
Iowa Caucus App Error - nl
https://twitter.com/farmerchris/status/1224550710836113408
======
tareqak
It is getting much worse. The PIN to report the results is on the caucus math
worksheet:
[https://mobile.twitter.com/wycats/status/1224558210222186496](https://mobile.twitter.com/wycats/status/1224558210222186496)
, and many people are posting pictures of these worksheets.

In one case, the person posting picture is Ben Halle, the Iowa Comms director
for Pete Buttigieg:
[https://mobile.twitter.com/bhalle87/status/12245501117259161...](https://mobile.twitter.com/bhalle87/status/1224550111725916160)

~~~
deathanatos
Is the math on that sheet even correct? E.g., rounding 3.47826 to 4, when the
directions seem to indicate that it should round to 3?

Edit: So, if you believe a Medium post with lots of animated GIFs[1], in the
case that the total is short, the extra delegate is awarded to the closest to
round up. So, given that additional rule, the math checks out, but it's oddly
not stated on the worksheet.

The multiplication at the top, likewise, is incorrect. Again, wrong inputs
(the total present _seems_ to be 69, not 70); the answer is right given
corrected inputs.

The votes? at the bottom also appear to have had someone vote twice. Not clear
which candidate got the extra, but I don't think it matters.

[1]: [https://medium.com/@IowaDems/caucus-math-
in-3-minutes-1b9a49...](https://medium.com/@IowaDems/caucus-math-
in-3-minutes-1b9a496bbec2)

Edit edit: Ah, here's a better source, maybe? Four years out of date, and the
filename looks to be a letter short:
[https://www.iowaaflcio.org/system/files/cauus_handbook_dems....](https://www.iowaaflcio.org/system/files/cauus_handbook_dems.pdf)

~~~
tareqak
They _just_ had a discussion about that on stream at
[https://www.twitch.tv/hasanabi](https://www.twitch.tv/hasanabi) : something
about a coin toss.

~~~
deathanatos
Now that I've got a better source, while it looks like there are some cases
for a coin-toss, I don't think that's the case here. (Though I did hear that
one happened, so perhaps it's in a different location?)

------
slenk
The connections to the real app are much worse...

[https://mobile.twitter.com/wycats/status/1224558210222186496](https://mobile.twitter.com/wycats/status/1224558210222186496)
[https://mobile.twitter.com/WalkerBragman/status/122457313173...](https://mobile.twitter.com/WalkerBragman/status/1224573131731369994)
[https://mobile.twitter.com/leondeba/status/12245736489395077...](https://mobile.twitter.com/leondeba/status/1224573648939507718)

~~~
gdubs
So, at this point, how would they be able to verify the authenticity? If the
phone system was the backup, but pins have been compromised...

------
idlewords
I'd like to head off conspiracy theorizing by reminding everyone that unlike a
secret ballot, caucus results are public (everyone at the event sees the
count, and remembers it after). This is a flaw with the app that was supposed
to aggregate these results, but it does not affect the integrity of the
election.

The results are being tabulated by phone, and can be verified by an auditable
paper trail. Even without the paper trail, they could be reconstituted (or
verified) by asking the people who attended the ~1700 caucus events. This was
a disaster, but the caucus results are not suspect because of it.

~~~
Double_a_92
Are caucus and primaries even legally obliged to have any strict formal
standards? It's just party-interal business, right? They could toss a coin, or
let anyone vote via mobile app from home...

~~~
aptwebapps
It's not totally up to the parties. Each state has different laws about how
their primary or caucus should be conducted.

~~~
InitialLastName
... Different laws that were suggested and driven by whichever party was in
control when they implemented them.

------
mzs
>I should point out that I do not think the terrible incompetent app in my
screenshot is being used in Iowa. I doubt it, since the developer’s other apps
contain Utah counties and specifically mention the REPUBLICAN caucus.

[https://twitter.com/farmerchris/status/1224572430066311168](https://twitter.com/farmerchris/status/1224572430066311168)

~~~
Psyonic
why'd he delete this? Should we assume he was wrong?

~~~
mzs
I don't know, now the account has this >

    
    
      Bobby Tables
      4 Tweets
      Joined January 2007
      259 Following
      279 Followers
      These Tweets are protected
      Only approved followers can see @farmerchris’s Tweets. To request access, click Follow.

------
birdyrooster
Even more interesting is that the company who created the caucus voting app
has been doing business with two of the contestants
[https://www.opensecrets.org/campaign-
expenditures/vendor?cyc...](https://www.opensecrets.org/campaign-
expenditures/vendor?cycle=2020&vendor=Shadow+Inc)

~~~
JMTQp8lwXL
Presuming that the Democratic Party of Nevada paid for the app (given none of
the other payments to Shadow seem reasonably related), I suppose this is what
you get for $58k. No actual load testing, a buggy app, and authentication
tokens being posted online.

