With the results of less than 2 percent of precincts known as of 8:30pm ET, there is much speculation tonight as to what is causing the holdup in the release of results.
As we reported last night, there have been concerns about the app precinct captains have been encouraged to use to report results. Today, it has been reported that captains have had issues logging in, leading many to abandon the app, potentially leading to further delays.
The Iowa Democratic Party has said that delays are owing to them conducting quality control of data; as we’ve noted in our live coverage, Nate Cohn for the NYT speculates the delay raises questions both about tonight’s caucuses and previous years, saying “the Iowa Democratic Party saying “quality control” definitely raises my eyebrows.
This year, they’re getting all the results for the first time. And I wonder whether they’re finding out that people just aren’t doing this right a lot more often than they thought”. Whether the issues continue further into the night remain to be seen, though the delay is already causing frustration amongst both supporters and pundits.
Meanwhile, there are reports from at least one caucus location of the Biden camp actively seeking to undermine Sanders’ chances.
At the First Presbyterian Church in Des Moines, reports indicate that the Biden camp siphoned off additional delegates to Klobuchar and Warren, meaning that the end result was five candidates finishing with one delegate each from an 86 vote contest Sanders initially won by 20 votes on the first round.
Meanwhile in Des Moines Precinct 80, Sanders and Buttigieg ended up with four delegates each in spite of Sanders having an initial tally of 101 to Buttigieg’s 66.
There’s still a long way to go tonight, but at this stage it looks as though there are more questions than answers, especially for the Iowa Democratic Party.
