The modern nominating process of U.S.

presidential elections currently consists of two major

parts: a series of presidential primary elections and caucuses held in each state, and the
presidential nominating conventions held by each political party. This process was never
included in the United States Constitution, and thus evolved over time by the political parties to
clear the field of candidates.
The primary elections are run by state and local governments, while the caucuses are organized
directly by the political parties. Some states hold only primary elections, some hold only
caucuses, and others use a combination of both. These primaries and caucuses are staggered
generally between January and June before the federal election, with Iowa and New Hampshire
traditionally holding the first presidential state caucus and primary, respectively.
Like the general election, presidential caucuses or primaries are indirect elections. The major
political parties officially vote for their presidential candidate at their respective nominating
conventions, usually all held in the summer before the federal election. Depending on each state's
law and state's political party rules, when voters cast ballots for a candidate in a presidential
caucus or primary, they may be voting to award delegates "bound" to vote for a candidate at the
presidential nominating conventions, or they may simply be expressing an opinion that the state
party is not bound to follow in selecting delegates to their respective national convention.
Unlike the general election, voters in the U.S. territories can also elect delegates to the national
conventions. Furthermore, each political party can determine how many delegates to allocate to
each state and territory. In 2012 for example, the Democratic and Republican party conventions
each used two different formulas to allocate delegates. The Democrats-based theirs on two main
factors: the proportion of votes each state gave to the Democratic candidate in the previous three
presidential elections, and the number of electoral votes each state had in the Electoral College.
[11]
In contrast, the Republicans assigned to each state 10 delegates, plus 3 delegates per
congressional district.[12] Both parties then gave fixed amounts of delegates to each territory, and
finally bonus delegates to states and territories that passed certain criteria.[11][12]
Along with delegates chosen during primaries and caucuses, state and U.S. territory delegations
to both the Democratic and Republican party conventions also include "unpledged" delegates
that have a vote. For Republicans, they consist of the three top party officials from each state and
territory. Democrats have a more expansive group of unpledged delegates called
"superdelegates", who are party leaders and elected officials.
Each party's presidential candidate also chooses a vice presidential nominee to run with him or
her on the same ticket, and this choice is rubber-stamped by the convention.
If no single candidate has secured a majority of delegates (including both pledged and
unpledged), then a "brokered convention" results. All pledged delegates are then "released" and
are able to switch their allegiance to a different candidate. Thereafter, the nomination is decided

through a process of alternating political horse trading, and additional rounds of re-votes.[13][14][15]
[16]

The conventions have historically been held inside convention centers, but since the late 20th
Century both the Democratic and Republican parties have favored sports arenas and domed
stadiums to accommodate the increasing capacity.