Iowa Democratic Party Chairman Troy Price earlier vowed to launch an independent investigation into the failure of a voting system that delayed the final release of the full results after the state’s Democratic Caucus.
On Wednesday, Price stepped down from his post as chairman of the Iowa Democratic Party, acknowledging that his presence in the current role would make it “more difficult” to conduct a thorough investigation.
“While it is my desire to stay in this role and see this process through to completion, I do believe it is time for the Iowa Democratic Party to begin looking forward, and my presence in my current role makes that more difficult. Therefore, I will resign as chair of the Iowa Democratic Party effective upon the election of my replacement”, Price said in a letter to the Iowa Democratic Party’s State Central Committee, cited by the Des Moines Register media outlet.
The Iowa Democratic Caucus was held on 3 February and, more than a week since the event, the final results reportedly remain unavailable.
The full results of the Democratic Iowa Caucus were supposed to have been released late on the same day, but a failure of a computer application developed specifically for that purpose led to a three-day delay as a result of data inconsistencies.According to the Des Moines Register, Democrats have called for a re-canvassing of 143 precincts across the state, including all in-state satellite precincts. The party also reviewed results from 95 precincts independent of the campaign requests.
US Senator Bernie Sanders reportedly leads the pack of Democratic candidates, but Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg declared victory without the official results being released.