Iowa GOP considers new rule for close caucuses

Jennifer Jacobs of the Des Moines Register has the story.

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A couple of tidbits from the piece:

"To prevent future criticism of the Iowa caucuses, state Republican party officials will consider this rule: If there’s a difference of 1 percent or less between the top two vote-getters, they will declare the race too close to call that night.  

"That would then trigger a 72-hour deadline for the certification process, the party’s system of double-checking the vote totals. Currently, the party gives itself about two weeks to wrap up certification."

...and...

"[Iowa] Republicans are worried that the RNC will strip Iowa of its first-in-the nation voting status if the caucus system here suffers too many black eyes." 

I get this latter sentiment, but I don't. On the one hand, both parties in Iowa should probably always be on guard; especially after the snafu this past January. That said, there was absolutely no indication -- not in a formal "introducing an amendment/resolution" sort of way (certainly nothing that was adopted) -- that stripping Iowa (or New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina) of its position at the RNC meeting in Scottsdale last week was anywhere close to a consensus position among the RNC members.¹

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¹ As Zeke Miller of Buzz Feed tweeted from Scottsdale:

"Almost no interest at all in changing the "carve-out" that allows IA/NH/SC/NV to go first at the RNC Rules Committee meeting"

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