2008 Caucuses May Report To Internet
Even those who stay home caucus night in January of 2008 may be able to see the results from their own precinct on their home computer. They should get the results the same moment as Tom Vilsack, Evan Bayh, and all the other candidates.
That will happen if the Iowa Democrats practice “transparent aggregation” of the caucus tallies. The topic was discussed at last Saturday’s meeting of the Democrat State Central Committee, according to Tom Harrington, a member from the 4th congressional district. Harrington reports
The IDP staff was very receptive to having automatic
posting of the precinct results from the caucuses. I
am confident they will do it, as they are trying to
make the caucus process seem as transparent and fair
as possible.
There have been disputes in the past about who actually won the caucuses or about how many people turned out. This has led to bad publicity, something Iowa can’t afford as it defends its status as first in the national nominating process. With our own Governor a candidate, we really need to show the country we can hold a fair caucus.
In 2004 the results came in quickly due to an automated phone-in system. But they weren’t transparent. A caucus reported its results on a touchtone phone with no confirmation that the transmission had gone smoothly. The plan under consideration will cure that.
The results will go onto the internet as they come in if the adopted procedure follows this recommendation from the DNC. The whole nation can watch the returns come in.
This is how all election results should be compiled. It will be an improvement over 2004, which was a bit like voting on a paperless touchscreen (the caucus had to hope its vote was tallied correctly).