Low Voter Turn Out

• The largest disadvantage to caucus is low voter turn out. According to Komo News, typically only 2 to 4 percent of registered voters come out to caucus. This low voter turn out can lead to skewed results and not be representative of the people as a whole. There are many reasons for low voter turn out, including apathy toward candidates, length of the caucus and no absentee ballots.
  
  

No Popular Vote

• Caucuses do not use a popular vote system like primaries do. The caucus holds a vote for all the candidates, which the voter selects. Each candidate must receive a certain percentage of the vote to remain on the ballet. Voters that support a candidate that does not receive the required percentage of votes must then select a new candidate, and a new vote is held. This means that Candidate A may have 40 percent of the votes at the beginning and win the initial vote. However, as candidates can be dropped from the ballet, Candidate B could win because he was the better "second choice" for many voters.
  
  

Time Consuming

• The process to decide a caucus can be very time-consuming, compared to a primary vote. Voting in a primary can literally take only a few minutes' time in many places. A caucus, on the other hand, can take a few hours to complete, with multiple votes. The time-consuming aspect of the caucus is one of the main factors in low voter turn out.
  
  

No Secret Ballet

• In a primary, a voter enters a booth to vote for the candidate of his choice in private. When participating in a caucus, a voter must declare who he supports out in public. Some people are not comfortable sharing their political affiliations with all their neighbors in the community.