Bernie Sanders and Pete Buttigieg ask for partial recanvass of Iowa caucus results
Democratic presidential candidates Bernie Sanders and Pete Buttigieg have officially asked the Iowa Democratic Party for a partial precinct-level recanvass of the results from last week's Iowa caucuses, which were thrust into chaos after technological issues entangled the reporting of results.
Sanders sent a letter to Iowa Democratic Party Chairman Troy Price on Monday asking for a recanvass of 25 precincts and three satellite caucuses, after his campaign said it had identified mathematical errors and inconsistencies in tabulations. The Vermont senator told Price that the discrepancies led South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg to receive too many state delegate equivalents, while Sanders received too few. A correction could give Sanders one more national delegate, his campaign said.
"Our volunteers and supporters worked too hard, and too many people participated for the first time to have the results depend on calculations that even the party admits are incorrect," Jeff Weaver, a senior adviser to the Sanders campaign, said in a statement. "Once the recanvass and a subsequent recount are completed in these precincts, we feel confident we will be awarded the extra national delegate our volunteers and grassroots donors earned."
Buttigieg, meanwhile, is asking for a partial recanvass for 66 precincts as well as a recanvass of all in-state satellite caucus locations. The former South Bend mayor said he believes the discrepancies identified by his campaign would result in a net increase of 14 state delegate equivalents if corrected.
Buttigieg said his campaign found three types of errors: reporting discrepancies, calculation or math errors, and a reporting and calculation error in how state delegate equivalents were apportioned to in-state satellite caucuses.
The Iowa Democratic Party confirmed it received the requests from the two campaigns, which together are seeking a recanvass for 85 precincts total after removing duplicates.
The state party said its Recount/Recanvass Committee will review the requests and inform the campaigns of its assessment within 48 hours.
The latest release of data from the Iowa Democratic Party put Buttigieg slightly ahead of Sanders in estimated national delegates that will be awarded in the Iowa caucuses. Sanders, however, kept a lead in the "popular vote," or final realignment.
Estimates from CBS News and the Iowa Democratic Party show Buttigieg received 14 delegates, while Sanders received 12. Trailing the two frontrunners are Elizabeth Warren with eight delegates, Joe Biden with six and Amy Klobuchar with one.
The recanvass request from Sanders was expected, as Faiz Shakir, Sanders' campaign manager, told CNN on Sunday he planned to ask for a review of the results. Campaigns had until Monday at 1 p.m. ET to submit any requests to the Iowa Democratic Party in writing.
State party rules say that a recanvass is a "hand audit" of caucus math worksheets from the precincts to compare them to publicly-reported numbers. The audit can be completed on a precinct level or statewide.
The Iowa Democratic Party has come under heightened scrutiny following last week's first-in-the-nation Democratic caucuses after the reporting of results was delayed because of issues with a mobile phone app designed to collect and transmit results. Many precinct chairs who used a hotline to report results to state party officials also faced long wait times before they were able to get through to a representative.
The chaos led Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez to call for a recanvass, though state party rules require such requests to come from a presidential campaign.