Recount possible following partial recanvassing of Iowa Democratic caucus results

Students and community members gathered to caucus Feb. 3 in the Sun Room of the Memorial Union.

Jake Webster

Pete Buttigieg maintains a small lead over Bernie Sanders following the Iowa Democratic Party’s (IDP) partial recanvassing of caucus results.

The IDP released updated results late Tuesday following recanvassing requests by the Sanders and Buttigieg campaigns. Buttigieg has 563.207 state delegate equivalents (SDE) to Sanders’ 563.127 SDEs, or a lead of 0.003 percent, according to the party’s results webpage.

A recanvassing involves rechecking the math used to tabulate results at precinct caucus sites.

“The IDP reported corrections for 26 precincts where a misapplication of the rules affected delegate allocation, and 3 precincts where the reported final alignment did not match what was on the math worksheet,” according to a press release from the IDP. “The remaining records of results that were requested for review were either accurately reported initially; corrected in the previous review; represent precincts electing a single delegate from the caucus as a whole; or reflect math inconsistencies that are not covered under the SCC resolution.”

The process is not final at this point, however. The Buttigieg and Sanders campaigns are able to request recounts.

“Any campaign that was granted a recanvass and wishes to request a recount must respond within 24 hours of the publication of results,” according to a press release from the IDP. “That response must include the requested precincts for a recount and any credible evidence that indicates the recount could change the national delegate allocation. The scope of a recount is limited to the precincts that were requested for the recanvass.”

Minutes after the IDP released the updated results, the Sanders campaign announced they would seek a partial recount from several precincts. The campaign will request a recount of “some 12 precincts,” according to a press release.

“Bernie Sanders won the popular vote in Iowa by 6,000 votes, the recanvass reduced the [SDE] deficit by 97 percent,” said Jeff Weaver, a Sanders senior adviser, in a press release. “We now believe a recount will give Sen. Sanders enough [SDEs] to put him over the top by that metric as well. We want to thank the people of Iowa, our supporters, our volunteers and everyone who made this possible.”

Sanders won the first round preferences in the Iowa Democratic caucuses by 6,103, with the support of 43,698 caucusgoers to Buttigieg’s 37,595. In the final round preferences of Iowa Democratic caucusgoers, Sanders maintained a lead of 45,831 to Buttigieg’s 43,273.

The IDP’s release of caucus results followed unprecedented delays, and some of the party’s results included errors that the party said they corrected.