Some discussions of the Iowa caucuses leave the impression that there are no records of what happens inside a caucus site, and that everything is a matter of personal interactions. Those interactions are key and the reason that people who prefer caucuses prefer them, but there are indeed paper records associated with a caucus. I thought people might like to see what those records are and why they do not permit a “recount."
A caucus is organized by its temporary chair and secretary. The first interactions with the public happen starting at 6:30, when people can sign in. For people already registered as a Democrat, they sign on this form:
If people are not registered as Democrats, they sign on this form:
If you look closely, you’ll see at the top left corners a “loyalty oath”:
It’s not very onerous: “I am a supporter of the Iowa Democratic Party."
Copies of these two forms will be sent after the caucus to the IDP, the county Democratic chair, and the county auditor (who keeps election records in Iowa). As people pass the registration desk, they will often be handed a file card or piece of paper with a number on it that is their number of entry into the caucus. This provides a cross check: the highest number handed out should equal the total of the two previous forms. I am guessing that the pieces of paper could also settle disputes if a question arose about whether an individual could be counted in a preference group, but I’ve never seen it needed for that. These pieces of paper are just for use that evening.
The total of people who register is a very important number. It is used to calculate what viability is in that particular caucus and to calculate how many delegates are assigned. Even if people leave during the course of the evening, it is this initial number of registered caucus goers that is used.
Near the registration tables will be a display of two things: the caucus agenda and “the math.” Here is a sample caucus agenda — our site had this same one posted as a blow up that could be read from a distance:
This is also only for use that night, and it means that everyone there knows what is supposed to happen and in what order. The election of a permanent chair and secretary almost always just ratifies the temporary ones, who play an organizing role. The viability threshold for a caucus assigning four or more delegates is 15% of the total registered attendees. “The math” is just a larger version of the numbers shown below in how to calculate delegates.
Forming preference groups and realigning happen without any paper work. Usually locations around the room are assigned for all the candidates in advance, so people have sorted themselves out for the first pass before the viability threshold is announced. Most caucuses at this point allow brief talks in favor of each candidate. There was also an opportunity between 6:30 and opening to read candidates’ letters, posted on the wall. People in nonviable groups are then given the chance to move or to form a viable group.
This to me is one of the important parts of a caucus. In a primary, the ballot displays all the names and you pick one. First past the post settles it. But what if I have other preferences? What if my second choice is much closer than my third choice? A caucus allows me to act on those; current primaries don’t. Instant runoff voting helps with that problem, but not the name recognition problem.
When all people are in viable groups or decline to realign, the delegate assignment is made. There is a formula for that, which is included on this reporting form. This image is a screen capture from my pdf of the caucus chair manual (the image library doesn’t quite do it justice), but the Linn County Democrats have a higher resolution version for download:
Note that the representatives of all the candidates who receive delegates sign on the form in addition to the caucus chair and secretary. Thus, any disagreements between the candidate representatives need to be resolved before this form is signed. My caucus chair allowed me to sign for O’Malley as well, even though we did not receive any delegates. The right hand column had zero for us.
And again: these are delegates to the county convention, held in March. The county conventions select delegates to the district conventions, which select state convention delegates. This is why the numbers on Monday were reported as “state delegate equivalents”; SDEs are an approximation of how many state delegates are likely to be chosen if nothing changes in the interim like a candidate suspending a campaign.
It is these county delegate numbers that are phoned in to the Iowa Democratic Party during the caucus.
The phone call from the caucus does not include the number of people in each preference group, because that number will not play any role in any subsequent events. Representatives of candidates are also free to phone in the delegate count to their party organizers. The calculation form, like the registration forms, are mailed in to the IDP as soon as reasonably possible. This Tuesday parts of the state were under a blizzard, which delayed mailing the forms in some cases. Copies are kept by the county chair and the precinct secretary. It’s also worth noting that the number of people in the preference groups at the end might be less than the initial total of eligible attendees, because people might leave if they don’t want to support any of the remaining candidates or they might leave if the delegate split is already obvious. In our caucus, no one left until after the final realignment.
There is more business than choosing the delegates. We signed nomination papers for Democratic candidates, we raised money for the state and county Democratic committees, and we elected our precinct representative to the county Democratic committee. People who wanted to could submit resolutions for the county convention. All of these and the conversations among neighbors are not part of a primary election, and are part of why some states prefer caucuses over primaries. They are two different beasts, two different ways to select national delegates.