State political parties have different ways of selecting their delegates — either a primary or a caucus.

A primary is completed in one day and is often binding, while a caucus is the first step of many in a process which usually ends with the selection of delegates.

This year, a number of states have been penalized and docked a portion of their delegates because they scheduled their nominating contests too early. This was not the case with Illinois, which will hold its primary Feb. 5.

Many news organizations include delegate projections in their counts that are based on nonbinding votes for candidate preference, such as the Iowa caucuses. The Northern Star will count only delegates that have been officially selected and are bound by their preferences.