Which term describes a meeting of local party members to select party officials or candidates and to decide the party platform?

Which term describes a meeting of local party members to select party officials or candidates and to decide the party platform?

• A. Open primary
• B. Caucus
• C. Direct primary
• D. Nomination

Answer: (B)

A caucus is a gathering where local party members actively shape who will hold party offices or run as nominees and decide the party’s platform, all through in-person discussion and voting. Members come together, debate issues, and then vote—often in rounds or by a show of hands—to select delegates or candidates. This makes it more participatory and deliberative than a primary, which is a private ballot vote to nominate nominees. Open and direct primaries refer to how voters cast ballots, not to a meeting format, while nomination is the act of naming a candidate, which can happen through a caucus or a primary. So the described meeting—the in-person, discussion-driven gathering to pick officials or candidates and set the platform—fits a caucus.

A caucus is a gathering where local party members actively shape who will hold party offices or run as nominees and decide the party’s platform, all through in-person discussion and voting. Members come together, debate issues, and then vote—often in rounds or by a show of hands—to select delegates or candidates. This makes it more participatory and deliberative than a primary, which is a private ballot vote to nominate nominees. Open and direct primaries refer to how voters cast ballots, not to a meeting format, while nomination is the act of naming a candidate, which can happen through a caucus or a primary. So the described meeting—the in-person, discussion-driven gathering to pick officials or candidates and set the platform—fits a caucus.