Blog Post 1.3: Iowa Caucuses

1. What was the Iowa Democratic Party's plan for changes to this year's Iowa Caucus?
They wanted to hold a virtual caucus over a phone system alongside the regular caucus.

2. Why has the Democratic National Committee decided to recommend rejecting these plans?
They say it could be susceptible to hackers.

3. Why had the Iowa Democratic Party recommended these changes?
They wanted Iowa's caucus to be more accessible to voters who can't show up in-person.

4. Why is it so important that Iowa is the first contest?  How do they influence the nomination process?
The first caucuses show which candidates have momentum and which don't. Iowa decides the first people to get cut, deciding who won't be the final nominee.

5. Why are caucuses controversial as a nomination process?
Caucuses are long, complicated affairs where people sort themselves into groups based on the candidates they support. These can take a lot of time and exclude certain groups of people, meaning many people cannot participate. 

6. What is the problem with more people participating in the caucus process in recent elections?
Caucuses are meant for few people, between 50-100.

7. Why are many arguing that this new form of caucus could be manipulated?
Some fear the system could easily be hacked. A test at the Rules and Bylaws Committee meeting in San Francisco showed tele-caucuses could be hacked.

8. What would be the problem with Iowa changing to a primary?
Then Iowa wouldn't be the first-in-the-nation caucus anymore, and it would not be the first primary either.

9. How does New Hampshire ensure that it is the first primary?
A NH law states that if any other state tries to move its primary before NH, then the NH Secretary of State can change the primary date to a week before the other state.