Update on my voter registration snafu [View all]

[CoffeeCat]

I'm updating on my voter-registration snafu that I posted about earlier.

I called our County Auditor's office in Des Moines to try to figure out why--a few weeks ago (end of April), I was a registered Republican. I should have been a registered Democrat for a few reasons. I participated in the Feb 1 Iowa Caucuses. I also became a delegate and participated at the County Convention on March 12. All Bernie delegates had their credentials challenged at the County Convention. One by one, our credentials were double checked. Bernie was ahead at the first count and they were sifting through our credentials with a fine-tooth comb.

My credentials checked out and I participated in that March 12 County Convention.

I was gearing up for our April 30 District Convention and I received a call from a Bernie Sanders staffer, informing me that I am a registered Republican. Of course, I was very surprised by this--given all of my aforementioned political activity.

Today, I called our County Auditor's office. She thoroughly looked at my records and told me the following:

--In 2012, I switched my registration to Republican. This is true. I was a Republican for a week. But that was 4 years ago. My husband and I wanted to see how the Republican caucuses were run. We participated and caucused for John Hunstman. I switched my registration back to Democrat within a week of the Republican caucus, by physically going to the auditor's office.

--The auditor today, informed me that there is no record of me switching my registration back to Republican. But it doesn't end there.

--The night of the Feb 1 Iowa Caucus, I arrived early with my husband to volunteer. We went to register and our names were not on the official list. Very odd. I knew that I had switched my registration back to D--but just to be emphatically sure that this was the case, I filled out paperwork registering as a Democrat. My husband did the same. That night, nearly half of all registered Dems weren't listed on that official list. The line was at least 50 deep for an hour, with Democrats re-registering as Democrats. It was chaos.

--Today, the woman at the auditor's office said that there is no record of this paperwork of me registering as a Democrat at Feb 1 Iowa Caucus. To make matters even more bizarre, there is no paperwork of my husband doing the same. The woman at the auditor's office said that all paperwork should have been processed within a month of Feb 1.

--All of this is why I turned up a registered Republican, a few days before participating in the District Convention. According to their records, I've been a registered Republican since 2014. I am...mystified.

I still have no idea how I passed the March 12 Credential Check at the Polk County Convention. Hillary's people were looking for any reason to strip credentials from Bernie supporters (because Bernie was ahead in Polk County and Hillary had originally won Polk County). I can't imagine that I was a Republican. The Hillary supporters surely would have noticed that and stripped my credentials. However, I don't know what the Hillary supporters were looking at. I don't know what databases or information they were using.

I am more confused that ever.

I didn't mention my one-week stint as a Republican, because it was only for a week--and I had no idea that there was no record of me switching back. I also had no idea that there was no record of me re-registering as a Democrat on Feb 1. I find all of this even more incredulous and bizarre, than before I picked up the phone and talked to the auditor.

I asked the auditor if I made any mistakes and she said, "Honey, it sounds like the mistakes are between our office and the Iowa Democratic Party."

I am baffled.