The Iowa Democratic party voted on Saturday morning to hold the in-person portion of the Iowa Caucuses on Jan. 15, 2024 — the same day as their GOP counterparts — while the timeline for the mail-in presidential preference cards remains unresolved. 

Iowa Democrats are scrambling to comply with the new rules, timeline, and stipulations passed down by the national Democrats after they lost their coveted first-in-the-nation status last February due to concerns from President Joe Biden about Iowa’s lack of diversity. 

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In response to concerns from party leaders, Iowa Democrats formed a new plan to comply with its concerns about the accessibility of the traditional caucus format. This new plan would hold in-person caucuses to assign delegates to the county conventions, as state law requires. It would also create a mail-in system for presidential preference ballots, allowing Iowa Democrats to vote from home within a 14-day window. 

“Iowa Democrats will honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by renewing our commitment to protecting our freedoms so that we may ensure future generations continue to have a voice,” Party Chair Rita Hart said in a statement on Saturday morning.