Iowa Democrats unveil new presidential preference caucus card

Monday’s Iowa Democratic presidential precinct caucuses will look vastly different than they have in the last five decades.

Mail-in ballots are replacing realignment and complicated math from previous caucuses. Iowa Democrats will hold their party-organizing caucus Monday and later express their choice for president via a mail-in process that began Friday when the first round of cards was sent out.

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As of Friday morning, more than 8,000 Democrats had requested a presidential preference card, according to the Iowa Democratic Party.

“And we expect that number will go up,” Iowa Democratic Party Chair Rita Hart told reporters.

“This is the beginning of what will be the most inclusive Iowa caucus process in Iowa history,” Hart said. “For the first time, a firefighter or a police officer working on third shift, or a parent who may not have child care, or a snowbird who is spending the month in Arizona or Florida, and those in our disability community who struggle with home health care, can now make sure that their voices are heard in the presidential preference process.”

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The last day to submit a request is 5 p.m. Feb. 19. Democrats can request a card through the Iowa Democratic Party’s website at iowademocrats.org/caucus

The party’s new cards will include the names of incumbent President Joe Biden and two long-shot challengers, U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota and author Marianne Williamson, along with an option to remain uncommitted.

Completed request forms must be mailed to the Iowa Democratic Party at 5661 Fleur Dr., Des Moines, Iowa, 50321. Or Democrats may email them to preferencecardrequest@iowademocrats.org.

Preference cards must be postmarked by March 5 to count. Results will be announced by party officials later that same day — on Super Tuesday, when more than a half-dozen other states will hold presidential primaries.

National party rules

The national party’s Rules and Bylaws Committee said it would not accept Iowa Democrats’ delegate selection plan unless the party ensured that the postmark deadline for mail-in presidential preference cards is March 5 or later — ensuring that Iowa's caucus results couldn't be announced until after the early voting window concludes and other states begin weighing in on Super Tuesday.

National Democrats earlier this year reshaped their presidential nominating calendar, booting Iowa from being first in the nation and removing Iowa from the group of early states all together. The decision followed a chaotic 2020 caucus night for Iowa Democrats when a smartphone app — meant to make reporting results easier — failed. As a result, the official Democratic caucus results were not reported for several weeks.

The debacle compounded existing concerns about Iowa's lack of racial diversity and barriers to participation. State party leaders have been critical of the Democratic National Committee's involvement in delaying development of the app and then demanding additional technology that failed on caucus night.

The Iowa Democratic put forward the mail-in proposal to make the caucuses more accessible — which was one of the main criticisms. Following the 2020 presidential election, many national party leaders expressed a preference for primary elections over party-run caucuses.

Republicans have roundly criticized the decision, saying Democrats have turned their back on Iowa and rural America. National Democratic Party leaders have said they would revisit the presidential nominating calendar for 2028.

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DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee member Scott Brennan said he believes the mail-in process puts Iowa Democrats in the best position to regain the first-in-the-nation status in 2028 “when we will have a competitive presidential process.”

‘Motive our Iowa Democrats’

The Iowa Democratic Party will still hold in-person caucuses Monday, the same day as Republicans, but to conduct only party business unrelated to picking a nominee. That includes electing county central committee members, determining unbound delegates to the county convention and to vote on platform resolutions.

Hart said she anticipates strong turnout despite the changes, a non-competitive caucus race and a major winter storm expected to bring -40 degree wind chills. In 2012, the last time there was an incumbent Democratic president, 15,000 Democrats participated in the party's caucuses.

“The reality is that we know that President Biden is going to be our nominee," Hart said. "... So our important focus here is to motivate our Iowa Democrats to actually get Democrats to fire up and to get to work. To, again, do the hard work of getting more Democrats elected. And I think it's been obvious that we have taken that very seriously."

Rebuilding party

Hart has been working to rebuild a state party exhausted by repeated defeats, and burned by the loss of its first-in-the-nation presidential nominating contest.

Iowa Democrats took a beating in the 2022 midterm elections. Iowa Republicans bucked national headwinds and swept all four congressional races in the state for the first time in 50 years. Republicans also expanded their agenda-setting majorities in the Iowa Legislature, control the governor’s office and hold all but one statewide office.

“Democrats know what's very important,” Hart said of participating in Monday’s party-building caucuses to counter Republicans she said are “overreaching" by ”banning“ school books that depict or describe a sex act, and who are ”not listening to teachers and to students and to the people who are involved in our educational community as to what would actually help our educational process.“

Hart also dismissed notions that Iowa Democrats would register as Republicans on caucus night to be able to caucus for somebody other than former President Donald Trump in an effort to halt his glide path to the GOP nomination.

“I really don't see that as a priority of many Democrats,” Hart said “But instead, their priority, as I mentioned before, we're committed to getting more Democrats elected and they're more interested in the party building process than they are in getting involved in Republican politics.”

Comments: (319) 398-8499; tom.barton@thegazette.com