December 27th, 2011

We are dismayed to learn that the Iowa Republican Caucuses on the evening of January 3rd plan not to count “Uncommitted” or “No Preference” ballots (1). This is in contradiction of past caucuses where those votes were counted in the GOP caucuses (2). We condemn this and all other attempts at voter suppression and planned electoral fraud at the Iowa Caucuses.  We agree with Governor Branstad when he said:

“I think it’s tragic that you’ve got people trying to do this – prevent other people from expressing their freedom of speech and participating in the electoral process. We have a long and proud tradition in this country and in this state of open, honest elections and we want to do all we can to make sure that the Iowa precinct caucuses – which are very important in our nation’s history because this is where the presidential selection process starts – and we want to make sure that they are open and accessible and they’re not disrupted by any groups (3).”

Refusing to count votes and report accurate vote totals is something that happens in Putin’s Russia or Ahmadinejad’s Iran, not Iowa. We call on both parties to keep the Iowa Caucuses a democratic process where all voices can be fairly heard and respected. We also ask Governor Terry Branstad, Senator Chuck Grassley, Representative Steve King, and Representative Tom Latham to clearly reiterate that the Iowa Caucuses are a fair, open, and honest process where all votes are counted.

Thank you,

Occupy Iowa Caucus (media contact )

Occupy Cedar Valley (media contact )

Occupy Des Moines (media contact )

Occupy Ames/ISU (media contact )

(1)    http://www.kcrg.com/news/local/Occupy-Cedar-Valley-Plans-Occupy-Iowa-Caucasus-Movement–136238393.html

(2)http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/99999999/NEWS09/71114028/Caucus-history-Past-years-results

(3)   http://globegazette.com/news/iowa/branstad-shadowy-group-will-not-disrupt-caucuses/article_dbee12f6-0995-11e1-943b-001cc4c002e0.html#ixzz1hObQqIca

READ THE OCCUPY IA CAUCUS PRESS RELEASE HERE