Thread by @MaggieAstor

My latest from Des Moines: Iowans with disabilities are struggling to get even the most basic accommodations for the caucuses. nytimes.com/2020/01/26/us/…

Here is just one story, representative of many I heard.

Meg Young, 39, has secondary progressive multiple sclerosis. In 2016, the line for her caucus went out the door & down a steep hill. She had to wait an hour and a half to get inside, and then the caucus lasted 3 hours. 1/

She managed to do it, with difficulty. But her MS symptoms have gotten worse. She knows she can't do the same thing this time. So she started making calls in September to get accommodations (expedited entry and a chair, because caucusgoers often stand and she can't). 2/

She showed me the email in which she finally got some vague answers. It's dated January 20. Remember, she started making calls in *September.* 3/

Why did it take so long? It was hard to reach people, or even to know who to contact. The Democrats' accommodation request process was only publicized this month. Her caucus location changed 2x. Different locations = different organizers/accommodation needs = back to square 1. 4/

Judy Downs, executive director of the Polk County Democrats, said they had changed many caucus locations so they would be in more accessible facilities, or larger facilities to avoid overcrowding. But she said she understood the problems that caused. 5/

At one point, a precinct official told Meg that she should arrive at her caucus site at 5 (the caucuses don't start until 7) to ensure that she could get one of the "limited" number of chairs. But according to other officials, the doors won't even be open that early. 6/

As for skipping the line, Meg was told she could do that only if she had preregistered. She was also told that the deadline to preregister had passed. 7/

This back-and-forth is all documented in emails that Meg shared with me. 8/

The Iowa Democratic Party has a new, "streamlined" accommodation request form, but it wasn't posted until this month, and it was barely advertised beyond a tweet from the party that said they were excited to offer such a request process "for the first time." 9/

The Republican Party of Iowa lists a phone number and email address to request accommodations, but it also hasn't publicized this. A spokesman told me "the disabilities groups" — meaning outside advocates — were good at getting the information out. 10/

As of Friday, the Iowa Republicans had received ONE accommodation request. The Democrats had received about 160. Iowa has an estimated 300,000 registered voters with disabilities. 11/

People do not know these request processes exist. I know because I talked to them.

On Saturday, Meg Young emailed the Iowa Dems' disability chairwoman (who was just recently hired). She's waiting to hear back. The caucuses are eight days away. 12/

Take this experience and multiply it. Consider all the Iowans who didn't start seeking accommodations *four months in advance.*

Then consider the Iowans for whom caucuses are inaccessible no matter what accommodations are available. 13/

People who are too sick to leave their homes. People who are immunocompromised and can't safely be among crowds, especially in flu season. The sorts of people who, in a primary or general election, could vote by absentee ballot. 14/

Disability rights advocates have worked really hard to make this year's caucuses more accessible. But there is a limit to how accessible *any* caucus can be without a remote participation option. (The DNC rejected that last year because of security concerns.) 15/

Iowa loves its caucuses — because they involve discussion and debate, but also because they keep Iowa first in the nation. New Hampshire owns the first primary. Iowa only stays before New Hampshire because it does caucuses. 16/

"We can continue to slap Band-Aids on caucuses," @RunReymaRun told me. (Her group, CICIL, is hosting a more accessible satellite caucus.) "But ultimately, we’ve got to reach a point where we come to terms with the fact that the process excludes people." 17/

I hope you'll read the full story. 18/end nytimes.com/2020/01/26/us/…

Today — Monday, January 27 — is the last day Iowans can submit a request for accommodations for the Democratic caucuses. The form is here. iowademocrats.org/request-accomm…

Republicans have until Friday, January 31, to request accommodations for their caucuses. There is no online form for that. You have to call or email; info is here. iowagop.org/caucus_accommo…

If you request an accommodation from either party and you have trouble getting the request fulfilled, I want to know — my DMs are open and my email is in my bio. If the process goes smoothly, I'd love to know that too!