Remember that recent meeting between Trump and Zuckerberg? It ain't that complicated.
5
Trump couldn’t get more lucky. The Dems not only can’t run an impeachment, they can’t even run their own elections.
14
Oh yeah. Leave it to the election to impeach Trump! Laughable. Our elections are in shambles. I have a hard time believing they are fair and free any more. The best way to deal with Trump is to call for a mistrial and go back to court. Our election system needs an overhaul.
7
What I don’t understand is that the Democratic Party in Iowa developed an app for sending in results at the last moment and it was found to be faulty. They had years to develop this and test it...unbelievable!
9
I expect the next batch of results (in New Hampshire) will be unfettered by other technological glitches. We'll see, won't we! As for Agent Orange ("Trump calls caucuses ‘an unmitigated disaster.’..") Iowa's tech problems aren't an "unmitigated disaster" but an errant misstep and a considerable inconvenience.
The only unmitigated disaster in the country is Donald John Trump, and pathetic Republican Senators who have diminished the entire nation and darkened the world. But Mr. Trump, as we knows, is a genius whose opinion on the matter is particularly poignant because it's HIS genius enlightening all of us.
I nearly 'bought the farm' just keying that in. I'm okay, now.
12
Why did we need an app? Obviously someone made some money developing it, but - like the hackable voting machines and hanging chads - it was a solution in search of a problem. Didn't we do pretty well with paper ballots marked and counted by hand?
12
I live in a Third World major country. I have worked as Polling Station President for 4 elections and a gun use referendum. We use digital urns which are basically a black and white screen with faces, names and numbers. You type a number, you press enter and tilt your vote is casted. White key is blank vote, wrong numbers a nullified vote. People are suspicious it can be tweaked but if so it's at a very high level. We stare at this unintelligible caucus thing and it is outrageous. And that the winner doesn't take it all when actual voting. So why insist in this openly flawed system? Because it has worked for decades? It doesn't anymore and it's playing against your Democracy. The hawks and hyenas at the opposite field are grinning.
8
Trump and other Republicans are claiming the Democrats are a disaster because of this vote count fiasco in Iowa. I would counter that the Republicans are far, far more messed up. Case in point: they elected Trump.
9
Paper ballots anyone?
How about a national primary in April and final vote in November? Do we have to continue with more than a year focusing on one primary? We could put all that money into something of value such as housing, Heath care or education. It seems to me that beginning the campaigns in the January of election year is quite enough time. What do others think?
16
It’s been rumored that NASA spent over $200,000 (in 1960s dollars) to come up with a ballpoint pen that could write in zero-g gravity; the Russians used a 5-cent pencil. Iowa?
12
Can we trust the Iowa results when they do finally come out? This whole debacle undermines the integrity of the result, whatever it is.
I guess NH will be the new Iowa this year.
5
The only official results are that Iowa created more doubt about American democracy and delivered the message that Democrats are incompetent.
The campaigns have already released their own numbers with Pete Buttigieg proving he can match Donald trump lie for lie. Meanwhile Trump already has speechwriters working some Iowa caucus stand up comedy into the State of the Union address.
When I gave up on getting early AM results it was soon after CNN claimed that state Party leaders had hung up the phone on campaign officials and reading "Poke County democratic officials tried to deliver results in person but were turned away" from the Washington Post. With all of the reporters running around the state I wish that official would have given a copy to someone from CNN. Perhaps unofficial poke County results on TV would have convinced them to just do their jobs instead of going home to bed.
Now lunchtime approaches and the Iowa Democratic Party is unwilling to give the campaigns and the media so much as a question and answer session or even the time of day? They have killed all campaign momentum, proven themselves far too incompetent to give up on the ap ve hours ago and then turn to telephone, email or text results. The months that presidential hopefuls have invested into this state has been transformed to a sad lack of results and nothing but confusion. The best they can promise their supporters is that results will start coming in "sometime today."
2
In watching live caucus coverage via CNN,C-Span, msnbc, of some 12 precincts, it appears that Biden had a terrible night, being non viable in multiple precincts.
It is likely Biden finished 5th which would be a big hit on his chances and his fundraising. I hope that this delay in reporting results is not yet another attempt by establishment Democrats to kneecap Bernie as happened in 2016.
9
Let me see. A complicated, cumbersome system that seems to involve tin-can-and-string has added more strings. New, Internet-dependent processes responsible for reporting results. An opposition party with American history's most brazen connivers and liars at the helm and highly skilled hackers from at least two countries in its corner, just slavering at the very thought of being able to call invalid anything related to the Democrat side of the election process. Nah. Nothing could go wrong there. I can’t help picturing one of those old movie scenes, in which someone is repeatedly clicking an old telephone's buttons, while the camera cuts away to show an obviously cut wire outside the house.
8
This system needs to be changed!
2
Months of hard work by all the campaign workers will not ever be fully recognized or realized in Iowa, as the circus has already left town for New Hampshire. This is not right, and is sad. It should be noted that socialism, the undercurrent theme of this year’s election, does not recognize excellence, but rather makes excellent excuses for mediocre results.
8
I think one of the countries that use paper ballot should invade us and spread their ways of voting.
9
U & F Git
Made me laugh
Thanks. I needed that.
1
@Ugly and Fat Git
I've got a unicycle and clown outfit...I'll help distribute the paper ballots.
1
You had ONE job, Iowa. That said, at least we can take a bit of comfort knowing that this debacle will be fade from the collective memory in the weeks and months ahead. Either trump will do something colossally stupid or we'll just get busy watching upcoming primaries. I don't think this spells doom for voting trump out, but it's an embarrassment for sure.
It's not too early for Iowa to start planning for 2024 and 2028, if they're going to be allowed to continue to cast the first votes. ONE JOB!
2
We did make a single mistake. We in Iowa failed to prepare the media that accuracy (ie taking time to tabulate the hand votes) might require an extra day. At least we don’t use inaccurate primary electronic voting. There will be actual inaccuracies and hacking there.
2
The perfect hi tech system to really mess things up. How wonderfully exploitable. Why don't we just use paper and have a paper trail???
6
We did. It was our back up method.
2
Oh boy, is Trump ever having a great week.
8
Iowa Democrats: "The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight"
5
Some good things about the Iowa caucus:
Regular, everyday people talk to one another about their reasons for supporting one or another candidate.
During the run up to the meetings, they have a fantastic opportunity to ask the candidates questions directly.
They can work on registering new voters at the same meetings.
They do take elections seriously.
The delay in reporting the results is more of an irritation to our society's expectation for immediate gratification, and belief that faster is always better.
7
Here in Florida we Republicans know how to run elections.
19
@Irving Schwartz Yes, I remember those hanging chads well. It all turned out well for George W. thought didn't it because of his brother Jeb being your governor though? Ah, Oligarchy.
11
@Irving Schwartz
Funniest comment on this article, I salute you.
9
Here's the lowdown: Every caucusgoer, delegate and precinct manager was required to obtain a "real ID" prior to participating in the caucus.
7
Time to change to one person one vote and become a democracy
21
Tommie
Yes, real democracy is messy.
It is a lot easier for autocrats and dictators to get “elected.”
Sign of things to come?
Democrats are in total disarray, can't even hold a Caucus properly!
113
@Vks It is not chaos. or disarray. It's normal levels of getting ducks in a row.
6
Maybe Iowa’s communication operation should have been overseen by BLOOMBERG Inc.
Mike’s technology company would have delivered the results with total precision efficiency.
21
@Vks At least we get to choose our candidates instead of “spending more time with our families” when we have a different opinion. What’s wrong with spending extra time to make sure every vote counts?
World’s Greatest Democracy can’t count votes.....inspiring.
48
@Bill M
I see other countries where paper ballots come in - in sealed boxes - with hand counting by many, many teams. And recounted by a second team before a final tally.
Why can’t we do something sensible like that?
112
TheraP, it looks like American deference to ubiquitous high tech as the first solution.
8
Perhaps it is not the world’s greatest.
Even better, perhaps it is not a Democracy.
End of the American Rhetoric. I much rather believe in Santa Claus or the Tooth Fairy.
3
Epic prime time fail by the Dems in Iowa. This is beyond frustrating as the viewers on the East coast getting ready to turn in. What a fiasco and lost opportunity.
97
@Conservative Democrat
Heaven forbid people in the Midwest don’t time their events for the convenience of people on the East coast. Go to bed. Read the results in the morning. You’ll be fine.
23
@Thistledown
It’s not a matter of timing. Its a matter of incompetence.
9
@Thistledown Only problem.. no results in the morning or at mid-day...
2
One person one vote. The candidate with the most votes win.
Bring America into the 21st century and abolish the Neanderthal Electoral College. Also overturn Citizens United and gerrymandering.
American's deserve honesty in their elections.
1039
@Hal - If only Democrats actually win the Senate along with the presidency, some of your wishes and those of many others could come true. If only.
20
@Hal you will need 2/3 neardenthal senators to do that. bizarre concept.
7
@Hal: Established in Article II, Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution, the Electoral College is the formal body which elects the President and Vice President of the United States.
Here's what would be required:
1. A 2/3 vote in the House
2. A 2/3 vote in the Senate
3. A 3/4 vote of the States
Lots of political will be required in this venture...
19
God and Iowa save us,please, from a Sanders win. He will never beat Trump. And that’s all that matters.
74
And Biden is going to beat Trump like a drum? That’s not aging well.
53
Can we just disqualify every candidate over 70? Why put up someone as old or older than Trump?
9
@Bebe Guill
How about the candidate breaking records and has a lifetime of consistency and integrity? I'm not so sure "I know Obama" is going to be enough to win an election.
11
Guess what? Iowa is not the all-important political story tonight.
If it isn't, what is?
It's that California today started early voting in its Democratic primary, an election to choose 415 pledged delegates. Let's repeat that: an election to choose 415 first-ballot pledged delegates (the media also neglected to tell you that after the first ballot, all pledges dissolve).
The four February states starting with Iowa tonight and then on to New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada elect together 154 delegates.
It is highly likely more Democrats will vote in the California primary than the entire population of Iowa (3.1 million).
Yet, Iowa and its peculiar, undemocratic caucuses have the political media in its spell.
On March 3, four weeks from tomorrow, California, 13 other states, American Samoa and Democrats Abroad (an amalgam of U.S. Democratic ex=pats) will choose a total 1,551 pledged delegates.
In the context of that, of early voting in California underway today, the Iowa caucuses are virtually without meaning.
Wait, wait until Mach 4, political media before you even think you know where this is headed, to who Democrats may look for a nominee.
They might just look to Milwaukee and a contested convention.
Iowa is not going to point that way, but Super Tuesday could.
16
No wonder the Democrats couldn’t successfully remove Trump from office via an impeachment, they can’t even count votes!
48
Sanders will be the winner and will go on winning the democratic nomination and the presidency.
A true mensch who dedicated all his life for the benefit of the 99 percent while making sure the least fortunate got their lot maximized before anyone’s welfare was optimized. A true Rawlsian who will deliver us from the abyss we have fallen after FDR left this world.
May the Lord give him a long and healthy life and bless us with his presidency.
344
@Blunt
You live in a very strange rosy colored parallel universe.
35
@Bob
I live in the heart of the upper east side in a beautiful brownstone I own with overlooking a wonderful garden with age old trees in sight all year round.
Everyone in my family hold higher degrees from Harvard and Yale. We each read an average of 50 books a year which you probably haven’t heard of since Rawls seems like a parallel universe to you. We all read Piketty’s Capital in the 21st Century as well as Branko Milanovic’s Capitalism, Alone and Gordon Lafer’s The One Percent Solution.
I recommend the universe we live in to everyone.
44
@Blunt
One thing that he's not is a mensch.
A crabby old man who says only he's right and has no time for those disagreeing. That's not a mensch.
35
All the angst over the delay in results is unwarranted.
The Iowa Dem Party is doing the right thing in not just rushing this through so that all the media and political junkies can get their fix.
There are 1,700+ sites reporting. Many must phone their results in.
No one is holding back any results.
Curious to me that the complaints are mainly coming from those who support the Socialist candidate.
The rest of us will learn the results tomorrow at some point.
Chill.
54
Hahaha, this delay is making CNN and other networks just lose it. If this is reflective of the organization of the Democratic effort to defeat Trump, God help you all. And on the other side, Trump cruises to victory in Iowa.
Bring on November!
40
Were you thinking Trump was at risk for losing the Iowa primary?
If so, then yes, please bring on November and other Trump supporters who are unclear how the American primary system works!
15
The disorganized White House and mousy GOP in the Senate truly will likely be defeated long before November.
@JP
Oh come on, CNN loves any drama because it's what keeps their viewers.
If a normal boring person ever gets elected again to the WH, their pundit division will probably fold and just air reality shows.
1
The fact that Democrats can’t even Caucus without messing it up makes me laugh.
42
And the hits keep rolling on. Dems failed attempt to unseat Trump. Now a fiasco in Iowa. Can Dems do anything right?
76
Other than taking back the House in 2018?
37
@JP Rather the Republicans failed to unseat Trump. They are all acting like a dysfunctional family trauma bonded to an unstable and violent bad dad.
3
Funny how the GOP caucus goers are no where to be seen ...no one wants to be seen if they back a crook to stay in the White House.
1
Democrats don’t just need a nominee— they need a movement.
Only one candidate delivers.
Bernie 2020
833
@ME “Only one candidate delivers.”
Yeah, he’s delivered three bills in 30 years, and two were to rename post offices. Bernie working - now THAT would be a revolution!
88
@Mike people like him because he doesn’t compromise his ideas and values for the status quo... he’s been on the right side of almost every issue in those 30 years... he was also an Independent , keep that in mind. It’s a thing that I and and many others value about him.
36
Bit of a propaganda statement. ( reminds me of the Republican opposition statement.)
We’re too diverse of a country and voter group for statements like that. Let’s see in a few months.
28
I just spent a half hour being attacked by Sanders supporters online for a mildly critical comment about the difficulty of passing socialized medicine. I was accused of being a plant, of being a stooge, and of being a part of a DNC conspiracy. It's as if none of them read or trust anything "the media" says. Who does this remind you of--the non-stop conspiracy theories, the constant attacks from supporters, and the belief that the media is out to get them? I know who it reminds me of, and I know that I will not be voting for Sanders.
627
@suzanne where were you attacked ... a d can you give us a sample of the type of attack you received?
60
@suzanne
As a fervent Bernie supporter I'm sorry to hear how you were treated, and can only ask that you judge a candidate based on what they say rather than what a few supporters online say. Everyone will have some toxic followers and the odds of encountering them grows significantly when you are online.
53
@suzanne I find Sanders supporters toxic, but I will vote for him in the general if he gets the nomination.
41
Vote out all Republicans. Every single one of them. Don’t give them a chance to continue destroying our nation. Vote blue no matter who.
1069
@MorningInSeattle and planet. This election is not only about the Unites States. As much as I worry about the US, the stakes for the planet and ethics in general are what keeps me up at night.
12
Voting solely based on party lines is how we got into this mess in the first place. Don't vote for someone just because they are a Democrat. Vote for them because they are the right candidate.
16
@Samuel
Actually, Samuel, refusing to vote unless someone strikes you as the perfect candidate, and ignoring the fact that Democrats need some imperfect candidates in order to secure the supermajority necessary not just to run the country but make the big changes they want to, is what got us into this mess in the first place.
15
Hahaha, this is priceless. Watching Dems try to organize anything is like watching a circus. Just need popcorn while watching this Iowa vote tally implosion. Dems, can you do anything right?
55
@MJG False - the Iowa Democratic IT department does not want to control your healthcare.
2
The last laugh will come when GOP voters notice that most of their state parties have cancelled your primaries because they are afraid that their clown can’t take any competition.
Chances are that the state party is overwhelmed with all the motivated voters ready to boot your party out of the White House and Senate!
1
@JP If the Dems had run Sanders last we wouldn't be dealing with the current criminal in chief.
Our democracy is a mess.
- gerrymandering
- citizens united and dark money
- the over-importance of Iowa (Iowa for goodness sake!) and New Hampshire
- endless campaigning, endless fund-raising
- the electoral college
- making it hard to register to vote, to stay registered, and to vote
- the many corruptions and lies of Trump
- the greed for money and power of office-holders (especially the Republicans these days)
- the permitted (and encouraged) manipulation of our electorate by foreign actors
- an under-educated electorate
- and the idiots who think they are getting the truth from clearly-biased talk shows and social media
Our democracy is a mess.
5
It's way past time to reform this ridiculous and anachronistic nonsense. The presidential primary election system in the US is a national disgrace.
“In truth, that reality was very much deniable.”
Buttigieg reveals himself to be more entitled than we thought. Also, I hope the NYTimes looks into his campaign’s involvement with the caucus app and that the company that developed the app is a spin-off from a new super PAC called PACRONYM.
1
Guys, I know we have a collective thirty second attention span, but things appear to be working. The first line reporting failed so they're checking the paper / photo trail to validate results. This is a GOOD thing. This is how all our elections should be run, with a time tested backup plan that just takes a little longer to tabulate.
