Super Tuesday: Iowa Democrats to release presidential caucus results without typical fanfare

Iowa Democrats are preparing to release the results of their first ever mail-in presidential caucus Tuesday night with none of the usual fanfare or festivities that have surrounded past caucuses.

Iowa Democratic Party Chair Rita Hart said unofficial results will be announced on the party’s website and in a news release at 5 p.m.

There will be no gathering spot for Iowa Democrats, no watch parties and no onslaught of breathlessly waiting media.

“I think that the important thing is that Iowa Democrats will know that this process was smooth, it was easy, it was accurate, it was transparent and that the results are going to be clear to everyone,” Hart said. “And when we get that all done, it may seem — I don't know if anticlimactic is the right word — I would just say that we will be relieved that this step of the process is done. And we're proud that we were able to do it in a way that I think is going to be beneficial to Iowa Democrats.”

Iowa Democrats no longer stand alone at the front of the presidential nominating calendar, but instead are nestled among 15 other states and one territory that are casting votes on Super Tuesday.

The change came after national Democrats stripped Iowa of its first-in-the-nation status following a disastrous 2020 showing, when a tight race and glitches with a vote-reporting app combined to delay results for days.

Although Iowa Democrats fought for months to retain their cherished spot, which helped give Iowans outsized political clout for decades, state party leaders ultimately conceded to the Democratic National Committee’s demands and opted for a Super Tuesday contest.

The state party adopted its absentee caucus as a way to reduce the barriers to participation that had plagued its traditional caucuses. Potential caucusgoers who worked night shifts, couldn't arrange for child care or faced transportation or mobility challenges often could not participate in the in-person caucuses.

More: Iowa Democrats are holding their first-ever mail-in caucus. How it works

Under the new system, Iowans kicked off their caucus process Nov. 1, 2023, when Democrats could begin requesting presidential preference cards.

Those cards work functionally like a ballot, and included the names of President Joe Biden, author Marianne Williamson and U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota. Iowans could also choose to say they were “uncommitted” to any of the candidates.

Those cards were mailed out beginning Jan. 12, and the Iowa Democratic Party is still accepting any card that is postmarked by March 5.

That means Tuesday’s announced results will be unofficial, Hart said. The party plans to allow three days for late-arriving preference cards to be returned before announcing final results on Friday March 8.

The party’s state central committee will vote to certify the final tally at its March 16 meeting.

Hart said the DNC’s decision to replace Iowa at the front of the calendar has been “a tough one, I think, for all of us to swallow.” But she said it’s also created opportunities for the party to reimagine its caucuses.

In total, 19,609 Iowans requested a mail-in preference card this year. That exceeds the 15,000 Iowa Democrats that the party says caucused in 2012, the last time an incumbent Democrat was on the ballot.

Hart said she’s hopeful the return rate will be high.

But the 2024 caucuses are essentially a soft launch for 2028, when Democrats will have a wide open nominating race, without an incumbent.

“Next time it is going to be much more competitive,” Hart said. “And so it's possible that we may send out preference cards to every single registered Iowa Democrat. I think that would be great if we can make that happen. We could offer drop box locations or expand the window in order for more people to participate.”

“I'm very much looking forward to making some improvements as we get closer to 2028,” Hart said. “But the focus right now is to get this one right.”

Brianne Pfannenstiel is the chief politics reporter for the Des Moines Register. She is also covering the 2024 presidential race for USA TODAY as a senior national campaign correspondent. Reach her at bpfann@dmreg.com or 515-284-8244. Follow her on Twitter at @brianneDMR.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Super Tuesday: Iowa Democrats to release presidential caucus results