Students voice criticisms with Iowa caucus controversy

By Ty Daubert
February 12, 2020

Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=526966

The issues with the Democratic Iowa caucuses have left many in confusion.

The Iowa caucuses are notable as they are the first of all primaries ahead of the presidential election. Iowa helps gauge how voters are thinking and often times gives the winner of the caucuses a head start to receiving the nomination.

Although caucusing took place on Monday, Feb. 3, the results are still unclear. It is safe to say that it almost definitely a two-horse race between candidates Pete Buttigieg and Bernie Sanders. However, which candidate actually took Iowa is still not certain.

Technical difficulties with an app used in caucusing and other errors in counting have delayed the results to this point. Buttigieg has a slim lead in the results that are currently out, but it is not known if that is completely accurate. To make the situation even more hectic, both Buttigieg and Sanders have declared victory at the caucuses. The Associate Press has not declared a winner at this point.

All the problems and uncertainty regarding the Iowa caucuses have not gone unnoticed around the country. Many have criticized the process and questioned the preparedness of Iowa Democratic Party.

“I thought it was really ridiculous that we’ve had this country established for so long, and we still can’t even do an election properly apparently,” Regan Hoyt, a sophomore English and secondary education major, said.

Hoyt spoke about the use of the app and electronics in caucusing and how Iowa may not have been prepared to use such things.

“It seems like they didn’t organize it well enough,” she said, “and with the electronics, it seems like everyone might not be savvy enough for that.”

Sophomore Taylor Agnew shared similar thoughts about the Iowa caucuses and how they have transpired.

“I was a little frustrated because this is such an important election for the Democratic Party,” Agnew said. “I feel like all the controversy and the problems with the ways they were trying to run the caucus were really reflecting badly on [the Democratic] Party.”

She also said that the technology aspect should have been better and more ready for the caucuses.

“I appreciate that they tried to incorporate technology into how they were recording the caucuses, but I definitely think that they should kind of test it a lot more before they do it,” Agnew said.

The app used in the Iowa caucuses may have been a good idea, but the execution has created way more problems than it has solved. Now the Iowa Democratic Party has many questions to answer, both from citizens and candidates.

 

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Ty Daubert

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