The certification of the Iowa Caucus vote is underway and already we have disputed results which could alter the results (not that it would take much). KCCI reports:
The world’s eyes were on Iowa. But in the quiet town of Moulton, Appanoose County, a caucus of 53 people may just blow up the results.
Edward True, 28, of Moulton, said he helped count the votes and jotted the results down on a piece of paper to post to his Facebook page. He said when he checked to make sure the Republican Party of Iowa got the count right, he said he was shocked to find they hadn’t.
"When Mitt Romney won Iowa by eight votes and I’ve got a 20-vote discrepancy here, that right there says Rick Santorum won Iowa," True said. "Not Mitt Romney."
True said at his 53-person caucus at the Garrett Memorial Library, Romney received two votes. According to the Iowa Republican Party’s website, True’s precinct cast 22 votes for Romney.
"This is huge," True said. "It essentially changes who won."
Matt Strawn in a statement released last night said:
Iowa GOP rules provide for a two-week certification process for each of the 1,774 precincts. The Iowa GOP will announce the final, certified results of the 2012 Iowa Causes following this process. Out of respect to the candidates involved, party officials we will not respond to every rumor, innuendo or allegation during the two week process. That said, Iowa GOP officials have been in contact with Appanoose County Republican officials tonight and do not have any reason to believe the final, certified results of Appanoose County will change the outcome of Tuesday’s vote.
True is a Ron Paul supporter, and he insists he is right since he witnessed the vote count, and assisted in the counting. Even though the Iowa GOP has doubts about this report True’s story seems credible. This didn’t benefit his candidate, and Romney winning almost half the votes in a rural Iowa precinct really bucks the trend we saw on Caucus night with Santorum winning the rural vote.
It may be embarrassing to admit, but the Iowa GOP really needs to make sure they get the vote right. Our first in the nation status depends on it. As far as the impact of the results, I doubt we’ll see much change. It would still be a virtual tie, just one that Santorum would lead by 10 votes.