Unless I'm missing something?
4
As an outside observer, my take is: Bernie won. Since Bernie has no chance to beat Trump, people panicked, and now “results are delayed” until the numbers can be readjusted to allow a more “suitable” candidate to win. All of it is pointless. None of the democratic candidates, aside from Bloomberg, have any chance to beat Trump.
2
My guess is that it’s less about Bernie’s expected win, but this year’s Chosen One, Joe Biden, who may have a more significant loss than expected.
I take some comfort that the top four or five are all strong candidates
My opinion: if the system was hackable, it was hacked. Welcome to our new election reality.
The DNC decides who they want as a candidate and then pretends to let the people "vote". When the vote doesn't fit the narrative they can blame it on the Russians. Or an app.
For all the Democrats that complain that Sanders isn't a member of the party maybe it's because he's seen enough incompetence and skullduggery to convince him not to be a part of it.
1
This situation in Iowa is a signal of what will happen in the big election. And get rid of that Electoral College. It's a totally dishonest way for a president to get elected.
Watching this self implosion and reading the comments herein I am struck by the similarity with how Trump and his supporters dismiss criticism. There is a significant dismissal of the Iowa caucuses as not representative of the party. Conspiracy theories abound implying the debacle is aimed at derailing a particular candidate's campaign. For the Democrats fermenting disaffected voters at this stage of the campaign is about as self destructive as you can get. You would have thought that given the seriousness of what's at stake, the Democrats would have better rolled out their new app. For the first (and hopefully last) time I find myself agreeing with Donald Trump. If these guys cant get a new app aimed at streamlining the caucus process right, how can they possibly hope to manage a national health care system.
"“This is not a hack or an intrusion,” said a spokeswoman for the state Democratic Party."
No. It's just blatant incompetence. Just what we want to hear from the party who wants to be in power.
1
Here's what should happen:
1) Iowa loses 1st in the nation status
2) A more representative state should go first. (MI, NC, GA?)
3) Democratic Party of Iowa officials should be fired
4) Iowa (the state) should run elections, not parties.
5) Caucuses can finally be abandoned for Primaries
6) Bottles of wine should be sent to every campaign staffer that broke their back for 6+ months only to have the rug pulled out from under them the night it mattered most.
Trump is capitalizing on this failure and that makes ALL dems look bad. Do better.
3
People seem to blithely accept the fact that the there was a legitimate technical problem. Given that Trump is now free to interfere with any election any way he wants, and that he sends his "lovers" and foreign fans out to do his dirty work, I doubt the Iowa caucuses have any relationship to the preferences of the Iowa democrats.
To escape Democrats' incompetence, just blame the Russians and demand an investigation by a special counsel to find out whether Trump colluded to discredit all democrats to get an easy win in November and to divert attention from impeachment. Such incompetence was the reason why hackers were able to hack Democrat's e-mail in 2016 and give it to WikiLeaks to distribute. Hilary campaign manager Podesta was a computer illiterate, so he opened an attachment to a suspicious e-mail and provided his password that facilitated the hacking. Then, they blamed everything on Trump and paralyzed the nation with all kinds of investigation and impeachment. What happened in Iowa is a first sign that Trump is going to win due to incompetence of Democrats.
3
In Massachusetts we only gather one set of numbers not three (Iowa) and we call that set of numbers the vote count, or results.
Where do I change to an Independent? This is beyond embarrassing.
2
Get rid of caucuses — they’re un-democratic and we shouldn’t keep something just because it’s a tradition.
Time for the DNC to evolve.
Who's the genius responsible for implementing that new system? They weren't even trained.
1
Just confirms what I suspected all along. Most people who showed up were more interested in a free hot plate dinner and gossiping with their friends than in a political process. All of you deserve Trump.
1
The ridiculous tweeting and comments from Donald Trump and his campaign here are to be expected. Even if the Iowa caucus results went smoothly these tweets and comments would still have been issued. I must say that I find Brad Parscale's comments to be quite interesting. He used the words the "sloppiest train wreck in history" to describe this matter. Mr. Parscale should choose his words a lot more carefully as many people throughout the world would apply these words to his boss, starting with the leaders of many of our foreign allies.
2
Sorry, Iowa, no disrespect intended but...
Can we just ask Iowa to dispense with the silly caucus performance? The state is not a reflection of the country at large and the results are meaningless. It is a waste of time. Attention could be spent on other, more important things.
2
Thank you, Iowa Florida now passes the trophy to you for making a mess of counting votes. We gladly stand behind you.
4
This just shows the State of the Democratic Party. I have seen comments that imply there is something nefarious going on to try and block Bernie. I also saw an article that said the Clintons were somehow behind this due to some Tech Firm started by the Clintons. I am sure there must be some Dems out there who think Putin hacked the process.
And to top it all off I watched Amy and Joe come out and practically accept the nomination about 11:30 last night because they needed to catch a plane to New Hampshire to take part in another debacle there.
How can you expect to be taken seriously with all thats been foisted on Americans by the Left starting with the Russia Collusion scandal, Fake Dossier, FBI informants, FISA warrants signed off by book tour Comey..all discredited and then the Sham Impeachment Trial in the house where no Republicans could call witness or even be in Schiffs Bunker to hear what was going on with the so called Whistle Blower.
The net result of this caustic brew will be Bernie Sanders nomination by the screaming disillusioned Snow Flakes who want Socialism. Be careful what you ask for.
2
Time for a state-wide, one-person-one-vote primary in which every registered Democrat has his or her say.
2
It's time to set aside the clumsy old system of assigning delegates in Iowa and adopt a paper backed secure one vote
system...
2
The result is clear: Bloomberg wins!
2
Thank you Iowa. So grateful to have Adam Schiff and Impeachment off the TV and the headlines!!!
2
The DNC can't get to a brokered convention fast enough so they can rent out the party to their new favorite oligarch, Bloomberg.
We do not need the Iowa totals. There is already a Democratic winner - Mike Bloomberg. He had the good sense to stay out of the place.
1
As Will Rogers once quipped, " I don't belong to any organized political party.... I'm a Democrat".
3
Joe Biden needs to fold that tired old tent. Tom Perez needs to issue an apology, and go get that job at Trump Tower.
Iowa: you're the object lesson of why money in poilitics is the problem. Citizens United, gerrymandering, electoral college... all the cynical machinery of a broken two-party system. Let's hope we didn't just gift-wrap the 2020 election.
1
Think of all the money wasted campaigning in Iowa to have this wacky result.
2
Who build this app ? A bunch of ex-Hillary people! So it is either the people that can't manage email or the people the sabotaged Bernie 2016.
Either way - it is the last people you would trust.
This is what happens when you let the Berniebots dictate rules and procedure. Chaos, confusion, and anything but an actual winner declared. Can we just insist on a private, secret ballot and our votes counted once?
1
Yes, we're angry about this. There is no earthly excuse for letting Iowa, small state of white people, go first in the primary system. None. There is no excuse for this antiquated system of people gathering in gyms to reach viability and trade votes. Was this considered fair and workable in maybe 1860? These days, people want their votes counted, period. And now these dweebs can't even bother to test their new app before primary day. There is no excuse for any of this.
2
Speaking truthfully here, I had a gut feeling this would take place.
Democrats need to go back to door knocking on college campuse recruiting.
It was doomed for failure. Yes we are in a Tech world, remember the machines work as good as the people try too use them.
I wonder what type of trial run did they do, if any.
If this is an indicator of the Presidential race
they've lost.
Democrats Please get your act together.
Don't blame anyone but yourselves this time.
I'm a Democrat. Im in the valley of decisions.
We better get it together and fast.
My granddaughter votes for the first time this year. Do you want to really onow what the Youth of this Country think? I suggest you sit down have a conversation, you will cry in shame.
1
As a former Iowan it seems to me that the DNC is sabotaging its own party. They roll out an untested app that no one can use and they seem to change the rules when they wants to. Meanwhile Ben Carson was in Des Moines pimping for Trump at the Rep. caucus and everything went fine. This 2016 all over again.
1
Maybe election results are something that should always come after 24 hours. Or 7-10 business days lol. Why do we need them night of? Take the time to get it right.
2
What’s one day of delay? Who cares? It’s a good reminder that we can’t have everything right when we want it
2
If Trump had anything to do with this one thing is for certain. Trump has broken the Democratic party!
There’s NO app for that!
Iowa, you had one job. It's time for the DNC to say never again and this is so not ready for prime time.
1
One more reason to drop the Iowa caucuses as the first "shot heard round the world."
They are unrepresentative (Iowa ia a 95% white state).
They are undemocratic (You must appear in person during a two hour window or you are disenfranchised).
They are evidently incompetently run.
Who appointed Iowa as the gatekeeper for the entire Democratic party?
4
Who produced and sold this app? Who are the official who authorized its purchase and use? I smell corruption.
Embarrassing.
Whoever was responsible for this shambles must resign.
3
UnBelievable.
Democrats had *ONE JOB* to do in Iowa and here we are without a strong, electable candidate and nine months to go - guess what's going to happen in November?
Thanks a lot.
Why don't they use the telegraph? You know, reliable old wires. A couple of marines who know the Morse code, and there you have it. Swift and safe!
1
The Iowa caucus is a flawed, overhyped, misrepresentation of the country at large.
Throw the whole thing out, divide up the delegates and move on.
We have a bigger fish to fry.
1
I like the way you think, Margaret Kelly
Buffoons, plain and simple. With all the experience and examples of meddling in the national election process widely known, the Democrats can't even get right this one-state kick-off that they control entirely. What can you say? If I were Trump, I would be sleeping soundly. The Dems are poised to hand a second election to him, after their internal bickering and inability to get out the vote last time in places that counted lost them the election. Their candidates were too busy appearing with celebrities to pay attention. In short, everyone gets what they deserve and the Dems will be giving us Trump again. Shame on them.
5
Not testing new/different technology WAY in advance is perhaps one of the dumbest things I have ever encountered. Anyone, in today's technical age , knows that any change/update etc. is usually a nightmare for those of us who had to function with it. As a Democrat, I still am amazed as to how disorganized this party is. And I have often wondered, because of this lack of structure and leadership knowledge , how they win ANY elections. SAD!
2
The caucus system is cute. Quaint. And (like the Electoral College) would be best retired.
2
Like Horatio in "Hamlet," I'm starting to feel a mortal chill as the stars align and signs pile up that all is not well. Hard not to read the inability to know who won as a sign that the times are out of joint.
We have too many candidates, we cannot manage a process that has run smoothly for decades, we are going to go down on accountability on Wednesday (and will continue to play nice and pretend everything is normal on Tuesday) and we still hear from those vowing not to vote if it isn't their personal, favorite candidate, even while knowing the stakes could not be higher.
We are out of options. We unite or we have four more years of this chaos and criminality. The "sheeted dead" may not yet be "squeaking and gibbering" in the "Roman streets," but we're coming close to a cataclysmic point.
It's time for this party to get its act together and decide to "be." To be forceful, deliberative, passionate, and united in its message and actions. Can we do it?
Because this is about more than us, our party, our nation. The world cannot withstand four more years of this.
2
Here’s a crazy alternative:
Have each individual voter step behind a curtain and cast a vote.
8
It's little wonder that a system dependent on broadband access bogged down. The people who wanted to know the results were likely preventing those results from being reported. The broadband infrastructure in Iowa was not designed to handle the kind of traffic inspired by the caucuses.
1
Reading between the lines, the problem appears to be related to the use of a new app. Put the focus on that, not "inconsistencies in the reporting of data". While there may be inconsistencies, focus on the root cause of them. Your reporting right now it too vague and passive.
I hope it wasn't hackers.
Great nation! Good people!
I just tore up my check to the DNC! This is just one more train wreck among many and I’m done.
4
The only truly unmitigated disaster is Trump.
7
What can you expect when you delegate SHADOW tech firm company develop the app, not kidding SHADOW is the name.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/iowa-caucus-app-shadow_n_5e390191c5b687dacc722824
Tech is our downfall people.
Give it up, better spend more time with people you love, no one is immortal, don't leave place for regret.
3
Another three ring circus takes place in our country!!
2
Is this what we get when old white technologically challenged men start messing with computers? I guess we don't have only the Russians to blame.
3
Robbie Mook can neither run a successful campaign nor app.
4
Yeah, He who must not be named will be President again.
The democrats botched the impeachment and then the Iowa caucuses. What’s next?
6
Can we please stop letting the people of Iowa vote first?
5
Washington state uses paper ballots for all elections. You can mail in the ballot, no stamp required. Or drop it off at designated drop boxes placed at libraries, government buildings, etc. Maybe we should have a National Primary day.
72
Ok this does not look good, so they are having to revert to a time before computers and hand count. All 1681 precincts will call in the results. Might there be human error involved, of course. But it certainly won’t be as devastating as this technical mess. It will just take time.
1
Such a system should have been easy to build and design - from a functional stand point.
However, security is another thing. I've read that the easiest thing for hackers to hack are cell phone applications. Just saying.
Why would anyone implement a system like that without a redundant back up system mystifies me.
Personally I think elections should all be done by manual means and on paper. Keep it organic and slow and communitarian in organization.
3
I think it's rather ironic that changes demanded by Bernie after 2016 have made reporting the caucus even more complicated, thereby hurting him in the process, as he probably did pretty well last night but doesn't get the bounce. Unfortunately, it also hurts Mayor Pete, who deserved better. Caucuses are by definition anti-democratic, and if Iowa ever wants the chance to go first again, they should be forced to go to a normal primary where anyone can vote for whomever they want in the privacy of the voting booth.
3
With each passing year, I'm more convinced that we have to revisit the dinosaur in the room and cut out the steps that impede rather than enhance the voting process.
I think we have to work hard to make the case that Iowa or any state should have such undue power in the process. Likewise, it's essential that we remove the electoral college. Sorry, I've listened throughout my life to the arcane, tortured explanations for why we have it and not one has ever convinced me.
In fact, the greater the attempt to convince us that it makes sense, the less sensible it seems. It's roots are in the racism of the Reconstruction period and it's high time we buried that era's influence completely.
No one can make the case that it isn't a filter between one person, one vote. How can we possibly take millions of votes, filter them through the 270 Chosen Ones and claim we have a representative democracy? We can't. Because we don't.
I don't care if you live in a state with more sheep than people, a city known for its hip culture, an apartment in Anchorage. Your vote should count as little or much as the person a thousand miles away or standing right next to you.
As we devolve into ever greater chaos on all fronts, can we please simplify in the interest of ensuring voter integrity? There's a reason no one trusts the system anymore. We can all see the creaking wheels, broken sprockets, and rusted cogs.
One person, one vote. Each state as important as the next. Verifiable every time.
9
With all due respect, Iowa had four years to work on the issues of tabulating and reporting data. Heck, the problem of the new system being unable to handle the amount of reporting data is bizarre. Did anyone think to use the data gathered from the 2016 Iowa Caucus as a test case BEFORE last night's vote?
"Inconsistencies in the reporting data" does little to instill confidence and trust, if any at all.
Sometimes, the "old fashion" way of doing things, such as
"manually tallying the data" may take longer, but at least a bunch of folks are witnessing the tallying of paper ballots.
2
This is the party that wants total control over your health care with no other available option. The app didn't download properly, nor does it work. After a year of solid campaigning, nobody tested the app and they can't tally votes. But I should trust them with surgery.
7
@Grunt
Very true. And if you listen to people like Warren, she sees the solution to just about every problem some new and big government program. Let's face it. The Dems are more comfortable appearing with celebrities, making selfies, telling you how they will spend money they don't have and can't figure out how to raise without picking the pockets of someone who earned it. In short, they are simply not up to the task of governing, and this leaves the door wide open to people like Trump.
1
Nearly 90 years ago, Will Rogers said, "I'm not a member of an organized political party. I'm a Democrat."
The more things change. . .
1
This is definitely a VERY bad start for the Democratic Party. It wouldn't be a stretch to call it a fiasco. Then again, why on earth Iowa? And, why use a 19th century voting process when a paper ballot using rank-order voting would be both more efficient and more representative of all the voters? All this does is once again shake the confidence in the Democratic Party and its ability to run an effective campaign against Donald Trump. Out-of-touch, out-of-date means out-of-office.
2
First step for the Democrats to defeat Trump in 2020 and it’s already a fiasco. It’s hard to credibly claim you can manage a national healthcare system if you can’t run a nominating election in Iowa. Please, please do better than this.
6
I'm glad they're verifying against paper backups and making sure they they get it right. No need for the anger. Calm down everybody--and the media.
3
It took me a long time to find out that the reason fro the dealy is that a three reports system system has been introduced to ensure legitimacy of the counting. For me this is good news, not bad news. But it seems that the Trump mentality has infiltrated everywhere too criticize the good Iowans!
3
An embarrassing fiasco.
Iowa had 4 years to get it right. Didn't they test the system because it is a new format in 2020 to determine if there were going to be possible glitches that would need to be resolved?
