

For many loyal and politically active CU Denver voters, the prospect of voting in the Colorado Republican Precinct caucus at 7 p.m. on Feb. 7 can be exciting. But some voters might be asking, what the hell is a caucus and how does it work?

First off, primaries and caucuses are very different, even though the differences seem very minute. "Caucuses…allow participants to openly show support for candidates. Voting is often done by raising hands or breaking into groups according to the candidate that participants support. The results of the caucus are used to determine the delegates present at county, state, and national nominating conventions of each political party," according to FactCheck.org.

In contrast, a primary is "a direct, statewide process of selecting candidates and delegates. Similar to the general election process, primary voters cast secret ballots for the candidates of their choosing. The results are used to determine the configuration of delegates at that national convention of each party," according to FactCheck.org. Primaries can also be open or closed. In an open primary, registered voters can vote for any candidate of their choosing. But in a closed primary, voters can only vote for candidates who are affiliated with their party.

Now for the 2012 election, it's important to note that this is a Republican caucus. After all, Barack Obama, the presidential incumbent, is the assumed Democratic candidate, so voters only have the chance to vote for a nominee for the GOP. This means that only voters affiliated with the Republican party can vote in the Feb. 7 caucus.

If you've been following any of the election coverage via your choice of news networks, then you might have noticed how various Republican candidates have dropped off throughout the process. The initial caucuses always play the important role of winnowing down the choice in candidates so that voters can more easily select a nominee. By the time the Colorado caucus date arrives, Florida, Nevada, and Maine will have all held their caucuses or primaries. On Feb. 7, two other states in addition to Colorado will begin voting—Missouri will hold a primary and Minnesota will hold a caucus.

Because of Mitt Romney's initial steady performance in states like Iowa and New Hampshire, he was generally viewed as the eventual nominee, which in turn called in to question the significance of the Colorado caucus in terms of selecting the Republican nominee. But because Newt Gingrich won the South Carolina primary, the process is expected to last much longer than originally expected as Americans make up their minds. This means that the Colorado caucus is early enough to actually play an influential role in deciding who will be the challenger to Obama come Election Day, and your votes can actually make a big difference.

So if you're a politically active, responsible citizen who registered as a Republican before Dec. 7, 2011, then exercise your right to vote and cast your ballot for the next potential GOP nominee. To find out what precinct you're in and where your local caucus location will be, visit

http://www.caucus.cologop.org.