2020-02-10 Bloomberg Businessweek

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THEBOTTOMLINE A politicaltechnologystartupcreatedan

app for the Iowa caucuses that delayed official results, leading to

confusion and anger.

THEBOTTOMLINE Iowausuallyhelpsdeterminepresidential
candidates. For Democrats, this year’s outcome seems to have
added only more chaos to the race.

● InIowa,a bugin somecodebrought

democracytoa standstill

WhatWasWiththeApp?

ShadowInc.,thecompanywhoseappwassup-

posedtohelptheIowaDemocraticPartyquickly

compileresultsinthestate’s1,765precincts,instead

roiledthestate’scaucusesandupendedtheopen-

ingactofthe 2020 Democraticpresidentialprimary.

“I’mreallydisappointedthatsomeofourtechnol-

ogycreatedanissuethatmadethecaucusdifficult,”

saysGerardNiemira,37,chiefexecutiveofficerofthe

politicaltechnologycompany.“Wefeelreallyterri-

bleaboutthat.”

So,whathappened,exactly?“Theproblemwas

causedbya buginthecodethattransmitsresults

dataintothestateparty’sdatawarehouse,”hesays.

By9 p.m.,problemswiththeapphaddelayedthe

officialresults,leadingtoconfusionandanger.

Niemirasaysthebuginthecodewasdiscoveredand

fixed by about 10 p.m. Ultimately, most caucus offi-

cials reported by phone.

The bug wasn’t the only issue with the app,

however. Some caucus chairs also had trouble

signing in and complained of insufficient train-

ing. The difficulty of logging in to Shadow’s cau-

cus app stemmed in part from the technological

tools meant to safeguard the caucuses from foreign

interference, according to Niemira. Chairs needed a

specific precinct ID, two-factor authentication, and

a personal identification number. “We’d had peo-

ple using this app for weeks,” Niemira says. “It had

a ‘sandbox’ mode to practice with. What we were

seeing early on caucus day was people having diffi-

culty logging in for the first time.”

Denver-based Shadow was founded last year

and builds technological tools for Democratic can-

didates and progressive causes. (Its major funder

is Acronym, a nonprofit group that invests in pro-

gressive technology companies.) “We exist to help

campaigns,” Niemira says. “It really pains me that

we did the opposite.” Shadow, which hadn’t pre-

viously done election-related work, he says, built

the app specifically for the Iowa caucuses and had

another in the works for the coming Nevada cau-

cuses. The Nevada Democratic Party has said it no

longer plans to use Shadow’s technology. �Joshua

Green and Eric Newcomer

Buttigieg’sstubbornunpopularityamongthe
blackvoterswho’llbecriticalindecidingSouth
CarolinaandSuperTuesdaystatesposeswhatstill
couldbeaninsurmountablehurdle.Andthanks
tothedelayedcaucusresults,Buttigieg,forwhom
developinga nationalcampaigninfrastructurewas
alreadychallenging,can’texpecttobenefitfrom
thesuddeninfluxofmoneyandsupportusually
directedattheIowawinner.
Thiscouldopenthedoorforsomeonewho
alreadyhasa nationalcampaignteam,virtual
controloftheTVairwaves,andalmostunlimited
resources:MichaelBloomberg.A lateentrantto
thefieldwhodidn’tcompeteinIowa,theformer
NewYorkCitymayorhasa messageofcompetent
managerialcentrismanda willingnesstospend
$1billiontodefeatTrump,whichcouldbenewly
attractivetoDemocratsspookedbythedebacle
theyjustwitnessed.(Bloombergisthefounder
andmajorityownerofBloombergLP,thepar-
entcompanyof BloombergBusinessweek and
BloombergNews.)
Hisviabilityatthispointis stilltheoretical:Tobe
theSanders-slayerandcentristalternativetoBiden
and Buttigieg, he’ll first need to persuade primary
voters to pull the lever for him. At the first sign that
voters are willing, he’ll also have to contend with
a populist backlash from energized partisans on
the left wing.
Besides the failure to clarify much of anything,
the Iowa caucuses amplified a set of issues that
Democratic officials are quietly worried about. A
full year of campaigning has done nothing to set-
tle the central debate within the party between
those who believe a nominee must steer left-
ward to excite and attract new voters and those
who believe that such a course would guaran-
tee President Trump another term. Iowa’s neck-
and-neck finish between Buttigieg the moderate
and Sanders the radical is the party’s conundrum
come to life.
Then there’s the matter of excitement—or lack
of it. On a day when Gallup measured Trump’s
approval rating at an all-time high of 49%, Iowa
Democrats showed up to caucus in only mod-
est numbers. Not long ago, state party officials
expected turnout to rival or exceed the record
level of 240,000 set during Obama’s first run in

2008. Instead, turnout was closer to 2016’s level of
      170,000. Democrats are counting on a growing blue
      wave of enthusiasm to oust Trump. Iowa denied
      them that, too. �Joshua Green

▲ Even more reasons to

hate technology

◼ POLITICS Bloomberg Businessweek February 10, 2020