Don't forget the funky Iowa caucus format. It's not a show-up and check the box type affair.
The republicans gather at a local church, say an opening prayer, recite the pledge, and then one person representing each candidate gets up and gets 2-3 minutes to pitch their candidate. After this, we all threw in post-it notes to mark our preferred candidate. Not much on voter security, but the baked goods in the entryway are friendly for the walk out.
The democrats do something very different. They gather at a school or community center in a larger setting, skip the prayer, skip the pledge, and start by physically picking with other supporters of your preferred candidate. Then a husky woman in a Biden shirt walks around with a clipboard counting up how many people are where. This drew some ire in 2016 as the Bernie folks questioned the counting skills of the woman in the Hillary shirt.
After the first pass, those who break ~15% get to stay where they are, and the rest have to find a new clique. Let the sales pitch begin as folks start trying to bring the oddballs into their corner. This is where you Yang gangers, Tulsi fanboi's, and the creep in the corner who like Tom Steyer have to decide if they will go sit with the Bingo crowd for Joe Biden or they have to pick their favorite democratic socialist. Another round concludes and then another check for viability. A final check is done, and then delegates are assigned based on final numbers.
The math gets weird as you don't get a final tally or turnout. The results may feel kind of rigged, because to some extent they are. Iowa City and Ames will turn out big for the Bern and Warren, and the delegates have to get distributed correctly compared to Paton, Iowa where the town folk will gather and discuss knitting and Joe Biden.
The format is going to help someone, it's just tough to say who. Who will the people move to after the first pass?
I'm going to miss it!
