They are like holding elections on NextDoor.com The Washington Post reports: Bob Ray has participated in Iowa’s Republican caucuses in the past, but not this year. Ray is blind, and with snow clogging the roads and subzero temperatures gripping the state, showing up on Monday is a non-starter. “I’m 75 years old, and I’m not going to want to get out that night,” he said. To some here, the Iowa caucuses are an exemplar of democracy, binding communities together and allowing everyday voters to connect with candidates who, a year from now, may be running the country. To others, they are an antiquated system that excludes those who — due to a disability, a work shift, a flat tire, child care needs, extreme weather or any other factor — can’t turn up on the one night every four years when Iowa voters get a say in picking presidential nominees. Voters must be at their precincts at 7 p.m. Central time on Monday, where they will hear speeches from representatives of the candidates, fill out ballots and, if they want, observe as the votes get tallied. No early or absentee voting is allowed, except for a tiny number of military service members. States adopted caucuses in the early 19th century to choose delegates to send to national party conventions. As primaries became popularized nationally in the 1970s, Iowa stuck with its caucuses. Over the last half century the state has soaked up attention from candidates and the media by holding the…