Iowa Democrats plan to release caucus results Super Tuesday in 2024

The Iowa Democratic Party will release caucus results on Super Tuesday, bringing the state party into compliance with the Democratic National Committee’s proposed calendar.

Iowa Democrats announced the plan Friday ahead of the October DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee meeting. The release of caucus results March 5, 2024 will follow Democrats’ in-person caucuses on Jan. 15, the same date as Iowa Republicans.

The decision came following a two-year long process initiated by the DNC to reconfigure the early nominating calendar following the 2020 presidential election cycle, where Iowa’s Democratic caucuses faced problems reporting results, as well as criticism for lack of diversity and accessibility. Iowa did not receive a waiver to hold an early state contest in the DNC’s new presidential nominating calendar.

Despite initial pushback, Iowa Democrats have reached a compromise with the DNC for the 2024 nominating cycle. IDP Chair Rita Hart said in a news conference Friday that the state party will move forward with its mail-in presidential preference card system, with plans to begin mailing Jan. 12, 2024, with the final day to request a card on Feb. 19.

Iowans wanting to participate in the Democratic caucuses can begin to register for the mail-in process Nov. 1 this year. The IDP will accept presidential preference cards by mail that are postmarked on or before March 5, Super Tuesday, when the state party plans to release results. Under the new system, the in-person Jan. 15, 2024, Democratic precinct caucuses will be limited to conducting party business and selecting delegates as part of the presidential nominating process, but will not include any expressions of presidential preference.

“We believe this delegate selection plan is a compromise and meets the requirements set forth by this committee, complies with Iowa law, and most importantly sets Iowa Democrats up to win in 2024,” Hart wrote in a letter to Rules and Bylaws committee.

These dates were reached following “negotiations with DNC Staff,” Hart wrote, which included assurances from the national party that the presidential nominating calendar will be relitigated in 2028. Iowa Democrats have gotten reassurances from the DNC that the Democratic nominating calendar for the next presidential cycle will be “wide open,” Hart said.

Scott Brennan, an Iowa Democrat on the Rules and Bylaws committee, said RBC co-chairs and members have publicly confirmed there will be “no legacy states for 2028.”

“All bets are off,” Brennan said. “I told them in the breakfast this morning that we intend to be first in 2028. So we’re here to support the president in 2024, and by releasing results on March 5, that’s what we’re doing. But all bets are off for 2028.”

New Hampshire and Iowa Democrats resisted the DNC’s proposed nominating cycle kicking off with South Carolina’s primary, followed by New Hampshire, Nevada, Georgia and Michigan. Iowa has a state law requiring it hold the first presidential nominating contest in the country, and New Hampshire has a state law requiring it holds the nation’s first primary — both state parties said they could not comply with the new calendar without breaking state law.

New Hampshire Secretary of State David Scanlan, a Republican, said in April that Iowa Democrats’ mail-in caucus system would also trigger New Hampshire’s state law, as it would be too similar to a primary, and could force New Hampshire to move its primary ahead of the Iowa caucuses — both Democratic and Republican, despite the Republican National Committee’s plan to keep its traditional early state line-up.

Republican lawmakers in Iowa passed legislation in 2023 requiring that state parties conduct in-person caucuses, saying the measure was necessary to ensure Iowa Democrats’ new caucus system did not impact Republicans’ first-in-the-nation spot. Hart said the state law’s in-person requirement is met by the party holding in-person precinct caucuses Jan. 15, when delegates will be selected.

Hart criticized the Iowa GOP for trying to interfere with Democrats’ party business, but did not say whether she expected to see state Republicans challenge the proposal.

“We’ll see what happens, you know, but I’m not concerned about what one party says to another,” Hart said. “… The Republican Party has no business telling the Democratic Party how to conduct its business. So, I know that they have the ability to do many things, we’ll see what happens.”

Brennan said that Iowa Democrats’ plan could withstand court challenges by Iowa Republicans or other parties.

“There is a long line of First Amendment cases that protect the rights of state parties to determine their own processes,” Brennan said. “And so, the law that was passed was wrongheaded. … The Republicans or Democrats in Iowa had a long history, prior to that law being passed, of the two parties working together. And they threw that out us out of the blue, no consultation.”

Scanlan told the Des Moines Register he views Iowa’s plan as “a positive development” in preserving the traditional early nominating calendar, and said that he plans to set the New Hampshire primary date at the “appropriate time” after reviewing the Democrats’ proposal. New Hampshire party leaders have said they are planning for a primary date in January, though a date has not been announced by Scanlan.

Committee members confirmed Iowa’s plan as in “conditional compliance” at the Friday RBC meeting in St. Louis.

“I’d like to commend Scott and the Iowa Democratic Party for transforming their caucuses to include an inclusive and accessible mail-in process,” Minyon Moore, RBC co-chair said.

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