New Hampshire Primary Rules

OK, it’s time to remember the primary rules for the Democratic and Republican primaries. Remember 2016 and all the talk about the super delegates? Well, they’re back. New Hampshire has 33 Democratic delegates to the 2020 Democratic National Convention, but only 24 will be awarded by popular vote. The other 9 are kept for Democratic national committee members and members of Congress. Moreover, the 24 are not based solely on the statewide vote, but rather are split partially by congressional district voting. 8 delegates are awarded proportionally on the voting of the first congressional district, 8 delegates proportionally for the second congressional district, and 8 delegates for the statewide vote winner. There is also a minimum 15% threshold to be included in the congressional district delegate allocation process. If you don’t get to the 15% minimum, your votes are thrown out and the delegates awarded solely to the remaining candidates. It’s admittedly a strange process and all type of strange outcomes are possible. A lot of attention has been given to the electoral college system in the general election, but the primary delegate process is much less democratic and entirely up to the parties themselves. In contrast, the Republican primary delegate allocation process in New Hampshire is much simpler. It’s just the statewide vote with delegates awarded proportionally to all candidates with a minimum 10% threshold.