Iowa Democrats intend to forge ahead with a plan for both a mail-in and an in-person 2024 caucus process, despite national Democrats on Friday finding the plan fails to comply with national party rules and could lead to sanctions.
The Democratic National Committee's Rules & Bylaws committee met Friday in Minneapolis to review and vote on a dozen or more state's delegate selection plans for the 2024 presidential nominating calendar. The committee approved a DNC staff recommendation, finding Iowa’s delegate selection plan non-compliant.
The Iowa Democratic Party will have 30 days to work with DNC staff and come back to the committee for approval, but could be granted additional extensions by the panel.
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State party chair Rita Hart, in a statement, said she was not surprised by the decision, given “missing pieces in our draft delegate selection plan.”
She also criticized Iowa Republicans for passing and signing into law a bill requiring in-person participation in Iowa caucuses when selecting presidential preference, calling it a partisan attack “to meddle in our party business.”
Republicans expressed concerns that New Hampshire — which is required by its state law to hold the nation’s first presidential primary election every four years — would try to supersede Iowa if the new Democratic Party caucus process was put in place for fear it would be too similar to a primary.
"No matter what, Iowa Democrats are united in moving forward with the most inclusive caucus process in our history,“ Hart said in a letter read by Iowa DNC member Scott Brennan during the meeting. ”We will do what’s good for Iowa, what’s good for Democrats and what’s good for democracy."
Under the plan, Iowa Democrats would caucus on the same night as Iowa Republicans, and at least eight days before any other state’s presidential nominating contest, as has historically been the case and as prescribed in Iowa law.
Democrats would meet to pick delegates to the state primary convention and conduct other party business, but no expression of presidential preferences would be tabulated at the precinct caucuses.
Iowa Democrats would calculate and announce the results of the presidential preference card votes and assign delegates to candidates at a later unspecified date. When presidential preference mail-in cards would be sent to Democrats or returned to the party is also not yet clear.
Hart, in her letter, said that is intentional to provide flexibility and an ability to adapt to uncertainty still surrounding the Democratic presidential nominating calendar.
While the national party has announced a new slate of five early-voting states — South Carolina, New Hampshire, Nevada, Georgia and Michigan — there have been issues with the implementation of that schedule as states wrestle with their own laws, including New Hampshire.
The DNC’s rule committee voted Friday to give New Hampshire Democrats at least 90 more days, until Sept. 1, to change when and how the state plans to hold its 2024 Democratic presidential primary.
Rules committee co-chair Minyon Moore said while there’s disagreement between the national party and New Hampshire Democrats on when the state should hold its primary, President Joe Biden, who is running for re-election, has made clear he wants New Hampshire in the early window.
In Georgia, the state’s Republican secretary of state has set the battleground state's 2024 presidential primary for March 12, rebuffing the wishes of Democrats to move the Southern state into the early weeks of the nominating calendar as a part of elevating a more diverse electorates.
“It doesn’t seem to make sense to extend the Georgia waiver at this point,” Moore said. “Regardless, I think the foundation has been laid for 2028, and it is a discussion we need to continue.”
The Iowa Democratic Party had put forward the mail-in proposal to make the caucuses more accessible, which was one of the main criticisms from national Democrats, in an effort to maintain its first-in-the-nation status after the national party decided to rewrite the early nominating calendar.
Following the 2020 presidential election, many national party leaders expressed a preference for primary elections over party-run caucuses. National Democratic Party leaders also said they wanted to elevate diverse states that better reflected the makeup of the party.
Though Iowa Democrats were eventually knocked off the coveted spot, state Democrats kept their plans — even though it risks being sanctioned by the national party, which has warned state parties it could strip them of delegates to the national convention if they jump the gun.
During the mail-in portion, Iowa Democrats would be able to request a presidential preference card through the mail or online. Hart, in her letter, said the Iowa Democratic Party is working with potential vendors to “ensure the mail-in part reflects a classic in-person caucus while also increasing accessibility for all Iowans.”
The second part will be traditional precinct caucuses held in person on the same date as Iowa Republicans, who kept their spot as the lead state in the party's presidential nominating calendar.
During the caucuses, Democrats would elect unbound delegates to county conventions, precinct committee persons to county conventions and discuss platform resolutions.
