The primary process
When Wisconsin voters hit the polls on April 3, they'll have a choice of candidates for the 2012 presidential election.
Unlike some states, Wisconsin has an "open" presidential primary, which means voters do not have to declare a party affiliation to cast a ballot. Voters are given the ballots of all parties and decide which ballot to cast in the secrecy of the voting booth.
Wisconsin's Republican primary is a "winner take all" primary. That means the candidate receiving a plurality of vote in any congressional district is entitled to all three delegates from that district, according to the Wisconsin Legislative Fiscal Bureau. The statewide winner is entitled to all the at-large delegates.
The Wisconsin GOP delegation consists of 24 district delegates (three from each Congressional district), 13 at-large delegates, and five at-large bonus delegates.
The candidates
If you pick up the Democratic ballot, you could vote for President Barack Obama or write in a candidate.
The Republican ballot features six names, though not all are still actively involved in the race for the nomination. Here they are as they appear on the ballot:
- Newt Gingrich
- Jon Huntsman (dropped out of race)
- Mitt Romney
- Michele Bachmann (dropped out of race)
- Ron Paul
- Rick Santorum
More candidate information
Here are the official websites of the four GOP candidates who are actively campaigning:
WisconsinVote.org, a website created by Wisconsin Public Radio and Wisconsin Public Television, has profiles of all GOP presidential candidates.
For more information about the candidates and the national issues being discussed, read The Huffington Post's 2012 Election coverage.
On Election Day, make sure to check back to your local Patch site for a presidential live blog that will track the day's events, gather local reaction and report the results.
