We go first

Jan. 12—After months, or years, of campaigning, Republican voters in Iowa will get their chance Monday to favor their candidate for president as the winner, after all the states' voters have nominated, will be on the Nov. 5 ballot. Republican candidates include Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley, Vivek Ramaswamy and Asa Hutchinson.

Voters are to bring a valid form of ID on Caucus night, which includes voter identification card, driver's license, non-operator identification, military identification, passport or tribal identification card.

People may register to vote at their precinct location on caucus night. Those people are to bring a valid form of identification and a proof of address (residential lease, utility bill, bank statement, paycheck, government check, property tax statement, government document, etc.)

Iowa Republican voters will indicate their picks for the party's presidential nominee, and the results of that vote will determine how many of the state's 40 convention delegates each candidate will receive. Candidates win national convention delegates in direct proportion to the percentage of the vote they receive. There is no minimum threshold required to qualify for delegates.

There will be two main agenda items at every Republican caucus site: holding a binding vote for the party's presidential nominee and electing delegates to attend county conventions, which is the next step in the multi-tiered process of electing delegates to attend the Republican National Convention int he summer in Milwaukee.

The binding presidential vote functions essentially like a party-run primary, only with very limited polling hours and no accommodation for absentee voting, except for a tiny handful of overseas and military voters. There are speeches on behalf of various candidates before the voting and a variety of party business after the vote.

Individual caucus chairs are allowed to exercise some discretion in how to conduct the vote, but the voting is done by secret ballot and there is no set list of candidates. Voters must be given the option to vote for any candidate they choose. In the past, some caucus sites have pre-printed the names of major candidates and provided a write-in option, but typically, voters vote by writing the name of a candidate on a blank slip of paper.

There is no walking around the caucus room to form candidate preference groups. That voting method was a feature of Democratic caucuses from 1972 to 2020 but is no longer in use by either party in 2024.

The Republican caucuses will convene statewide at 7 p.m. and begin with the election of a caucus chair and secretary. Only registered Republicans may participate in the caucuses and only in their designated home precincts. However, Iowans may register or change their party affiliation on caucus day. Voters must turn 18 by the November general election in order to participate.

Iowa Democrats restructured their caucus and presidential delegate selection process after their 2020 caucuses devolved into chaos and failed to produce a clear, undisputed winner.

This year, Iowa Democrats will still hold caucuses on the same day as Republicans, but unlike in previous years, caucus participants will not vote or indicate their pick to represent the party on the November presidential ballot. Instead, they will vote for a party nominee through a mail-in voting process that begins today and concludes on March 5.

The Democratic caucuses on Jan. 15 will elect delegates to the county conventions in March, which is the next step in selecting the individuals to serve as delegates to the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in August. National convention delegates will be required to vote for a presidential nominee in accordance with the results of the mail-in voting process.

Union County Republican caucus locations:

Precincts: Afton, Aripse and Lorimor; Caucus site: East Union Jr.-Sr. High School, 1916 High School Drive, Afton.

Precincts: Creston precincts 1-5 and Lincoln Township; Caucus site: Creston High School, 601 W. Townline, Creston.

Union County Democrats will meet at 7 p.m., Monday to participate in the caucus in the following locations:

Precincts Union AF (Afton), Union AR (Arispe) and Union LR (Lorimor) will meet at the Afton Community Center at 220 N. Douglas St. in Afton.

All Creston Wards Union CS1 through CS5 and Union LNT (Lincoln Township) will meet at the Creston Middle School, 805 Academic Ave. in Creston.

You must be signed in by 7 p.m. to participate.

Associated Press contributed to this story.