Leonhardt at New York Times: Iowa has Undermined its Own Influence and Should Never Go First Again

Iowa should never go first again because as a white older state, it distorts the nominating process. Absentee voting is not allowed. 1000's with disabilities can’t participate, nor those who work at night; votes from metropolitan areas don’t count as much as rural areas. The caucus is rife with strange rules; somebody’s vote doesn't count if that candidate doesn’t get 15% of the local vote.” 

Last night it botched its caucus, giving the lie to the state’s claim that it is better at conducting democracy than the rest of us; as Sydney Ember and Reid Epstein wrote, it was “an epic collapse of the rickety system Iowa has relied on for decades.”

Iowa has enjoyed a half-century of an outsize role in presidential campaigns, with all of the extra influence and economic activity that has come with it. DNC must begin creating a fairer, more inclusive, more competent process.