Iowa Republicans in the House and Senate passed a law mandating in-person attendance at caucus. 

The bill, House File 716, was passed along party lines with every Republican voting for the legislation and every Democrat opposing it. This pulls back the ability for remote caucus participation and states that anybody voting at a precinct caucus must do it in-person only if the purpose of the caucus is to select delegates as part of the presidential nomination process. Republican House Representative David Young says that keeping voters physically present at caucuses would keep New Hampshire from leapfrogging Iowa in the presidential nominating process. 

“We want to be first in the nation, because if we’re not, then it’s going to go to East or West Coast states. And we think here in Middle America, we have a good pulse on where we should go.”

Democrats have called this piece of legislation unnecessary and an overstep of state government. Young says that Democrats want to redefine what a caucus is. 

“A caucus is when people show up. It’s not a mail-in kind of activity. And so we want to keep this in-person that’s so, so very, very important. I think it’s good just for the social fabric of our politics to get people together.”

The bill now heads to Governor Kim Reynolds desk to be signed into law.