And now it becomes a talking point for the Republicans handed to them free of charge on a silver platter - how can Democrats run the country when they can't even count the votes in a caucus, Democrats can't be trusted conducting a fair and impartial election, etc.? And it feeds into conspiracy theory lunatics saying "X" really won the caucus, but they rigged the numbers to make sure "X" didn't finish on top.
The only cogent rebuttal argument that can be made is that the Iowa Democratic party is trying to get the vote 100% absolutely right up front so that everyone's vote is counted and respected, the candidates who spent months meeting with voters didn't waste their time and effort, and the candidates and their campaigns will know for sure who won, came close to winning, finished in the top 3 or 4, or decisively lost.
Getting it 100% right trumps (no pun intended) everything else, as it should.
But it's still embarrassing and should not have happened.
3
@Eugene Gorrin Sadly you are correct. The AM conservative talkers are going to have a field day with this.
2
I can not wait until I do not have to think about the state of Iowa for another 4 years. I am making a silent prayer that in reality I will never have think about it again.
2
In a democracy voting should be done by secret ballot. In most states campaigning is not allowed within a specified distance of the polling place. In many states voters may cast their ballots days or even weeks in advance, and many allow mail-in ballots. In this way the greatest number of voters are allowed to participate, so that infirmity, bad weather, or employment do not interfere.
Contrast this with the Iowa caucases. Certainly not secret ballot; indeed, active campaigning and even attempts to change loyalties continue throughout the process. No early or absentee voting; you must be there, line up early, huddle in groups, perhaps, standing, for up to several hours. No excuse if you are infirm, employed, hindered by bad weather. This absurd process is for those with the energy,
time and stamina to participate, and would seem to favor the young.
The DNC should disallow any polling except by secret ballot, and push for early and absentee voters to be included. No more Iowa caucases!
1
Iowa needs to take a seat. Go to the end of the line (or at least Super Tuesday). The state doesn’t represent anything but Iowa. With the primary system streamlined with fewer, larger elections, candidates are wasting time and money on this anachronistic caucus.
2
I live in Singapore. It takes just 5 minutes to vote. Maybe 3 minutes from entering the polling location to exiting it. It really shouldn't be this difficult!
What a pity. These are not normal times, and the Democrats should have realized this before this primary season began. All viable candidates should have met, decided who among them has the greatest chance of beating Trump, cancelled the agonizing debates and primaries and all the other histrionics, and started . campaigning immediately, with the help of Bloomberg's and Steyer's deep pockets. Going straight to the race and foregoing the statewide contests just makes sense. Again, this is a different America, so Democrats should run a different campaign. Start today!
And this is the same party that wants to run the economy, health care, the whole country? A truly sad case. Iowa should lose its status as the "first in the nation" caucus state, better yet, forget the caucus altogether. These ppl have zero credibility.
1
A bad dress rehearsal means a great opening night.
2
Hillary denigrated Sanders and his supporters. The Des Moines Register withheld the last poll which might have boosted Sanders. Chris Mathews denigrated Sanders on the morning of the caucuses even comparing Trump favorably to Sanders.
The Iowa Democratic Party used an app developed by a company owned by Clinton’s campaign manager Robbie Mook at best an impropriety. The app failed on the night of the caucuses denying the winner s boost. The Republicans just have to sit back and laugh.
3
May I suggest that the democrats quit giving Trump negative material to use in his State of the Union Address and rallies because this Democratic disaster in Iowa is a doozy and will play well with his base.
1
Herding cats is very difficult, and apparently there are many, many cats in Iowa.
Buttigieg must have won. He's declaring victory, and he is way too smart to make such a proclamation if he doesn't know it's true. He knows he would lost credibility and stature if he made such a decorative statement and it proved to be untrue.
2
An untested app, hastily thrown together in the last two months, because who knew the Iowa caucus was going to be in February 2020? How could anyone have planned for this? Anyway, apps are cool, and give instant results. Paper and pencils are slow, like old people.
The only possible explanation for this debacle is that the caucus was planned by teenagers.
2
the excited states of america continues its slide toward third world status when it comes to elections.
2
Way past time for a third party. Sanders should lead the way.
3
This is what happens when you layer technology most people do not understand on top of a severely antiquated process.
3
Read. Read. Read. Everywhere people are complaining about the oligarchs, the plutocrats, Hillary vs. Bernie, conspiracy against Bernie, and the app, but no one seems to have read the articles or even have a basic understanding of what a caucus is. And all I see are comments that seem to be based on a headline, if that. 6m ago someone said "did you see the age of the people" and opined that they didn't know how to use an app. Also 6m ago someone offered that the establishment didn't like the results. And finally, 6m ago, someone suggested that this is the end of the democratic party. Please just start reading again. You still don't have to believe everything a reporter says, but you might be more inclined to hold your opinion (unlike Trump or anyone on Twitter) when you read that this is the first time they have done three results with paper backups.
Iowa is now definitely the laughingstock of the nation. How much time, energy, and money was wasted in this process? Endless debates with candidates repeating the same cliches over and over were so very tiresome. With all the time they had to ensure everything went well, this circus is what they can deliver?
Iowa needs to change something very soon, because it has lost all credibility.
2
And these people want to run the country?!
4
Trump and his Facebook team played tricks on the Dems again?
1
A lot of this modern app remote technology is a solution looking for a problem. Can it all go back to pen and paper
2
They used an app without testing it? Is this a Russian trick or just bad planning? Thank God it's only the Iowa caucus.
1
Is anyone surprised? DNC shenanigans. Again.
4
i’m pretty sure that “Quality Control” is code for “Bernie won by how much? Recount that.”
3
From Europe it seems that democratic establishment, democratic rich and super rich, Wall Street, great and small corporation, have dropped Biden for Buttgig. What a change........!!!!
I’m suing!
1
On a side note, I enjoyed your quotation by Andrew Yang: “We’re all looking around being like, ‘What’s the math?’” I would kind of love a president who says things like “being like.” My generation has arrived!
1
Okay. I will be here. Let me know, folks. Fine, I am cooking spaghetti. Get back to me.
1
Come on, Iowa ... Rolling out an untested phone app on election night???!! Who's idea was that?
2
The DNC doesn’t want The Bern to win.
1
Truly disgraceful. Iowa should lose its delegates. And whoever is responsible for this farce fired seven times over ...
3
This is the icing on the cake for the Democrats. Trump Russia collusion letdown, impeachment letdown now this. What a mess!
4
The true winner in this is President Trump
3
Can we finally dump Iowa having this absurd power? Enough is enough.
3
Just someone please reassure me that Debbie Wasserman Schultz isn't involved in any of this.
5
This is just another indication that the United States’ system of choosing a president, from the party primaries & caucuses to the so-called “Electoral College”, is a farce & must be the laughing-stock of the world!
2
The news here is the shine coming off of "electable Joe" and revealing the rusted hulk just below the surface.
1
Say, who won the Republican caucus last night? I don't see it anywhere here...
Ok I'll tell you - President Trump with 97 percent!!
No reporting glitches...
4
Tom Perez should resign.
4
Heaven help us--the Democrats are the fools who want to run the country and the cannot even run their own caucus.
When you think of every major city with major problems the Democrats are the ones running them.
Vote for America--Vote Republican.
3
@ Jonathan
Trillion dollar deficit.
Yah. Trump is way better.
Something is rotten in Denmark (aka Iowa & the DNC).
Sanders 2020
3
The same incompetent centrists, still running the Democratic Party, that hoisted the loser HRC on us last time around can’t even put the Iowa caucuses together or design an app that works.
Ridiculous.
5
Are the Dems trying to out-incompetent and out-bumble the Repubs? It's a mighty big task, but they're making it happen. Politics in America continues to be the province of hucksters, shmucks, charlatans, and snake oil salesmen. Some things never change except it ain't 'there's a sucker born every minute' anymore...it's every second.
1
I'm a senior and have a few phone apps that were installed by my daughters. The apps are fun but I always expect them to fail - and they sometimes do. So here in Iowa, some of the apps failed but there were reliable backups. I have no doubt in the accuracy of caucus results when reported, either today or in the next few days. Actually, I think the delay is a good thing in that New Hampshire voters will vote independently of any perceived Iowa momentum. When I absorb all the reporting of last night's Iowa caucus, I overwhelmingly feel pride and gratitude for all the Iowans who spent so much of their time meeting the candidates these many past months and who came out on a cold Monday night to spend hours standing (or sitting if they were lucky, who were patient amidst the chaos, all in order to participate in our democratic electoral process. Well done Iowans.
The Democrats finally encounter their worst nightmare.
The hack is coming from inside the house.
4
How hard is it to COUNT!
5
I think this NYT article could have done without the immature comment from trump. That's what twitter is for.
4
In the UK and France they use this wacky new technology that prevents fraud. It's called paper. It's totally crazy: you drop a piece of paper with the name of the candidate you vote for in a box and later they count the papers. Absolutely impossible to hack. The guy who invented that must have been a genius.
11
Stand by for incoming Trump high school taunts!
(ignore him)
4
The idiocy of not using a paper ballot speaks for itself.
The idiocy of the late-night media, well, that was another item. All that harrumphing about how Iowa had let down our sponsors and hi-paid panels (CNN) with a game show that didn't end on time.
3
All I can say is the Democrats really blew it tonight and look like fools. To look this bad right before Trump's speech and the impeachment vote is a major political blow.
8
Why are we again watching an election that is being run with technology and not exclusively paper ballots? Have we learned nothing?
In fact, now that I think about it, why are we still choosing major party nominees with this outdated, unrepresentative, idiotic caucus system instead of a primary . . . and why can't we have national, or even regional, primaries instead of this piecemeal, broken, illogical method of picking nominees?
The Democratic Party's resistance to change, which it persistently demonstrates, can't be better shown than by this debacle.
4
Iowa, you’re done. You no longer deserve to be first.
5
Can't Danish election managers/observers come in to manage the thing for the clueless democrats? The presidential election "process" here is a real study in incompetence. Bigly sad. Iowa is just SO important because we really want to know what old, white and mostly rural Americans think. /sarc
1
"Technology" is not god. A bright and shiny app is not intelligence.
7
Can we please now stop with the high-tech "app" scenario?
One voter, one paper ballot, count the automatically if you want, but we need a reviewable paper trail.
Electronic methods are too easy to corrupt, and have no method of confirmation.
8
Put the cellular variable personal computers down and vote Iowa with machines that work. Apps are for fun, programming is for pros. Use voting machines, your adopted system does not work or even look viable. last night and your system of voting appear to look you look incompetent. You can't be first with performances like last night.
2
With all the technology available at their fingertips, they still couldn't get it right.
Also -- could someone please help me understand why two states (Iowa and New Hampshire) with the least number of underrepresented people, the least diversity and the least number of people of color get to decide who becomes the Democractic nominee for President of the US? In the year of our lord 2020, perhaps it's time for a little re-thinking.
5
The caucus is a joke. It's designed to suppress votes, whether by scheduling and time constraints, public shaming and harassment, or the 15 percent threshold. How can the Democratic Party, which supposedly wants to empower people and turn out more voters, expect this to give any clarity to anything? Especially in a state that does not reflect the party, much less the country, and which Trump is almost certainly going to carry? How can Bernie, who wants to give prisoners the right to vote, accept a system that effectively excludes many working people, parents with kids and no child care and older people who can't get to the caucus site? (This is one of my problems with Bernie, of course; he rails against the system--unless it's something like the Iowa caucus that benefits him and now it should receive disproportionate weight.)
2
This is America today. Apps we can't use and spending hours on hold.
4
If there is a clear winner tonight, it's Donald J Trump.
8
There is a simple airtight solution; revert back to maniacal voting machines. They cannot be hacked and have decades of proven use.
3
Fortunately soon the GOP will have mastered the art of knowing the results before you vote. Just like your partner Russia.
4
Certainly makes you confident in electing a Democrat President doesn't it?
6
I will vote for whoever runs against Trump in the upcoming election.... but my god the Democratic Party is a train wreck.
6
@Jon wait up! the Iowa Democratic Party election team is not “ the Democratic Party”!
They have only known this caucus was going to happen for 4 years!!!
4
Let me guess. It’s a DNC intervention to ‘save us’ from Bernie again
7
Unbelievable! An app! And furthermore, one that was, experts tell us, hastily built and poorly tested.
When did its designers-builders-testers first learn that the thing would have to be ready by today, at the absolute Kate’s? A couple of months ago?
This is indeed one helluva time for the Democratic Party, that’s all I can say. An utterly indecisive, if not pointless, Mueller Report; an impeachment process that ended up actually going backwards (assuming the idea was to evict Trump from the White House); and now this—an Iowa caucus app that makes Florida’s voting machines look sure-fire, by comparison.
Yep, our so-called democracy sure could use a lift.
Sadly, the Democratic Party doesn’t appear to have enough strength to lift a Kleenex.
2
The snafu at the Iowa caucuses should end its status as the first opportunity for presidential candidates to make their cases to voters. I participated in the 1980 Iowa caucuses and agree it's too homogeneous and small a state to be the first test of popularity for national politicians. And now it can't even manage to report its results in a timely coherent fashion.
That's why Pennsylvania would be a much better state to be "first", with our diversity of urban/rural, some ethnic diversity (mostly east), and reasonably large population (currently split between the parties, suggesting "centrist" is the median political view of most in the state). I wouldn't look forward to the barrage of ads leading up to such a caucus or primary, but PA would be a better test than Iowa.
On the other hand, the "first" primary should probably occur in multiple states on the same day, so a "Super Tuesday" comprising a collection of states representative of the country as a whole. That would give a better idea of which candidates reflect the interests of the nation's voters.
2
“There’s an app for that.” PAPER.
7
What a joke. All that hype. All that money. All that wasted time. The only declaration in Iowa is that they are incompetent.
5
A striking example of how technology fails us when we take something that is simple and make it difficult. WE no longer use our brains and are relying on technology. Phone companies have not maintained their land lines - mine are over 50 years old - and satellite based smart phones are not always reliable, not to mention they are complicated to anyone who does to use them all the time, like me. I am an old fart and never use apps, which maybe the designers of the Iowa system should have taken into account. How is an app or a smartphone secure? If you actually speak to someone on the phone, that seems more secure, although I suppose someone could pretend to be a precinct chair and report the wrong numbers. It would help to know each other, which is normal in politics.
2
What a bad situation and horrible embarrassment for the DNC.
3
So... where are the other news outlets that show 25% of precincts reporting getting their info?
It took a little while this go-around, but the Democrat circular firing squad has gathered and is already firing at itself. I can't wait to see how these bumblers manage to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory this time.
Would no hacking make the Donald the only hack left?
Just waiting for someone here to blame all this on Mr. Trump.
2
>> Security experts said the app was not properly tested...
The Russians are laughing at us!
Republicans, who are crooks, versus Democrats, who are incompetent. Guess who wins.
2
Iowa is the new Florida?
2
A caucus race straight out of Alice in Wonderland, just what we all need.
1
Dumpster fire.
3
It looks like Mike Bloomberg was the smart one.
3
DNC...spreading darkness at the speed of light!
4
This is the party that wants to socialize healthcare? FM
4
The retracted results showed Sanders in the lead at 27% as expected, but Biden at an abysmal 10-11%.
Not sure if that data was just not representative yet for the state or if that's what triggered a "that can't be" moment with the DNC which made them pull back what was already released.
4
It is understood that Democrats can't seem to win an election anymore but now they can't even lose one without bollixing it up.
10
I’ve read a few articles on this debacle and just can’t stop laughing, it’s not funny but it is. Can’t wait for SNL’s opening on it. At some point we just need to sit back and think ‘yeah I was alive during the Monty Ponty era of government’. This too shall pass. Someday.
9
1. National primary day with uniform voting machines programmed against interference, error, hacking, stupidity.
2. No results by precinct or other tally, released until all are wrapped up.
3. Election DAYS, consecutive Friday and Saturday, to expand voter access.
3. Dump forever the Electoral College.
3. Winner by popular vote. Period.
24
Just count the ballots or whatever they use or do. It's not hard.
2
@Harvey Green But this is Iowa. This whole debacle is like voting in the 1800's.
The new app should’ve deployed weeks ago instead of days before. As annoying as this debacle is, anything that adds another nail in the coffin of Iowa’s status as the first primary state can’t be all bad.
4
Doesn’t matter when it was deployed. They should have figured out there was no buy-in and staffed their phone centers appropriately.
1
What a mess! (For once, I agree with Trump’s assessment— he’s right about “unmitigated disaster.”) Apparently the IA caucuses “don’t have an app for that.”
This debacle undermines confidence in the ultimate results and makes IA Democrats and the Democratic Party look incompetent.
The meaningfulness of the results is further diminished now that the nation see more clearly how the process unfolds. Group dynamics obviously influence the final results, diminishing the impact of actual voter preferences.
Here’s hoping that IA switches to a primary in the future: hopefully, broader participation, better accuracy, more transparency.
2
@ANetliner If I were Trump I'd be laughing all the way to the bank.
The United Nations does provide election assistance to countries like the United States if only they ask.
4
It’s time to dump Iowa and its caucuses. It’s a meaningless process that siphons precious time and money from campaigns that would actually matter.
