For the first time, Iowa voters in the D.C. area will get the chance to caucus where they live.

There will be two “satellite caucuses” here—one at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va. and one at the IBEW International Union in Northwest D.C. Both will be open to members of the public who wish to observe, but only pre-registered Iowa voters may participate. (The D.C. satellite caucus’s original location was the Marriott Wardman Park, but the Iowa Democratic Party changed the location over the weekend, citing an increase in expected turnout.)

The local caucuses are among 90 “satellite caucuses” set up for voters who aren’t able to make it to one of the state’s 1,678 designated caucus sites. Most of the satellite caucuses are in Iowa, but several are out of state, and a few are even international: There are satellite caucuses organized in Scotland, France, and the Republic of Georgia.

The satellite caucuses are part of the Iowa Democratic Party’s efforts to expand access to out-of-state voters. Despite attempts to make caucusing more accessible, there are still barriers for some voters, like parents without childcare options, people who work nights, and people with disabilities. The state party had previously pitched a “virtual” program that would allow voters to caucus via phone or video chat, but the Democratic National Committee rejected it, citing cyber security concerns.

Josh Mauss, a senior at Georgetown University, learned the Iowa Democratic Party was considering the satellite caucus option through a political blog. When the state party announced that applications were open, he applied for one in D.C.

He says he found out his application was accepted in December. It was combined with three other D.C.-area applications to form a satellite caucus location.

“It’s a phenomenal way to participate in democracy,” says Mauss, who adds that he probably would not have been able to caucus had there not been a satellite option in the area.

Mauss estimates that there are about 10 Iowan students on Georgetown’s campus who plan to caucus. He says when he last heard about registration estimates shortly before the January 17 deadline, the estimate for the total number of D.C. caucus-goers was about 70.

The Iowa Democratic Party could not be reached by deadline to provide official registration numbers for the D.C. and Virginia satellite caucuses.

As Mauss understands it, the satellite caucuses will work the same as any other caucus. First, voters in the room sit or stand with others who support the same candidate. That creates what’s called the “pre-realignment vote total.”

Then, something called realignment happens. If the number of supporters for a candidate in the room is below a certain threshold —in most districts, 15%—those voters will have the opportunity to join the supporters of a different candidate. That final vote total will be used to determine the number of state delegate equivalents given to each candidate.

That state delegate count is what’s used to determine the winner of the caucus. But this year, for the first time, the public will also get to see the tallies for the pre-realignment vote, along with the final vote totals.

Mauss caucused back home in Dubuque, Iowa in 2016, but expects that this caucus will be more exciting since there are so many viable candidates for the Democratic nomination.

“I think it’ll be interesting to see another caucus in which probably the reallocation and the whole process … actually makes a difference,” Mauss says. “Because in 2016, most people didn’t have to switch their candidate.”

That opportunity to switch candidates means an opportunity for voters to convince their neighbors to come over to their team.

“No one in my experience was ever very rude or forceful about it,” says Zoey Shipley, a 23-year-old from Dayton, Iowa who caucused on her college campus in 2016. “We’re all still people living in the same community just trying to do what we think is best.”

Shipley, who currently lives in Silver Spring, plans to caucus at the D.C. satellite location on Monday. She hasn’t decided whether she’ll caucus for Senator Elizabeth Warren or South Bend, Ind. Mayor Pete Buttigieg.

“That’s why I’m having a little bit of an issue right now,” says Shipley, laughing. “If one of them could be president and the other could be vice president, I would personally love that.”

Shipley’s caucus plan this year is to talk to people who feel strongly about both candidates.

“I think politics is a very personal thing, so I like to hear personal experiences that help lean people one way or the other,” says Shipley.

“It’s not every day you get to watch an Iowa caucus happen,” says Erica Kelly, a sophomore at George Mason from Yorktown, Va.  “This is pretty exciting for us.”

Kelly, who is Vice President of the George Mason Student Democrats, says students on campus have been energetic about a variety of candidates—and the candidates with the largest student organizations are Andrew Yang, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and Pete Buttigieg.

Kelly has heard young Democrats from other college campuses may be coming to watch the caucus at George Mason, too.

“If you’ve been following this process for the last couple of months, this is your opportunity to view it up close,” Kelly says. “A lot of us are trying our hand at predictions before Super Tuesday.”

This story originally appeared on WAMU.