Are you guys watching this race? Incredible! Super Tuesday has officially come and gone, delegates divided, $250 million in campaign money spent, and still no Democratic frontrunner in sight. We at Seattlest are beside ourselves and while we may never understand the logic behind superdelegates we do know this: Washington is going to have a big say in how this race is decided. This Saturday, Washingtonians will caucus with 80 Democratic delegates up for grabs in the biggest race in the country this weekend. The Seattle Times actually referred to us this morning as "The Next Big Prize." So you want to make your vote actually count? Well, friends, then you must caucus! And your friendly Seattlesters are here to make the process as painless as possible.

But before we get started here, we need to set one thing straight: Democratic candidates in the State of Washington win delegates based on caucus votes, not primary votes. That Voters' Guide you got in the mail the other day? The one with Joe Biden on page 2? Ignore it. Yes, it's true, there will be a primary vote on February 19th, but if you're rooting for a Democratic candidate, it means nothing.

No, you're not the only one who's confused.

After the jump we'll lay out everything you need to know about the why, where, what and how of Saturday's caucus.

"The only thing I know about the caucus is that Iowa has one too. What is it?"

The caucus is really the first and most grassroots step in ensuring the people and issues you care about make it to the ballot in November. Neighbors gather based on their precincts or voting areas, in one place, and everyone gets to put in a vote for their preferred candidate. Each precinct awards a certain number of delegates which are divided up based on the percentage of people supporting each candidate. You've probably been watching similar divvying on network news these past 24 hours: if Hillary gets 30% of the votes in the room at your Democratic caucus and Obama gets 70%, the delegates for that precinct will be divided up 30/70. No "Winner Takes All" here.

Like we said before, for the Democratic candidates, the caucus votes are all that count. For Republicans, caucus votes determine the winner of about half of the delegates, primary votes decide the other half. So it's crucial for the Democrats, and pretty important for the Republicans.

In addition to nominating your candidate, the caucus is also your opportunity to put forth resolutions you'd like to see on the ballot in November. In 2004, Seattlester Charles and his neighbors sat at their caucus and drafted a statement of their precinct's priorities ... on a paper placemat! After voting on the issues, they handed it to the caucus organizers, who sent it on to the folks who would eventually draft the state's party platform.

For all the nerds out there, the Washington caucus system is actually 3-tiered, and this is just step one. We're not going to get into it, but if you're interested, the Washington State Democrats have a great resource on their site to explain, diagrams included!

"How does this thing work?"

The caucus starts at 1:00 p.m. this Saturday, February 9th.

1) You actually have to physically go somewhere. But after eight years of curling up in the fetal position in a stupor of disenchantment, you could use a walk and some fresh air, right? Yes!

2) If you're a Democrat or caucusing for one, find your caucus location here. If you're a Republican or caucusing for one, go here. And no, it's not necessarily the same place you go to vote, so don't skip this step and screw it up, smartypants. This will also tell you which precinct you're in. For example if it says "Caucus Location for SEA 36-1710," your precinct is 1710.

3) The caucus starts at 1:00 p.m. Get there on time. Get there early if you want to. Just please, don't be late. As there are usually several precincts caucusing at the same location, make sure you're in the right place for your precinct.

4) There are two votes that will happen at the caucus. The first vote starts at 1:30 p.m. If anyone tries to convene earlier than 1:30, you have every right to call a foul and insist that they wait. At the first vote, you'll sign in and state your candidate preference. If you're in a serious hurry, you can leave after this vote, though we're not advising that you do this, as we'll explain below.

5) After this first vote is cast, the precinct organizer will announce the results. This is where it has the potential to get really fun. If there are any undecideds in the crowd, here's your chance to win them over! A volunteer from each candidate's group in each precinct now has the chance to give a 1 minute speech to everyone about why their candidate is tops. No, you don't have to give a speech, but you're certainly able to if you're willing! Remember: keep it civil, folks. Fightin' words probably aren't going to make people happy.

6) After these speeches, anyone who wishes to change his/her vote will have the opportunity to do so. Then the second and final vote will be counted, delegates divvied officially and the caucus is nearly over.

7) THIS IS WHY ITS IMPORTANT YOU DON'T LEAVE EARLY IF YOU CAN HELP IT: People actually need to be appointed delegates. So, say your precinct gives out 7 delegates and your candidate gets five of them. Well, five people need to actually be there to stand as delegates. If there are only, say, four people left, the fifth delegate will automatically be sacrificed to the other candidate. Don't do this if you want to keep your friends.

So that's that! You've just read your way through your very first caucus! Congrats! Now go tell your friends!

Other things to know:
1) Yes! You can bring your kids! Expose them to the democratic process early! Show them that voting actually does mean something! They just can't actually, you know, vote.

2) You don't have to be a registered Democrat to caucus for a Democratic candidate! You don't have to be a registered Republican to caucus for a Republican! They'll probably make you sign an oath to whichever party you're rooting for, but it's all fluff. Hold your breath, do it, cast your vote. And no, you don't have to make any other contribution to the Democratic/Republican party ever again if you don't want to.

3) You don't even have to be registered to vote to caucus! Just show up and you can register on-site. 17 year olds who will be 18 before the November election are allowed to register there and caucus too!

If you have additional questions, they are probably answered here or here. If you have any outstanding excuses, they can be reprimanded here.

So as our final plea, Democrats, Republicans, Independents and the rest, if you've spent even a single second of the past eight years complaining about this country's state of affairs and have felt otherwise helpless in actually affecting change, now is your chance. Your vote is going to matter in a big way this weekend. Talk to your neighbors, get them to the caucus on Saturday and go have your say!

photo courtesy Seattlest Flickr pool user Slippery Joaquin