Iowa Caucus Fallout: Nevada Democrats Will No Longer Use Controversial Voting App

In light of problems plaguing the Iowa Caucuses, the Nevada Democratic Party has announced that it will not be working with the company behind the voting app at the heart of the controversy. Shadow Inc. developed the app to collect votes and calculate results from the state’s caucuses, but results from Iowa were delayed due to reporting issues stemming from the technology utilized.

After the delay, intense scrutiny has leveled against the app. Many have called for other states that planned to use similar software or methods to instead stick with traditional reporting techniques.

“We will not be employing the same app or vendor used in the Iowa caucus,” William McCurdy II, chairman of the Nevada Democrats, confirmed in a statement. “We had already developed a series of backups and redundant reporting systems, and are currently evaluating the best path forward.”

The Nevada caucuses are scheduled to take place on Feb. 22. A source close to the issue told CNN that Shadow’s software was expected to be used in Nevada as well, and, in fact, the party had already paid the company $58,000 last year to access its technology.

An email obtained by the press from the Democratic National Convention assured campaigns that the app was recording votes accurately, but that the issue arose when it began reporting only partial results.

The Iowa Democratic Party has insisted that the problems are merely from the app and not the result of hacking or intrusion of any kind.

Despite the much-publicized issues with app-based voting technology in Iowa, West Virginia has recently opted to move forward with an initiative that will allow disabled residents to vote via smartphone. Despite the move’s intention to help disabled voters, election security experts have roundly criticized the bill as dangerous and unsafe.