6
Chill out folks! So the results are delayed a few hours or a day. The Sun will still rise this morning.
Much rather see a delay and get things right than to announce results and then have to backtrack later.
6
Warren could have graciously, living up to the statement she herself made last night, endorsed Sanders
@Livingston
Like Bernie did for Hillary?
1
I don't see the problem. At least people are talking about Democrats and not Trump.
2
It's about time to move to the twenty first century and get away with the Iowa Caucuses. Let people vote in boxes.
2
Bloomberg looks smart to have bypassed this enormous dissipation of time, energy, and money.
5
This mess can be fixed by the Democratic Party.
Iowa is a State with 3.1 million & because it's in the State's Constitution that mandates the State votes first means nothing to the rest of the 49 States.
2 of the 5 NYC counties - - Brooklyn & Queens have more 4.7 million.
So, if the Democratic Party requires all the candidates in the next Presidential election in 2024 not to enter the Iowa Caucuses it's resolved.
Wouldn't it be better to have Florida & Michigan vote first instead of Iowa determining the candidates who will be in and who will be out for the rest of the 49 States candidates?
3
I think it's time for the democrats to fire Iowa as a first responder and replacing whomever is in charge of the Democratic 2020 elections.
1
We can all relax. It is a reporting problem and not a tallying problem.
2
The Big Fizzle of 2020. Please let this be the end of the beginning of a more democratic system.
What's all the drama? Mayor Pete declared he won.
1
If you're really looking for a story of corruption run rampant, read
"The Money Behind Trump's Money" further down on this front page of the Times today.
Yes, the Iowa Dems messed up last night, but our real problem is the current occupant of the White House and his varied moneyed associates, including Jared Kushner.
We can't be distracted, as Trump, his cronies, and Putin have done so successfully in the years since 2015.
4
As an independent, this does give me pause to believe the Democrats are able to run things. It seems that some of the energy they have spent opposing Trump/Republicans should have been utilized to get their own house in order. Additionally the other view is that they are just as corrupt as the Republicans and voter fraud takes place in broad daylight now through a guise of “wanting to get it right”. Either way not a good look.
2
Declare the Iowa caucus a failure. Nobody will trust the "results" anyway. And we shouldn't trust them.
6
One thing I do know for sure — Mayor Pete did not win last night. So, why is he trying to claim victory? Seems pretty dishonest (and Trump-like) to me.
1
This is a farce.
After the Rs stole 2000 and 2016, you would think the voting system would have improved.
The autocrats win again.
So much hype. So much disappointment.
1
This is embarrassing. We democrats need to get it together before November otherwise we will get another 4 years of Trump.
2
It seems like this screwball caucus system attaches different weights to different votes. That's the way the Electoral College system works. America should consider a truly democratic system where one person gets one vote and the candidate who gets the most votes wins the election.
3
@Clark Landrum Framers understood the problem inherent in your view: tyranny of the masses.
@Jeff It's called democracy.
Most other news outlets are calling this "chaos" while the Times is calling it confusion. Big difference. It's enough to reevaluate ones investment in the Democratic Party. Twenty five candidates with most having no chance in a beauty contest format yet given prime time over a year detracting from meaningful exploration of issues while Republicans race ahead with preparation for the general election. After the 2016 debacle I believe there is only one political party in this country that is competent. It's not the Democrats.
1
Note to Iowa. Use Whats App. It works and is encrypted
After all, it’s what Jared and Ivanka use for private political conversation
1
Iowa is a beautiful state and will most likely re elect Trump to a second term The Democratic party cannot help but insure that they will lose this election If they cannot get it together in this small state;then what hope do we have of change Why is Iowa such a prophet? Corn,soybeans,hogs and cattle with a small aged white people does not reflect or represent the rest of America.
1
Outside, the trains don’t run on time.
America: A first world country with a third world electoral system.
4
The DNC does not want Bernie. The fix is in. Bernie is the other side of America first. If you thought Trump didn’t play nice wait until you see the Bern.
1
Democrats apparently can’t even accomplish the simple act of counting then adding it up. Simple stuff, really. This might explain why Bernie and Liz can put forth economic plans With crazy numbers that never add up and still get millions of Democrat voters. But i do wonder whether hackers—Russians or Iowa-Shouldn’t-Go-First groups had anything to do with it. Hmmm.
Bernie Sanders surges in the last two weeks before Iowa and suddenly the gold standard Des Moines Register poll is suddenly pulled. Hmmmm. Sanders appears to be leading as Iowans go into their caucuses and the results are inexplicably not reportable. Conspiracy anyone? Do we need an Iowa-gate Special Counsel investigation?
One thing for sure, it’s “Game Over” for Iowa’s privileged first in the nation caucus. Good riddance.
2
No one is going to trust any numbers that come out of Iowa today or in the future.
The shadiness is coming from the Iowa Democratic Party themselves. They are trying to find a way to rig the results and reporting, so it is behind Biden (who is claiming victory even though he was in 5th place last night).
Then there is the arrogance of Butteweig claiming victory--"no matter what the results, I win." Unbelievable.
Then there is the hostility of Bernie's Bros threatening all other nominees and the Party that they will get behind Trump again).
The only integrity, dignity, honor, professionalism and poise is from Warren's and Amy's camps.
Onto New Hampshire, where the country will get actual results.
Maybe the silver lining here is the end of this inexorable grip Iowa has on the nomination process.
The entire STATE of Iowa has a population similar to the CITY of Chicago. Why should every single Iowan (older and wayyyy whiter than the country) get to hobnob with every single candidate and get to winnow the choices for the rest of us?
4
Way to inspire confidence in your eventual Nominee.
1
Caucuses are a holdover from a simpler era. They have to go. Trump is already running with this fiasco, claiming the Iowa debacle shows that Democrats are weak, disorganized, and looking to cook the books.
In reality, the delay in vote count is because the party wants to get the total right, and not put out numbers that can be questioned later. It's too bad that all the voting public will remember is the specter of ineptitude.
Bloomberg seems to have it right. Just skip this Iowa nonsense. More candidates should follow suit.
3
The results of Iowa Democratic Party boondoggle should of be tallied. The entire process is tainted.
Are we supposed to take their word for it that their app wasn’t hacked? Have they actually sought to determine that with any thoroughness? I can’t think of any better way to make the Democrats look ridiculous and incompetent right off the bat. Or are they just saying,’nobody did this to us, we did it to ourselves!” Unbelievable.
All we heard from Rep. Schiff was how we couldn't trust the upcoming election because...Trump. Maybe democrats need to take their eyes off Trump and get back to the real world.
4
It actually all makes sense. New reporting requirements then ever before, more candidates then in recent history, intense scrutiny from the press - they need to get it right. Oh and please don’t report on what Donald trump says or tweets anymore. No one cares and just because he’s president doesn’t make what he says relevant. He’s insignificant.
1
Just try to vote for Sanders.
Read the emails from 2016. Don't forget that poll from yesterday.
Trump calls the Iowa caucuses an "unmitigated disaster." In other words, the Trump presidency.
Nobody cares about Iowa. They continue to send Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst to the Senate, so why in the world do Democrats focus on this itty bitty 85 percent white state?
I am an early Millennial, Oregon Trail Generation, and I remember my US Government teacher in high school teaching us about the Iowa caucuses, and we had a discussion about the dangers of “groupthink.” Yeah, people in general think Alabamians are stupid, but I had some fantastic history teachers, and I have always thought the Iowa caucuses were outdated for a burgeoning digital world where every vote is important.
So call me Debbie Downer, but I’m glad this has happened. It’s time to change the rules. We need to start focusing on the states where diverse populations are critical to electoral success. Otherwise, Republicans will continue to have the electoral advantage.
5
If history tells us anything, its that the DNC is currently running around in circles while being simultaneously on a conference call with the suits at CNN and MSNBC working out how they are going to blame Trump for this.
2
The situation in Iowa is shameful and embarrassing. For those of us who won't vote Trump ever, we may have to consider doing so a Independents.
1
So a bunch of white farmers have social events all over Iowa to see whom they prefer in the Democratic race and there is no clear voting procedure and the DNC thinks this charade will somehow be fair and be crucial to determine the nominee for November? This Iowa debacle , the electoral college, citizens United, the Mueller Report, Bush v. Gore; the failed impeachment of Trump all show the world how democracy is a joke in the US.
1
And you want Democrats to expand government and run everything.
1
We wouldn't have these problems with electronic voting.
Last night, we watched Bernie Sanders win the Iowa caucus in real time. If this fact is not reported, then the media and DNC are causing and perpetuating an election fraud.
1
The time, energy and zillions of dollars spent by egomaniac candidates, cable TV networks, smug PAC groups, loudmouthed activists "Bernie Bros", political junkies with nothing to do but live the madness day after day. All of it was for nothing. Nada. They all had it coming and it's hilarious.
Bloomberg was smart enough to stay out of the Iowa absurdity. Bloomberg 2020
3
Where is Elections Canada when you need it? Shall we send an envoy to set up an election system that is straightforward, all inclusive, and actually works? Give us a shout when you've come to your senses. We're here for you. We run fair and free elections. Show up with ID, we'll give you a ballot and a pencil
2
Democrats literally started the year on the left foot.
Trump is already celebrating his re election .
1
Aiming at trump, Iowa shoots itself in the foot.
2
Caucusing is like a children’s game: Four Corners meets Red Rover...but lasting longer than Monopoly
I encourage Iowans to play it...and then VOTE—on Super Tuesday
1
“Here to announce the winner of the 2020 Iowa caucus are Mr. Warren Beatty and Mr. Steve Harvey”.
2
After Florida in 2000 many Congressional Democrats said voting without computers is unconstitutional.
1
Just a crazy suggestion: ask the people in the halls who they want and have them make an X on a piece of paper. Then, hand those papers to someone and have them count the Xs up. Then, report who had the most Xs.
Can anyone tell me why this would NOT work?
Further proof that Trump, to our everlasting frustration, leads a charmed life. One day before the SOTU, Democratic voting crashes in Iowa, forever giving him the rigged tag line. Starting tonight. Then there was the illicit killing of an Iranian terrorist followed by the gift of the Iranian shoot down of innocent civilians, giving him the tag line and deflection of a dangerous Iranian regime.
By the way, while the Iowa fiasco was unfolding, Trump was rocking and rolling to the national anthem and Melania and poor Baron were holding their left hands over their right chest. Oh say can you see.
2
Chaos and disaster. There's an App for that!
1
I've heard rumors they're going to change the name from Iowa Caucus to -- Iowa Nauseous --
Whoever came up with that idea gets my vote...
The DNC Party bosses have their own agenda, which has never included Bernie Sanders. Do I think they want Biden to win Iowa? Yes. Badly enough to fudge the results? I'm starting to think so - first 2016, and now this....
A Sanders victory would restore some of my faith, but maybe he didn't win. The system is failing us.
I have an idea: Ranked choice voting!!!
3
Sometimes, humans work better than machines.
We've reached the point of no returns...
2
Since the popular vote doesn’t determine who becomes president, we should take the names of presidential candidates of the November ballots. Placing the names of presidential candidates on state ballots only serves to empower political parties, which the Constitution assigns no role in government. If we did away with the popular vote for president, presidential candidates would no longer need political parties to finance multi-billion-dollar campaigns. They could limit their campaign to stops at the 50 state capitol buildings, where they could address the legislators who appoint electors to the Electoral College.
The 538 votes cast in December by electors at their state capitals determine who becomes president. Iowa has six electoral votes. Tallying its presidential election votes should take Iowa less than five minutes
I see some are blaming the new requirement that the raw votes for the first count and realignment must be reported for the phone difficulties. The raw count is necessary to make sure that viability was determined correctly. The realignment count is the actual vote and is necessary to determine that the delegates were allocated correctly. I'm sure the large number of candidates for whom numbers had to be reported also led to the phone line congestion. There is, for the first time, a paper trail of preference cards, so the final result should be more accurate than when it was determined by head counts of a crowd, which is pretty much impossible.
Did you see the age of the people taking part in this? My guess is that most of them weren't trained in "apps". The counting itself was flawed for 2020. This method might have worked in the early 1900's, and I'm sure their hearts are in the right place, but in today's world they need to step up their game and modernize. That said, that's goodness for backups, the paper backups and photos are the lifesaver here.
1
I’m always confused by the sheer surprise expressed when our elections don’t run smoothly.
Have we already forgotten that our White House just refused to turn over a legal request for documents?
What are we realistically expecting here? What are we expecting in November?
6
First the DesMoines Register doesn't release its poll results.
Now the State democratic party can't get its count right.
If the establishment doesn't like the outcomes of these things, how else would you expect them to behave?
It's highly unusual that established power just gives up power easily. We are in a nation whose democracy was overthrown by the Brooks Brothers riot in conjunction with the SCOTUS who acted outside of its norms to ensure victory for a minority president. This then lead directly to: being unprepared for 9/11, lying the nation into a war that disrupted the middle east, cost thousands of lives and trillions of dollars, a FEMA unprepared for Katrina, and massive tax cuts and deregulation that lead to the Great Recession. That oligopoly came into power through irregular means, I don't see them giving up power without an overwhelming movement demanding they do so.
3
Enough with Iowa! Millions of dollars spent on a state that looks nothing like the majority of Democratic voters. The primaries for the entire country should take place within a small time frame(10 days), and if any state gets to have an outsized influence in the Democratic primary, it should be any of the coastal states. Middle America already has more influence than its population deserves. I live in reliably red Utah...never would I expect Utah to carry so much weight in the Democratic primary. The whole primary season is too long, too expensive, and too unrepresentative of our population.
13
@SCoon: i completely agree. First, get rid of the whole medieval caucus process and insist on standard primary elections in all states. My thought is to conduct it in alternating time zones . . . Eastern, then Mountain, followed by Central and then Pacific. 4 years later, start on the west coast and alternate the zones from there moving east. Perhaps condense it to 4 weeks (one time zone per week.) No one state gets an outsized influence.
4
Iowa Dems just learned The First Rule of Technology the hard way:
Hardware Eventually Breaks, Software Eventually Works.
1
It's high time that we get rid of this "caucus" nonsense and bring primary voting into (at least) the Gutenberg age and use printed ballots in Iowa and elsewhere! And, while we're at it, have simultaneous primaries in some other states, like Florida, Texas, Illinois, Michigan, New York and California. If Iowa has to be first, they can count their ballots faster and announce their results first. The current arrangement isn't working, as we just saw and still see now.
5
Unfortunately (and unfairly) this fiasco and the image it projects could be the end of the line for the Democrats before the election "season" has even started.
2
Now I have totally lost trust and confidence in the Democratic process here in the US. Is the DNC trying to fix things so Bernie will be disadvantaged?
4
@heinrichz The last thing we need - the "capper" on the destruction of democracy in America - would be the wide spread belief in a conspiracy theory such as the one you just suggested.
And Mitch McConnell refuses to bring an election security and funding bill to the floor of the Senate.
8
The Democratic party struggled last presidential election too when the Sanders campaign questioned the legitimacy of the Democratic National Committee's ethics. The DNC gave Hillary Clinton control of the primary process at the DNC even though there was no clear nominee. After forking up money to pay debts from Obama's campaign, it sure looked like pay to play for Clinton campaign. Donna Brazile spoke on this too. Lets not kids ourselves; it's pay to play for both parties. The debacle last night is another clear example of a broken process.
1
This is a win for Putin and Trump. The ‘system’ doesn’t work so trust in voting, vote counts, etc declines. More people stay home in November.
5
Sure hope this isn't just a cover so they can cook the books because they're afraid of Bernie winning (per the early polls).
4
"I don't belong to any organized political party," said Mark Twain, "I am a democrat."
Some things don't change.
But that's OK. I'd rather be disorganized and on the just side of history, than to be ultra-organized and nefarious.
2
A perfect illustration of the fallibility of technology.
2
@Kelly Grace Smith And the foolishness of relying on it unnecessarily!
Its a delay. Big deal. It looks better than holding a trial with no witnesses and no documents.
Delay v cover up. The delay is better.
If I were Trump I would refrain from gloating. His son couldn't refrain but at least there were no corrupt foreign officials in solved in this minor delay.
2
This is a mess and sadly will raise the question about Democrats ability to run anything let alone a Medicare for all program.
We need a competent , ethical President who can get things done efficiently and consistent with our needs for health care for all at a reasonable cost, fair tax code ensuring all pay full taxes, reduce income inequality, renew a struggling infrastructure , deal with climate control by expanding renewable energy, reduce gun deaths , fix immigration , our education system .
So much to do there is only one Candidate who we can trust , with
successful experience in Public service, global issues and Business.
That person is Mike Bloomberg.
2
This is such a disappointing outcome, and my first thought is for all the countless Volunteers who participated in the phone banking, door-knocking, party-hosting, etc, for their respective candidates. The movement was palpable, and we were proud to caucus with our kids, and it feels like the wheels fell off the axles and we are stranded, in the cold, with no water, and the sun setting on such a promise of our history as a state, “first in the nation.” #RIPiowacaucuses
5
ACA rollout redux. Going digital but fail to test and train key users?
