Iowa Democrats will be able to petition the state party to host "satellite" caucuses at nursing homes, work sites, out-of-state college campuses and even overseas in 2020.

The plan was approved by the Democratic National Committee's Rules and Bylaws Committee on Friday, just weeks after the same committee rejected Iowa's plan to host telephone-based virtual caucuses.

The Iowa Democratic Party proposed its virtual caucuses as a way to meet a DNC mandate that caucus states find some way to allow people to participate without being physically present on caucus night, to make the process more inclusive and accessible.

But the DNC rejected that plan earlier this month — less than five months before the caucuses — because of unresolved cybersecurity concerns. The committee members said there was no technology-based system that it would approve.

Iowa Democrats scrambled to come up with a replacement plan that could still expand access, considering alternatives such as absentee ballots and proxy votes, among others.

More:Iowa Democrats are trying to replace the virtual caucuses. What are their options?

Though the plan the committee approved Friday still will require Iowans to be physically present at a caucus, committee members and Iowa Democrats said they were pleased it does something to expand access to people who may not be able to travel to a traditional precinct site.

"This creates a pathway for those who couldn’t show up at their precinct caucuses," Iowa Democratic Party Chairman Troy Price said in an interview. "I think this is going to be a great way for people — shift workers and people in nursing homes and people outside of the state — to be able to have an Iowa caucus experience.”

The state party tested the satellite program in 2016. Groups of people who "demonstrated a clear need" were able to petition the party to add nontraditional caucus locations. Four sites were approved: The Iowa Veterans Home in Marshalltown, a senior-living facility in Iowa City, and the behavioral health institutes in Woodward and Glenwood.

Those caucuses were held at the same day and time as that year's traditional caucuses.

Price said that petitioners for the 2020 caucuses who show a demonstrable need may get approval to have their satellite caucuses at a different time, though the party would prefer it to be as close to 7 p.m. as possible.

Price said he would convene a satellite caucus review committee made up of State Central Committee members who have pledged to remain neutral in the caucuses. Any Iowa Democrat will be able to petition that committee to host a satellite caucus location before Nov. 18. The sites could be in-state or out-of-state locations.

The committee will approve those petitions by Dec. 16 and make the list public by Dec. 18, he said.

The satellite caucuses would operate like traditional Democratic precinct caucuses, with participants making first and second choices.

To measure results, each of Iowa's four congressional districts would be given one additional "county." Results from all the satellite locations in that congressional district would feed into that "county," and state delegate equivalents then would be apportioned out.

The state party will also expand its staff to make the process run more smoothly. The team will include a new caucus accessibility director and two caucus accessibility organizers. Price said part of the new jobs will be ensuring that anyone who wants to attend a precinct caucus has the resources to do so.

Price said he's sure campaigns will begin to look at the new plan to see if they can come up with organizing strategies around it.

"But really the most important thing is making sure Iowans have an additional pathway to participation in our process," he said.

The DNC's Rules and Bylaws Committee co-chair, Jim Roosevelt, said Friday that he hopes the DNC will work with Iowa to enact virtual caucuses in 2024.

“Following the presidential election, I will urge the DNC leadership to work with the caucus states and provide resources to try to develop a secure system for absentee voting," he said. "And we will do that with a three-year lead time instead of an eight-month lead time. And we may well also see evolving technology by then.”

Brianne Pfannenstiel is Chief Politics Reporter for the Register. Reach her at bpfann@dmreg.com or 515-284-8244. Follow her on Twitter at @brianneDMR.

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