Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

People Are Not Impressed After Coin Flips Were Used To Decide Iowa Democratic Caucus Results

People Are Not Impressed After Coin Flips Were Used To Decide Iowa Democratic Caucus Results
@VOMcQuerry/Twitter

Coin tosses have been used to decide democracy in the U.S., but voters have said it's "time for a change."


The novel decision-making process was used at Democratic caucuses in Iowa, the first votes so far in the long journey towards choosing who will be the party's presidential candidate.

Candidates can gain victory by winning delegates, people who vote on behalf of a group for their favorite candidate – but, particularly in smaller precincts, a coin toss can often be required to decide how the delegates are distributed when support is tied.

In West Des Moines, a coin toss was needed to decide whether candidates Elizabeth Warren or Joe Biden would receive a delegate – a process Victoria McQuerry, 51, filmed, tweeting: "Can't make this s*** up."

"All precinct leaders watched and agreed to the process – I believe the person who called the coin toss was the Warren rep," McQuerry told the PA news agency.

It was Biden who proved victorious in the coin flip, earning a helping step forward in his campaign.

The process is not new, with 13 coin tosses used in the Iowa caucus in 2016 – seven of which were won by Senator Bernie Sanders while six went to Hillary Clinton.

Asked if the system works, McQuerry answered:

"No. It doesn't."
"My precinct leaders did an honest job. I expect that others did as well. But the caucus process is exclusionary. It takes hours of time. Many cannot attend… It's time for a change."

Meredith Cooney filmed the moment a coin was used at another precinct, of which there are 1,765 in Iowa.

In the video, the winning candidate's representative is seen shouting “that's what I'm talking about" after he correctly called the flip to be tails.

The process of the Iowa caucus was pulled into further scrutiny after its results were delayed by a "coding issue in the reporting system," according to the Iowa Democratic Party.

The results will now reportedly be announced on Tuesday evening, having initially been planned for Monday.

In response to the failure, President Donald Trump tweeted: "Big WIN for us in Iowa tonight. Thank you!"

Sanders said he had "a good feeling we're going to be doing very, very well" when the results are announced.

More from People/donald-trump

Keira Knightly in 'Love Actually'
Universal Pictures

Keira Knightley Admits Infamous 'Love Actually' Scene Felt 'Quite Creepy' To Film

UK actor Keira Knightley recalled filming the iconic cue card scene from the 2003 Christmas rom-com Love Actually was kinda "creepy."

The Richard Curtis-directed film featured a mostly British who's who of famous actors and young up-and-comers playing characters in various stages of relationships featured in separate storylines that eventually interconnect.

Keep ReadingShow less
Nancy Mace
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

Nancy Mace Miffed After Video Of Her Locking Lips With Another Woman Resurfaces

South Carolina Republican Representative Nancy Mace is not happy after video from 2016 of her "baby birding" a shot of alcohol into another woman's mouth resurfaced.

The video, resurfaced by The Daily Mail, shows Mace in a kitchen pouring a shot of alcohol into her mouth, then spitting it into another woman’s mouth. The second woman, wearing a “TRUMP” t-shirt, passed the shot to a man, who in turn spit it into a fourth person’s mouth before vomiting on the floor.

Keep ReadingShow less
Ryan Murphy; Luigi Mangione
Gregg DeGuire/Variety via Getty Images, MyPenn

Fans Want Ryan Murphy To Direct Luigi Mangione Series—And They Know Who Should Play Him

Luigi Mangione is facing charges, including second-degree murder, after the 26-year-old was accused of fatally shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside the New York Hilton Midtown hotel on December 4.

Before the suspect's arrest on Sunday at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania, the public was obsessed with updates on the manhunt, especially after Mangione was named a "strong person of interest."

Keep ReadingShow less
Donald Trump
NBC

Trump Proves He Doesn't Understand How Citizenship Works In Bonkers Interview

President-elect Donald Trump was criticized after he openly lied about birthright citizenship and showed he doesn't understand how it works in an interview with Meet the Press on Sunday.

Birthright citizenship is a legal concept that grants citizenship automatically at birth. It exists in two forms: ancestry-based citizenship and birthplace-based citizenship. The latter, known as jus soli, a Latin term meaning "right of the soil," grants citizenship based on the location of birth.

Keep ReadingShow less
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

77 Nobel Prize Winners Write Open Letter Urging Senate Not To Confirm RFK Jr. As HHS Secretary

A group of 77 Nobel laureates wrote an open letter to Senate lawmakers stressing that confirming Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as President-elect Donald Trump's Secretary of Health and Human Services "would put the public’s health in jeopardy and undermine America’s global leadership in health science."

The letter, obtained by The New York Times, represents a rare move by Nobel laureates, marking the first time in recent memory they have collectively opposed a Cabinet nominee, according to Richard Roberts, the 1993 Nobel laureate in Physiology or Medicine, who helped draft it.

Keep ReadingShow less