4
First the botched rollout of the Obamacare webpage that didn't work properly for months, then the hacking of the Clinton Campaign via a very basic phishing scam and now this? Meanwhile Republicans are running circles around the Democrats when it comes to social media influencing and data mining. Words cannot even describe my disbelief and frustration.
Oh, and can we please get one of the swing states (N. Carolina, Ohio, Michigan, etc.) to move their primary up to January 1 so we can stop obsessing over this tiny state whose demographics are nothing like the states that Democrats need to win if they want to beat the Republicans in Presidential elections?
5
At least no one is complaining yet that they lost because the system is rigged against them.
@Tom Daley
No one is complaining yet, because they don't know they lost.
1
@Tom Daley That will happen tomorrow.
Well, put the Democrats in charge of rewriting the Constitution of the United States, and we will be doing THAT every year all over again to fix it again every year forever. Thank Heavens for the Founders! Leave it alone, Mayor Pete, and your friends.
1
Iowa should just report the results from 2016 as the official 2020 results, and hope nobody notices any "inconsistencies."
1
Unbelievable: Iowa Democrats play right into Trumps hands as he prepares for the State of the Union. Democrats better get their organizational house in order and quickly before it is too late. It may already be too late. At least Bloomberg can point to this disaster as a good reason for his decision to not campaign in Iowa.
4
To prevent a similar technical problem in next week's primary, New Hampshire should count the votes using their new sports betting app that went live in December. In the event that your vote is rejected by the app, it will not be a complete waste of time. You can throw a few dollars on an NBA game.
1
I don’t believe in organized political parties. I’m a Democrat.
1
That two very small states with small populations have so much influence on who is a viable candidate is absurd. Like the general election, the primary should be held on one day and by ballot. That would require that all candidates campaign in all fifty states. The current system makes as much sense as the antiquated electoral college.
4
As bad as this is - and it’s bad, let’s not forget that in 2012 the Republican Iowa caucuses mistakenly announced Romney as the winner over Santorum.
The Iowa caucus process is irretrievably flawed, not least because it limits access to the nomination process for any person who can’t take a full day and hang out in an auditorium.
77
@AEA it’s a 24 hour delay inconvenience. Think of the months Ukraine was denied military aid that it needed for its very security, Just because trump wanted to squeeze out information against his potential election rival. Ukrainians died every week protecting their frontlines from Russian aggression.
Be patient.
4
Really, Iowa? After all the time wasted spotlighting your silly, childish caucus and hot dish dinner parties, you can’t even calculate results! Something tells me that stumbling and confusion will typify the Democratic primary season. I’m beginning to believe that the corrupt, impeached, depraved “president” will landslide his way back into the White House.
10
Talk about anti-climactic. Early coverage tonight was upbeat with a sense of anticipation and excitement. Finally after so many months of conjecture by the media and the ambiguity of multiple candidates coupled with undecided voters ends in an epic fail. Frankly Dems look like idiots right now on multiple levels.
Bloomberg skipped Iowa & New Hampshire. He comes out looking like the winner tonight and the smartest guy in the room while these nincompoops spent so much time & resources on this defunct process.
Mike 2020.
7
Butterfly Chads ?
2
Article Title: February 4, 2020:
"2020 Iowa Caucus Updates: Delayed Results Lead to Confusion:
Article Title: February 5, 2020
Trump jokingly and with a vitriolic tongue belittles the Democratic party and American Democrats for running a "dog and pony show"!
The Iowas chaoses are keeping me on edge.
2
Uh? Democrats! You don't want the Republican Homeland Security people to reverse engineer your software. Think about it.
2
I hope Sanders wins Iowa so all his conspiracy theorists can take a pill. Landsakes, me O my.
1
Well, they made sure he did not get it last time.
Hmmmm. Caucuses remind me of sheep herding.
3
Why do I feel like “inconsistencies in the reporting data” will also be the theme in November...spacibo comrade...
12
What a mess.
6
Is anyone surprised that providing newish technology to a group whose average age is over 60, in mostly rural areas, resulted in mayhem? Honestly, I do not understand why there isn't a single night of rank-choice voting across the country. No state, particularly one with Iowa's demographic make up, should have such an enormous influence on subsequent votes.
40
@Christina
You took the words right out of my mouth. Of course there was confusion when mature volunteers meet technology. It was an accident looking for somewhere to happen. As a mature volunteer myself, I would have bowed out the moment it was shown me.
Time for this antiquated caucus system to be retired once and for all. The fact that just one state, of any size, has such power is wrong.
1
@Christina, it may surprise you, but there are plenty of people over 60 who are completely comfortable with technology. In fact, they were around when it was invented. And what does rural have to do with it?
2
@Deb: Yes, we were all around when the technology was invented and not necessarily living in the largest urban centers. But there is a quite a bit that's wrong with this picture. First, get rid of caucuses and replace them with actual elections. Then, ask Iowans to go back to making life-size butter cow sculptures. A new system has to be devised where where no one state - or a small collection of states - goes first.
1
I don’t like the caucus system. Not everyone can get to the Caucus at the specified time and stand for three hours. Essentially you vote in front of others, no secret ballot and are supposed to be swayed by peer pressure to vote for another candidate if your first pick gets less than 15% on the first round. Maybe this system would be better for drafting sports teams not Presidential candidates.
The new app should have gone through proper stress testing and a robust back-up system In place to call in the results. It seems that the back-up number to report results was not adequately staffed as wait times were very long and some couldn’t get through.
A concern I have for the general election is that many jurisdictions are rolling out new voting machines. I suppose the kinks in those will be worked about in the primaries, and there will be more angst.
14
@SR --Agreed. This is the first year that my state will not have caucuses. We will get to vote by ballot, and even better, my state has been using mail-in ballots for a while now so it's more convenient than ever. The caucus system should be done away with.
2
Iowa, on the big stage you choked!
10
This is so hilarious. Dems, the gang who can’t shoot straight. Epic fail.
22
Iowa Caucus 2020 goes splat. Bug on the windshield. Next.
4
Get rid of these idiotic outdated caucuses and the focus on two states for months on end. It's absurd. The Democratic primary system needs a complete overhaul. Wasted money and time,
26
@Andrew Macdonald. - the overhaul is happening - can't you see?
Democracy is over and we don't quite understand it. We've had four years to farm an electable, likable candidate and here we are. No keys - No car.
@Andrew Macdonald Have all the primaries occur on one day, in the late Spring. Candidates campaign where and when they want. One or two debates--real debates--a couple of weeks before primary day. Get rid of all the garbage we've experienced this year. Fat chance that happens. There is too big a financial stake in the states and the media maintaining this wacko system. This country needs to grow up.
@Andrew Macdonald If the media hadn't focused on Iowa there would not have been an "unmitigated disaster." The real unmitigated disaster still occupies 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
This fiasco is the result of Democrats and other liberals nickel-and-diming "justice" and "equity," in the process making everything complicated, instead of having a broad focus on the general well-being of everyone. Even in the midst of uncertainty and trouble, a CNN commentator was going off on how Iowa is not representative, not equitable for diversity, etc. For myself, I am glad Iowans are willing to do the initial whetting of the candidates. I won't be able stand it if a parade of canvassers show up at my door every 2 minutes, but Iowans do, and I appreciate them for it.
7
@Robby no, this is the result of a largely Boomer population in Iowa not having a clue how to use new technology. Get your facts straight.
1
I don't fully understand what happened in Iowa. But I have a great deal of sympathy for the voters and the unpaid election officials at the precinct level. Thank you for your participation.
22
You don’t troop out to a caucus location on a cold Monday evening in the Midwest unless you are motivated. The value in the Iowa caucuses is that they prove which campaigns have the organization to compete in the general election. You can spend a fortune on media but the bottom line is who can deliver bodies to the polls.
If you can get a gymnasium full of people on a winter weeknight, you have organization. Motivated support wins elections.
17
@Bill
Early voting, all day voting and absentee voting wouldn’t get more voters to participate? Maybe not as fun, but not as chaotic as a caucus.
That’s how it works in New York City. Ask Bloomberg.
1
Yet another proof that the society is divided into two distinct parts: those who are familiar with computers & computing and those who aren’t. Sadly, the letter form and overwhelming majority.
@PaulN Does anyone out there think that Donald J. Trump could possibly know how to turn on a computer? But of course the same could be said for some of the candidates running for public office in 2020.
1
This is the very thing that Trump will be looking for, so that he can say the elections are rigged and thereby postpone the 2020 elections, allowing him to stay in office until the election process can be deemed safe.
This is the last thing we want.
8
This is fantastic news, can we NOW, finally, stop having Iowa and New Hampshire as one and two in the primaries. These two states have done real damage to American democracy and climate change as well (corn based ethanol, really). If they insist that they must go first, fine, but don't count the delegates. Just like Michigan and Florida in 2008. The Democratic party knows how to stick it to states when they vote out of turn. 2024 would be a great time to start.
6
I don't think I would have been willing to install an app on my iPhone that I didn't get from the Apple store and therefore was not certified by Apple as safe to run on Ios.
6
@LSR
In fact, you can’t. That’s why non-geeks love Apple.
Could this be a “hacker”? As a computer scientist with experience in developing network systems and apps let me try and answer.
There is at least one caucus that reported difficulty logging in. Many possible issues, starting with some non-hacking ones -
1. Bug in the app
2. Training issue - users were not adequately trained on how to operate the app, or were given faulty information regarding user names, passwords, etc.
3. Bug in the authentication software on the servers.
4. System or network down.
Could be other non-hacker reasons.
Among the hacker-based reasons:
1. Use of unencrypted protocols, allowing someone to modify the packets sent over the network so that logins would fail (for example, changing the usernames or passwords in some way).
2. Routing packets towards a server that is owned by a bad actor where logins are simply ignored or rejected. This could happen with a man in the middle attack, or the subversion of the system (DNS) that provides network addresses to the app.
3. Denial of service - bots at scale making a high rate of connection attempts at the servers in order to make legitimate connections fail due to starvation of resources. This would cause connections to be rejected or app to timeout.
But also could be inadequate design of software and systems, lack of testing, or both. We may not know if there was some sort of hack, unless they thought to monitor systems (e.g., log network connections and such so as to allow for a postmortem).
7
Or, more simply Trump and his Russians.
I’m already seeing friends of mine who are Bernie supporters spout conspiracies theories about why the results are delayed (surprise, surprise; because Bernie won and the Dems don’t want him to win). Please, supporters of the Trump on the Left, please don’t do this. We lose everything if we don’t have faith in the process. Democracy doesn’t work if people don’t believe in the rules and don’t consider the outcome valid.
12
Hard to have faith when they muck it up this badly! it's ammo for trump more than anything.
@L
The Bernies and Trump are always the victims, always the entitled winners. So tiresome. So wrong.
1
The only part of the caucus that will persist past the convention is the stance of Sanders supporters who claim dark conspiracies by democrats. To them, the Democrats are the Republicans in Florida, the Democrats are the Russian intel services in 2016, all of them Republican lite or worse.
It’s a replay of 2016 where there were only two kinds of primaries: the ones that Bernie won and the ones that were unfair to Bernie.
Remember superdelegates? Can you name the only candidate to openly call for the superdelegates to decide the outcome? That’s right...Sanders. He was behind in votes and delegates and couldn’t take that result.
I’m tired of the run against the Democratic Party from within the party. We have votes and can get hard feelings too.
12
@Yeah
Thank you. And there is also the fact that Sanders, while a devoted public servant, is not a Democrat and was not elected to office as a Democrat, and the DNC is actually under no obligation to him.
@Yeah
Bernie isn't a Democrat. He shouldn't be running on a Dem ticket! Why is he running in the Democratic primaries when he has nothing but complaints about them not supporting him? Stop whining Bernie & his supporters and run as an Independent.
1
I'll wager that whatever the results of this debacle turn out to be, a lot of people won't believe them.
6
Looks like Sanders won, so now they need to scramble and change the results.
8
When is the Democratic Party going to realize that it's time for caucuses to go the way of the Dodo bird and the dinosaur?
Voting simply shouldn't be this hard. Our primaries could be handled by mail-in paper ballots, as Washington state does for all but the presidential primary.
No weird confusion like this. No delays. No inaccuracies. And no one has to miss work or leave a child or sick loved one at home to attend.
10
Totally agree. Let’s keep it simple. Nationwide, instant run-off voting. And while we are at it, limit campaigns to 9 months. This goes on too long and far too much money is spent in the process.
5
Watching this uncertainty in Iowa unfold makes me question how safe our elections are from tampering. What House bills has Mitch been holding back from a vote in the Senate that could give us more confidence in our elections? This is the real story!
8
This is inexcusable. How could this happen in modern times in America. This out dated election system created chaos and confusion.
This process only benefits candidates with deep pockets to finance all the actions and counter actions. No ordinary person will have a chance to get elected.
In conclusion, public money with restrictions should be used to elect the president. It should focus on issues than personal performance.
1
We've learned the best beta testers are middle-aged Iowans. If they can't use the app, it's not ready for market.
15
I don't understand why the telephone lines were jammed. Voting results had always been phoned in, in the past. So why were they jammed last night?
6
As a precinct chair, who actually had no problems with the app, the phone lines were jammed by not only those trying to call in results, but also my those trying to get help with the app. That created a mess. I'm also guessing the state party had fewer people answering phones, figuring more people would be using the app, which turned out to be faulty.
29
In a country like India over 800 million people vote in multiple stages, all electronically, from high tech cities like Bangalore to remote villages in Assam. Once the voting is completed, results are out within 24hours. No party has ever questioned if they are rigged. This is India we are talking about and more than 800 million voters.
In Iowa, less than 100k and we still can't do it. so much so for the most advanced country in world. We are exceptional. Indeed!
12
Not saying this is the case, because nothing's been revealed yet, but denial of service (DOS) attacks on both the app and the phone lines would have made it nearly impossible to report in vote tallies. Just throwing this out as a possibility.
Imagine hundreds of computer-based auto-dialers calling the phone number over and over again non-stop, thereby blocking actual callers from getting through. And, thousands of bots simultaneously flooding the app server with requests via the internet, thereby blocking actual app users from connecting to the app server. Both would be easy to do; DOS attacks are rudimentary.
7
I think you might be right. Could hackers also have done that with the phone lines?
The confusion in Iowa's voting results due to computer "difficulties, i.e. software" just illustrates it is time that state politicians keep their hands and minds off the decision on what computer equipment is needed for voting booths. All too many times it is Harry down the street that got the contract, uncle to a friend and 3rd cousin removed from a governor that has final say. Pitiful. We never learn.
3
A simple process of counting turned over to technology failing. Bring back the bean counter, let’s be patient and wait till all the beans are counted, by hand. What’s the rush?
3
What a travesty, again! This vestige of another era, when folks went to the town square on horseback to hear debates and to caucus lacks transparency and accountability in this day and time. It's so sad that our great candidates invested millions of dollars and thousands of hours of their precious time in a process that is so archaic and flawed.
2
Why don’t the party officials just tell us what happened? The hazy (and lazy) explanation of quality control is a recipe for all sorts of conspiracies. I’m much more likely to believe the Dems if they were to clearly explain that the app failed or that several precincts had reported different numbers via different methods. I can’t honestly trust the results now no matter what they eventually report. I guess it’s time to move on...Sadly we have forgotten how to count. The ancient Greeks would be sad.
4
The caucus process sounds unnecessarily convoluted. Why are they doing this in the 21st century?
6
Don't get the results you want, don't report them. Problem solved.
4
this is yet another example of why tech has no place in politics or the electoral process.
5
It’s a good thing that this happened this early. It should make clear to everyone in every camp both dems and repubs that the 2020 election is crying out. If it can be hacked it, somebodies somewhere will attempt it.
3
The US: the only major country in the world that 1. makes voting registration so difficult and 2. can't count ballots. All that tech is useless.
9
The Democrats do it again. When they need to show that they've got it together, they fall apart. The DNC needs to be shaken to its core.
7
Where is the article about Mayor Pete being one of the top contributors to the voting app, called Shadow? And that there were inconsistencies in what the app was reporting and the actual numbers being photographed at many caucuses? And then Pete declared a victory before any results were officially announced?
5
I'm really neither confused nor angry. Things happen. The results will come out. People need to chill.
6
Folks, relax. Media, stop hyper-ventilating.
This is not a burger at a drive-through... it's not a Domino's pizza order. It's an election. Have some sense of relative time scales. You want the burger in 1 minute, the pizza in 30 min (unless you want it free!), and the election result.... well, that can wait a day or two, no?
Is it so bad to wait a day or two for election results? What is the big deal? Crazy that everyone is going bonkers 'cause they want to sort through the numbers and report it after a quality-check.
4
The DNC will throw the general election before allowing Bernie to win Iowa. They are in full panic mode, the establishment was completely blind sighted by Bernie's surge.
4
Isn't it time to take Iowa down a peg? What gives them the right to be 1st every year?
4
Well this is a mess. In the most important election year maybe ever for Democrats, they stumble right out of the starting gate and give Trump something to tweet about. I’d like to feel hopeful about this, but I have a bad feeling this mistake is going to be followed by an even bigger one when we nominate someone who is incapable of winning in the critical swing states-that is, if we ever figure who wins the nomination.
