Democratic party boss spikes plans for virtual caucuses

DES MOINES, Iowa — Democrats’ plans for virtual presidential caucuses in Iowa and Nevada are effectively dead as the national party chairman said Friday the results would be vulnerable to hacking and abuse.

Tom Perez, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, declared his opposition to plans for telephone voting submitted by the key early voting states of Iowa and Nevada, envisioned as part of the national party’s efforts to increase participation in the 2020 nominating fight.

“We concur with the advice of the DNC’s security experts that there is no tele-caucus system available that meets our standard of security and liability,” Perez said in a statement joined by the co-chairs of the party’s Rules and Bylaws Committee.

That powerful committee, which must approve all states’ primary and caucus plans, still must meet in the coming weeks to make the final decision, but Friday’s statement makes clear that meeting will be a formality. The decision removes a potential cause of a flawed count on caucus night that could undermine the integrity of a process that has been criticized even in its conventional form.

Tony Price, Iowa Democratic Party chair, said that while the state party has confidence in its process, it would accept the DNC’s decision to scrap the virtual caucus plans.

William McCurdy II, Price’s Nevada counterpart, expressed disappointment in the outcome but noted that his state still will have early caucus voting “to provide Nevada Democrats additional opportunities to participate in an important process that will have lasting effects on our country.”

The dynamics highlight competing priorities for Democrats. A high-profile party commission formed after the bitter primary fight in 2016 between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders recommended that the party find ways to increase...