Picking the president.

At the turn of the 20th century, progressives, populists and reformers were fed up with corruption and with the selection of candidates by the `bosses' of big business. They wanted a government chosen by the people and believed the primary election system was one of the ways to return power to the people. But there was no system in place for a national primary for presidential candidates. So they created state primaries to choose delegates to party conventions and to register voters' preference for particular party candidates.

Florida enacted the first presidential primary law in 1901. The law gave political parties the option of holding primaries to choose delegates to national conventions, but it did not provide a method for indicating presidential preference. Several other states followed suit in the early 1900s, yet none created a preferential vote for president until Oregon passed a referendum to establish a presidential preference primary in 1910. Oregon's law bound delegates to support the winner of the preference primary. By 1916, 26 states had enacted either presidential primary laws for the selection of delegates to national conventions, or presidential preference, or some combination of the two.

In the 1930s, interest in presidential primaries began to cool. By 1935, eight states had repealed their presidential primary laws. The lack of interest is usually attributed to the preoccupation of the country with the Depression and World War 11. And primaries were expensive for both the states and the candidates.

After World War II, the appeal of presidential primaries started to rise again, mostly due to the participation of candidates who might not ordinarily be their party's choice, but who had strong aspirations for the presidence. Primaries were a way to gain support without the backing of a party, and candidates who ran well in primary states could have more clout in caucus states. By 1976, presidential preference primaries were held in 26 states. A record 37 primaries were held in 1980. Critics complained about the length of the primary season, which took nearly twice as long as the general election campaign and cost candidates more money.

After the 1980 Reagan landslide, Democrats modified the nominating rules to bring the process back into the hands of party leaders. This resulted in more Democratic caucuses and fewer Democratic primaries by 1984. Within the Democratic party though, there was disagreement as to how much control party officials should have.

Regional primaries have come and gone. The only one slated this year is in New England. Six states-connecticut, Mairie, Maryland, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Vermont -- will hold their primaries on March 5. The first attempts to create regional primaries came in the mid-1970s, but they were mostly unsuccessful. in 1984, six states in two regions (New England and the South) held what was coined "Super Tuesday," a combined regional primary But since the states were so far apart, candidates had difficulty campaigning.

TWO KINDS OF PRIMARIES

Today, there are two types of presidential primary with variations. The first is the presidential preference primary in which votes choose the candidate they would like to see nominated. The second is the primary in which voters select delegates to the national conventions. Some variations include: Preference votes may or may not be legally binding on the delegates; delegates may be chosen at party conventions; preference votes may or may not be tied to the choice of delegates to the national convention; delegates may pledge to a candidate; or parties may run unpledged delegates.

Thirty-seven states hold presidential primaries where both parties participate. In another six states, one or the other of the parties holds a primary. Several states took aim in 1995 at the coveted position of "first primary in the nation." New Hampshire has held the title since 1916. Arizona tried early in 1995 to challenge New Hampshire, but eventually the Arizona Legislature passed a measure changing the primary date to Feb. 27 -- one week after New Hampshire's, which keeps it compatible with the Granite State's law that its presidential primary be held one week before that of any other state. Delaware, however, passed a 1992 law that moves its primary to four days after New Hampshire's. One or both states will have to change their election law before the 1996 primaries. Maine also is in conflict with New Hampshire, but not until the presidential primaries of 2000. Its 1995 law states that the 2000 presidential primary will coincide with New Hampshire's. Again, one or both laws will have to be changed.

COMPLEX CAUCUS SYSTEM

Caucus systems are complex, differ widely among states and involve several stages. The first is usually a precinct caucus where all party voters are eligible (though all are not necessarily encouraged) to vote for delegates to the next stage. The next stage is usually a county or state convention, which selects national convention delegates. In Delaware and Hawaii, precinct or local delegates are elected to a state convention where national delegates are selected. In larger states there can be at least one more step in the caucus process.

Caucus systems are confusing to the average voter, and participation is usually much lower than in primary states. Most caucus participants are politically active voters and party leaders. In caucus states, because the average voter is not the targeted audience, advertising is minimal. Candidates are more focused on one-on-one discussions with ranking party members and spend far less money than in primary states.

The two major parties have very different rules for operating caucuses. Democrats amended their rules in the late 1960s to allow for more grassroots involvement in the process. But Democratic caucuses are open only to members of the party. Republican rules allow states to design their own delegate selection processes, and crossovers are allowed in some states.

The caucus method of selection saw a little resurgence in 1980 when Michigan and Texas switched from primaries to caucuses to choose delegates to national conventions. Four other states changed from primary systems to caucus systems between then and 1984. In the previous four years, four states went the other way, from caucuses to primaries.

Currently 14 states hold caucuses for one or both parties. Iowa has long boasted of its status as the state that holds the first presidential caucus each election year. (It is scheduled for Feb. 12, at this writing .) In 1995, the Louisiana Republican Central Committee decided to switch from the primary system to a caucus system, and chose Feb. 6 for its caucus -- one week before Iowa. Iowans are so attached to their first-in-the-nation status that the state's Republican party has asked all presidential candidates to boycott the Louisiana caucus. So far, all but three candidates -- Gramm, Buchanan and Keyes -- have agreed. The Iowa and New Hampshire Republicans have appealed to the Republican National Committee to deal with Louisiana.