3
Yet another example of the perfect being the enemy of the good. Democrats are passionate about making sure everything they do is transparent, fair, and representative of the nation's growing diversity. In Iowa, party leaders developed a caucus reporting strategy that, in retrospect exceedingly complicated -- and thus virtually certain to fail.
But we should not go overboard in attacking the process. The motivations behind this failed effort were positive, and it is worth noting that it contrasts significantly with official Republican policy, which is to limit voting of minorities, reduce even the opportunity to cast ballots, and try as hard as possible to sabotage the other party (the Democrats) from a fair chance of even competing for voters.
68
@PaulB67 By failing to deliver a decision that is sure, the Iowa caucuses this year will have produced what the nation really needs: input from a much larger group of citizens In other states that is more representative of national Democrats from the primaries that will be coming in the next weeks and months! It also provides Iowa with the opportunity to put ranked voting into effect on the next go around and that too make work for the benefit of the nation.
4
@PaulB67
I agree, Paul. A system designed to be more nearly perfect simply bogged down. The old system was simple and gave more rapid results, but it was more subject to abuse and less transparent. With 1600 precincts reporting, it's no wonder there were problems with something new. People who had trouble with the system and did not want to stay up late to work out the kinks gave up and went to bed.
1
@PaulB67 "..Democrats are passionate about making sure everything they do is transparent, fair, and representative of the nation's growing diversity.."
Yea! Except when they need to cheat to win. But its OK - they're doing what is best for us.
1
"Since the caucuses began 50 years ago, Iowa Democrats reported only one number: the delegate count from each of the state’s precincts.
But after the razor-close 2016 race in Iowa between Hillary Clinton and Mr. Sanders, Mr. Sanders’s allies pushed the Democratic National Committee to require caucus states to track and report the raw numbers of how many people backed each candidate."
So, the guy who isn't a member of the party pushed the Democrats around to get what he wanted, and it's a mess. Do away with caucuses and have primaries where folks vote the same way as in the general election- a much better barometer. And, while we're at it- Iowa is a weird place to start. Lump it in with four or five other, more representative states.
79
@Tom Yes, this is exactly what Bernie suggested. As per usual, a jab at Bernie gets promoted to the top of the list.
5
@Tom I've seen this bogus nonsense in multiple places, so it seems to be emerging as the DNC official line. How dare Bernie ask for greater coherence and transparency in the shared caucus results?? How dare he? And since he asked for transparency, the Iowa Democrats and the DNC just had to do it with utter, total, and inexcusable incompetence and release no results at all. NONE. They really had no choice, right?
6
@Tom
Maybe what you are saying is thank God Bernie required that all the votes be on paper and tracked and reported so that in a mess like this, the ACTUAL results will not be lost.
6
This is but another let down in a system that needs to get it right. I just hope everything is backed up with a paper trail in order to render truth in a system which can be influenced badly by the world wide web of those who would like nothing more than to create doubt amongst us citizens. Citizens of a democracy coming apart at the seams because of greed and corruption. How can Trump not feel empowered to just increase the brauge of lies which has confused and empowered the voice of a people that just want to believe things are going to be OK. The reason Trump says things like I love the people who lack in education or the phone call was perfect has two ways of looking at it. I have never been so happy to be an independent but truly afraid of what a multi party system can do to itself when contaminated by those who are only living up to human nature of using the system to enrich themselves. Nothing would make Putin and Trump happier than a civil war. Putin would celebrate the weakness Trump would relish his self importance in the ability to influence so many people. Time to pay attention America.
2
If you ask me they should go to rank order voting. It would ensure that more less committed voters participate would better reflect the entire electorate in the state (not the nation as it does not reflect the US demographic breakdown). Additionally, it would be reflective of voter rank preferences were their primary candidate not chosen.
6
@Aaron of London Iowa caucus system uses a version of rank order voting
Classic. The people deploying the new technology don’t talk to, or train, those who are supposed to use it. Also, there’s no real thought about how the technology is used in the real world.
Anyone working for a large (disorganized) organization can relate to this.
Ultimately, this boils down to lack of leadership and coordination.
41
@C In NY Also I suspect that the managers who came up with the plan two months ago didn’t listen to the tech people who said “That’s not enough time” “We need to test it more” “We need a risk analysis” “We need to be able to fall back to the manual system at any stage in the process”
3
@Flânuese Now I'm worried about an entire state or maybe several states deciding to implementing some kind of Fantastic New Voting software just in time for the November election. Software vendors will say anything to get a contract.
Sadly, none of these candidates are a match for Trump and the ruthless shrewdness of the republican smear machine no matter who will be the nominee, so the results really don't matter and Trump will be reelected. The democrats simply don't have the killer instinct in their DNA or political savvy. The only smart democrats are Bill Clinton, Paul Begala, James Carville, Howard Dean, and the Obama and his team (Axelrod, etc.), none of whom are involved in the 2020 campaign in any meaningful way.
Impeachment was a waste of time and energy given that it had a foregone conclusion. Democrats should have continued with oversight investigations and court subpoenas no matter the time. They may believe that impeachment educated the public, but the public really didn't tune in with a good economy. Impeachment only succeeded in smearing Biden, the only one with a smattering of a chance to win, and giving unlimited license to Trump and future presidents. The only states that matter are Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, at a minimum, Minnesota, Ohio and Florida.
Having said that, there's no reason candidates can't continue on to New Hampshire and the other states even if they finish last. Iowa should not be the arbiter of who gets to continue. That's absurd. Otherwise, what's the point of primaries? We may as well simply have Iowa pick a candidate and save us all time and money.
I hope am wrong.
10
@dba I hope that you are wrong too. Sounds like you've been beaten down these last few years- like the rest of the nation.
Nothing can coalesce an opposition like being treated as fools as we have been in the impeachment proceedings. The lack of respect for the majority of voters is stunning.
If Biden winds up taking it on the chin because of the smear campaign during those proceedings- Bloomberg is an attractive option.
@dba How ought a democratic match for Trump be?
Can we please end this system of campaigning? I believe that some candidates who did not have enough money may have been good choices for president or at least deserved a chance to debate more. The spending is outrageous. And I am sick of Iowa and New Hampshire having such a big role in primaries. For goodness sake, let’s have a national primary day. And most important Vote Blue every chance you get.
33
@MLE53 The strength of the current system is that it is sort of a rolling runoff process, and candidates actually have time to focus on each state. The ridiculousness is that Iowa and New Hampshire are the only states that get the full slate of options to start with. And it turns it into an extremely long and expensive process that creates more barriers for candidates.
We should have a national primary day, with ranked choice. Basically the caucuses mimic ranked choice with discussion. At the very least, could we at least let registered Democrats vote on what primary system they want. It is a completely undemocratic system for deciding and everyone is terrified to go against Iowa and New Hampshire.
@MLE53
Gov. Jay Inslee would have been a good choice but the corporate media winnow our option for us -- and when that doesn't work the crooked party insiders take over.
A national primary would increase the advantage of money dramatically. Please read up before commenting.
1
Hopefully when this is over, simply picking up the phone and calling HQ with the results will be deduced as the best method for reporting votes.
11
This is what happens when democracy gets out of control---this is why the Republicans are winners--they gave up on democracy a long time ago.
11
@Amanda Jones
Right...
And it’s clear Democrats have given up on competence.
1
That's okay. By the time Democrats get around to installing the bureaucrats to run a $80 trillion national health care system and a $40 trillion Green New Deal all these little glitches will be ironed out. They can put the same party hacks in charge of that stuff.
22
@Philboyd
Ah - that's why the GOP relies on the Russians.
There were 4 years to prepare for this caucus. Who is responsible for the quick and dirty choice of an untested system? I guess no one is in charge and someone got the "good idea" of "there must be an app for this." News to the non-technical out there. There is more to a system than the "app" you think up, such as training, documentation, helpdesk support, and yes - testing!
27
@rac 30 years in IT, and I could not say it better.
During the campaign in Iowa, every candidate’s supporters posted, tweeted, knocked and phoned that Iowa was critical. Now that their candidates may or may not win, the Iowa caucuses are irrelevant.
You can’t have it both ways. Your candidate spent millions of dollars in Iowa to win this. Now you’re suggesting it’s a waste of money? That’s not very complimentary to your candidate's strategy.
4
Bye bye, Iowa caucus. You can join Indiana as another inconsequential primary the first of May in 2024.
32
@The Nattering Nabob
It’s not the state of Iowa’s fault. It’s the Democrat party’s fault for putting together a lousy tabulation system.
@Sue I think those rules were also insisted upon by the Sanders campaign. Thank you Socialist Democrats or whatever you are. You gave Trump a year’s worth of talking points and you’re not even true Democrats.
Divided dysfunctional Democratic party. Does anyone in their right mind think that this party will handle the business of the country. Maybe Venezuela or Iran or Ukraine. Party of chaos, obstruction and Monday night quarterbacking.
21
@Girish Kotwal
The Party of chaos and division is Trump. The Party of Monday night quarterbacking and obstruction is whichever Party doesn't control the White House. The Party of Never Miss a Chance To Shoot Yourself In The Foot is the Democratic Party. At this point, nobody in their right mind thinks either Party knows how to handle the business of the country.
1
Does anyone really believe this is not a DNC 2016 replay?
20
Hey, DNC. Fire some people over this. Otherwise you’re no better than the RNC.
17
The United States, where nothing works anymore.
22
What occurred in Iowa last night just created a huge hole in the already deflating orb of confidence and trust.
34
It's more important to get the counts right than to get them fast and wrong. It would be better in Iowa (and in Florida) for election officials to say the results will be available the next day and then let officials count the votes without undue haste and the constant distraction of the news of the second.
When the wrong or incomplete results get reported within an hour of the close of polls, people hatch all kinds of theories about problems and vote-rigging. In the case of Iowa, the talk about the caucus has been relentless and irrelevant for months. Would waiting a day longer, with reduced new coverage until the carefully tallied results were read, be too painful for anyone?
15
@Roy I live in Hungary, a post-socialist state, with a famously incompetent state administration.
Election results are virtually and public final 5 hours after the last vote was cast, and every citizen has access to the most granular level of data.
The US is a superpower, and its Democratic party claim to be the more modern one, with its finger on the pulse of the 21st century.
What is happening is ridiculous at the very least.
@Roy
'It's more important to get the counts right than to get them fast and wrong.'
To be honest, not really.
I mean, it's not like any one can take Iowa seriously.
Does the result of a barn dance where people rush from one group to another and count heads affect my vote? haha! not in the least.
I do not think any one outside Iowa can take the Iowa caucus for reals. Report anything you want. it's non binding, it's a non factor and is not the official election result.
Who who cares what they report, it's not like it's a bell weather for the country as a whole.
@Roy "It's more important to get the counts right than to get them fast and wrong."
The problem is, at this point nobody will believe anything the officials say. Why would they? Why should they?
Why is this ridiculous caucus system still in place?? As a Democrat in Georgia, this is another example of taking the vote away from the population. All that money and time spent going around to small Iowa rural communities while whole regions will essentially left out. It’s time to move on. We need a different nominating process.
36
Honestly, it really is the media that is driving this need to get all election results and hour after polls close. I am pretty sure democracy was okay when it routinely took days or weeks to know.
Now, given my experience with apps in general, I don't know why anyone thought it would be a good idea to do this.
25
@Mainer it’s a feature, not a bug. I think it’s far from conspiratorial thinking that the app was meant not to get the results fast not accurate, but to give the DNC a way to game the system if they needed to, such as in the case of a sanders victory.
2
Funny how NGO careerists are willing to insist on election monitors abroad, but not in the US. The UN, the EU monitors are on standby. OMG, just call in the Carter Center! Putin just chalked a tick on his 2020 chart, and marked another electoral malfunction on America's so-called democracy.
25
How could the Democratic Party be so incompetent ? They converted the critical Iowa Caucus into a Clown Show . Was it just incompetence or another effort to undermine Bernie ?
27
@Common Ground Bernie was the one who steamrolled "transparency." The result is a modern ap that proved to be unusable, and an election with four winners. Bernie is not the hero you think he is.
2
@Common Ground
Nina Turner's performance on MSNBC last night did the most to undermine Bernie.
1
@Common Ground My first instinct, that Bernie won and they couldnt have that so they are now having the pigs and dead people who voted for Biden included in a recount . Like Boss Tweed said "go after the vote counters, they're the ones who make the election!"
This is why Iowa can't have nice things.
18
Does anyone know anything? Did Buttigieg win as he suggests? What about the retracted Associated Press data?
4
No he did not.
As my husband is fond of saying, "It if ain't broke, don't fix it."
LN
Maine
10
Dems need to wake up and start running their party like an organized enterprise.
16
Our democracy is on fire and the dems can’t get the door of the firehouse opened or the fire truck started. Unbelievable. Embarrassing...for them. I’m thinking of Steve Martin’s crew in “Roxanne.” Good time for all the GOP strategists to use their vacation time.
15
I guess this one can't be blamed on President Trump. Seems like a modern day scene from the Keystone Cops.
19
I am not worried about 'rigging' the results and don't think that that will happen, but I am ready for a primary, preferably one with ranked voting. This caucus system is too cumbersome and messy. Too many people are unable to participate because of jobs or young children. Others, like my building principal whose caucus site is our school, doesn't participate for obvious reasons. And those whose candidates are not viable (66 for Klobuchar and 55 for Biden at my precinct) lose their voices, votes, and delegates altogether.
20
@Mary
Isn't a normal caucus a ranked voting situation? If a person's preferred candidate does not have enough support in the next round of voting, they have a chance to go to their next choice, or to go to an "undecided" group.
1
Under the Westminster parliamentary model practiced in Canada or the UK, a national campaign typically lasts 4-6 weeks from the time the election date is announced. Instead, you turn it into a gruelling two-year ordeal by fire, a test of stamina rather than a clash of ideas. As a result, the optics matter.
At a time when your democracy is under attack from both foreign and domestic threats, when your president is being actively impeached for trying to rig an election, when demagogues are trying to undermine the legitimacy of their opponents and the democratic process, the optics matter even more.
Whatever the outcome, this is a sad day for US democracy.
30
It kinda seems over doesn’t it. We have to care enough to make it work and I guess we just don’t.
This will be another Fake Election, like 2000 and 2016. Hand marked hand counted paper ballots is the only hope to make it real. Furthermore, I submit that many or most of the recent epidemic of 49-51% election results are due to massive manipulation and voter suppression. It is a mathematical impossibility in such a chaotic system as voting. Only steal as much as necessary to discourage a recount, and avoid the appearance of obvious rigging. Plus, e-machine recounts are not verifiable.
17
Trump's antics will backfire after New Hampshire comes in on time and accurately. It's time this ridicuous sytem be put out to pasture. A national primary should take place on the second Sunday in September. If no candidate gets more than 50% a runoff is one week later among the top two candidates with the election on the first Sunday in November.
Why Sunday? Other countries have increased turnout by having elections on Sunday. Why a national primary with the popular vote determining the nominees? We are tired. We're tired of the millions upon millions spent on this process and the national conventions to boot. No more. Bring sanity to what should be a serious prosess. Enough.
25
@JWMathews
There's a lot of $$$ by dragging this process out over 2 years. Do you think those folks are going to casually let that money slip past their fingers?
Talk to your congressman and suggest this. I'll talk to mine.
3
@Carlos, if you're ever in Manchester, NH, look at the station and offices of WMUR, NH's only in state station. They're fit for an area three times as large. Why? All those political ads every four years. They won't give that primary up easily.
2 things that do not represent a modern Democratic party... Iowa and the DNC. We need the early primaries to be states that are representative of the party, Iowa and new Hampshire are not and cannot be.
12
So many negative things said about caucuses here that I’m compelled to give the upside. To see physically that you do/don’t have the numbers in your group is powerful. It has the same effect as instant runoff ballots so many caucus detractors actually support. I agree with the criticisms but if you haven’t participated in one the upside would probably be lost on you.
6
@hundel just because it's fun for Iowans is no reason to continue a broken system.
2
So basically, if I understand this correctly, the Sanders camp demanded that the process become three times as complex as before, and now it's all a mess. Hmmm.. wondering if there is a lesson there?
19
@Lee One cannot confirm the state delegate equivalent allocation without those raw numbers. The first count is needed to see whether viability was determined correctly. The realignment numbers are necessary to check the delegate allocation. The delegate allocation can fail to well reflect the difference in the raw vote, and it is important for everyone to see that the delegate allocation is fair. Bleeding Heartland Feb 2 had an excellent post explaining the process.
1
@Lee Seriously? The Sanders campaign asked for greater transparency. Which the byzantine caucus process should have. They are in no way responsible for this debacle of incompetence. The app at the heart of this mess was created and funded by a bunch of ex-Clinton campaign staff. Are you actually blaming the Sanders campaign because they asked for a more fair and open process, and the Iowa Democrats couldn't manage their own system???
2
Beware of auspicious beginnings... this is a good sign.
