How does the New Hampshire primary work?
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The New Hampshire primary is Tuesday – and don’t worry, this should be easier to follow than last week’s Iowa caucuses.
Unlike a caucus, a primary is a more straightforward process where voters simply show up and vote. But there are some distinctions in the Granite State.
The New Hampshire primary is considered what is known as “semi-closed,” meaning registered members of each party can vote in their respective primaries – but independents can too. That means anyone registered as undeclared in New Hampshire can essentially affiliate with a party at the polling location, and then vote in that primary.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}They are the largest voting bloc in New Hampshire, and a big part of why the Granite State primary can be so hard to predict.
The voting, meanwhile, begins after midnight Tuesday and mostly wraps up by 7 p.m. ET, though some precincts continue voting for another hour.
The contest itself, while hugely important for momentum in the presidential race, does not award many delegates.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}On the Democratic side, 32 delegates are in play – though eight of those are “superdelegates” not bound by the results of the primary. On the Republican side, 23 are at stake Tuesday.