After months of hitting the campaign trail and fiery debates among presidential candidates, Monday will mark a permanent shift in the 2016 presidential race: actual voting.

The Iowa caucuses are significant because of their first-in-the-nation timing and their historic tradition. A good showing in Iowa is vital. No candidate that has finished worse than third has ever gone on to win the presidency.

But the Iowa contest isn’t just your typical ballot-box election.

Read the article “Iowa Caucuses 2016: How the Caucuses Work” on abcnews.go.com.