GOP Iowa Caucuses: Photo ID-Free Registration and Voting on Publicly Hand-Counted Paper Ballots

[Melissa G]

1. Little need to chase non whites away in Iowa caucuses

http://www.newsmax.com/US/Iowa-Caucuses-Republicans-Democrats/2011/12/29/id/422463

...The caucus process seems arcane and mysterious, even to people in Iowa. That is in part because most people don't even participate. About 359,000 people — 17 percent of registered voters in Iowa — showed up for Democratic and Republican caucuses in 2008. Turnout will certainly be lower this year, since Obama is unopposed. And the GOP turnout may not exceed the record-setting 120,000 attendees that the party's contest saw four years ago.

Caucuses take place in all of the state's 1,774 voting precincts, some in remote spots where only a handful of voters gather, others in big community centers or schools that host several precincts under one roof. In all, Republicans will gather in about 800 locations.

This relatively small number of voters and their overwhelmingly white makeup routinely bring Iowa's caucuses under the attack of outsiders who want more clout for their own states. Only 5 percent of Iowa's electorate is Hispanic, and only 3 percent is black, compared with a national electorate that is 16 percent Hispanic and 12 percent black.

Read more on Newsmax.com: Iowa Voters Hold Sway Over How President Is Chosen
http://www.newsmax.com/US/Iowa-Caucuses-Republicans-Democrats/2011/12/29/id/422463