Why can't the caucuses be held in random other states,rather than just Iowa or New Hampshire?

Question

Why can't the caucuses be held in random other states,rather than just Iowa or New Hampshire?

Answer 1

Tradition.  

Kind of like the person with the white pieces always makes the first move in a game chess.

I'm fine with Iowa holding the first caucus and New Hampshire holding the first primary election.  However, since the rest are spread out until June, those later states don't have as much of an impact (candidates have dropped out, or people don't vote because it's nearly a foregone conclusion who the nominees will be).

I read a newspaper article (sorry, no link available) where Congress members would like to organize the schedule so that all elections take place around March and April.  Iowa and NH would still be first, but the other states would rotate each election cycle.  This would eliminate the type of circus that was going on this year where many states kept leap-frogging their elections ahead of other states.

Answer 2

We will  be having a Caucus here in Nevada on Jan. 19th.

Answer 3

NH doesn't have a caucus, it has a primary.  These are very different.  

If you want there to be a caucus in your state, as opposed to a primary, I'd suggest you call your state house (your state rep or state senator) to find out how to change the rules your state.  This is up to the state.  

Personally, I think IA and NH do a fine job in vetting candidates for the rest of the country, but it does get frustrating for the rest of the country.  In 2004, the candidate that I wanted to vote for and volunteered for, Dean, had been eliminated before my state's primary.  Very seldom has my state' primary counted for anything.  This year might be an exception though.

Answer 4

Caucuses are held in 13 states all together. The remainder use primaries.