• What is the goal on Tuesday?

To acquire as many delegates as possible. But awarding the delegates is a complicated process.The Republican system is designed to hasten selection of a nominee so the party can unify behind the front-runner. To that end, the GOP in most states awards delegates on a winner-take-all basis. Democrats tend to worry more about giving different groups a say in the process. So they award their delegates proportionally through a combination of the statewide vote and a candidate’s performance in individual congressional districts. Democrats have no winner-take-all states. That means a candidate can lose the popular vote in a state but, by running strongly in certain areas, walk away with a healthy chunk of delegates.

• How many delegates are at stake on Tuesday?

On the Democratic side, 1,681 pledged delegates are up for grabs in 22 states and American Samoa; it takes 2,025 delegates to secure the party’s nomination at the Democrat’s August convention in Denver. On the Republican side, there will be contests in 21 states with 2,380 delegates at stake; it takes 1,191 to win the nomination at the GOP’s September convention in Minneapolis.

• And superdelegates?

Superdelegates are people automatically granted a vote in the Democratic nominating process by dint of their office or the political position they once held. Members of Congress and the nation’s Democratic governors are superdelegates. So are former Presidents Clinton and Carter and former Vice President Al Gore. The Republicans do not have superdelegates.

... contd.