Democratic chairman calls for review of Iowa vote totals
Influential DNC chair says ‘enough is enough’
The national chairman of the US Democratic National Committee (DNC) has called for a review of votes cast in the Iowa primary.
The contest to pick a presidential nominee suffered a number of technical problems which delayed the final results by three days.
“Enough is enough,” said Tom Perez, who added that he wanted a “review of the worksheets from each caucus site to ensure accuracy.''
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The final results of the Iowa vote came in on Thursday local time, with the local party declaring Pete Buttigieg the winner by a small margin.
But left-wing candidate Bernie Sanders declared a “very strong victory” for his campaign.
Results gave Buttigieg a lead of 0.1% in the number of delegates ahead of Sanders, though Sanders won a greater share of the popular vote, says the BBC.
“When more than 6,000 more people come out for you in an election than your nearest opponent, we here in northern New England call that a victory,” said Sanders, talking in New Hampshire ahead of next week’s primary.
The Democratic Party blamed the delay in announcing results on a coding error in the voting app, which is being used for the first time to report votes.
The Iowa Democratic Party said it had found “inconsistencies” in the voting process, but insisted that the hold-up was a “reporting issue” and not a “hack or an intrusion”, according to The New York Times.
The party insisted that the flaw in the app did not impact the accuracy of voting data.
Responding to Perez’s calls for a review of total votes cast, Iowa Democratic Party (IDP) chair Tony Price acknowledged that “reporting circumstances on Monday night were unacceptable”, but pushed back at the chairman’s remarks.
“We owe it to the thousands of Iowa Democratic volunteers and caucus goers to remain focused on collecting and reviewing incoming results,” said Price.
He added, however, that the IDP would be prepared for a recanvass should any presidential campaign requested one. Only the IDP has the power to call for a recanvass of votes.
Voters had flocked to over 1,600 schools, libraries and churches across 99 counties to pick which candidate will represent the Democrats for the upcoming presidential election. The candidates are vying to win the opening contest of the 2020 White House campaign and become the Democratic nominee who will challenge Donald Trump in the 3 November election.
The front-runners among the 11 remaining contenders are Bernie Sanders, Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg, Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar.
Donald Trump easily defeated his primary rivals in the Iowa Republican caucus, winning roughly 97% of the vote. His two challengers - former Massachusetts governor Bill Weld and former Illinois congressman Joe Walsh – took around 1% each.
Trump’s campaign has further sought to capitalise on the Democrat debacle, with Trump 2020 manager Brad Parscale saying in a statement: “Democrats are stewing in a caucus mess of their own creation with the sloppiest train wreck in history... It would be natural for people to doubt the fairness of the process.”
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
When is an offensive social media post a crime?
The Explainer UK legal system walks a 'difficult tightrope' between defending free speech and prosecuting hate speech
By The Week UK Published
-
Women are getting their own baseball league again
In the Spotlight The league is on track to debut in 2026
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Giant TVs are becoming the next big retail commodity
Under the Radar Some manufacturers are introducing TVs over 8 feet long
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Last hopes for justice for UK's nuclear test veterans
Under the Radar Thousands of ex-service personnel say their lives have been blighted by aggressive cancers and genetic mutations
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
'It may not be surprising that creative work is used without permission'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Joe Biden's legacy: economically strong, politically disastrous
In Depth The President boosted industry and employment, but 'Bidenomics' proved ineffective to winning the elections
By The Week UK Published
-
Should Sonia Sotomayor retire from the Supreme Court?
Talking Points Democrats worry about repeating the history of Ruth Bader Ginsburg
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
Will Donald Trump wreck the Brexit deal?
Today's Big Question President-elect's victory could help UK's reset with the EU, but a free-trade agreement with the US to dodge his threatened tariffs could hinder it
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Where did Democratic voters go?
Voter turnout dropped sharply for Democrats in 2024
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
What is the next Tory leader up against?
Today's Big Question Kemi Badenoch or Robert Jenrick will have to unify warring factions and win back disillusioned voters – without alienating the centre ground
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Donald Trump and the fascism debate
Talking Points Democrats sound the alarm, but Republicans say 'it's always the F-word'
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published