Iowa Democrats approve mail-in caucus plan

A plan that would have Iowa Democrats declare their 2024 presidential preference through mail-in presidential preference cards received unanimous support from the party’s state central committee Saturday.

The plan, which was released May 3, also would schedule delegate selection precinct caucuses to be held the same night as Iowa Republicans — eight days before any other state’s presidential primary.

The approval came during a meeting of the Iowa Democratic Party’s State Central Committee in Altoona.

This new plan comes after the national party voted to upend Iowa Democrats’ first-in-nation status and shake up the early primary calendar that has existed for decades, in February.

Under the new primary calendar rules passed by the Democratic National Committee, Iowa could lose delegates to the national presidential primary convention if it bucks the DNC’s plan.

“I’m pleased our leaders understand the need for flexibility surrounding this draft delegate selection plan as the Presidential nominating calendar remains in flux,” Iowa Democrats Chair Rita Hart said in a news release after Saturday’s vote.

The plan still leaves a timeline up to speculation, with no definitive dates being chosen yet.

Iowa Democrats announced a similar plan last year in an effort to keep Iowa’s coveted first-in-the-nation status. The mail-in preference cards aimed to make the caucuses more accessible, which was one of the main criticisms from national democrats.

“Iowa Democrats are united in moving forward with the most inclusive caucus process in our history,” Hart said. “No matter what, we will continue to do what’s best for Iowa, what’s best for our Party and what’s best for democracy.”

Ed Cranston, chair of Johnson County Democrats and co-chair of the Iowa Democrats Rules committee, said the plan was built so that all Iowans can participate in the party’s candidate selection.

“My mother-in-law is 99, and she cares about our government,” Cranston said. He added that this allows Democrats like his mother to participate in the process that was once more exclusionary in that it took hours of time on a winter evening.

“So this is a way for her to participate, for people that work third shift. People with young kids, folks that don't even want to drive at night, or even in the wintertime at night,” he said.

The plan would require precincts to pick delegates to the state primary convention on the same date as Iowa Republicans, and at a later unspecified date Iowa Democrats would calculate and announce the results of the presidential preference card votes, assigning delegates to candidates with more than 15 percent of the vote on a county level.

Following Saturday’s vote, the Iowa Democrats’ plan will be submitted to the Democratic National Committee’s Rules and Bylaws Committee for consideration.

New Iowa law attempts to preserve Iowa’s first-in-nation status

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds on Thursday signed into law a bill requiring in-person participation in Iowa caucuses when selecting presidential preference.

The law, passed by Iowa Republican lawmakers earlier this year, attempts to thwart state Democrats’ plans to hold presidential preference selection by mail.

Iowa Rep. Bobby Kaufmann, a Republican from Wilton, spearheaded the bill in an effort to keep Iowa’s “first-in-nation“ status.

Other Republicans expressed concerns that New Hampshire would try to supersede Iowa if the new caucus process was put in place, because they felt it was too similar to a primary.

New Hampshire Secretary of State David Scanlan said, in a tweet while the bill was being debated by the Iowa Legislature, that if Iowa’s process looks too much like a primary, New Hampshire -- which is required to have the first primary, by state law -- would jump ahead.

Iowa Democrats leaders say the newly-signed law is a partisan attack on the Democrats’ new plan.

“It is my solid belief that one political party cannot tell another political party what to do or how to conduct its business,” Hart said. “So, I remain committed to doing what’s best for Iowa Democrats, for the state of Iowa, and for democracy.”

The law only requires in-person participation for caucuses that select delegates as part of the presidential nomination process, which would allow for Iowa Democrats’ plan of separating the presidential preference and delegate selection processes.

Republicans criticize Iowa Democrats’ plan

Iowa Republican Party chair Jeff Kaufmann criticized Iowa Democrats’ plan for the 2024 caucus.

“They bungled their attempts to survive the DNC 2024 calendar reshuffle, and now they are willing to throw away Iowa’s political clout and make us another flyover state in an attempt to show how woke they are,” Kaufmann said in a statement released Saturday.

“This latest charade will do nothing to make them part of the conversation of being first. It will instead jeopardize the future of the Iowa caucuses.”

Iowa Republicans still have their first-in-nation spot in the GOP primary calendar.

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