# Primary delegates question

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/primary-delegates-question/436449>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [February 5, 2008, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/primary-delegates-question/436449 "2008-02-05T23:28:28Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\
**Post date:** [February 5, 2008, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/primary-delegates-question/436449/1 "2008-02-05T23:28:28Z")

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How is it decided how many delegates each state will get at a party’s national convention? Is it based on state population, number of registered party members, some other factor? California’s a huge state, but also a pretty Democratic one – do the Republicans therefor give it comparatively less delegates than its population would warrant?

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**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\
**Post date:** [February 6, 2008, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/primary-delegates-question/436449/2 "2008-02-06T15:08:47Z")

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The best source for answering this type of question is the wonderful “green papers”, which details the [Republican](http://www.thegreenpapers.com/P08/R-Alloc.phtml) and [Democratic](http://www.thegreenpapers.com/P08/D-Alloc.phtml) delegate allocation rules in great detail. Short answer: The Democratic allocation is based on the Democratic presidential vote in the last three presidential elections, while the Republican allocation is based on party success at all levels (president, governor, Congress) within a state.