DES MOINES, Iowa (PNN) - February 5, 2016 - The Iowa Democrat Party, which is led by a long-time Hillary Clinton campaign donor, unilaterally shifted a delegate from Bernie Sanders to Hillary Clinton in a precinct located at Grinnell College during Monday’s caucuses.
Nineteen delegates were awarded to Sanders and seven were awarded to Clinton in Grinnell’s 1st ward. But the State Party shifted one precinct delegate from the 74-year-old Sanders to the 68-year-old Clinton without notifying the precinct chair, J. Pablo Silva.
The vote change in the Grinnell precinct would not have altered the final outcome of the caucuses. The number of precinct delegates from across the state is plugged into a complex formula to determine how many delegates are awarded at the county level and the national level. Clinton won 49.9% of delegates while Sanders won 49.6%. That translates into a 23 delegate pick up for Clinton for the national convention versus 21 for Sanders.
That’s a small percentage of the total number of delegates needed to win the Party nomination, but a win in Iowa carries enormous symbolic weight and can add momentum to a campaign. That’s why the Clinton campaign was quick to jump on the Iowa Democrat Party’s declaration early Tuesday that she had won.
But the Party’s unilateral delegate shift at Grinnell adds to questions that have already been raised about the legitimacy of the caucuses. Chaos, disorganization and understaffed precincts were reported across the state. That, paired with Clinton’s narrow victory, have led to calls for an audit of the results.
Dr. Andrea “Andy” McGuire, who chairs the Iowa Democrat party - has resisted such demands.
Her deafening silence is raising questions of its own, especially in light of a report that found McGuire has donated more than $7,100 to Clinton’s various political campaigns. She was also co-chair of Clinton’s 2008 campaign in Iowa. She hosted a fundraiser in her Des Moines home that same year. The former health care industry executive also drives a Buick Enclave with a license plate that reads “HRC 2016”.
Precinct chair Silva said the Democrat Party’s formula for divvying up delegates was unable to account for an additional precinct delegate. Silva contacted the party for clarification about the correct method.
But the numbers Silva reported were changed after he submitted them to a central location in Des Moines.
When results were reported to the central reporting center in Des Moines, Party staffers, who were able to adjust numbers reported in the much vaunted Microsoft app used by the Iowa Democrat Party before they were released to the public, unilaterally made changes. As Silva noted, “They did it indirectly in my opinion.”
Silva said that he was “kind of surprised” to see the next day that the results of the precinct vote had been altered.
McGuire did not respond to a request for comment.