“For the first time, a police officer or firefighter working a third shift, a single parent who may not have access to child care or those in the disability community who may be unable to leave their homes will be able to participate in the Iowa Democratic Caucues and make their voices heard in the presidential selection process,” Hart wrote.
www.thegazette.com
The Democratic National Committee's Rules & Bylaws committee met Friday in Minneapolis to review and vote on a dozen or more state's delegate selection plans for the 2024 presidential nominating calendar. The committee approved a DNC staff recommendation, finding Iowa’s delegate selection plan non-compliant.
The Iowa Democratic Party will have 30 days to work with DNC staff and come back to the committee for approval, but could be granted additional extensions by the panel.
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State party chair Rita Hart, in a statement, said she was not surprised by the decision, given “missing pieces in our draft delegate selection plan.”
She also criticized Iowa Republicans for passing and signing into law a bill requiring in-person participation in Iowa caucuses when selecting presidential preference, calling it a partisan attack “to meddle in our party business.”
Republicans expressed concerns that New Hampshire — which is required by its state law to hold the nation’s first presidential primary election every four years — would try to supersede Iowa if the new Democratic Party caucus process was put in place for fear it would be too similar to a primary.
"No matter what, Iowa Democrats are united in moving forward with the most inclusive caucus process in our history,“ Hart said in a letter read by Iowa DNC member Scott Brennan during the meeting. ”We will do what’s good for Iowa, what’s good for Democrats and what’s good for democracy."
Under the plan, Iowa Democrats would caucus on the same night as Iowa Republicans, and at least eight days before any other state’s presidential nominating contest, as has historically been the case and as prescribed in Iowa law.
Democrats would meet to pick delegates to the state primary convention and conduct other party business, but no expression of presidential preferences would be tabulated at the precinct caucuses.
Iowa Democrats would calculate and announce the results of the presidential preference card votes and assign delegates to candidates at a later unspecified date. When presidential preference mail-in cards would be sent to Democrats or returned to the party is also not yet clear.
Hart, in her letter, said that is intentional to provide flexibility and an ability to adapt to uncertainty still surrounding the Democratic presidential nominating calendar.
While the national party has announced a new slate of five early-voting states — South Carolina, New Hampshire, Nevada, Georgia and Michigan — there have been issues with the implementation of that schedule as states wrestle with their own laws, including New Hampshire.
The DNC’s rule committee voted Friday to give New Hampshire Democrats at least 90 more days, until Sept. 1, to change when and how the state plans to hold its 2024 Democratic presidential primary.
Rules committee co-chair Minyon Moore said while there’s disagreement between the national party and New Hampshire Democrats on when the state should hold its primary, President Joe Biden, who is running for re-election, has made clear he wants New Hampshire in the early window.
In Georgia, the state’s Republican secretary of state has set the battleground state's 2024 presidential primary for March 12, rebuffing the wishes of Democrats to move the Southern state into the early weeks of the nominating calendar as a part of elevating a more diverse electorates.
“It doesn’t seem to make sense to extend the Georgia waiver at this point,” Moore said. “Regardless, I think the foundation has been laid for 2028, and it is a discussion we need to continue.”
The Iowa Democratic Party had put forward the mail-in proposal to make the caucuses more accessible, which was one of the main criticisms from national Democrats, in an effort to maintain its first-in-the-nation status after the national party decided to rewrite the early nominating calendar.
Following the 2020 presidential election, many national party leaders expressed a preference for primary elections over party-run caucuses. National Democratic Party leaders also said they wanted to elevate diverse states that better reflected the makeup of the party.
Though Iowa Democrats were eventually knocked off the coveted spot, state Democrats kept their plans — even though it risks being sanctioned by the national party, which has warned state parties it could strip them of delegates to the national convention if they jump the gun.
During the mail-in portion, Iowa Democrats would be able to request a presidential preference card through the mail or online. Hart, in her letter, said the Iowa Democratic Party is working with potential vendors to “ensure the mail-in part reflects a classic in-person caucus while also increasing accessibility for all Iowans.”
The second part will be traditional precinct caucuses held in person on the same date as Iowa Republicans, who kept their spot as the lead state in the party's presidential nominating calendar.
During the caucuses, Democrats would elect unbound delegates to county conventions, precinct committee persons to county conventions and discuss platform resolutions.
“For the first time, a police officer or firefighter working a third shift, a single parent who may not have access to child care or those in the disability community who may be unable to leave their homes will be able to participate in the Iowa Democratic Caucues and make their voices heard in the presidential selection process,” Hart wrote.
DNC committee rejects Iowa Democrats’ caucuses plan
Iowa Democrats intend to forge ahead with a plan for both a mail-in and an in-person 2024 caucus process, despite the possibility of sanctions.
www.thegazette.com
