‘Nobody knows what’s going on at this point’: uncertainty surrounds 2024 Democratic caucuses

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) - Wednesday the state Democratic Party released a plan for how its caucuses will operate next year.

The biggest change involves a mail-in ballot for presidential choices. The actual in-person gathering at caucus sites would be for party business only.

“This is trying to provide a plan to the Democratic National Committee about what Iowa would do in a presidential primary/caucus,” said Derek Muller, a professor who teaches election law at the University of Iowa.

“There’s going to be a separate process where we mail in cards and determine how to allocate delegates to go to the Democratic National Convention,” he added.

There are a number of reasons for the change. The Iowa Democratic Party faced scrutiny after the chaotic 2020 Democratic caucuses, with long delays and technology problems. Also, party leaders said the in-person caucus format itself doesn’t always fit into modern life.

“Not being able to participate because you can’t get to the specific caucus site at this time—[this change] does show that the Democrats are trying to take a look at ‘How is life going on now?’” said Bret Nilles, Chair of the Linn County Democrats.

Last year, the Democratic National Committee announced Iowa would no longer be the first to hold its presidential nominating contest. Instead, South Carolina tops the list, with national party officials saying that the state is more reflective of the party than Iowa.

After South Carolina, it’s New Hampshire, Nevada, Georgia, and Michigan. However, even that calendar is not set in stone.

“This whole plan is still in flux,” said Muller. “It was contingent on all five of those states being able to sort of organize and comply with the DNC’s other requirements. So this proposal now is, in a way, sort of coming back to the DNC from Iowa and saying, ‘Look, here’s our proposal.’”

Tim Hagle, a political science professor at the University of Iowa said, “It’s polite to say it’s in flux.” He added, “Nobody knows what’s going on at this point.”

“The plan that the Democrats are putting through with a mail-in caucus, there won’t be that sort of that intensity where you’ve got to get people ready by caucus night. And so we’re probably not going to see a lot of candidates,” said Hagle. “It’s basically a disservice to Iowa voters.”