3
All the comments about how Iowa doesn’t matter or that California matters more are hurtful to any Democratic run.
These comments just fuel the fire of why people are getting fed up with the Dem party. All states matter. Big blue or big red states don’t determine the country’s agenda or ideology. Every state combined with equal input get to determine that.
That’s why why live in a Republic.
I want to vote democrat again, I really do, but here I am again looking at a party that is attempting to control the narrative too much and not letting the will of the people prevail.
15
What is one to think of this situation? Was it a lack of pre-planning and testing or is there something more going on? I will be a bit skeptical of the results.
6
Here we have an election process controlled by Democrats, for Democrats. The result is confusion, uncertainty, chaos, incompetence, and no reliable tally of the votes.
I am rethink the notion that Democrats should run our health care.
10
@OldEngineer
Yeah, right.
What we really need is a person who claims to be a patriot but mocks the Star Spangled Banner.
What we need is a guy who begged off serving in VietNam because of bone spurs (and can't remember which foot), but mocks an actual war hero who spent 5 years as a POW after being shot down flying a jet on a bombing run.
What we need is a narcissist who thinks he is the smartest guy in the room, but repeatedly misidentifies simple geographic and other information.
Yeah, right.
3
If the DNC hadn't been verifiably documented as working so hard against Sanders in 2016, this wouldn't be such a big deal. Past behavior can affect how people interpret future action, so reading that this app was deployed at the behest of the national party raises some red flags.
11
Literally every single programmer in the world has at some point built the 'polls' app in python.
Its literally the very first piece of functioning software built for the vast majority of programmers when learning to build a web app -- that's right, its the 'polls' app.
Its actually impossible to build a web app without first going through the 'polls' app tutorial.
The complete step-by-step instructions for creating the 'polls' app are in fact freely available to everyone on Earth.
Entire web frameworks have been designed -- by thousands and thousands of programming teams investing millions of collective person-years -- in order to make the 'polls' app as simple as possible to build.
What a shame.
7
"The sky is falling, the sky is falling." peeped Chicken Little.
Hysteria over reasonable delays to get it right is a good sign that like so many earnest Iowa caucus-goers, the IDP is doing their job. Deliberate action at the speed of sincere humans is also a good sign for the nation's prospects in November.
7
First the Des Moines Register poll isn't released, now the DNC can’t run its own primary correctly for the first time ever, after relying on an app written by an unknown developer. In a time when the population is increasingly distrustful of institutions and the media, this development in Iowa is an unmitigated disaster for the DNC. Just another reminder of why I will never join this party. Tipping the scales for Hilary in 2016... now changing the rules to get Bloomberg on the debate stage.... this party is not above the fray... my distrust for the Democratic establishment is only growing, and I’m sure I am not alone.
14
The Democrats seem to be trying really hard to ensure that we have 4 more years of Trump forgetting the damage that 4 more years when whatever he does will be entirely without any accountability is absolutely frightening. There will be no re-election concerns, no way an impeachment will ever be tried again, and the damage he can do will be felt for years to come much if not most of which will happen long after he leaves office and his loyal followers can blame it on whoever is in office at the time. Meanwhile those same followers will be measuring Mount Rushmore to see if there is room to hang his head. Civility rules prevent the next sentence so use your imagination except there is nothing humorous about what is happening. The impeachment process has ruined Biden. There is no way that anyone on the fence about Trump will not be swayed by all the accusations that will spew from Trump's mouth. Sanders will be considered too far left, Warren will be subject to the people that still won't vote for a woman and Trump will call this Hillary 2.0. Remember Trump does not have to adhere to any truths and this time around even his voters won't care. I like Buttigieg, but I just can't see this country putting him in office after they elected Trump? We just aren't ready unfortunately. So we look to Mike to bail us out and he may be the only hope but the country won't vote for New Yorkers will they? And even he maybe too little too late, I hope not.
6
"I belong to no organized political party. I'm a Democrat." -- Will Rogers
Still true.
5
Wait. Wait. Tell me again about how it's great to forge full steam ahead on electronic voting...
Hackers have been crystal clear about this. Phones and apps are not safe. Period. They have yet to meet a system that is not hack-able, many of them absurdly easily so.
Let's get smart about this. Fast. We know we already have interference. Why make it easier? Sometimes the tried and true methods are best. From this point forward, all voting should also include a paper trail.
Pen and paper, the new black.
10
@AhBrightWings
Paper. Ink. Patience.
Worked for 200 years or so.
Can work again.
1
It doesn’t matter who is president. If the house and senate are in democratic hands then great things can be accomplished with any president. That’s the job America - get on it.
3
In app we trust.
3
I wonder if the app was hacked.
3
It's time to have more than one state in the initial primaries. Why is Iowa still first? I realize that the initial primaries are a financial boon to the states economies, but we are talking about a national election. Why not group the primaries into regions such as East Cost, Midwest and West Coast? This would make all state results pertinent. Some of the states such as NJ are almost irrelevant by the time our results are in.
I realize that the candidates can't be everywhere at once, but I don't believe a personal presence changes anyone's mind. With national TV coverage the word gets out. Let's bring the primaries into the 21st century and do away with the current system.
4
I have a great idea, DNC! How 'bout you announce the results in June? Ya know, after everyone else has had a chance to vote, too.
6
Does it really matter which leftist Dem wins in Iowa? I mean, really.
Trump will trounce all of them.
20
@Cjmesq0 Even if Bernie wins Iowa, most other states are more moderate. Iowa is actually a boon for Sanders and Warren. If a state like South Carolina were first then more moderate candidates would have an advantage.
4
The only problem with Sanders and Warren is that they're not threatening to put Mexicans in cages.
We know what's REALLY important to the people of Iowa - and democrats won't be able to deliver on it.
No, really, it's ok. If it's ok for the president, it's ok for you. This is who America really is.
Who needs Russia to sew confusion and doubt in democratic elections when we have Iowa?
31
Might as well vote for the reality TV host again, right? Wealth for him means success and wealth for any other candidate means "corporate shill" (except for Bloomberg, of course. We always make exceptions for the wealthy white guys, don't we?)
I don't know. Using a new system that could not handle the volume, a phone app that did not work.
Good grief - this was only the Iowa Caucus. What in the heck can be expected come November 2020?
Already the conspiracy knuckleheads are out there, conspiring away.
But in all seriousness, a hiccup like this does not bode well, especially after the 2016 election which continues have a cloud hovering over it in the background.
No matter who wins the presidial election, question, concerns, accusations and doubts will flank and be voiced.
Of all the presidential election years for an "inconsistency reporting data" to occur, this is probably the worst time ever.
Huge concerns if this stink will ever evaporate and if trust in a presidential election will ever reign again.
14
@Marge Keller
Every state should use PAPER BALLOTS marked by hand and scanners not connected to the internet. Results get tabulated at the polling place and called in. The paper ballots are locked in a lock box in the presence of poll watchers from both major parties (or all parties).
That way there is a permanent record of how YOU voted,and recounts are possible.
If there is any question whether a scanner behaved properly, you can always rescan on another scanner and compare the results, and if necessary, you can do a manual recount.
7
well the DNC and the Democratic Party never ceases to amaze on how many ways it can sway a primary and completely stumble thru an election. The corporate portion does not care who the nominee is as long as Bernie and Elizabeth are not on top. The DNC is on a path to once again lose. Time for the party to UNITE to rid the country of the Repulsive Republican party that wants to fix the court system and destory the RULE of Law in the favor of the wealthy. #resist #votethemout2020
10
@John Frank I was wondering when a Bernie supporter would claim the fix is in. Just because your candidate yells the loudest doesn't mean he can always hav his way. Calm down and let the people decide.
Time for Iowa to go LAST.
34
Two words: paper ballots.
40
@Inky One word: Primary.
1
@Inky
Inky, I'm with you on the paper ballots question. The problem is that Mitch McConnel has rejected the request. (He knows that as long as Trump is in the White House and the Republicans control the Senate, they have a "digital edge" insofar as Trump can continue to ask Putin to intervene on his behalf...electronically, that is.
1
@Inky They have all the paper ballots and that's what they're counting.
When I went to bed at midnight, NY Times was showing
1) Sanders
2) Warren
3) Pete
4) Amy
5) Biden
With 35% of results reported. Where did this data go?
Posting it here aesthetician's a little prayer. Love to see progressives out front. Love to everyone who worked hard in Iowa. We will celebrate with you no matter what time of day the results are announced.
22
@Mel
Spell check -- (LOL)
Posting it here "as a".
They can't run a caucus. How are they going run a country?
20
@roark Yeah, President Obama did such a horrible job bringing us from the brink of economic collapse, leaving us 8 years later with an economy on an upward trajectory. Just terrible.
9
The DNC is cheating Bernie again.
26
Russia, if you're listening, please release the Iowa results.
37
And we care about Iowa, why? Lily white, backward, and repeatedly elect Steve King to Congress. Enough with those rube and move on to someplace that matters.
23
Pete Buttigeig's campaign helped fund the firm that developed the app. Why was the DNC using it? Why did we only find out the firm who developed the app tonight? Please don't drop the ball on this story.
27
@Eric
Or maybe they just purchased the same app that the Iowa Dem Party was going to use. Very different from "funding".
1
Please post the source for this statement. I want to share it.
Looks like the Dems don’t have the Russians to come in and do it for them, Donald Trump and the Republicans do.
8
The nominee just has to be Biden! No one else is sure of beating Trump!
No.... wait a minute..... make that Sanders! He will give us all health insurance. It MUST be Sanders!
uhmmm... no, what about Warren! She understands the system is rigged in favor of the rich and will surely fix it for all the rest of us. Warren is the only one who can save us!
Well, maybe Buttigieg would be better still.... errr perhaps Klobuchar.....
4
Don't let ANYONE fool you, this is all a bunch of nonsense, hyped by the media to have something to hold the attention of the public. These caucuses mean ZERO in terms of national strength or the ability to win the nomination, let alone the election.
13
@ManhattanWilliam Elections don't matter, if Democrats can't count the votes?
2
Maybe just have an actual primary. On super Tuesday. Easier. Cheaper. Less ridiculous.
27
@Jaylee I hope we don't lose the idea of small states going first (but competent, more diverse ones). The retail politics involved require candidates to meet people, answer questions, discuss their ideas directly with voters from all walks of life. One giant Super Tuesday means the whole shebang will take place through TV and other ads.
1
Maybe we should get Jimmy Carter to oversee our primaries. You know like he does in Honduras or The Congo or Haiti. I mean it seams like everything everywhere is not working... Esp the Government no-call list.
22
@Doctor Woo You can say that again.
1
@Doctor Woo
And in other news - in China they just built a 1000 bed hospital in 10 days.
Trump will be especially insufferable as he can claim he won the Iowa Carcass er, Caucas, for both parties
7
@Is We'll have to just do our best to ignore him, the way we would any belligerent, mentally disturbed 10 year old deviant of which we have the good fortune not to be parent.
19
As a computer scientist, and developer of software for 30 years now, I well know that software is difficult to get right. It takes time to do right, and requires many phases - requirements, design, implementation (during which testing of components occurs), and functional testing. And, as the article states, this testing needs to account for scale.
Even the very best of developers will write code that is flawed, and it takes time to iterate over the above steps to get it right.
So, it well could be that not enough time was given for those iterations to occur, or steps were skipped.
I’m a firm believer that hard doesn’t mean impossible. After all, we all live in a world where proof that it is not only possible but can be done reliably and robustly exists - consider that we now do our banking and manage our 401Ks digitally and via online interfaces, both web and app based.
I’m more worried frankly that we will not have a democracy in which to cast votes, rendering such systems pointless.
48
@slogan
Computer technology is a weak link that only serves to undermine democracy. Paper ballots are far simpler and dependable.
7
@slogan There is just no excuse for not getting voting systems ready in time for the actual vote. If this is not being accomplished, there's a definite reason for it and it's not an honest one.
4
@slogan
Thank you for your informed post. The paranoid, speculative rantings of a lot of Bernie Sanders supporters regarding the delayed results in Iowa, the caucuses in general and the 2016 election have grown wearying. They are starting to become as embarrassing and annoying as the Tea Party, and they risk turning into the monster that they fear and loathe.
2
Inconsistency? Is it that Bernie won and they have to fix the vote? We’re in an environment we’re trust in the vote is already shaky. The longer this is delayed the more faith people lose in the result.
48
@Peter
We're not going to beat Trump with this level of schoolyard rumor-laden paranoia. Stop with the "they"-are-out-to-get-Bernie nonsense.
18
If Bernie wants the support of the Democratic Party leadership, he needs to get with the program and play nice with the party’s Wall St and corporate masters.
2
@Peter
The bigger concern is the lying liars who are in charge of the country right now (you know, Republicans) who have abandoned quaint concepts like "moral compass," "fairness" and "rule of law." I'm more concerned about election interference from the venal Trump campaign and Trump supporters than a computer glitch in a new experiment. Get some perspective.
There's something fishy here. But it's something we can expect throughout the primaries. The DNC, as in 2016, would rather saddle us with Trump than see the most popular candidate, Bernie Sanders, become the nominee.
47
You’re right. But the DNC will not get away with it this time. Bernie’s going to win the Democratic nomination. And then he’s going to destroy DJT on Election Day.
Sanders 2020!
2
@moviebuff
No one in their right mind saddles up to trump. But I do not want Sanders as President, ever. Nor Warren.
Biden will give us a respite from the insanity. And with a strong Vice President and Cabinet, he will put us in the right direction for our future. Most of the democratic candidates would make good choices for a Biden administration. Of course I will vote Blue down the line. Republicans must be punished for their support of trump.
1
@MLE53 And yet Biden would have faced a HUGE public defeat last night if the DNC's dog didn't eat the results last night. He's NOT the people's choice.
When I woke this morning, I wondered if I had gotten my eight hours sleep, looked at the time on my phone, saw 6:13 and asked, "When did I retire last night?" Having recalled that I had stayed up to watch the Iowa returns and, upon learning of their delay, gave up quickly, I thought, "That was about 10:15 and close enough."
The thought then came to me, "Did the Iowa Dems delay their announcement of the caucus results in order to step all over Trump's State Of The Union Day?"
Wouldn't that be surprising for its wit and its guile?
And delightful!
10
@Cletus
Sadly, they are not that shrewd. This is purely a mishap, akin to the ACA exchange rollout.
2
@Cletus Incompetence is going to step all over Trump's State of the Union Address? He's going to have a ball with this one.
2
@Cletus
There's nothing about that, that would be witty.
They counted people three times at each caucus site (versus, in prior years, they only counted them once, at the end). If the total of each of the three counts turned out to not be the same, it means there was miscounting, but you won't know for which of the three rounds. That would, indeed, be a "quality control" issue -- i.e., you wouldn't be able to trust the final total , which is what they divvy delegates up based on. If this is what happened at a meaningful number of caucus sites, then they're stuck -- they'd have no way now to divvy up the delegates with complete accuracy.
4
@fact or friction They have the paper ballots.
Democracy to do list (Christmas Wish List):
-Amend Constitution to allow Federal regulation of Federal election procedures (President, Senators, Congress)
-By law, require an easy to read, standardized, paper and pen ballot nationally, to be counted manually by well vetted vote-counters (as in Canada and many other countries)
-By law, create a National Primary Day in late summer, so that we all vote on the same day based on the same issues
-If there's time after accomplishing these items, make Election Day a National Holiday
I know I may as well believe in Santa Claus, but what the heck.
36
@N May I add some amendments? Make it illegal to give money to political candidates. Make it especially illegal to give money to candidates for the bench. And make it really, really illegal for corporations to give money to political candidates or judges. State fund state elections. Federally fund federal elections.
7
@N ...And let’s finally get rid of the electoral college.
1
@N - Excellent list. Common sense, no nonsense. In the age we are enduring common sense within some leadership camps, seems to have evaporated.
The media is way too focused on the horse race instead of reporting on issues. Time for regional primaries to be the way we nominate candidates.
16
This fiasco is a perfect example of why the entire outdated caucus system needs to go. Who ever heard of showing up at a gymnasium to vote for your candidate and then facing the choice of going home or switching candidates because yours wasn’t viable? It’s an undemocratic system in every way. If this mess doesn’t get rid of the caucus system let’s hope it gets rid of the outsized role Iowa plays at the very least.
29
40% of Americans thank you Iowa. Solid start to reelecting the worst president in history.
The rest of us continue to even wonder why Iowa is in the mix so early in the process. An older, whiter, more rural state hardly represents the diverse America most of us live in.
Get your act together or get out of the way.
41
@John
"folksy, nice, civic-minded, and incompetent"
Isn't that Joe Biden's campaign slogan???
1
Funny how this kneecaps the head of steam Bernie Sanders had going. Any doubt Hillary is smiling this morning at 2016 redux? First they change the rules for Bloomberg, now this. It will be hard for Democrats to arrive at a legitimate nominee.
