Iowa hosts the “First in the Nation” caucus on Monday night, and the push to engage Latinos will be put to the test.

How Caucusing Works

Iowa's eligible electorate will gather across 1,774 precincts, at 7 p.m. CST, to assemble to cast either a private or public vote for their preferred presidential candidate. Unlike a standard primary election, Iowans do not vote through voting booth but gather in venues, which may include homes.

On the Republican field, where 30 delegates are up for grabs, will begin its caucus with a straw poll, conducted through paper ballot. Caucusgoers are allowed to publicly speak in support of a candidate in hopes to further attract more votes. The votes are then counted and recorded.

The Democrats, with 52 available delegates, conduct their caucus slightly differently. Based on its national party rules, a caucusgoer may stand in support of a candidate or declare as uncommitted, then the individual will gather will fellow specific caucusgoers who also aligned to the same candidate or uncommitted.

"If your group is too small to be 'viable,' a threshold set at the beginning of the night, you will be asked to realign -- a process during which you can join another group or acquire people into your own group to become 'viable.' After all groups are viable (meaning each group has enough members to be eligible to elect at least one delegate to the county convention), your group will elect your county convention delegates from its members," described the Iowa Democratic Party.

Iowa's Latinos

The Latino population in Iowa is considerably small, representing 0.3 percent of the total 17.3 percent nationwide. Based on the Pew Research Center's data from the 2014 American Community Survey, Iowa is home to 171,000 Latinos, but only 67,000 are eligible to vote.

Groups have made the effort to encourage Iowan Latinos to participate on caucus day. Joe Enriquez Henry, president of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) of Iowa, has been working to involve Latinos in the caucus process.

"The Latino vote in Iowa will be pretty impressive this time around," said Enriquez Henry in an interview with Latin Post in January. He later added, "Their voices will be appreciated on caucus day cause they will have the type of experiences that are needed and the type of knowledge to address the concerns that need to be addressed by the presidential candidates."

"This will be the beginning of the Latino vote, and it's going to happen in Iowa. This opportunity has allowed us to amplify our voice. We may only be six percent of the population but we will be at least 10 percent of the caucusgoers and that says a lot and that's going to move the important issues for our community," said Enriquez Henry, identifying the top issues as comprehensive immigration reform, education funding, well-paid jobs and healthcare access.

Iowa Polling Data

Based on polling averages from RealClearPolitics, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is likely to win the Democrats' Iowa caucus, but her margin of victory is narrow. Based on averages of eight polls conducted between Jan. 21 and Jan. 31, Clinton outdid rival Bernie Sanders with 47.9 percent to 43.9 percent. Fellow Democratic presidential challenger Martin O' Malley received 4.3 percent from the polling averages.

On the Republican field, based on seven polls conducted between Jan. 24 and Jan. 29, businessman Donald Trump is expected to win. He received an average of 28.6 percent, enough to top Texas Sen. Ted Cruz's 23.9 percent and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio's 16.9 percent. The rest of the GOP field received single-digit figures.

To locate an Iowa precinct via the Democratic Party, click here.

To locate an Iowa precinct via the Republican Party, click here.

__

For the latest updates, follow Latin Post's Politics Editor Michael Oleaga on Twitter: @EditorMikeO or contact via email: m.oleaga@latinpost.com.

Related