The Iowa caucuses are on Monday — here’s what you need to know

Iowa voters will bear subzero wind chills on Jan. 15 to sit in school gyms, churches and community centers and discuss who they want to be the next U.S. president.

The Iowa caucuses are the first voting events in the Republican presidential primary. They tend to provide an initial signal of which direction a presidential election is headed.

For GOP candidates who have been campaigning for months to unseat incumbent President Joe Biden, Iowa is a tipping point. It could provide candidates the momentum they need to close the polling gap with Republican frontrunner and former President Donald Trump. Or it could further confirm Trump’s stranglehold on the Republican base and widen his path to the nomination.

What is a caucus?

A caucus is an in-person meeting where individuals convene to coordinate on a particular issue.

In the case of a presidential election, a caucus is where voters give and listen to speeches about candidates and then cast their votes. It is different from the now more common presidential primary structure, where voters go to polling places throughout Election Day and cast secret votes or mail those votes in remotely.

For the Republican caucus, there is no remote option. Voters must show up in person at their designated local precincts at a preset time, which can exclude those who may want to attend but cannot due to logistical barriers like childcare and work schedules. It also self-selects for voters who are comfortable expressing their political views in public.

Caucuses used to be far more prevalent in the U.S. election system than they are now. Along with Iowa, only three other states still caucus: Nevada, Wyoming and North Dakota. U.S. territories like American Samoa, Guam and the Virgin Islands also hold caucuses.

Why do Iowa caucuses matte