WASHINGTON — Attempts by Iowa Democrats to fix their broken caucus system have set off a partisan squabble over election rules that could ultimately affect the closely watched Republican presidential contest next year — possibly to the benefit of former President Donald Trump.
Republican lawmakers in Iowa introduced a bill this week to prohibit the use of a mail-in presidential caucuses, which Democrats have floated in the aftermath of the party’s disastrous 2020 caucuses.
Also included in the bill is a 70-day registration requirement for participating in the party caucuses, which Republicans say would protect their caucus from cross-over meddling if Democrats no longer caucus in person. But that proposal, introduced in the Iowa legislature by a senior adviser to Trump’s Iowa campaign, could also help Trump by limiting the ability of independents to participate.
