A Symbol of Democracy Is Criticized as Undemocratic

(Patrick T. Fallon for The New York Times) Votes were counted by hand in the caucus in Clive, Iowa.

By A. G. SULZBERGER
NYT

DES MOINES — The errors started to emerge even before Mitt Romney was declared the winner of the Iowa caucus by eight votes. By the time the results were certified two weeks later, mistakes had been found in so many districts that the state Republican Party chairman declared that it would be impossible to determine a winner.

Critics responded almost immediately with a seemingly obvious assertion: real elections have winners.

But even after the party chairman reversed himself and called the race for Rick Santorum, many state leaders justified the confusion in a way that may appear at odds with the level of attention awarded the first-in-the-nation caucus:

This was not, in fact, a real election.

(More here.)