Rick Santorum Won Iowa Says Ballot Counter

Iowa Ballot counter Edward True says it was Rick Santorum and not Mitt Romney who actually won the Iowa caucus. While the official vote total gave Romney an 8-vote victory the ballot counter says his 53-person caucus registered just 2 votes for Romney, not the 22 that were reported on the Iowa Republican Party’s website.

True asserts that the miscount means “Rick Santorum won Iowa—not Mitt Romney.”

For their part in the potential miscount party officials appear to be brushing off True’s comment, stating that he’s not the precinct captain and therefore shouldn’t be talking about the results. Officials say discrepancies won’t be discussed until all voter results have been certified, a process that could take weeks to complete, leaving Romney with the needed momentum heading into the New Hampshire primary.

For a state that prides itself for political savvy a political analyst told KCCI-TV in Des Moines

“This will make Iowa look a little foolish in the eyes of the rest of the country, which already questions the seriousness of the caucuses.”

That analyst goes on to mention:

 ”But in terms of Santorum’s results here, the caucuses have made him a player in presidential politics, and if he should nudge ahead of Gov. Romney for the final certified result, that’s really not going to make any significant difference at this point.”

Do you think Mitt Romney will have received unfair momentum if the miscount turns out to be true and Rick Santorum actually won Iowa?  If nothing else Republicans will have another voting count scandal on their hands.