The Iowa Caucus was held on January 3 and the New Hampshire Primary on January 8.
What is a caucus?
Under the caucus system, delegates are chosen in stages. A caucus is the first step in a group of political meetings to nominate the Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates for office.
The caucus is held at the local level and is a means for selecting delegates to represent the sponsoring party at the county convention. In turn, county convention delegates select delegates to the district, state, and national conventions.
The Democratic and Republican National Conventions then select their parties' nominees for President and Vice President. The Democratic National Convention is held in Denver, Colorado August 25 - 28, and the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota September 1 - 4.
Iowa is one of the few states that have elected to host a caucus over a primary.
What is a primary?
A primary is a publicly financed state election that is open to all registered members of the party holding the primary. Voters go to the polls and cast a ballot.In some states, only the names of the convention delegates appear on the ballot. In New Hampshire, the actual Presidential candidates' names appear on the ballot so voters are directly voting for the candidate they wish to support.
There are two types of primaries, closed and open. In a closed primary, voters may vote only in the primary of the political party in which they registered. In an open primary, registered voters can vote in the primary of either party, but are allowed to vote in only one primary. Most states, including New Hampshire, hold closed primaries.
The difference between a caucus and a primary
Before the Iowa Caucus became popular, the New Hampshire Primary was the first indication of which Presidential candidate would receive the party nomination.
The main difference between a caucus and a primary is in the process. A caucus elects delegates to a convention while a primary measures the number of votes each candidate receives directly.
The Iowa Caucuses
The caucuses are held in Iowa every two years. In 2008, the Iowa Caucus was held on January 3.
Caucuses held during presidential elections typically have increased attendance and receive more media attention. Off-year caucus participants tend to be the local party activists, as the caucus is generally used to focus on the party's platform.
Caucuses are open meetings. Anyone can attend and observe, but only registered Republicans or Democrats can participate in the caucus of their party. Participants are able to change their party affiliation the night of the caucus by filling out a voter registration card.
Independent voters are eligible to participate in either the Democratic or Republican Caucus, but they must declare a party the night of the caucus.
Young people who will not be 18 by November 4, 2008, are encouraged to attend as Youth Attenders. Youth Attenders cannot vote at the caucus, but they can observe.
The New Hampshire Primary
The New Hampshire Primary was held on January 8, 2008. Primary dates have changed over the years from early March to various dates in February and finally into January for the 2004 primary.
Since the New Hampshire Primary is a publicly funded state election, all registered voters (18 years of age and older) are eligible to cast a ballot.
October 12, 2007, was the last day a voter could change their party affiliation before the Presidential Primary. If a voter is a registered member of a party, they may change their registration at any primary, but they will not be allowed to vote in that primary.
Undeclared voters may declare a party at the polls, vote the ballot of that party at the primary, and then change their party affiliation back to undeclared.
The primary process
Similar to a general election, voting is done through a secret ballot. New Hampshire hosts a "direct primary" in which voters directly vote for the individual they wish to support for president.
Unlike the caucus format, voters are given the opportunity to choose from all registered presidential candidates and write-ins are permitted. Ballots are counted and winners are declared.
If you've made it through all that, here's a visual offering of the New Hampshire Primary. Two of my friends and I hopped to a few polling centres in Concord and Londonderry, NH, and then ended up covering Barack Obama in Nashua, NH. It was a tiring day (Jan 8) but a good experience. The difference between covering an election in the US and in Singapore is the access. It was no problem shooting inside the election centres, in fact the moderators were so friendly and even answered all our questions and gave us a little tour of the process and facilities! In Singapore, it's always a no. No, you can't shoot, no this, no that. A real pain really. Always being extra 'kiasu' as usual. It's no wonder the wire stories out of Singapore always introduce Singapore as a nanny state!
Voter Kim Murdoch (hidden) casts her ballot at St Peter's Church in Concord, New Hampshire with 16-month-old son Charlie Murdoch-Roy strapped on her back and daughter Grace, 4, clinging on.
Voters at Broken Ground school, Concord, emerging from the voting booths, January 8, 2008, with their voting slips which is then fed into the ballot counter machine which keeps track of how many votes have been cast, eliminating the need to count them manually.
Six-month-old Gerik Smart chews on a Mike Huckabee campaign poster outside a high school in Londonderry, New Hampshire.
Mike Huckabee, the Republican who won the Iowa Caucus on Jan 3, 2008, only managed a third place in the New Hampshire Primary, the nation's first presidential primary.
This is what a typical polling booth looks like. There are two sheets of instructions and a pencil for voters to mark their choice. 
Obama supporters gathered at Nashua South High School wait with bated breath for more than three hours for the results.
Barack Obama hugs his wife Michelle as they take the stage at the Nashua South High School after conceding defeat to Hillary Clinton who won the the nation's first presidential primary.
A relaxed Obama, who said he was "still fired up and ready to go" despite his loss to Hillary Clinton.
A supporter holding up an issue of Time magazine which featured Obama on its cover.
Set against a giant American flag, emotions were high as Obama supporters shout his slogan "All fired up, ready to go!", his slogan, at Nashua South High School where the Obama camp gathered to receive results of the nation's first presidential primary in New Hampshire.
The number of press almost equalled the number of supporters present at Obama's speech at day's end of the New Hampshire Primary. TV stations set up their 'live' cross camps and photographers were standing shoulder to shoulder for limited vantage points in the cramped school hall.
I hope he wins!
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