Tom Perez Calls For Recanvass Of Iowa Caucus Results After Reports Of Discrepancies
After the delayed results of the Iowa caucuses were riddled with inconsistencies, Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chairman Tom Perez is calling for a recanvass, which involves reviewing the reporting sheets from each caucus site, Bloomberg reports.
“Enough is enough,” he tweeted. “In light of the problems that have emerged in the implementation of the delegate selection plan and in order to assure public confidence in the results, I am calling on the Iowa Democratic Party to immediately begin a recanvass.”
Perez’s comment comes as Bernie Sanders declared victory over Pete Buttigieg, pointing to his alleged lead in the initial popular vote. Regardless, Perez does not have the authority to order a recanvass unilaterally, and Iowa Democratic Party Chairman Troy Price has denied Perez’s request.
According to Price, the state’s party will only recanvass at the request of a presidential campaign.
“In such a circumstance, the IDP will audit the paper records of report, as provided by the precinct chairs and signed by representatives of presidential campaigns. This is the official record of the Iowa Democratic caucus, and we are committed to ensuring the results accurately reflect the preference of Iowans.”
Per CNN, there were numerous counties with errors in their count of state delegate equivalents. In addition, there were allegedly multiple precincts that may have included violations of caucus rules.
According to a person familiar with Perez’s decision, per CNN, his call for a recanvass was influenced by the worry that candidate calls would be bad optics for the Democratic Party amid an already controversial rollout of caucus results.
New statement from the @iowademocrats responding to @TomPerez. It seems to be pushing back on the idea that Perez can even request the recanvass. "Should any presidential campaign in compliance with the Iowa Delegate Selection Plan request a recanvass, the IDP is prepared." pic.twitter.com/jVDlQXs5oJ
— Brianne Pfannenstiel (@brianneDMR) February 6, 2020
A New York Times report claimed that more than 100 precincts reported “internally inconsistent” results, including candidates receiving the wrong number of delegates. The issue allegedly stems from the complicated rules of the Iowa caucus, and there was reportedly no evidence of foul play.
Regardless, 97 percent of the caucus results are now reported and show Sanders and Buttigieg tied for 11 national delegates each. Nevertheless, Sanders declared victory on Thursday, pointing to the 6,000-plus people that voted for him in the popular initial vote.
Although Sanders said he or Buttigieg might gain more state delegate equivalents, he noted that this would not affect the national delegates, which he said are the “ones that really matter” in the nomination process.
Behind the two frontrunners is Elizabeth Warren, with five national delegates. As of now, none of the other candidates has earned any national delegates, with Joe Biden the closest to doing so.
