With Iowa caucus results still rolling in three days after voting, the leader of the Democratic National Committee said he has doubts about the figures released so far.
“Enough is enough. In light of the problems that have emerged in the implementation of the delegate selection plan and in order to assure public confidence in the results,” tweeted DNC Chairman Tom Perez Thursday. “I am calling on the Iowa Democratic Party to immediately begin a recanvass.”
A re-canvassing of results is a step just short of an official recount and involves the double-checking of existing records. A re-canvassing of the Iowa results would likely involve having local party officials verify ballots with how they were officially recorded. A recount, on the other hand, is a court-ordered process that is often much more time-consuming and involves a number of mandated steps.
Perez’s demands come as the Iowa Democratic Party has yet to release the full results of the caucus. By Thursday afternoon, 97% of the results had come in, although questions remained over their accuracy.
A number of outlets reported inconsistencies in the data provided by individual Iowa precincts. There remains no evidence that the errors in the data indicate a bias against any candidate in particular.
On Wednesday, Perez released a statement announcing that the DNC had staffers working with Iowa officials to “ensure that all votes are counted.”
“Our immediate goal is to ensure that every vote is counted as quickly as possible. Accuracy is our guidepost,” he said.
It remains unclear whether the DNC has the power to enforce a re-canvassing, as the Iowa caucus was operated solely by the state party.