24
They have a paper trail in addition to the app and phone calls. They have found differences between the 3 sets and are trying to resolve them. This is what a paper trail is FOR, people. I am glad Iowa Dems recognized the threat of interference (whether foreign or domestic) and instituted changes to ensure the integrity of their elections. Other states that have not should be ashamed of themselves. The campaigns will have access to everything and they have the biggest dogs in the fight. Be patient.
9
@La Resistance Paper trails are far from fool proof. Pencils have erasers. And there are little cylinder-shaped things called garbage cans.
2
@La Resistance, better hope the final tally seems legit. Otherwise people will be claiming it was 'rigged' no matter how many times the paper ballots are counted.
Trump will be calling it rigged regardless.
In 2016 I tried to attend the Democratic caucus in Utah, and it was just as big a mess as this. There was a 3 hour line that stretched a half a mile just to get into the precinct location. This was at 7pm. It was snowing, I went home. I just wanted to cast a vote, not go into a room and play some weird come to my side game.
No apps, no computer voter machines, and no caucuses.
We need early, mail in voting and paper ballots, for all elections. Period.
34
The Democratic Party's bumbling incompetence or if you prefer, corruption in making the Iowa caucus outcome go pear-shaped may well be pivotal in losing them the election.
Internal numbers released by the Sanders campaign, showing results from 40% of caucus sites, showed Sanders winning with approximately 30% of the vote, Pete Buttigieg coming in second with 25%, Elizabeth Warren third with 21%, and Joe Biden a very distant fourth with 12%.
No wonder the DNC choked and has foolishly suppressed the result on Biden's demand.
26
First the Democrats botched the introduction of their Obama care and now their Iowa caucuses. And lets not forget about their mismanaged 2016 Presidential campaign as well as the equally botched impeachment effort. I would expect President Trump be reminding voters to question their competence while not mentioning the revolving door administration he heads up. A lack of competence is apparent on both sides. And that is not good for anyone.
8
Apparently, Iowa DNC workers can take pics with an app but can’t count. It’s the same when you go to a Walmart or Lowe’s when the power goes out. The stores stop selling items because their people don’t know how to count and give change.
8
If nothing else, I am getting some good laughs from Trump supporters touting the organizational competence of a man who declared bankruptcy six times.
19
Let us all agree that the primary system needs to change. Iowa should never be allowed to go first, and we must do away with the absurd and undemocratic caucus. Have all the states vote on the same day.
11
Could it be that we should not stake so much of our lives on computers?
11
Here is how you fix the system.
1. Make Veterans Day Election Day and make it a national holiday or
1a Make Election Day 2-days, a Saturday & Sunday. Announce winners on Sunday night
2 Get rid of all electronic ballots
3. Paper ballots only; hand counts
4. All absentee ballots must be received 30-45 days BEFORE Election Day
Problem solved.
Will any of this happen? Not in 1 billion years
15
@Javalin - makes too much sense. Our species likes to complicate just about everything. The smoke screen provides cover for covert activities by bad actors.
1
@Javalin Everyone in Sacramento can start voting for the primary to b e held on super Tuesday. There is no reason that people can't vote by mail or drop off a completed ballot at an established site.
We can and should do better.
1
@Javalin add g et rid of the electoral college and I’m in!
Has anyone considered this may be the result of hackers?
2
@Jim T. Yes. I’m a computer scientist and software developer. Let me point out some possibilities. There is at least one caucus that reported difficulty logging in. Many possible issues -
1. Bug in the app
2. Trading issue - users were not adequately trained on how to operate the app, or were given faulty information regarding user names, passwords, etc.
3. Bug in the authentication software on the other end.
4. System or network down.
Could be other non-hacking reasons for the above.
As for the hacker reasons, could be many as well:
1. Use of unencrypted protocols, allowing someone to modify the packets sent over the network so that logins would fail (for example, changing the usernames or passwords in some way).
2. Routing packets towards a server that is owned by a bad actor where logins are simply ignored or rejected.
3. Denial of service - bots at scale making a high rate of connection attempts at the servers in order to make legitimate connections fail due to starvation of resources. This would cause connections to be rejected or app to timeout.
But also could be inadequate design of software and systems, lack of testing, or both. We may not know if there was some sort of hack, unless they thought to monitor systems (e.g., log network connections and such so as to allow for a postmortem).
2
Thank you. I appreciate you outlining these possibilities. Very interesting.
Let's talk straight.
Democrats should also accept the reality, If Donald Trump hijacked GOP and maimed it in 2016 election, Bernie can do same thing for Democrat party.
This is democracy, doing some Byzantine games doesn't change the fate.
3
IDK what happened, but I saw one caucus with about a zillion people for Sanders and Buttigieg and about six for Biden, it can’t have been a very good night for the latter.
9
The DNC proved tonight they cannot be trusted to run anything properly, especially the world's biggest economy and military.
8
I don't belong to any organized party. I'm a Democrat.
-Will Rogers
10
It seems that when Democrat party officials try to run elections chaos ensues Remember those counties in Florida run by the Democrats in 2000? Why would anyone want Democrats to run anything?
12
Don‘t be so hard on them. They were the first ones to try this. How would they know to manage a caucus? Try and error was the only way.
1
Hopefully, this will signal the death knell of the Iowa Caucus. Why the Democrats are still doing this is beyone me.
7
Why is it allowed to take photos while counting the votes? I had to count votes in Germany for the Bundestag. While counting no one was allowed to disturbe us.
2
This does not inspire confidence in the Democratic party. Come on people, get it together!
3
This is either gross incompetence or a grand conspiracy.
I’m going with gross incompetence.
It’s the simpler explanation.
7
But, But, But the polls and the Press Corps said Hillary was going to glide to an easy victory in Iowa.........
There's only one explanation.
Russians.
3
QC issues - a.k.a. party machine is in panic because Biden came in 5th and there are no super delegates to rely upon. Is this Putin's fault now?
9
I'm not a member of any organized political party...
I feel sorry for all of the candidates, their various staff members and their donors. A lot of work for nothing. Imagine walking around in the brutal cold of an Iowa winter for weeks in support of your candidate and having this be the result?!?! We’ve been hearing about these stupid caucuses for what 8 months? The least that these people could do was have their acts together. It’s not like we haven’t been yelling from the rooftops about the quality of elections since 2016. Just incredible.
12
The start of another miserable presidential election.
8
Once the Democrats find the fault with the App that is reportedly causing the delay and confusion, they can always blame Russia for the problem. Just like last time.
4
Was it Will Rogers who said “I belong to no organized political party—I am a Democrat”?
1
Those who lost can always blame Russian intervention for their loss
3
Trump, the GOP and russia are together trying to rig the iowa caucus to beat biden so who knows?
2
Does this mean that smartphones are being rebranding as dumbphones? If so, 2020 is already quite tough about the 2010s.
Seriously Iowa? Do we need anymore drama?
8
Bernie must have won big ! Now there is a technical issue allowing Joe, primarily, to question why he came in 5th !
5
If Harold Ross were still around to observe this caucus mess, he might declare that democracy "is not for the little old lady from Dubuque."
2
2020's hanging chads
4
Here we go..... when is a hack a "reporting issue"? When the DNC does it.
Given the fact that Tom Perez yesterday announced two primary rule changes in midstream does the DNC really expect anyone not to impute the worst to this so-called "reporting issue" ?
The DNC is credible only to those who control it.
5
States that allows vote red or blue are not going to going to be the deciding factor. It’s the Independents in the purple states. Trump and has been going after Biden for a reason. We could end with that thrills us that won’t be center enough to pick up up the the swing States. Think of the age of the Supreme Judges. After all the trials and tribulations our the constitution has led us thru, four more years could be what destroys the constitution. If ANYONE sits at home sulking and doesn’t vote because their candidate didn’t win you are truly pathetic.
2
What if they held a caucus and nobody won?
3
We all know what is going on: The democrats are undermining Bernie again. He should run as a third party candidate on principal and stop depending on those that will sabotage his votes. Vote for Bernie!!!! and not for the closet Republican Biden and his democratic party establishment.
6
@sh
Bernie as a third party candidate would absolutely guarantee another 4 years of Trump. Is that what you want?
2
@W
Principals matter!
Gang that can’t shoot straight.
How embarrassing and dysfunctional.
They’ve been preparing for this for months
2
Late last night I heard this whole debacle described as a "cluster" you- know- what. That seems to do a great disservice to some spectacular "clusters" we seem to be having with increasing frequency. I know I'm not alone in thinking of that oft-cited quote that talks about not learning from history and thus being condemned to repeat it.
Seems the first step toward electoral sanity would be to have several early/first primaries from states that are actually large and diverse. Iowa? Vermont? Yeah, right...
The current "system" is fair to neither the candidates nor the people in this country actually concerned with having a representative democracy.
Are we well on our way toward getting just what we deserve...? The DNC needs to step in NOW--and forcefully.
2
Thank you for using land lines for reporting. It's not secure but better. Be sure you know who you are reporting to and compare counts again later. Or didn't we learn yet?
1
It's fixed. It's fixed! They all came out to vote for ME and the vote-counters don't want you to know!!-
DJT
2
@stu freeman
And that’s exactly what the Sanders campaign is saying. What a coincidence.
1
Bernie Bros are starting conspiracy theories all over the place. What a shocker....
8
@Kyle It seems to me that the DNC is in a bit of an existential crisis, since the presumptive candidates they’ve most recently endorsed in 2016 (Clinton) and 2020 (Biden) didn’t really excite and inspire the electorate. It’s also notable that you’re commenting about Bernie Bros instead of a totally lackluster showing last night by Joe Biden, the “only one who can defeat Trump” who somehow lost to a Socialist and a small town mayor with zero national experience. The DNC sure can pick ‘em.
Back in 2016, the Republican establishment was dismissive of their unconventional, but supremely popular candidate as well. At least the GOP had the good sense to listen to their electorate, eventually.
3
@Jeff
The Bernie Bros are the ones immediately screeching about conspiracies against Sanders, who, by the way, is not a Democrat and was not elected to public office as a Democrat.
Bernie Sanders is a devoted public servant. He is also nearly 80 years old and had a heart attack recently. A lot of people are concerned about his ability to weather a Presidential campaign, let alone a first term in office. An elderly candidate who is apparently in poor health does not necessarily inspire confidence. It’s hard to get “excited” and “inspired” about that.
1
@Jeff The Bernie crowd are the only ones claiming a conspiracy without even knowing the results. You sound like Donald Trump.
1
Not sure which is less believable, Chinese estimates of corona virus infection or the subsequent results of the Iowa caucuses
3
Crazy system - unrepresentative of country demographically - is there one state that better meets the racial balance. Who says Iowa must be first.
3
At least all the candidates can now declare victory in Iowa - no one will ever really know - what a silly process.
1
This bungling of the Iowa caucus will spawn conspiracy theories and provide legitimate material for Trump to criticize. Really Iowa? This is not good enough. This is unacceptable. The Democratic Party of Iowa is an embarassment. High profile incompetence like this supports the Republican Party. Thanks for nothing.
13
Enough of Iowa. Someplace else.
10
The lack of results from last night’s Iowa caucus are emblematic of the problems the Democratic Party has in unifying to beat Trump. In fighting, technical issues, and such will only result handing Trump an easy re-election.
3
I think Pete Buttigieg, may have lost a chance to call momentum going to New Hampshire, so he may have suffered the greatest harm between the candidates.
It is time to stop the voter suppression caucus process and to remove the all white states of Iowa and New Hampshire from the start of the election. Perhaps if the first two states were Georgia and Colorado we still might have a more diverse field of candidates.
No one wins Iowa because there are too many candidates splitting too few delegates. Bernie will lose if he doesn't get as many delegates as he won four years ago. Everyone else will shrug off not being in first place.
6
@Joe Barnett
Agree about Colorado but not Georgia. No former member of the Confederacy should be the first in line. Georgia is much redder than the media would have people believe. It's still 1950 outside of Atlanta and Savannah.
The system in Iowa seemed to be designed by Trump. Making delegates use a smart phone application over the Internet in rural Iowa is not the smartest approach. The population of Iowa probably doubled in the past week and everyone is using Wifi and phones, the cellular networks and Wifi probably could not take it. Aside from that, the design is open to Internet attacks by Trump's master.
30
@Mike LaPoint
Democrats. The people of conspiracy theories. So the Democrats brought an app from Trump?
1
@Mike LaPoint The system was designed by the Iowa Democratic Party. The app is intended to be used by caucus staffers across the 1,681 caucus sites, not by the 41 delegates. There are no reports of issues with WiFi or cellular, which there shouldn’t be since the apps data would have little impact. Experts warned against using an app for collecting results. This is 100% a failure of the Iowa Democratic Party.
3
Given the technology, how long does it take Democrats to skew the numbers for their own purposes? This may be the kind of "transparency" that works against them. I'm glad the Sanders campaign worked hard to keep track -- knowing what to expect.
8
What are the inconsistencies? These officials should have let that be known from the beginning. Did a candidate they don't like get really good returns? Are the results inconsistent with polling numbers, hatching a huge upset? (They couldn't believe the returns so they decided something must be wrong?). Nice job Iowa.
15
We used to use a chalkboard that was built above corkboards. We taped off squares for each polling place in the ward. Runners would drive or bike to polling place and bring back results. Tack the result under the chalkboard. A guy got alot of exercise climbing the ladder to update the chalkboard. RESULTS IN 4 HOURS ALWAYS.
The way Iowa looks right now everyone could have hopped on a bicycle and delivered the count to party centeal by now, 7 am in the morning.
21
Caucuses are archaic and undemocratic. As an Iowan, if the DNC wants my participation, and that of many others, they need to scrap this system and go the primary route. I worked 10 hours yesterday, and was in bed by 8:30. The last thing I was going to do was take part in this debacle.
30
paper ballots are the only reliable means of tablulating votes in an age of computer hacking at worst and sw full of bugs at best.
plus, it might be useful for the democratic party to attain a modest level of organizational competence.
what a travesty. donald trump is the only winner this week. sad for our country.
21
Still think the Democrat Party doesn’t engage in voter fraud? If they can’t run a single state caucus they don’t deserve to run the country, and definitely don’t need to touch healthcare.
16
I was just reading a news article concerning the state of Texas and that the state’s AG has possibly and illegally tried to throw 95,000 voters off the roles.
So I guess that calls into question every Texan and every Republican’s motives?
1
I join others about this Iowa Carcass as some are calling it.
I live in Bogota, Colombia
This past December - they had municipal elections. some 4 million are registered to vote in Bogota.
The polls open at 7:00 am and close at 4:00 pm.
While voting (paper ballots) is not compulsory - the rate exceeds some 65%.
The results are announced by 7:00 pm at the latest - even if exit polls are not allowed to report until polls close.
What's the matter with Iowa ?
India with its 500 million voters - conducts election in stages so police can be mobilized.
Not dissimilar to our primaries.
Everything is electronic.
They announce results - all in one day.
Iowa - if you are listening - get a grip. Throw out the app.
Use hand counting and you would still be ahead.
10
The Iowa count should be a stark reminder to anybody who thinks government does a great job running anything complex. The democratic candidates who are advocating a government take over of the most essential services of the nation need to explain the incompetence of their own party’s administration first.
10
@Adib Government? I thought this was a private company hired by a political party. That's not the government.
2
@Adib. Political parties aren’t government.
1
And this is the party that wants to beat Trump. First emails leaked last election, perhaps costing a victory. And now this!
I am deflated. It will be Trump again!
5
As Ronald Reagan famously said in one of his election debates: "There you go again", referring to his rival's Pinocchio assertions.
Well, here we all go again with the DNC, and the subordinate IDC cooking the books.
The whole political Establishment now carries out its shenannigans in broad daylight, like Trump.
The process is so broken that it seems more and more likely that the whole corrupt and inept edifice of the Democratic Party needs to collapse and be replaced
2
Been a problem for a long time now. Seems to be a poorly managed process.
1
Apparently it’s quite difficult to count corn cobs.
5
Due diligence is due diligence. Something happened & needs to be corrected. MUST everything be instantaneous?
10
Don't rip online election systems. They're ready for prime time -- it's just that the Democratic Party is not ready to operate them. Incredible that they didn't even consider using this app until a couple of months ago. It's long been the achilles heel of the Democrats -- who have been the majority party for years now and should be dominating -- that they're just incredibly disorganized. It's a tragedy and it's resulted in rule by a minority party (the GOP) that will lie and cheat to win and is very strategic about doing so. It's a tragedy.
9
I hear they’re counting the corn kernels placed in mason jars with the candidates names at the Iowa State Fair last summer for backup now. My recommendation would be to hold a national cess poll where citizens flush their stools at a certain time for their candidate and take readings at the water plant to see who uses the most water.
1
Why outsource to Russian hackers when the Iowa Democratic Party can do their work?
Trump can now say that he brought this work back to the US.
5
Iowa *chooses* to be the first in the nation and draw the spotlight. Given that, how do they not test the app that will be used in advance? They should have done a mock test to confirm the app worked.
On a more macro level it is time for Iowa to get rid of the ridiculous caucus and straw polls, or otherwise cede the early primary.
9
Authoritarians all around, pandemics, a burning planet, yet here we are complaining that a poorly tested piece of software failed...
11