'Virtual Caucuses' Could Skew Iowa's 2020 Electorate Even Older

Once it’s in place, Democratic voters will be able to cast ballots the week before the in-person meetings, with participants allowed to submit a list of as many as five candidates ranked by preference. In the past, they had to show up at school gymnasiums, fire stations, community centers and other gathering places to show their support for a presidential candidate. In 2020, there will be roughly 1,700 such precinct locations.

The Iowa chapter of AARP, the largest advocacy group in the U.S. for people 50 and older, is already preparing to train its members to participate in the virtual caucuses if they’re unable to attend in person. Four of the six scheduled voting sessions are during the day, with the remaining two at 7 p.m.

“I believe the real winners are seniors,” Anderson said. “Those are times that work really well for people who are older and retired.”

Anderson said he expects there will be 60,000 to 75,000 AARP members participating in the 2020 caucuses. The organization has about 370,000 members in Iowa and is one of the largest statewide organizations.

Those 50 and older already typically account for the majority of participants in Iowa, the first state to winnow the field. That age group accounted for 58 percent of Democratic caucus-goers in 2016, according to entrance polls, while 28 percent were 65 and older.

Sanders only received 26 percent of the 65 and older Iowa vote in 2016, while Hillary Clinton was backed by 69 percent of those in that age group. Sanders did much better among younger voters, securing 84 percent from those 17 to 29 (people who are 17 can participate if they turn 18 by Election Day the following November). But they only represented 18 percent of the electorate.

Overall, Sanders nearly tied Clinton in the 2016 caucuses, and he is looking to improve on that performance to break away from other 2020 Democrats. Sanders, like other candidates next year, will have to adjust his strategy to target voters participating in person as well as those taking advantage of the virtual caucus system.

Dave Nagle, a former congressman who also served as chairman of the Iowa Democratic Party, said he expects both older and younger voters to most heavily take advantage of the new option. “You might see it on the ends of the spectrum,” he said.



https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-04-03/-virtual-caucuses-could-skew-iowa-s-2020-electorate-even-older