The Iowa Democratic Party has approved a plan to replace the “virtual caucus” recently nixed by the Democratic National Committee.

But while a news release hailed the proposal to “increase participation and make the caucuses more accessible for Iowans who have traditionally been unable to attend their in-person precinct caucus,” many Democrats won’t be able to use satellite caucuses.



The party’s news release (enclosed in full below) did not include a copy of the new delegate selection plan, which the State Central Committee has unanimously approved. Key points:

Democrats can apply to hold a satellite caucus on the evening of February 3, 2020 “at places like factories, group homes, or community gathering places […]. This option will be especially useful for shift workers, Iowans with disabilities, Iowans serving overseas, and students.”

State Central Committee members who are neutral in the presidential race will serve on a special committee to review applications for satellite caucuses.

Each satellite caucus will have a precinct chair “who is charged with overseeing the room, managing volunteers, and reporting the results on caucus night.”

Results from all satellite caucuses in each Congressional district will be reported as if they were a separate county. It’s not clear whether those results will be weighted like the party intended for the “virtual caucus” (accounting for around 9 percent of all state delegates).

The Democratic National Committee’s Rules and Bylaws Committee will surely approve this plan. There are no absentee ballots or early voting to upset New Hampshire’s secretary of state. The satellite caucuses will be in-person meetings, eliminating the hacking concerns that sank the tele-caucus plan.

Hundreds or perhaps thousands of Democrats may participate in the satellite caucuses, a big step forward from the 119 people who caucused at four satellite sites in 2016. But lots of people won’t have any more access than they would have under the rules in place for decades.

Only shift workers in large workplaces could realistically apply to hold a caucus on-site. Even for them, the option’s not guaranteed to be accessible. Will employers give them space to convene and allow a large group to go on break for an hour or more at the same time?

People on the evening shift in retail or service jobs couldn’t hold a satellite caucus. Neither could most people responsible for public safety or health care. A hospital can’t leave patients unattended or emergency rooms short-staffed while doctors, nurses, and aides disappear for an hour or more. The virtual caucus plan envisioned five windows for Democrats to participate during the week before the caucuses. Under the new plan, if you can’t make yourself available on the evening of February 3, 2020, you are out of luck.

I love the idea of satellite caucuses in group homes or assisted living facilities. But thousands of Iowans with disabilities live in their own homes. Ditto for senior citizens who don’t drive, or don’t drive at night. A satellite caucus doesn’t give those people the same access as a phone-in caucus.

Iowans serving in the military out of state could and should organize satellite caucuses. But this plan would do nothing for Iowans living abroad for other reasons, as I did during the 1992 and 2000 caucuses.

Satellite caucuses for students may be feasible on Iowa college campuses, but Iowans studying at out-of-state or overseas institutions are unlikely to have enough people in their cohort to apply for a satellite caucus.

Any neighborhood with big apartment complexes should apply to hold a satellite caucus. But lots of Iowa precincts are like mine: lots of rental homes and duplexes, but few apartments.

“Snowbirds” who legally reside in Iowa but spend winters in warmer climates could have participated in the virtual caucus but will be excluded under the new plan, unless they happen to live in some senior community with lots of other Iowans.

Caregivers who need to be home in the evenings or anyone who’s out of town for work on February 3 won’t be in a position to apply for a satellite caucus either.

Maybe it was too late to arrange for absentee ballots. Maybe Democratic Party volunteers couldn’t possibly handle thousands of absentee ballots securely, as county auditors Jamie Fitzgerald, Roxanna Moritz, and Travis Weipert wrote in this commentary for Iowa Starting Line.

But let’s not fool ourselves: the vast majority of Iowans who have been unable to participate in past caucuses will be out in the cold in 2020 again.

Another unintended consequence: the new plan will create more crowded conditions in larger counties and college towns, since those who would have caucused by phone for convenience or privacy will now have to show up in person to express a preference for a presidential candidate.

I expect chaotic scenes in many locations, since it will be difficult to physically separate and count six or eight preference groups in rooms stuffed to fire hazard levels. Journalists from all over the country will be covering some of these large precincts, and what they capture on camera probably won’t look like a neighborhood meeting or exercise in deliberative democracy.

I understand why some security experts determined a virtual caucus “would have been a hacking nightmare,” and I’m relieved the Iowa Democratic Party won’t apply for a waiver from DNC requirements to provide some form of non-present participation. Nevertheless, it’s unfortunate that the 2020 caucuses will take only a baby step toward more inclusion. In the 21st century, people expect to have a voice in something as important as the first step toward electing a president. I also agree with David Redlawsk (author of a book about the Iowa caucuses) that ongoing problems with accessibility will be an effective weapon for those who want to knock Iowa out of an early place on the 2024 calendar.

UPDATE: The DNC’s Rules and Bylaws Committee conditionally approved the plan on September 20, the Iowa Democratic Party announced in a news release. The Rules Committee’s action today means that Iowa’s plan has met the spirit of the DNC rules, and will be moved into full compliance after further review by DNC staff.”

I forgot to mention one important thing. One big problem with the virtual caucus plan was that the Iowa Democratic Party capped the number of statewide delegates for virtual caucus-goers at about 9 percent of the total. So even if 50,000 people had participated by phone, they would have determined about 9 percent of delegates. For that reason, presidential campaigns were discouraging supporters from caucusing by phone.

The irony is that if the party allocates 9 percent of statewide delegates based on results from satellite caucuses, the Democrats who take part in them may punch above their weight. Imagine 200,000 people attending regular precinct caucuses and only a few hundred or a few thousand caucusing in alternative locations like workplaces or nursing homes.

Iowa Democratic Party news release, September 19: