The top official for the Democratic Party on Thursday said he wants the Iowa Democratic Party to audit its caucus results, after state party officials botched the roll-out of data and released incorrect information.

Tom Perez, chair of the Democratic National Committee, called on the state party to recanvass the results.

"Enough is enough," Perez said in a tweet. "In light of the problems that have emerged in the implementation of the delegate selection plan and in order to assure public confidence in the results, I am calling on the Iowa Democratic Party to immediately begin a recanvass."

In a follow-up tweet, Perez said the recanvass would involve reviewing precinct worksheets, which is the documentation used to tabulate caucus results. He also said Iowa Democrats will continue to report results.

As of Thursday afternoon, more than 96% of precinct results had been released. But local candidate supporters, county officials and Des Moines Register reporting have said some of the released results are inaccurate.

Perez did not alert officials within the Iowa Democratic Party before he posted his initial tweet, according to those familiar with the issue.

Troy Price, chair of the Iowa Democratic Party, later released a statement that appeared to preview intraparty finger-pointing.

Price pushed back on the notion that Perez could request a recanvass.

According to a 21-page manual prepared by the Iowa Democratic Party before Monday's caucuses, presidential campaigns can request a recanvass of results by sending Price a letter by noon Friday.

“Should any presidential campaign in compliance with the Iowa Delegate Selection Plan request a recanvass, the IDP is prepared," Price said. "In such a circumstance, the IDP will audit the paper records of report, as provided by the precinct chairs and signed by representatives of presidential campaigns. This is the official record of the Iowa Democratic caucus, and we are committed to ensuring the results accurately reflect the preference of Iowans.”

The manual only lists presidential campaigns as possible requesters.

"Requests must present credible evidence suggesting that results were misreported or erroneously counted," the manual says. A committee will validate the requests, according to the manual, and include the cost "assessed to the candidate in order to complete the recanvass."

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The manual says that the recanvass will occur in a space procured by the Iowa Democratic Party and that "the recanvass room will be open to campaign staff observers."

The recanvass will include an examination of caucus math worksheets and presidential preference cards and "inconsistencies are declared if results on official precinct or satellite forms are different from the results reported through the caucus reporting tool or by telephone," the manual says.

Reporting delays and app glitches

The Register and other media have reported that both an app designed to input results and the party's telephone reporting systems were flawed on caucus night.

A spokeswoman for the Iowa Democratic Party released a statement Monday night that said officials have experienced "a delay in the results due to quality checks."

In a news conference Tuesday, Price said the results delay was unacceptable. He cited a coding error with the app.

"I apologize deeply for this," Price said shortly before releasing the first batch of precinct results.

On Wednesday, the Iowa Democratic Party said it had reported inaccurate information. The Register has also reported that the count the Iowa Democratic Party had released included information that conflicted with caucus night results in some precincts.

"There will be a minor correction to the last batch of results and we will be pushing an update momentarily," the Iowa Democratic Party said in a tweet Wednesday, after it had released 85% of the long-awaited results.

On Thursday, the party confirmed that their call center was inundated with outside calls on caucus night that also contributed to the delay in results.

The caucus results have trickled in over several days, potentially blunting the media boost that presidential candidates seek in participating in the Electoral College-style nomination process. Party officials, for the first time this year, were releasing raw data from the first and final alignment process that serves as a type of ranked choice voting.

The caucuses are not an election, and the botched release of data on Monday is bringing on new scrutiny on whether Iowa should keep its top slot on the nominating calendar.

The latest results show former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg with a tiny lead over U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont. Buttigieg projected a measure of victory at his caucus watch party on Monday in Des Moines. On Thursday, Sanders claimed victory while speaking at a news conference in New Hampshire.

Barbara Rodriguez covers health care and politics for the Register. She can be reached by email at bcrodriguez@registermedia.com or by phone at 515-284-8011. Follow her on Twitter @bcrodriguez.

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