Iowa Democrats vote to approve Jan. 15 in-person caucus date — mail-in dates unresolved

The Iowa Democratic Party voted Saturday to hold the in-person portion of its 2024 presidential caucuses on Jan. 15 — the same day Iowa Republicans plan to caucus.

That will be when Democrats will meet to conduct party business, elect precinct officers and determine unbound delegates to the county convention. It is also Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a federal holiday.

“Iowa Democrats will honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by renewing our commitment to protecting our freedoms so that we may ensure future generations continue to have a voice," Party Chair Rita Hart said in a statement.

But the bigger question, still left unresolved, is how Democrats will handle the mail-in portion of their caucuses, which they will use to cast their presidential preferences.

Iowa Democrats submitted a delegate selection plan to the Democratic National Committee's Rules and Bylaws Committee earlier this year proposing an entirely mail-in absentee process for casting presidential preferences. But they have not yet said when they plan to tally and announce the results of that mail-in caucus, suggesting it could be on caucus night or a different night entirely.

That has frustrated Iowa Republicans, who believe it looks too much like a primary and could threaten their own chances at retaining first-in-the-nation status.

It's also a sticking point for national Democrats, who are working to reorder the presidential nominating calendar.

More:The death of the Iowa Democratic caucus: How 50 years of jury-rigging doomed an American tradition

The Democratic National Committee's Rules and Bylaws Committee considered Iowa's plan in June and found it to be out of compliance with party rules.

The committee said it will not approve the plan unless Iowa Democrats ensure that the postmark deadline for mail-in presidential preference cards is March 5, 2024, or later — ensuring that Iowa's caucus results couldn't be announced until after the early voting window concludes and other states begin weighing in on Super Tuesday.

Iowa Democrats have not yet said how they plan to address that issue. They were set to discuss the issue at a Rules and Bylaws Committee meeting Sept. 14, but committee leaders said they would push the conversation to their October meeting.

"We are continuing to work with the Iowa Democratic Party to navigate a system that complies with our calendar," committee co-chair Jim Roosevelt said. "We understand that the Iowa party will have additional updates for us ahead of the October RBC meeting."

The presidential nominating calendar has been in flux since national Democrats began discussing the issue more than a year and a half ago.

In February, the DNC voted to boot Iowa Democrats from their first-in-the-nation spot in an effort to move away from caucuses and to promote states that better reflect the party's diversity.

The DNC's plan, proposed by Democratic President Joe Biden, would put South Carolina at the front of the line, followed by contests held in New Hampshire and Nevada on the same day, and then Michigan and, finally, Georgia.

But the party has so far struggled to implement that plan in the months since.

Georgia has declined to set its primary date ahead of Super Tuesday, instead opting for a March 12 contest.

And the committee voted Sept. 14 to again give New Hampshire more time to make the necessary changes to fall in line with the DNC calendar. But state law requires New Hampshire to hold the first presidential primary, and state leaders have been adamant they will uphold that law, even if they face DNC sanctions.

The DNC has said it could impose penalties on states that hold rogue contests and on the candidates who file to appear on those states' ballots.

Biden has not said whether he will break the party's rules to appear on New Hampshire's ballot. But doing so would undermine his effort to put South Carolina at the front of the line.

It could put the president in the embarrassing position of losing an unofficial New Hampshire contest to other fringe candidates who have less to lose and choose to file for the New Hampshire ballot. It's prompted some New Hampshire Democrats to begin an unofficial write-in campaign to make sure Biden is represented in that state.

Iowa Democrats have been less clear about whether they will defy the DNC to host an unsanctioned early contest.

Iowa also has a state law requiring it to hold the nation's first presidential caucuses. But because Iowa’s caucuses are run by state parties, its law is harder to enforce than in New Hampshire, where the primary election is run by the state.

A 1996 opinion issued by the Iowa Attorney General's office found that Iowa could not require political parties to change the date of their caucuses to be in compliance with that code section without raising constitutional questions.

Brianne Pfannenstiel is the chief politics reporter for the Register. Reach her at bpfann@dmreg.com or 515-284-8244. Follow her on Twitter at @brianneDMR.