I am currently trying to get on the ballot for the primary as a delegate, and a lot of people I have talked to have no idea how the process works (they think that I'm actually running for president myself). So I thought I'd give some key information about it.

1. In addition to voting for specific candidates, you also vote for delegates. These delegates then go to their respective party's convention (Milwaukee for the Republicans, Chicago for the Democrats).

2. To be a candidate, you have to get signatures from registered voters. Presidential candidates must have 2,500 signatures, and delegates must get 25 signatures.

3. There are four types of delegates. There are State wide delegates, and delegates from specific congressional districts. If they are trying to become a congressional delegate, their signatures must come from the district they wish to represent. These delegates then choose to either run as a committed or uncommitted delegates. Committed delegates are required to vote for a specific candidate at the national convention for at least two rounds of voting (if necessary). Uncommitted delegates can vote for any candidate of their choosing.

4. The petition for candidacy must be turned in by the qualifying deadline. The deadline is December 14th at 12:00pm central time. Committed delegates must also turn in a written consent form that is signed by the candidate the same day they submit their petition.

5. Tennessee holds its presidential primaries on Super Tuesday (multiple states hold their primaries on the first Tuesday in March). The 2024 primary is on March 5th. While Tennessee is an open primary state (you don't have to be registered with the party to vote in the primary) there was a law passed making it illegal to vote in a primary unless you are a "bona fide" member of the party. This law is currently being challenged in court by members of both parties and hopefully will be ruled on before the primaries.

TLDR: the process for the presidential primary is much more complex than many people realize, and the lack of understanding of the process is disheartening.