The 2020 Iowa caucuses

By Meg Wagner, Amanda Wills, Veronica Rocha and Mike Hayes, CNN

Updated 12:14 a.m. ET, February 5, 2020
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11:47 a.m. ET, February 4, 2020

Mobile apps weren't part of caucus chair training, local officials say

From CNN's Jeff Zeleny and Dianne Gallagher

Jim Bourg/Reuters
Jim Bourg/Reuters

Despite a new, wider rollout of a mobile app to transmit caucus results, local party officials in Iowa say the mobile app was not part of any caucus chair training.

Linda Nelson, a Democratic caucus chair in Pottawattamie County, tells CNN that precinct chairs did not receive training because the app wasn’t ready.

Zach Simons, the party chair in Wapello county, told The New York Times: “The app wasn’t included in the chair training that everyone was required to take.”

In Des Moines, Polk County Democratic Chairman Sean Bagniewski told CNN that app problems actually surfaced last week during testing. When some precinct chairs reported trouble last Thursday, Bagniewski told those who couldn’t get the app to work to call in their results to the Iowa Democratic Party as they had in previous years.

“When you have an app that you’re sending out to 1,700 people and many of them might be newer to apps and that kind of stuff, it might have been worth doing a couple months’ worth of testing,” Bagniewski told The New York Times.

However, last week, a state party official told CNN's Dianne Gallagher: "The IDP has been training caucus leaders on heightened security measures and is holding regular app trainings with caucus leaders in the weeks leading up to caucus night." 

CNN has reached out to the Iowa Democratic Party for a response on the precinct chairs' concerns today and has not received a response.

11:11 a.m. ET, February 4, 2020

Major coding error responsible for Dem app problem

From CNN's Mark Preston

Daniel Acker/Bloomberg/Getty Images
Daniel Acker/Bloomberg/Getty Images

A Democratic source tells CNN that the issue seems to lie with a major coding error in the app that was discovered once data started flowing into the IDP and party officials began to see discrepancies in the three data streams as the results started coming. 

The source said it took time for party officials to identify and address the issue and noted there was not a problem with the raw data being put in by the individual precincts.

 The national party is trying to help Iowa resolve it.

11:13 a.m. ET, February 4, 2020

The Buttigieg campaign has used the same company that developed the app in Iowa

Joseph Prezioso/AFP/Getty Images
Joseph Prezioso/AFP/Getty Images

Pete Buttigieg's campaign said they have used Shadow Inc. — the same app company that developed the app in Iowa that caused the reporting area. 

A Buttigieg campaign aide said they "have contracted with this vendor in the past for text messaging services to help us contact voters. Totally unrelated to any apps they built for the party.” 

It appears that Joe Biden and Kirsten Gillibrand's campaign have also used the company, as well as other state Democratic parties.

11:07 a.m. ET, February 4, 2020

Bernie Sanders is fundraising off Iowa delay

Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Sen. Bernie Sanders' campaign sent an email to supporters asking for donations following the confusion in Iowa.

Here's a portion of the email:

"Like you, we are disappointed with what happened last night in Iowa.

But while we wait for the results, we cannot lose focus of the fact that New Hampshire’s primary, the first in the nation, is just seven days away.

And we have to be ready, and Bernie cannot do that alone.

Can you make a $2.70 contribution to our campaign today? There is no more important day to make your first donation to our campaign.

We will be in touch as soon as we learn more."

10:38 a.m. ET, February 4, 2020

A delegate tie between Sanders and Buttigieg was decided by a coin flip

From CNN's Paul P. Murphy

The official results may not be ready just yet. But at one precinct in Des Moines, Iowa, an apparent delegate tie between Sen. Bernie Sanders and Pete Buttigieg was decided by a coin flip.

Jaylen Cavil said he took this video of the coin flip at precinct 80:

10:43 a.m. ET, February 4, 2020

The Warren campaign will provide photos and other data to Iowa Democratic Party

Andrew Harnik/AP
Andrew Harnik/AP

Sen. Elizabeth Warren's campaign manager Roger Lau said they will provide photographs and "other raw documentation of the results" to the Iowa Democratic Party "to help ensure the integrity of their process."

He said the campaign collected data from "hundreds of caucus locations."

10:26 a.m. ET, February 4, 2020

Deval Patrick takes a shot at fellow Democratic candidates

Mary Altaffer/AP
Mary Altaffer/AP

Democratic presidential candidate Deval Patrick took a shot at his fellow candidates, in the face of uncertainty over the results of the Iowa caucuses.

“One candidate is calling the results into question because he apparently didn’t do well. Another is declaring victory without any votes being confirmed. The way to beat Donald Trump isn’t to act like Donald Trump. Our party and our country deserve better," he said in a statement.

While the outcome of the Iowa Democratic caucuses still remains unknown, former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg declared victory before the results were released.

Meanwhile, Democratic presidential campaigns remained in the dark this morning over when and how many results of the Iowa caucuses will be released, two officials tell CNN. Without knowing who won the first contest of the 2020 race, many candidates departed Iowa and traveled to New Hampshire, where the state's primary will be held next week.

10:05 a.m. ET, February 4, 2020

Iowa Democrats will huddle again with campaigns to go over caucus results

From CNN's Jeff Zeleny

Iowa Democratic Chairman Troy Price is holding another conference call this morning with representatives of the Democratic presidential campaigns. Until now, campaigns have told CNN that they’ve been in the dark. 

Price released a statement this morning, explaining the inconsistencies in the reports.

"Because of the required paper documentation, we have been able to verify that the data recorded in the app and used to calculate State Delegate Equivalents is valid and accurate. Precinct level results are still being reported to the IDP. While our plan is to release results as soon as possible today, our ultimate goal is to ensure that the integrity and accuracy of the process continues to be upheld," Price said.
10:44 a.m. ET, February 4, 2020

Iowa Democratic officials woke her up to get results

From CNN's Jeff Zeleny

Linda Nelson, a Democratic caucus chair in Pottawattamie County, was among the first to publicly sound the alarm yesterday about concerns with the app used to count Iowa caucus results.

When CNN talked to her on Monday afternoon, she said she kept getting an error message when she entered her PIN. Nelson said she planned to do it the old-fashioned way — by calling in her results.

That turned out to be impossible, as the phone lines were jammed. Nelson texted a picture of her Caucus Math Sheet to Troy Price, chairman of the Iowa Democratic Party, and went to bed.

Nelson said she got a call from the Iowa Democratic Party at 1:23 a.m., and she shared the totals with them after "both alignments and delegate distribution."

"They are probably still making calls," she said via text.

Indeed they are. A senior Democratic official tells CNN they estimate that about 250 precincts are still outstanding. 

Nelson shared this photo of the Caucus Math Sheet, which shows Amy Klobuchar carried her precinct, winning four delegates, followed by Joe Biden with three, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren each with two:

Courtesy of Linda Nelson
Courtesy of Linda Nelson