It's late--11:10 pm EST--and there are ZERO results in the Iowa Democratic caucuses.
The Republican numbers are in--President Donald Trump faced former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld and a radio host, Rep. Joe Walsh. Trump won with 97.2% of the vote. More telling: GOP turnout for an incumbent smashed the previous record.
The Democrats? No one knows! This time last year, all the results were in. The culprit seems to be a voting app designed by Robby Mook. Name sound familiar? Mook was Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign manager. Yes, the guy who helped lose the biggest election of the modern era has now screwed up the first Dem caucus of the election year.
Here's what the talking heads purport to know: turnout, which was expected to be near 240,000, is in fact closer to 2016 turnout levels of 160,000. This is a bad sign for Democrats, who had anticipated a big anti-Trump surge.
A statement just released from the Iowa DNC: "We found inconsistencies in three sets of results, and are working to resolve discrepancies."
None of the news is reassuring for anyone concerned with free and fair elections, but least of all for those who had hoped for some good publicity. Bernie Sanders must be apoplectic. Tonight was to be his first moment in the winner's spotlight while Joe Biden took an ugly loss, possibly even a fourth place finish.
Pundits on both sides of the aisle are asking if this screw-up is a sign of something darker. Tom Perez, who heads the DNC, recently stacked the commission with anti-Bernie officers such as John Podesta and Barney Frank.
11:29-- Candidates are beginning to take advantage of dead air to give empty speeches, not based on data around votes, not proclaiming victory or explaining a loss, but wrapping up so they can get back on their private jets to the East Coast.
11:35-- At this hour, the public is asleep or dozing off. Tomorrow, any Iowa headline will be lost amid State of the Union drama and anticipation of the acquittal vote in the Senate trial.
11:54-- CNN reports that the Iowa DNC will now count the ballots manually.
12:08-- Still nothing. Good night, all!
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[…] Inc. The ominously named company produced the vote counting app that caused such chaos in Iowa, as CD Media reported earlier this […]