Iowa and Nevada to allow caucus-goers to phone it in

DES MOINES, Iowa — Democrats in the early presidential contest states of Iowa and Nevada will be able to cast their votes over the telephone instead of showing up at their states’ traditional neighborhood caucus meetings next February, according to plans unveiled by the state parties.

The tele-caucus systems, the result of a mandate from the Democratic National Committee, are aimed at opening the local-level political gatherings to more people, especially evening-shift workers and people with disabilities, whom critics of the caucuses have long said are blocked from the process.

The changes are expected to boost voter participation, presenting a new opportunity for the Democratic Party’s 2020 candidates to drive up support in the crucial early-voting states.

“This is a no-excuse option” for participation, said Shelby Wiltz, the Nevada Democrats’ caucus director.

While rolling out a new voting system holds the promise of more voter participation, it also comes with potential risk for confusion or technical troubles. But the party is moving forward to try and address long-standing criticism that the caucuses are exclusionary and favor some candidates.

The Iowa caucuses, a series of party-run, local-level organizing meetings, have come under increasing criticism in the past decade for their fixed evening time and place. Such rules effectively barred participation in the first-in-the-country nominating contest, for instance, for parents unable to find child care or older voters hesitant to venture out in winter.

Nevada has faced some of the same participation challenges, especially among Las Vegas casino workers who have shifts during the caucus meetings.

Michelle L. Price and Thomas Beaumont are Associated Press writers.