On Tuesday morning, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, U.S. Senator Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, and U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley issued a joint statement about the delay in reporting the results of the Iowa Democratic Caucus. They defended the caucus process and Iowa’s first in the nation status.
“Iowa’s unique role encourages a grassroots nominating process that empowers everyday Americans, not Washington insiders or powerful billionaires. The face-to-face retail politics nature of Iowa’s caucus system also encourages dialogue between candidates and voters that makes our presidential candidates accountable for the positions they take and the records they hold,” they said.
“Iowa’s large population of independent voters and its practice of careful deliberation contributes greatly to the national presidential primary and makes it the ideal state to kick off the nominating process.
“Iowa’s bipartisan first-in-the-nation status helped lead to the nomination of President Obama and has the full backing of President Trump. The process is not suffering because of a short delay in knowing the final results,” they added.
“Iowans and all Americans should know we have complete confidence that every last vote will be counted and every last voice will be heard.
“We look forward to Iowa carrying on its bipartisan legacy of service in the presidential nominating process,” they concluded.
Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate also issued a statement on Tuesday morning reminding Iowans and those watching outside of Iowa the Iowa Democratic Party, not the state of Iowa, is responsible for counting the votes and reporting the results.
“The Iowa Secretary of State’s Office and county auditors have no official role in the Iowa Caucuses. They are run by the political parties. Although the caucuses are the kickoff of the presidential nominating process, they are not elections. Iowans do a terrific job of vetting the candidates and I congratulate the tens of thousands of citizens who turned out on caucus night and made their voices heard,” he said.
Pate also supported the Iowa Democratic Party’s commitment to release accurate results instead of rushing the process.
“The accuracy of the Iowa Democratic Party’s vote totals is much more important than the timeliness of releasing the results. I am glad to hear they have a paper trail for their votes, just as we use paper ballots in all official elections in the State of Iowa. I support IDP while they take their time and conduct checks and balances to ensure the accuracy and integrity of the votes,” he added.
