Iowa’s most prominent newspaper has called for an audit of the Iowa Democratic caucus results following an extremely close race.
The Democrat Party declared Hillary Clinton the winner of the caucus, but by a margin so close—two-tenths of 1 percent—that The Des Moines Register says an audit should happen.
“What happened Monday night at the Democratic caucuses was a debacle, period. Democracy, particularly at the local party level, can be slow, messy and obscure. But the refusal to undergo scrutiny or allow for an appeal reeks of autocracy,” the paper’s editorial staff wrote.
“The Iowa Democratic Party must act quickly to assure the accuracy of the caucus results, beyond a shadow of a doubt.”
Bernie Sanders and his campaign have called for a closer look at the results, but Clinton’s campaign insisted there was no “uncertainty” and the Democrat Party of Iowa said there would be no look because representatives of the campaigns met in a room for hours and went over alleged discrepancies.
The “chaos” across the state included a number of coin tosses that left votes awarded to the winner.
The Register called for an immediate audit of results, and argued that by not doing so the party only adds fuel to the Sanders supporters’ theory that the party doesn’t want their candidate elected.
The editorial staff concluded: “Democrats should ask themselves: What do we want the Iowa caucus to be? How can we preserve its uniqueness while bringing more order? Does it become more like a straw poll or primary? How do we strike the balance between tradition and transparency? We have time to consider these questions. First, however, we need answers to what happened Monday night. The future of the first-in-the-nation caucuses demands it.”
