Caucus turnout could surpass record

About 30 precincts of nearly two-thousand haven’t turned in their official numbers yet, but the current tally shows more than 122-thousand Iowans took part in last night’s Democratic caucuses. Back in January of 1988, the caucuses attracted 125-thousand, which Secretary of State Chet Culver says will likely be eclipsed when the final numbers are in from this year.Culver says he hopes this puts to rest the notion that not enough Iowans participate in the process. This is the first time a new computing system has been used statewide that required precinct captains to report the exact number of participants, not just estimates. Culver says last night’s overall total number of participants was double that from the 2000 caucuses. Culver credits the extended efforts in training, education and outreach that brought tens of thousands of teenagers into the fold. He says they tried to break down a lot of barriers to the caucus process with more training. Also, last night, he says between 50-and-75-thousand Republicans held caucuses in Iowa.