Iowa, seems to be moving politics into the technology age… Finally! The Iowa Democratic Party has set forth a plan to allow registered Iowa voters who are Democrats of course to participate in the states first in the nation caucus via their computer.
In the past, caucus participants gathered in local high school and junior high gymnasiums, libraries, diners, and even occasionally a bar or a persons dining room. Unlike a primary in which a person reports to a polling place and cast a single vote for his or her favorite candidate, caucus participants spend the cold in January or February evening and almost seemingly social event complete often times with coffee and cookies!
Once at the caucus these folks sit in groups and chat about their favorite candidate. Often times resulting in arguments I’m in support or against their favorite or least favorite candidate. Relatively early in the evening, the coccus chair person will call for an initial online account. This initial count is very public all of your friends family neighbors etc. can you see who you have aligned with as far as the Democratic presidential hopefuls. This alignment shows your support of your single favorite candidate. This initial alignment also demonstrates who is a little bit behind At the caucus location. Following the initial caucus account, group supporters I told him who is no longer viable as a group and they are forced to join forces with other account representatives within groups all groups reach the point of viability at the caucus location. Following the initial caucus account, groups of supporters I told him who is no longer viable as a group and they are forced to join forces with other camp representatives within groups all groups reach the point of viability. Often times the only three or four candidates are viable by the end of the caucus which may have begun with 10 to 20 candidates.
Typically the caucus takes an hour and a half to three hours to complete. The coxes take place across The entire state of Iowa in all 99 counties. At the end of the evening or whenever is the announced state wide after all of the caucus results are phoned into Des Moines.
Only because of the importance of relegated to the Iowa caucus, it is after all the first official vote in a presidential election anywhere in the country, Iowa remains an important political powerhouse state even though it has a relatively low population in comparison to other much much more populous states. You should be pointed out that the importance of Iowa generate millions of dollars in revenue in advertising office rentals lodging food etc. as each candidate comes through and hits many, if not all, of the 99 counties. Worth noting is the fact that the Iowa caucus across someplace between January 2 and February 14 every presidential cycle. The earliness of the Iowa caucus ensures the candidates must spend a great amount of time, energy, and money In the great state of Iowa. For this reason, many candidates such as Barack Obama who campaign in Iowa throughout 2007 in preparation for the Democratic primary and subsequent general election in which he was elected president.
The Iowa Democratic Party has submitted a proposal to the Democratic National Committee for review and approval. The proposal will allow caucus participants to attend from any internet connected device such as pc or smartphones. The online caucus will be open six night around the time of the in-person event is help.
It is unclear what safeguards have been put in place to ensure the fairness and the integrity of the Caucus. In my mind there are many many unanswered questions. What agency or agencies will be responsible for safeguarding the caucus? What penalties will be imposed for those who violate the rules? If United States of America could not keep a presidential election safe from the Russians in 2016, how are we going to keep a caucus save in 2020? Those are but a very very few of the questions that I have and I would like to have represented as for the Iowa Democratic Party address and a public forum at some point in the immediate future.
As we prepare for the 2020 presidential election, which is sure to be a roller coaster ride as well as fast and furious, Iowa again is ready to welcome all Democratic and Republican contenders for the presidency of the United States of America.
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