Iowa Democrats announced this morning the smartphone app developed to collect Caucus Night results had a coding error.
Party officials say the app was taking in data correctly, but spitting out
only partial data. Iowa Democratic Party chairman Troy Price says there was no hacking of the data and the party discovered the inconsistencies due to the quality checks it had always planned to do. Price says the coding glitch has been fixed and all the paper records of voting in more than 1600 precincts is verifying results. The party plans to release results as soon as possible today.
Iowa’s top Republicans have issued a written statement of support. Governor Reynolds as well as Senators Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst said they have “complete confidence every last vote will be counted.” However, on a conference call with reporters this morning, Grassley questioned the “new approach” Democrats are using for this year’s results.
Read the written statements issued by IDP chairman Troy Price and by Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds and US Senators Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst below.
DES MOINES — This morning, Iowa Democratic Party Chair Troy Price released the following statement:
“Last night, more than 1,600 precinct caucuses gathered across the state of Iowa and at satellite caucuses around the world to demonstrate our shared values and goal of taking back the White House. The many volunteers running caucus sites, new voters registering as Democrats, and neighbors talking to each other about the future of our country demonstrated the strength of our party.
“We have every indication that our systems were secure and there was not a cyber security intrusion. In preparation for the caucuses, our systems were tested by independent cybersecurity consultants.
“As precinct caucus results started coming in, the IDP ran them through an accuracy and quality check. It became clear that there were inconsistencies with the reports. The underlying cause of these inconsistencies was not immediately clear, and required investigation, which took time.
“As this investigation unfolded, IDP staff activated pre-planned backup measures and entered data manually. This took longer than expected.
“As part of our investigation, we determined with certainty that the underlying data collected via the app was sound. While the app was recording data accurately, it was reporting out only partial data. We have determined that this was due to a coding issue in the reporting system. This issue was identified and fixed. The application’s reporting issue did not impact the ability of precinct chairs to report data accurately.
“Because of the required paper documentation, we have been able to verify that the data recorded in the app and used to calculate State Delegate Equivalents is valid and accurate. Precinct level results are still being reported to the IDP. While our plan is to release results as soon as possible today, our ultimate goal is to ensure that the integrity and accuracy of the process continues to be upheld.”
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DES MOINES – Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, Sen. Chuck Grassley and Sen. Joni Ernst released the following joint statement regarding Iowa’s presidential caucuses:
“Iowa’s unique role encourages a grassroots nominating process that empowers everyday Americans, not Washington insiders or powerful billionaires. The face-to-face retail politics nature of Iowa’s caucus system also encourages dialogue between candidates and voters that makes our presidential candidates accountable for the positions they take and the records they hold.
“Iowa’s large population of independent voters and its practice of careful deliberation contributes greatly to the national presidential primary and makes it the ideal state to kick off the nominating process.
“Iowa’s bipartisan first-in-the-nation status helped lead to the nomination of President Obama and has the full backing of President Trump. The process is not suffering because of a short delay in knowing the final results.
“Iowans and all Americans should know we have complete confidence that every last vote will be counted and every last voice will be heard.
“We look forward to Iowa carrying on its bipartisan legacy of service in the presidential nominating process.”