DNC Chairman Tom Perez Calls For Recanvass In Iowa Caucuses
Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez said Thursday that he’s calling for a recanvass of the results in the Iowa caucuses.
Perez tweeted about his demand for the Iowa Democratic Party following days of chaos over a third-party caucus app failing to properly submit results. Carrying out a recanvass, he said, is essential to “assure public confidence in the results.”
Enough is enough. 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.
— Tom Perez (@TomPerez) February 6, 2020
IDP’s recanvass plan involves a hand audit of caucus math worksheets and reporting forms to ensure they were correctly tallied and reported. By comparison, a recount would be a hand count and audit of presidential preference cards ― which caucusgoers use to vote ― to ensure they were correctly tallied and reported in those worksheets and reporting forms.
When it comes to requesting a precinct-level review of Iowa caucus results, the Iowa Democratic Party put forth the following in its delegate plan on pages 9, 10 and 11: https://t.co/qlp2F688PO pic.twitter.com/SII29ZmjFj
— Chris Keller (@ChrisLKellerLAT) February 6, 2020
Two people familiar with the matter told CNN that the IDP did not have advance warning of Perez’s announcement. Later, IDP Chair Troy Price released a statement reiterating the party’s commitment to reporting accurate results and said it’s up to candidates to request a recanvass.
“Should any presidential campaign in compliance with the Iowa Delegate Selection Plan request a recanvass, the IDP is prepared,” Price said.
With 97% of precincts reporting Thursday, former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) remain closely tied for first place in Iowa. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) trail behind them.
Amid the kerfuffle happening at the party level, both Sanders and Buttigieg have declared themselves victorious in Iowa.
“A margin of 6,000 votes is pretty decisive,” Sanders told reporters Thursday shortly after Perez’s announcement.
However, he’s expected to end up with with approximately the same number of national delegates toward the nomination as Buttigieg, who declared himself the winner on Monday night before any results had come out.
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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
