Iowa GOP Releases Certified Vote, Rick Santorum Wins Iowa Caucus

2012 Iowa Republican Caucus Certified vote totals (1766/1774 precincts certified)

Rick Santorum             29,839

Mitt Romney               29,805

Ron Paul                      26,036

Newt Gingrich             16,163

Rick Perry                    12,557

Michele Bachmann       6,046

Jon Huntsman                  739

No Preference                  147

Other                                 86

Herman Cain                     45

Sarah Palin                        23

Buddy Roemer                  17

Total (1766/1774)       121,503

Certified vote totals were unavailable for eight of Iowa’s 1,774 precincts. Full, certified vote totals per precinct are available online at www.iowagop.org.

 “Just as I did in the early morning hours on January 4, I congratulate Senator Santorum and Governor Romney on a hard-fought effort during the closest contest in caucus history,” said Republican Party of Iowa Chairman Matt Strawn. “Our goal throughout the certification process was to most accurately reflect and report how Iowans voted the evening of January 3. We understand the importance to the candidates involved, but as Iowans, we understand the responsibility we have as temporary caretakers of the Iowa caucuses.””

As Strawn noted during the January 4 announcement of unofficial caucus night vote totals, Iowa GOP rules provided for a 14-day period by which each of Iowa’s 99 counties were required to submit a Form E document from each of the caucus precincts within the county. The Form E document is the official record of the presidential preference vote in each of Iowa’s 1,774 precincts.  The deadline for county Republican officials to submit the Form E documents was 5 p.m. (CST) on Wednesday, January 18.  Following Wednesday’s deadline, Iowa GOP officials were able to certify results from 1,766 of the state’s 1,774 precincts.

Strawn noted that a hallmark of the Iowa caucuses is the openness and transparency within which the proceedings occur.  Not only do voting Iowans and presidential campaign representatives have the opportunity to observe the vote counting in each of the state’s precincts, but each presidential campaign had senior campaign officials in the Iowa GOP’s official tabulation center on caucus night.

 Strawn indicated this openness and transparency will continue during the post-certification period as the Iowa GOP will be making the precinct caucus Form E documents submitted during the certification process available for review to both presidential campaign officials and members of the media.