Clearly, the company picked to implement this app was not picked for their
known ability to deliver enterprise-grade software, but rather, a who's who
among the party.

------
jakeogh
Tom Scott: Why Electronic voting is a BAD idea:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3_0x6oaDmI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3_0x6oaDmI)

~~~
tareqak
This is not electronic voting. This is relaying the results of the caucuses
electronically, or by telephone as a backup.

~~~
gdubs
It’s still using an unvetted app in the critical path of an election, so in
this case it feels like a distinction without a difference.

------
nl
I submitted this, but it may not be the app used by the Democratic Caucus.

The Twitter user said "the app" but later clarified that it's the Republican
Utah app (or something?).

[https://twitter.com/farmerchris/status/1224572430066311168](https://twitter.com/farmerchris/status/1224572430066311168)

Apologies for any misinformation. Hopefully if it is the Republican app they
have time to fix it.

------
akersten
Holy shit.

Not only is that one of the worst-performing SQL queries I've ever seen, the
fact that it's being emitted as part of an error message, and clearly not
parameterized, is absolutely shocking.

Did a little digging. This[0] is the website of the author of the app
allegedly used in the caucusing. And oh boy:

* HTTP

* Copyright 2014

* Half of the showcased examples are broken links

* Weird obsession with assuring that their development is not done by "non-English speakers"

* I'm pretty sure it's just one guy (the VoterClick training videos[1] are done out of his house?)

* I won't even comment on the quality of everything else I'm seeing, my confidence that a functionally sound app could be produced by this firm is already at zero

Someone tell me the caucus administrators were not actually using this? This
feels like a fever dream.

[0] [http://cerenimbus.com/](http://cerenimbus.com/)

[1]
[http://cerenimbus.com/voterclick.html](http://cerenimbus.com/voterclick.html)

Edit: The author of the Twitter thread replied and said they weren't confident
it's the same app. That makes me feel a little(?) better - I'll leave my
critique of this website for posterity...

~~~
tareqak
The makers of the Iowa Caucus app are:
[https://shadowinc.io/](https://shadowinc.io/) .

They received money from the Iowa State Democratic Party, the Nevada State
Democratic Party, and Pete Buttigieg for America:
[https://mobile.twitter.com/lhfang/status/1224572119549267968](https://mobile.twitter.com/lhfang/status/1224572119549267968)
.

I’ve been following along
[https://www.twitch.tv/hasanabi](https://www.twitch.tv/hasanabi) in getting
this news.

~~~
CapricornNoble
Also, apparently the CEO of Shadow Inc. spent a year promoting for Hillary for
America in 2016 (aka Bernie's chief opponent in the DNC). The CEO's husband
also works for Buttigieg.

[https://twitter.com/elainelayabout/status/122458125953343897...](https://twitter.com/elainelayabout/status/1224581259533438976)

[https://www.zerohedge.com/political/thousands-furious-
suppor...](https://www.zerohedge.com/political/thousands-furious-supporters-
claim-iowa-caucus-rigged-against-bernie)

------
cwkoss
This google spreadsheet is attempting to gather all of the publicly posted
election math worksheets to crowdsource figuring out the results.

[https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1VpPjgfoH-n7Ie8OmIa2e...](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1VpPjgfoH-n7Ie8OmIa2eHoP88IvIkBR9wwkUL7bO1Y4/edit#gid=0)

~~~
eappleby
You can see an early breakdown of the results from the small percentage of
precincts reporting:

[https://www.kcci.com/article/kcci-iowa-caucus-
results/305997...](https://www.kcci.com/article/kcci-iowa-caucus-
results/30599739#)

------
mikeortman
Mirror of tweet. Account permissions changed:
[https://web.archive.org/web/20200204054257/https:/twitter.co...](https://web.archive.org/web/20200204054257/https:/twitter.com/farmerchris/status/1224550710836113408)

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sschueller
Does anyone have the APK? I would love to decompile it and take a look.

------
jefurii
The tweet has since been deleted. Anybody save the image?

