Iowa Democratic Party: No Recount, Who Suspended Their Campaigns?

The 2016 Iowa Caucus had big news coming from both sides of the aisle. The biggest story coming out of Iowa was the virtual tie between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. Throughout the night, Sanders and Clinton were separated by only a few votes. It was not until this morning that Clinton was officially declared the winner. Based on how close the race was, many thought a recount would be taking place. The Iowa Dems have now announced that no recount will happen and Hillary Clinton will remain the winner in Iowa. Bernie Sanders is not happy about the decision to not have a recount.

So grateful to everyone who gives your all to support this campaign. You made this possible. pic.twitter.com/gk58CeS3vF

— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) February 2, 2016

During the course of the evening, it was reported that 90 precincts had lost their votes. Bernie Sanders alleged that the 90 caucus sites where the votes were lost were not staffed properly and that these missing votes could have been enough to sway the caucus in his favor. Based on how the democrats run their caucus, a recount is not possible even if they wanted to have one.

We accomplished what the political establishment said was impossible. Don’t underestimate us https://t.co/DeV0NhI2mi pic.twitter.com/CwH0mhkkT2

— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) February 2, 2016

Many people would think that both the democrats and republicans would have similar voting procedures in the caucus. The Republicans wrote on paper who they wanted to vote for and those votes were then counted. The Democrats did not use paper balloting. They didn’t even have to write the name of their candidate down on anything. The people who wanted Sanders to win grouped together on one side of the room while the Clinton supporters grouped on another side of the room. Precinct chairs would then count how many people were in each group and whoever had the most people, won.

Since the Iowa Caucus was not an official election like the one for President, each party can set their own rules for the process. No paper trail exists to allow a recount based on the method that the Democrats used last night. With only tenths of a percentage point separating Sanders and Clinton, the vote total accuracy could have swayed the election in the favor of Clinton. The votes that were lost in the 90 precincts were estimated to have been up to five percent of the total votes in Iowa.

Bernie Sanders was said to not have much of a chance in Iowa against Clinton. At one point, Sanders was down by over 20 percent in the Iowa polls. Many political experts are saying that even though Sanders lost the caucus, he won by being able to essentially tie Clinton and split the Democrat delegates.

The other Democrat candidate, Martin O’Malley, only received one percent of the vote in Iowa last night. Due to the abysmal number, O’Malley elected to suspend his campaign for President.

“This cause continues. This fight continues. I have never been more proud of the people that have been associated with this campaign; I’ve never worked with a better group of young American patriotic men and women.”

O’Malley was not the only candidate to suspend their campaign last night. Republican Mike Huckabee only received two percent of the votes in Iowa, which was not enough to justify him continuing further in his bid for President.

“I am officially suspending my campaign. “Thank you for all your loyal support. #ImWithHucK”

The Iowa Caucuses had plenty of drama to carry over into the New Hampshire primary next Tuesday. As of now, Sanders has a commanding lead in New Hampshire. Will he be able to sustain that lead and get his first primary win in 2016?

What are your thoughts on the no recount policy set forth by the Democrats in Iowa?

[Image Via AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin]