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Iowa Democrats request caucus plan extension; GOP chair warns mail-in will sink caucuses
Caleb McCullough, Gazette-Lee Des Moines Bureau
Apr. 14, 2023 4:37 pm
Iowa Democrats requested an extension to file their 2024 caucus plan Friday morning as GOP Chair Jeff Kaufmann slammed their commitment to a mail-in caucus plan, days after a Republican lawmaker proposed a bill to require in-person participation in the caucuses.
Iowa Democratic Party Chair Rita Hart on Friday sent a letter to the Democratic National Committee’s Rules and Bylaws Committee requesting a 30-day extension to submit the party’s delegate selection plan.
The proposed bill — House Study Bill 245 — advanced out of a House Committee on Thursday. It would require in-person participation at party caucuses and require a person to register with a party 70 days in advance of the caucuses. The bill would upend Democrats' plan to conduct their caucuses mostly by mail.
In her letter, Hart said the bill “would obviously have a dramatic effect on our plans.”
The mail-in system was pitched as a way to expand accessibility, allowing people who may not be able to spend an entire evening at a caucus to express their preference for president.
“I am committed to holding the most inclusive and accessible caucuses in Iowa history,” she wrote. “Folks who work third shift, people with disabilities, and parents of young children should have a voice in Iowa’s presidential nominating process.”
If granted, the Iowa Democrats would have until June 3 to submit their delegate selection plan for 2024.
‘The cards have been on the table’ in standoff with New Hampshire
Also on Friday, Iowa GOP Chair Jeff Kaufmann slammed Democrats for suggesting a plan that he says would endanger the caucuses, saying the “cards have been on the table for over a decade” in the standoff between Iowa and New Hampshire’s presidential nominating contests.
Republicans have argued that implementing a mail-in system, as the Iowa Democratic Party announced in June, would constitute a primary instead of a caucus, triggering New Hampshire to schedule its primary before Iowa’s caucus.
“This is not Republicans speculating what Republicans might do,” he said. “They will jump us. They have had their cards on the table the entire time. We have had our cards on the table. Nothing has changed here.”
The bill was proposed by Rep. Bobby Kaufmann, a Republican from Wilton and Jeff Kaufmann’s son. Bobby Kaufmann is also a senior adviser to former President Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign.
New Hampshire state law requires it to hold its primary election before any other state, and the state traditionally holds the first primary after Iowa’s caucuses. Jeff Kaufmann said the order is dependent on agreements between the states and the parties, and if that agreement breaks down it threatens Iowa’s position.
“That is a line you cannot cross or the entire carveout system falls apart,” he said. “And we will be flyover country.”
New Hampshire GOP Chair Chris Ager posted a screenshot of an email online this week, in which the state’s Republican Secretary of State David Scanlon confirmed those concerns, saying he would move the primary date ahead of the caucuses if Democrats use mail-in ballots in their caucuses.
If Iowa Democrats move to primary balloting vs a Caucus, New Hampshire would move our primary ahead of that date. @IowaGOP @NewHampJournal @NHGOP @FoxNews @steinhauserNH1 @TheIowaHawkeyes @TimothyAger1 pic.twitter.com/cJuqKBui65
— NHGOP Chairman Chris Ager (@NHGOPChairman) April 12, 2023
But Democrats this week were defiant, saying New Hampshire should not control what Iowa’s parties choose to do.
“As chair of the Iowa Democratic Party, I’m committed to doing what’s best for Iowa, not what’s best for New Hampshire,” Hart said during a Thursday news conference. “And if Iowa Republicans are serious about defending Iowa, and I believe that they are serious about that, they won’t let another state weigh in on the laws that we write. And they would give me an opportunity to work with them to work together with them on behalf of Iowans.”
Iowa Democrats presented their plan to conduct the caucuses mostly by mail in June in an attempt to keep their spot as the first presidential nominating contest for the Democratic Party. The Democratic National Committee had expressed skepticism of Iowa remaining first in the nation because of many factors, including the lack of accessibility that a caucus provides and the lack of diversity in Iowa.
The party ultimately approved a calendar that kicked Iowa from the early window entirely, elevating South Carolina to the first primary in their process at the urging of President Joe Biden.
70-day registration cutoff
The bill would also require a person to register with a party 70 days in advance to participate in that party’s caucus. Bobby Kaufmann said the measure is necessary to prevent members of one party from organizing and participating in another party’s caucus if they do not fall on the same night.
But in doing away with same-day registration for caucuses, the move may affect parties’ abilities to organize and bring new members into the fold ahead of the caucuses. Parties would need to drive registration ahead of the 70-day cutoff instead of in the weeks leading up to or the day of the caucuses.
Jeff Kaufmann said it would potentially make Republicans’ organizing efforts more difficult, but it is a necessary barrier to prevent Democrats from meddling in the Republican caucuses.
“Will it make it a little bit more difficult for Republicans to make sure they have to (register within) 70 days? Absolutely,” he said. “But you certainly can't call that a political move on our part. I’ve got to answer to my own party for that.”