The Iowa caucuses are today. Here's what you need to know

A caucus sign near the Iowa State Capitol in Des Moines, Iowa on Jan. 8. Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption A caucus sign near the Iowa State Capitol in Des Moines, Iowa on Jan. 8. Republicans in the Hawkeye State convene Monday on a potentially record breaking chilly night — that will likely affect turnout — to commence the presidential contest for 2024.

The caucuses are the first chance for Republican voters to weigh in on who they want to be their nominee. It will be a first test of President Donald Trump's hold on the GOP base. He leads overwhelmingly in polls for Iowa and nationally, as he faces 91 criminal and civil felony charges — including for actions he took as president related to the Jan.

6 insurrection. The stakes are high. Here's what to watch out for: Here's what you need to know about the caucuses: They begin at 7 p.m. CT (8 p.m. ET) and will last roughly an hour. Caucusgoers write down their candidate of choice. In past years, depending on the size of the caucus, this could have been done through a show of hands.

Votes are then tallied in front of caucus attendees and campaign representatives to be submitted to the state party. Loading... Only registered Republicans can vote, but few of them do. The GOP turnout record is 186,000 set in 2016. That's only about 25% of total registered Republicans in the state.

But the weather could greatly affect this. They'll take place in 1,657 precinct locations across all 99 counties in the state, in spaces including libraries, churches and school gymnasiums. The caucuses will determine how 40 delegates are selected for the party's national convention later this summer.

Iowa will receive 2% of the total party delegates, and those delegates will be allocated proportionally. Democrats will also be caucusing, but they won't cast votes for president at them this year. Instead, they'll send mail in ballots over the next few weeks, which the party will tally up by March 5 — releasing the state's primary results well after South Carolina's race in February.

The reshuffling in the Democratic National Convention nominating calendar comes after calls for a state that is more demographically representative of the country go first. Plus, the race won't be as competitive since there aren't any major challenges to President Biden's bid for reelection..