Maggie AstorCompte certifié

As of Friday, the Iowa Republicans had received ONE accommodation request. The Democrats had received about 160. Iowa has an estimated 300,000 registered voters with disabilities. 11/

People do not know these request processes exist. I know because I talked to them. On Saturday, Meg Young emailed the Iowa Dems' disability chairwoman (who was just recently hired). She's waiting to hear back. The caucuses are eight days away. 12/

Take this experience and multiply it. Consider all the Iowans who didn't start seeking accommodations *four months in advance.* Then consider the Iowans for whom caucuses are inaccessible no matter what accommodations are available. 13/

People who are too sick to leave their homes. People who are immunocompromised and can't safely be among crowds, especially in flu season. The sorts of people who, in a primary or general election, could vote by absentee ballot. 14/

Disability rights advocates have worked really hard to make this year's caucuses more accessible. But there is a limit to how accessible *any* caucus can be without a remote participation option. (The DNC rejected that last year because of security concerns.) 15/

Iowa loves its caucuses — because they involve discussion and debate, but also because they keep Iowa first in the nation. New Hampshire owns the first primary. Iowa only stays before New Hampshire because it does caucuses. 16/

"We can continue to slap Band-Aids on caucuses," @RunReymaRun told me. (Her group, CICIL, is hosting a more accessible satellite caucus.) "But ultimately, we’ve got to reach a point where we come to terms with the fact that the process excludes people." 17/