Iowa Democratic Party ‘prepared’ if any campaign requests recanvass

The Iowa Democratic Party (IDP) is prepared for a recanvass if requested by any campaign following the chaotic reporting of results from Monday night’s caucuses, the state party chair said Thursday. 

“Should any presidential campaign in compliance with the Iowa Delegate Selection Plan request a recanvass, the IDP is prepared,” party Chairman Troy Price said in a statement. 

The party would audit paper records of reports provided by precinct chairs and signed by representatives of the 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,” Price added. 

The party has 48 hours to respond to written requests for recanvass that are signed by candidates. Any request for a recanvass must include the scope and credible explanation of the reasons of the request. 

His statement came just hours after Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez called for a recanvass in Iowa following a New York Times report that found caucus results released Wednesday contained errors and inconsistencies that contradict caucus results in some cases. 

The Hill was able to independently verify some of these errors after reviewing caucus results posted by the IDP.

There’s no evidence that the inconsistencies were intentional or that they significantly benefited the two front-runners in the caucuses, former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).

“While I fully acknowledge that the reporting circumstances on Monday night were unacceptable, we owe it to the thousands of Iowa Democratic volunteers and caucusgoers to remain focused on collecting and reviewing incoming results,” Price said. 

Price said the IDP identified “inconsistencies in the data” throughout collecting records of results and used “redundant paper records to promptly correct those errors.”

The party is working “diligently” to report the results of the final 54 precincts, he said.