Since people are requesting, I am going to post the emails I have received so far, with identifying information removed. Many of these are small town county chairs. I don't want to start a witch hunt. Only the negative/neutral responses for now. IDK how to format this correctly so each chain is in quotes.
"No, I don’t think I will release xxxxx County Data to you without authorization from the party. The caucus is more of an electoral college process, so the delegate equivalents calculation is what matters. You need to know how many delegates each county then can send to the state convention, etc.
And by the way, I only got as far as Adair, and it doesn’t make sense. People come in whole numbers.
It was a TIE. Leave it alone."
"No."
"I’m afraid that you do not understand the difference between an open election and the caucus process. I could suggest doing some research on this issue. "
"Any information you may need is available from the Iowa Democratic Party. If they see that you need it, I am sure they will provide it. Quite honestly I am perplexed as to the need for an independent review. The process works very well. I am very busy moving on to get materials ready for our County Conventions....there is a lot to do!"
"Please contact the IDP."
"I am in support of the Iowa Democratic Party's position on the results of the Iowa Caucuses. The caucuses are a unique opportunity for Democrats to come together, discuss issues and decide who they feel will best represent the party in November. We elect delegates at the caucus who will then go on to the county, district, state, and some will go to the Democratic National Convention. When Iowans go to caucus, they may have a candidate in mind and walk out later supporting someone else. We elect delegates. This is not the same a primary but a caucus."
"Dear Sir:
I am the correct person. However, I am not too sure what "raw vote counts" you are compiling, and see no reason to release any information I might have to you. The information I have is available through the Iowa Democratic Party. I suggest you inquire of them.
My reply: Check out the website to see what we're going for:
http://howwillamericavote.com/static.aspx?view=iacaucus
Another county head has given me data from math worksheets that precinct captains filled out. They show the total number of caucus goers and who they caucused for. I assume that's what the IDP using to conduct its audit, but it it's concerning that they aren't doing a complete one. If 5 of the 14 precincts they checked were incorrect, how many more are wrong? Much of the data on the site comes from Twitter/Facebook reports, just trying to find help where possible.
Thanks
His reply: Well David, I was trying to be polite...
Your assumption that something is wrong with our efforts is insulting. I told my people that the foremost goal of all our efforts was to be fair and open. We are small rural county where people sit down and meet with their neighbors. It is insulting to suggest that we would abuse the trust of these neighbors by manipulating this process. The only comments I have heard were from the local constituents who have all said that they thought it went very well.
I have no obligation to you. I have told you the truth. The State Democratic Party has the numbers I have. If they are unwilling to give them to you that may imply something other than what you imagination seems to suggest!
I feel we are done here. Thank you.
My reply: I apologize if my tone came off wrong. I definitely am not accusing you or anyone else of anything, but the fact is there have been errors in the reviewed data, and the rest is being withheld for reasons unknown. As a Democrat voter, and someone who believes in open elections, that is alarming to me. Again, sincere apologies."
"Not only am I the county chair, I am also on the state central committee. I have received a request from the state party for additional information but who are you and what do you want to do with this data? I am not about to give out that data to just anyone. So no I will not be helping you."
"Sprry. IDP advises against your effort."
"I don't know who you are, or who you're working for, but I'm not really apt to hand out information to every single person who wants to conduct a review on a whim.
My reply: I definitely understand. For full disclosure, this page was set up by a person on Reddit.com. I saw the link and thought it was a good idea, so I decided to email county chairs to see if they would be willing to help. I'm not sure how to convince you that I'm not working for anyone, I just think the raw votes should be open to the public for such an important vote.
His reply: I will take this moment to let you know that there are NO raw vote counts in any county period. We do not keep track of them beyond possibly a scrap of paper that is thrown away on caucus night. We keep track of delegates to the county conventions, and that will be the only number available for review. If you are interested in those numbers I can assure you the IDP has the correct numbers, because the data they have is the exact same that I have, and the county auditors have as well.
I will not be handing this information out to some Reddit recount effort. If this were something that were put together by a professional group I would be a lot more likely to participate. I do applaud you efforts, but they are ill placed in my opinion. Have a good day.
My reply: Many of the precinct captains took note of the raw counts, either on paper, or posted on Twitter or Facebook. That's where most of the data on the site is coming from. Given that IDP has found discrepancies in many of the precincts they've checked, I just don't understand the reluctance to check more of them.
Thanks for giving me your perspective. Have a good one as well."