BOSTON, Jan. 9 (UPI) -- Anticipated vote-swapping in the Jan. 19 Iowa caucuses has Democratic candidates preparing for late night deals calculated to hurt opponents.
And the fact that Iowa requires all candidates to get at least 15 percent of the vote in each of the state's 1,990 caucuses -- and allows supporters of candidates who don't get the minimum vote for another candidate -- means entrance polls could be far different from final results, the Boston Globe reported Friday.
Where the supporters of the low-performing candidates wind up, and whether the leading candidates have spare delegates to throw to other campaigns, depends entirely on how the numbers break in the first round of voting.
Dean voters, for instance, could be directed to shift to Sen. John F. Kerry as part of a strategy to knock Richard A. Gephardt out of contention and create a more competitive race in New Hampshire.
Dean advisers are working on an automated system that would let precinct captains dial in early tallies. Knowing how Dean is faring statewide would allow the campaign to advise its supporters to throw Dean votes in some precincts to another candidate.
