Babysitters and Carpooling: Iowans Busily Prepare for Key U.S. Vote

"At what time do you have to be there?" a Bernie Sanders organizer asks a crowd of supporters waiting to see him. "SIX THIRTY!" they shout in unison. 

The organizer wants to leave nothing to chance.

Voting in tonight's Iowa caucuses kicks off the presidential nominating season across the United States, and voters need to arrive on time if they want to take part.

This rural farm state of some three million people is proud of the unusual caucus system it uses to determine how many delegates will represent the respective candidates at the party's national nominating convention in July. The results in Iowa often influence voting in the states to follow. 

At 7:00 pm today (01H00 GMT Tuesday), nearly 1,700 schools, libraries, churches and other venues will welcome the state's 600,000 registered Democrats to participate in the quirky American ritual.

"If the voter turnout is high, if people get involved who do not usually get involved ... if young people, if working-class people come on out, not only can we win, I think we can win big," Senator Sanders, who leads in the latest Iowa polls, told the cheering crowd.  

Doors to the polling places close at 7:00 pm, and the Sanders organizer did not want to risk anyone being left outside -- thus the exhortation to supporters to arrive 30 minutes early.

Once inside, they will be directed to different parts of the room to demonstrate their preference.

"So, the chair might put Bernie (supporters) over here, might put Warren over here, might put Buttigieg over there," explained John Deeth, caucus organizer for the Johnson County Democratic Party.

Senator Elizabeth Warren and former mayor Pete Buttigieg are among Sanders' chief rivals, along with former vice president Joe Biden and Senator Amy Klobuchar.

"People just kind of choose their corner, hold up their signs and they gravitate to the place they're going to gravitate," Deeth added. 

- Voting 'with their feet' -

In sharp contrast to the confidentiality of the voting booth, Iowa Democrats thus mark their preference with their physical presence. They literally "vote with their feet." 

Candidates need the backing of at least 15 percent of voters present to qualify for a second round. 

Supporters of candidates who fall short of that threshold then have three choices during a second round that follows immediately: 

They can move to another part of the room to support another "finalist" candidate; they can try to persuade fellow voters to help them push their own candidate over the 15 percent hurdle; or they can simply not vote. 

Between the two rounds, Deeth explained, "There's a lot of pleading... (and) it does get exciting."

The outcome this year is anything but clear.

Deeth said he has never seen as many candidates grouped near the top of the polls. Bernie Sanders, the self-described democratic socialist, has a narrow lead over Biden and Buttigieg, both of them centrists, with progressive senator Warren not far behind.

They and a handful of others are fighting -- in Iowa, and in the other states holding primary elections from now through June -- for the chance to take on President Donald Trump in the November 3 elections, among the most consequential in years.

"This one is kind of anybody's ballgame right now," Deeth said. 

- Babysitting to help  - 

Given Iowa's unusual voting system, it can take hours before final results become clear. That makes for a long winter night, one that can be a challenge for some people.

That means the size and effectiveness of candidates' organizations in the state, and their strategic allocation of resources, are crucially important. For the ability to mobilize voters, and get them to the caucuses, can determine the eventual winner. 

Thus, Warren's backers are offering a free baby-sitting service, at least at one site. And some party activists are offering such services on their own.

Melissa Fath has been campaigning in Iowa City for Klobuchar, a moderate who ranks fifth but has been moving up in the polls.

Fath urged young Democrats in the neighborhood to walk to their caucus site, in order to leave more parking spots for older votes who might otherwise hesitate to come out in the cold. 

Others have organized carpools and are offering to provide rides for people in need of  transportation.

Shellie Kettelkamp, a 50-year-old health care worker, could not decide among the candidates, but she wants to help her neighbors who have made their choices.  

"If they want to go and caucus and speak their opinions and learn a little bit more, then I can help out by watching kids," she said.