The state law Governor Reynolds signed June 1 would let Republicans set new voter registration rules for the Iowa Caucuses, but Iowa GOP chairman Jeff Kaufmann says requiring Caucus-goers to have registered as a Republican voter weeks in advance is unlikely.
“It is very, very clear in our RPI constitution that same-day registration is something that we shall allow,” Kaufmann said this past weekend during an appearance on “Iowa Press” on Iowa PBS. “That’s been the case since 1992.”
Kaufmann’s son, State Representative Bobby Kaufmann, is a senior advisor on Trump’s campaign and was lead sponsor of the bill that originally suggested Caucus-goers would have to be registered as a Republican — or a Democrat — at least 70 days before Caucus Night. That provision was
removed before the bill became law. The Iowa GOP chairman said the party’s state central committee is discussing other ways to ensure the integrity of the Caucuses.
“Essentially what we’re talking about here is some disaffected Republicans and Democrats from flooding our Caucuses,” Jeff Kaufmann said, “and giving us results that aren’t indicative of a Republican Caucus.”
On Caucus Night in 2016, over 21,000 Democrats and independent voters switched their voter registrations to Republican that evening. Entrance polls suggested Trump won nearly a third of Caucus-goers who registered as Republicans that night. Kaufmann said there would be push back from caucus-goers if same-day registration wasn’t allowed — and some campaigns have already begun planning for it.
“Our candidates have to be satisfied that Iowa is treating them in a neutral and objective fashion,” Kaufmann said, “so it’s a multilayered perception kind of situation as well.”
According to the Iowa Secretary of State’s office, there were 12,000 new voter registrations on Caucus Night in 2016 when both Republicans and Democrats had competitive presidential races.