After months of an unpredictable election cycle, numerous campaign events at Iowa State and a recent bombardment of political ads, Iowa will finally caucus for candidates statewide Monday night.

Along with several stories from this weekend as candidates made their final pitch to college students at Iowa State, the inside of today’s paper includes information about each candidate and where they stand on education issues, their plans to kick start the economy and their stances on social issues.

Inside, you can also find a map depicting where to caucus in Ames, and below, you can read about how Iowa became first in the nation, the process for both the Republican and Democratic caucuses and info about how to register or change your voter registration.

For information about caucus turnout in Ames, make sure to check iowastatedaily.com throughout the night. The Daily also has reporters following several candidates in the Des Moines area as results are announced. Follow The Daily on Twitter at @iowastatedaily and politics editor Alex Hanson at @theAlexHanson for updates throughout the night, and read our website and tomorrow’s print edition for full results.

HOW IT CAME TO BE

In 1972, the Iowa Caucus began to garner national attention as residents in the Midwestern state began to vote first. Iowa has held a caucus system since it joined the union in 1846, but they took place during the middle of the election cycle.

Party infighting over the Vietnam War during the 1968 election in the Democratic Party may be what moved Iowa up, as a series of rules adopted by Democrats forced notice be given about party meetings and members be given time to discuss the party’s platform.

Iowa Democrats decided to move the caucus up to January, and Republicans later followed suit, as well. Although “uncommitted” voters won in 1976, then-former Gov. Jimmy Carter of Georgia had a strong showing that gave him media attention.

Carter, some would argue because of his showing in Iowa, would end up becoming president later that year.

Now, leading up to the caucus, candidates crisscross the state, often meeting one-on-one with voters in all 99 counties. Mack Shelley, university professor of political science at Iowa State, said this part of the caucus particularly has helped candidates who spend a lot of time on the ground in Iowa.

Ground game has also been important for support and as campaign volunteers flood the state. Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders have their own staffers in Ames, and hundreds, if not thousands, are asking for support of potential caucusgoers.

“You have to look at ground game of both campaigns,” said Tim Hagle, professor of political science at the University of Iowa. “Both Clinton and Sanders have pretty decent ground games, a lot of staffers anyway. So the difference may come down to enthusiasm between those two.”

Donald Trump is currently leading in most polls on the GOP side, although he has not crossed the state as frequently as past winners Rick Santorum and Mike Hucakbee — both of whom have hit all 99 counties in the state again this cycle. Trump, though, has dominated media attention, which may show the ground game not playing as much of a role this cycle.

Criticisms also fill the caucus discussion more and more every cycle, with many arguing Iowa is not representative of the rest of the United States, and therefore should not be first in choosing the next president.

You can still register

Many residing in Iowa, especially college students, may not turn out because of confusion regarding registration.

Even if you are not currently registered anywhere in the United States, are registered out of state but attending school in Ames, or are registered somewhere else in Iowa but have moved to Ames for school, you can still caucus Monday night if you bring several items to prove who you are.

Iowa law allows voters to change their registration on Election Day, and caucus night is no different.

If you need to change your registration or become a newly registered voter, you must bring two different items: one item to prove who you are with a photo ID, and a second item to prove your current address.

You must present a photo ID to register or change your address, and this can be done with several different forms of a photo ID, including an Iowa driver’s license, a non-driver ID card issued by the state, a passport, military ID or a school ID — and ISU Card issued by Iowa State will work.

Second, you must prove your current address is valid so officials know you are at the correct caucus site. If your photo ID does not contain your address in Ames (or whatever you’re caucusing in Iowa), you must bring a document with your address listed.

Acceptable documents include things such as a utility bill, a bank statement, a pay stub or a residential lease. If you live on campus or are employed through Iowa State, your housing contract through the “Housing” tab on AccessPlus or a pay statement under the “Payroll Info” tab will work.

You must also be registered as a Democrat or Republican to participate in either caucus. You can change your party identification on caucus night.

To find your caucus location, you need to look up what ward and precinct you live in within the city of Ames. The Iowa Secretary of State website at sos.iowa.gov has a “Caucus Locations” button on its home page. Plug in your zip code in Ames, choose your street address and type in your house number, and it will give you your ward and precinct.

Match that number up with our map on page 6 and this is where you will turnout Monday night.

Another fact that is not well known is as long as you are 18 by Election Day in 2016 on Nov. 6, you can caucus Monday night, meaning 17 year olds who have a birthday later this year are eligible to turnout.

THE PROCESS

Those who are planning to turnout should know that the caucus is set to begin at 7 p.m., so you should plan on arriving earlier.

If you are unsure how a caucus works, you will ultimately be able to get some guidance from officials at your caucus site, but here is a quick breakdown of how it works for each party.

While voters may be interested in just casting their vote, each process ends up selecting delegates to ultimately choose the candidates at their party’s convention this summer.

Republicans

The Republican process is fairly simple. Once you gather at your caucus site at 7 p.m., the Pledge of Allegiance will be recited and an individual will have several minutes to make a final pitch for each candidate — some candidates will even appear directly at caucus sites around the state.

Once those speeches are given, Republican caucusgoers cast their vote in secret on a sheet paper. Once the ballots are turned in, they will be counted and the winner will be announced.

Officials at each caucus site will use an app designed by Microsoft to turn in results to the state party in Des Moines, who will then tally up all of the votes and announce a winner.

Democrats

The Democratic process is more complicated. Once caucusgoers gather at 7 p.m. voters will split up into “preference groups” for the candidate they support.

Officials will count the number of voters who have shown up and how many have split into specific groups. If a candidate fails to meet a 15 percent threshold, he or she is not considered viable and other campaigns can now lobby them to join their group.

For example, O’Malley has been polling in single digits throughout his campaign. If those polls are correct, and O’Malley does not have a strong turnout at many caucus sites, he will not be considered a viable candidate. Clinton and Sanders supporters can then lobby O’Malley supporters into their group.

This may prove important, Shelley said, as O’Malley supporters may have the opportunity to put each candidate for over the top.

Clinton and Sanders remain close in new polling.

Who will win?

As with any election, it will all depend on turnout and the ability of campaigns to actually get supporters to caucus sites for several hours Monday night.

The final Des Moines Register/Bloomberg Politics Iowa Poll, which has been considered the “gold standard” throughout the state, was released Saturday night. It showed Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton with narrow leads over their closest opponents.

On the Republican side, Trump has 28 percent, while Cruz has 23 percent. Rubio is closest behind at 15 percent. On the Democratic side, Clinton has 45 percent compared to Sanders’ 42 percent. O’Malley is still struggling, the poll showed, with just 3 percent.