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Have We Seen the Last Iowa Caucus?
The Iowa Democratic Party is in disarray after its debacle Monday night. They had four years to prepare for their first-in-the-nation Caucuses; as the night draws to a close they have no results, no explanation for their failure, and no excuses.
The results of the Republican caucuses came in fast, showing Trump the overwhelming winner. After hours of silence, the Democrats said they are delaying any results. “We found inconsistencies in the reporting of three sets of results,” communications director Mandy McClure said. “In addition to the tech systems being used to tabulate results, we are also using photos of results and a paper trail to validate that all results match and ensure that we have confidence and accuracy in the numbers we report.”
This, after bragging about how ready they were for this pivotal night.
In preparation for one of the most consequential elections of our lifetimes, we have taken historic steps to ensure a secure, accessible, and transparent caucus process. #IACaucus https://t.co/XY61GJ9AAD
— Iowa Democrats (@iowademocrats) February 3, 2020
We have staff on the ground working to help protect the integrity of our democratic process. And we’re doing everything we can to make sure Iowans’ voices are heard and the caucuses are secure. https://t.co/UJSQGQoiPA
— The Democrats (@TheDemocrats) February 3, 2020
Their website claimed the results would be posted after 7 p.m. CT. Below the declaration, a long line of zeroes. During an emergency phone call with the campaigns, one participant shouted, “This is an unbelievable explanation.” Another person added, “I think he speaks for all of us.”
Joe Biden’s general counsel quickly sent a letter to the state’s party leaders. “The app that was intended to relay Caucus results to the Party failed; the Party’s back-up telephonic reporting system likewise has failed,” she wrote. “Now, we understand that caucus chairs are attempting to — and, in many cases, failing to — report results telephonically to the party. These acute failures are occurring statewide.”
It’s past time for Iowa to end its bizarre, arbitrary, and confusing voting rules. After tonight, the national parties will demand it.
Published in Elections, Politics
my point is caucuses have outlived their usefulness.
not just in Iowa.
I thought this 4 years ago.
what happened on monday is incompetence (deliberate or accident?) by the Democrats – that’s a separate issue
according to michael barone and richard epstein, the biggest flaw in our electoral system is the caucus/primary system.
but it’s better than not having one – for instance, Europe doesn’t have primaries.
Iowa democrats will never recover from this.
Saying they are outdated is not even an argument
There are many reasons to have primaries. But datedness has nothing to do with it.
Because their voters want to.
Why does Iowa also have RAGBRAI?
Because they want to.
Although the Register almost lost it when they doxxed Carson King and in result the entire RAGBRAI staff resigned.