Colorado’s complicated caucus system is a love it or hate it event.

The caucus precinct meetings scheduled for Tuesday invoke a sepia tone image of politics that is an escape from the high-definition, million-dollar modern campaigns, where neighbors meet neighbors to discuss the issues of the day.

But for the less nostalgic, the caucus is antiquated and accessible only to the party’s most fervent fans, a system that runs counter to the state’s innovative mail-ballot mentality.

In either case, it’s complex and difficult to understand. Here are 10 questions and answers, compiled from interviews with a dozen experts, to help explain Colorado’s caucus system amid the 2016 presidential race.

What is a caucus?

The political parties in Colorado hold neighborhood-level gatherings, known as precinct meetings, to start the party’s candidate nomination process. The meetings typically take place at local schools, churches and community centers. Democrats will host 3,010 precinct meetings, while Republican will gather at 2,995 precinct locations.

Who is eligible to participate?

Only members of the political parties are allowed to participate in their respective caucuses. The deadline to affiliate as a Democrat or Republican for the caucus was Jan. 4. Also, party members must live in their current precinct at least 30 days before the caucus to be eligible.

The caucuses are open to the public for those who wish to observe them.

Why can’t unaffiliated voters participate?

The plurality of Colorado registered voters — 37 percent, or 1.3 million — are unaffiliated with a political party. But the caucuses are run by the political parties, not the state, and restricted to participation of their members. At the core, the caucuses are party building exercises.

Colorado moved to the caucus system in 2002, after a decade of holding presidential primaries. Since then, repeated efforts to return to the primary system failed, including a legislative move in 2015. But an advocacy organization wants to put an initiative on the 2016 ballot to win approval to implement a primary system that allows unaffiliated voters to cast votes in on party primary or the other.

What happens at the caucus precinct meetings?

The caucus business consists of three main tasks: select two precinct leaders to two-year terms; elect delegates and alternates to county assemblies and possibly the state convention; and vote on issue resolutions to the party platform.

Before the delegate election, local and statewide candidates will give speeches to win delegates to vote for them at county, congressional and state conventions. Those seeking delegate status also can give a short speech to convince people to vote for them.

At Democratic caucuses, the party will conduct a preference poll vote for the presidential candidates, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. A representative for each candidate can make a brief pitch to convince voters to their side.

The Republican Party decided to not hold a straw poll vote this year.

Why did the Republicans cancel their caucus straw poll?

The state 24-member GOP executive committee unanimously voted to abandon the straw poll after the national party amended its rules to bind the state’s delegates to the caucus winner. Party leaders who supported the move said it would give Colorado delegates the ability to support any candidate eligible at the national convention, rather than one who may not make it to the end.

However, the state’s GOP delegates can pledge to support a particular candidate on a required party document filed later in March, or they can remain unbound.

How are delegates awarded to the candidates?

The Republican precinct meetings are the first step to deciding the 34 delegates that will represent Colorado at the party’s national convention in July. The delegates elected at the neighborhood level will advance to the county and state conventions, where they will select delegates for the next level.

The final slate of GOP delegates are picked at congressional district level — three for each of the state’s seven districts — and the state convention, where 13 are chosen. The list is often filled with elected officials and well-known activists. The presidential campaigns — as well as local and state candidates — will try to get their supporters into these posts to win delegates.

A Republican delegate elected to the national convention can commit to support a candidate on their intent to run form, or can remain unbound. Three more top GOP officials are automatic delegates, or superdelegates, free to support any candidate.

On the Democratic side, the party received 78 delegates to the national convention. Of those, 12 are superdelegates. The preference poll vote at the precinct caucus will determine, on a proportional basis, how many delegates each candidate will send to the next level. At the county convention, another straw poll is taken to allocate delegates for each candidate to the congressional and state conventions.

The congressional and state conventions will each hold additional preference polls to apportion delegates. The seven congressional districts will assign 43 delegates, while 23 more are selected at the state convention (in two different votes).

The delegates who advance to the national convention are pledged to their candidate, but not entirely guaranteed and may change loyalties.

Who are the superdelegates?

The Republican superdelegates are Party Chairman Steve House, RNC national committeewoman Lily Nunez and RNC national committeeman George Leing.

The Democratic superdelegates are Party Chairman Rick Palacio, First Vice-chairwoman Beverly Ryken; DNC members Anthony Graves, Lisa Padilla, Mannie Rodriquez and Blanca O’Leary; and Roy Romer, a past DNC chairman and former governor.

Others are elected officials: Gov. John Hickenlooper, U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet and congressional members Diana DeGette, Ed Perlmutter and Jared Polis. Most of the Democratic superdelegates are committed to Clinton.

Will Colorado know the party winners on caucus night?

No — at least not definitively. On the Republican side, no delegates selected are bound to candidates and it will prove incredibly difficult to quantify which candidate wins the most delegates among the thousands selected at the precinct level.

The Democratic presidential straw poll will showcase which candidate is most popular among the party activists, but it is merely a snapshot in time. What is more important is how the delegates are apportioned to the county conventions. Once again, the Democratic delegates are not guaranteed to the candidates, but if the proportions hold, it may be possible to project a Democratic winner.

What if there is a tie at a Democratic precinct?

Colorado Democratic Party rules state that a tie vote at the precinct is “determined by lot,” or chance. The rules don’t mandate a method, but a coin toss, drawing straws or selecting from a deck of cards are all possibilities.

Where is my precinct location and what time should I get there?

The political parties designate caucus sites. If you are a Democrat, visit coloradodems.org/action/2016-caucus-locations or call the party at (303) 623-4762 to find your caucus location. If you are a Republican, visit caucus.cologop.org or call (303) 758- 3333 to find your caucus location.

The parties encourage members to arrive by 6:30 p.m. to register ahead of the 7 p.m. start. Any person in line at 7 p.m. will still be allowed to participate. Democrats expect less than the 120,000 who attended the record-setting 2008 caucus to show up this year. Republicans anticipate about 20,000 to 60,000 people to participate, less than the 70,000 estimated in 2008.

Colorado caucus results: Published here caucus night.