Des Moines Register calls for audit of caucus results: ‘Something smells in the Democratic Party’

The Des Moines Register’s editorial board on Thursday skewered the Iowa Democratic Party, calling for a “complete audit” of Monday’s caucus results.

“Once again the world is laughing at Iowa,” begins the piece, titled “Editorial: Something smells in the Democratic Party.”

“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,” wrote the Register, which endorsed Hillary Clinton as the Democratic candidate for president last month.

The campaign for Sen. Bernie Sanders, who lost to Mrs. Clinton on Monday by just 0.2 percentage points, has begun a review of the caucus results. The Iowa Democratic Party has said it will not conduct a recount.

“Dr. Andy McGuire, chairwoman of the Iowa Democratic Party, dug in her heels and said no,” the editorial board continued. “McGuire knows what’s at stake. Her actions only confirm the suspicions, wild as they might be, of Sanders supporters. Their candidate, after all, is opposed by the party establishment — and wasn’t even a Democrat a few months ago.”

“Break silly party tradition and release the raw vote totals,” it continued. “Provide a list of each precinct coin flip and its outcome, as well as other information sought by the Register. Be transparent.”

The Iowa Democratic Party issued a statement on Thursday saying that it’s not possible to conduct a full recount, but it would still work to address candidates’ concerns.

“There are no paper ballots to recount. Monday’s caucuses were a unique event that involved more than 171,000 Iowans and their neighbors at a specific time and place, and thus they cannot be re-created or recounted,” the party’s communications director, Sam Lau, said in a statement, Talking Points Memo reported.

“That being said, we are working with all campaigns on individual concerns they are bringing to us, and addressing them on a case-by-case basis,” Lau continued. “Just yesterday, we met with the Sanders campaign who brought us a small amount of specific concerns, and the Clinton campaign has also asked us a small amount of questions. We will look into these concerns and reach out to our county party leadership with any questions.”