As demonstrated by the 2000 presidential election, in which Vice President Al Gore won the popular vote but lost the electoral vote, the process of choosing the next president of the United States is not as straightforward as it once seemed. Similarly, the process of selecting the presidential nominee is equally complicated, and may require clarification for those of you who plan to vote.

On Feb. 5, New Mexico will be among 22 states deciding the Democratic nominee. The New Mexico Presidential Preference Caucus is a statewide election administered by the Democratic Party of New Mexico for the purpose of voting for the Democratic nominee for president of the United States.

The nomination process of the Republican and Democratic parties operates much like the Electoral College, in which vote-mandated "electors" ultimately select the U.S. president every four years.

In the Democratic Party, each state is allocated a number of delegates based on a formula that takes into account the state's electoral votes and the strength of support for Democratic presidential candidates in the last three general elections. New Mexico has 38 delegates and four alternates who will be chosen based on the caucus results.

Each delegate then pledges to cast his or her vote for the mandated candidate during the Democratic National Convention in August 2008, which is to be held in Denver. In total, there are 4,049 Democratic delegates, 796 of whom are considered superdelagates. Superdelegates are Democratic Party leaders, DNC members, governors and members of Congress who have discretion to vote for any presidential candidate. Together, these delegates ultimately decide who will be the party's presidential nominee.

In New Mexico, caucus sites will be open from noon until 7 p.m. Registered Democrats will show up to one of 184 caucus sites throughout the state. Unlike the Iowa caucuses, where voters were required to sit for several hours as their votes were being tallied, New Mexico Democrats will cast their paper ballots and be gone in a matter of minutes, much like voting in a regular election. The only difference between this Democratic caucus and a regular primary is that this is administered and funded by the state Democratic Party.

This is a closed caucus, which means only citizens in New Mexico who have officially registered as Democrats by Jan. 4, 2008, may participate.

This is the only primary-election opportunity in 2008 for New Mexico Democrats. The Republican primary will be held June 3.