Delegates Count, but How do you Count Them?

It takes a while.

Numbers vary
So, we know how primary and caucus delegates are determined, but why are so many different numbers floating around out there?

Different news organizations make different delegate calls at different points along the process. Some estimate what the candidates will get after the lengthy counting process has played itself out.

"We've done our best to do some reporting — talk to both campaigns who have boiler rooms who do nothing but keep track of this vote. Combined with our own knowledge of those congressional districts, we did an estimate," said NBC News Political Director Chuck Todd.

NBC News estimates Obama has 838 delegates compared to Clinton's 834. Using their own methods, other news organizations give different totals: The New York Times estimates Clinton has 892 delegates and Obama 716; ABC News gives Clinton an 872-793 edge.

Four years ago, when John Kerry cruised to the Democratic nomination, and eight years ago, when it became clear that Al Gore would get the nomination, few people paid much attention to the specific delegate counts that were reported.

This year, with two tight-running Democrats, the gritty details matter.

Meet the delegates
With the Obama-Clinton train racing toward the convention, what of the actual delegates themselves?

As part of the deluge of e-mails we've received about delegates, how they're chosen and what function they have, there's one very basic, recurring question: "Is a delegate an actual person?"

Yes, a delegate is a real, flesh-and-blood person.

In each state, Democratic activists loyal to each of the candidates run as delegates to the national convention. Each presidential contender has a right to review the names of those who have filed to be delegates for them.

According to the Democratic National Committee, "during candidate right of review, presidential contenders may approve a specific number of delegate candidates in order to ensure they are bona fide supporters." Essentially, this means presidential contenders don't want any covert agents on their slate.