where to put a super bowl?

The culmination of every NFL season is the Super Bowl, which pits the best team from the AFC against the NFC.  This year's Super Bowl will be in Indianapolis, hosted at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis

The location of the Super Bowl is generally decided by the NFL 3 - 5 years prior to that year's Super Bowl.  Currently, there are known Super Bowl locations through 2015.

For the most part, Super Bowls are played in warm weather cities, but on occasion, like this year, a domed stadium in a northern climate can get the game.  The following year locations are in New Orleans, New York, and Phoenix.

I haven't been able to find a voting process for the Super Bowl, but cities vie to host a Super Bowl, and one would presume it is voted upon by the NFL owners and commissioner.  Non-NFL related sites say it is a secret ballot vote.  The NFL has not advertised the voting method online.

In many instances, cities are rewarded with a Super Bowl after the city has secured financing for a new stadium.  Last year's Super Bowl was in a new stadium in Dallas, as well as this year's Super Bowl in Indianapolis.  New Orleans has always been viewed as a good city for a Super Bowl because of the proximity of facilities and the personality of the city.  New Orleans has hosted the Super Bowl the most of any city, six times.  New York was guaranteed to get a Super Bowl because of their new stadium and partly because of some 9/11 sentiment, and to try out a Super Bowl in a non-domed cold weather location.