Sanders wants Iowa vote count released after controversy
US Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders has called on the Democratic Party to release a raw vote count in Iowa after Hillary Clinton claimed victory in a tighter-than-expected contest.
Clinton touted a narrow victory in the Iowa caucuses, holding 49.9 percent of the vote to 49.6 percent for Sanders.
Sanders also celebrated his performance in the first contest for the presidential nomination, framing it as a sign that Americans demanded more radical change than offered by establishment candidates.
“Tonight is a wonderful start to the national campaign,” Sanders told reporters on a plane flying from Des Moines to New Hampshire, where the first primary is held on February 9. “Tonight shows the American people that this is a campaign that can win.”
The self-described socialist candidate did not throw much light on a controversy over scores of Iowa precincts that did not have enough party staffers to report delegate totals for each candidate.
“I honestly don’t know what happened. I know there are some precincts that have still not reported. I can only hope and expect that the count will be honest,” he said. “I have no idea. Did we win the popular vote? I don’t know, but as much information as possible should be made available.”
Observers say that in such a close contest, even the smallest number of precincts could be consequential.
Sanders’ campaign manager Jeff Weaver told reporters he did not anticipate that the campaign would dispute the results, but hoped there would be an investigation.
Unlike Republicans, Democrats don’t use paper ballots for caucuses. Instead, caucus-goers physically cluster together and are counted by precinct “chairs.” That means a recount is technically impossible.
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