Seth A. Richardson

srichardson@rgj.com

The Nevada Democratic caucuses are set up to be a showdown for former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.

The Nevada Democratic caucuses are set for Saturday, Feb. 20.

Caucuses are more like a community meeting than primaries. Republicans and Democrats do it differently.

In Democratic caucuses, voters break off into groups based on chosen candidate to determine "viability" -- whether or not a candidate has enough supporters at the site to receive a delegate.

If a group is too small to be viable, the candidate is eliminated from receiving a delegate. Supporters from nonviable candidates can choose a different candidate to support. A final tally is taken and the delegates are allocated.

Voters then choose who will represent the candidates as delegates at the county conventions. These delegates eventually go on to the state and national conventions to determine the nominee. Alternates are also chosen in case a regular delegate is unable to vote.

If you're a Democrat who would like to caucus, click here to find your caucus location.

Nevada is worth 43 delegates at the Democratic National Convention. A candidate needs 2,382 of the 4,763 total delegates to clinch the nomination. The total number of delegates is subject to change, but it basically is a combination of population and Democratic elected officials.

Of the 43 in Nevada, 35 are what is known as “pledged,” meaning they are bound to the winning candidate through the first vote of the national convention. If the convention goes to a second round of voting, the delegates may choose whomever they wish.

The other eight Democratic delegates are “unpledged” and more commonly known as superdelegates. Superdelegates are party leaders and elected officials – including Reid and U.S. Rep. Dina Titus, D-Nev., – who count as an official vote at the convention. They are not bound by caucus voting.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton currently has pledged support from three superdelegates: Titus, State Sen. Ruben Kihuen of Las Vegas and consultant Andres Ramirez. Erin Bilbray, the daughter of former U.S. Rep. James Bilbray, pledged her superdelegate vote to Sanders in December.

After the presidential voting, citizens can submit ideas for the party platform for a vote. These are passed on to the conventions where they can become an official stance of the party.