The Microsoft apps, backed by the company's Azure cloud platform, will be replacing the phone reporting system used in 2008 and 2012 that required precincts to report their results through a touchtone keypad — resulting in a number of critical human errors during last primary election season.

For example, in 2012, Mitt Romney was declared the winner of the Republican caucuses the night of the vote, but several precincts were reporting numbers late. By the time their counts were added two weeks later, Rick Santorum was declared the winner. On top of that, numbers from eight precincts were never found or certified.



USA Today — Microsoft shows off its Iowa caucus reporting app (February 1, 2016)

To avoid repeating this mess, Microsoft's result-reporting apps will supposedly ensure the process is recorded much more accurately and will use a number of security checks and verifications to ensure only authorized Iowans are inputting caucus results.

A new video released a few hours ago by USAToday goes in-depth with Microsoft's campaign reporting apps and shows the ins-and-outs of the new digital reporting system, along with the security verification measures in place to ensure that only authorized Iowans are inputting caucus results.



USA Today — Microsoft Director of Campaign Technology Services, Stan Freck, talks about the company's new Iowa caucus smartphone reporting apps (February 1, 2016)

"These are applications for the precinct captains to use to report their results, and an application for the parties to use back in headquarters to validate those results, check them, and then publish them out to a public website and to an Application Programming Interface (API) where campaigns or media outlets can actually take the data and use it," said Stan Freck, Director of Microsoft Campaign Technology Services.

"Under the new system, each Iowa political party will have their own app available on all mobile and PC platforms, which will support the party’s unique caucus voting process," says a Microsoft blog post introucing the apps back in June 2015. "The reporting apps may be used in every precinct in Iowa by both parties. The results will be securely stored and managed in Microsoft’s Azure cloud computing platform."

Microsoft's 2016 Republican caucus reporting app



Microsoft's 2016 Democratic caucus reporting app

Officials from both parties have said the new Azure-based platform will deliver timely and accurate results. Votes at each precinct will continue to be counted in the traditional way, the only difference this time will be the transmission process of the total votes. In addition to the mobile reporting apps, each party will have a separate results-verification app at their headquarters to allow staff to closely monitor incoming results.

"It is important that Iowans, candidates and others have reliable, timely access to Iowa caucus results," says the company's blog post. Microsoft is honored to partner with Iowa’s political parties to create technology solutions that will improve the caucus experience."

The 2016 U.S. presidential primary caucuses in Iowa kick off tonight at 7pm Central Time. More details about tonight's Iowa caucus voting process can be found here, while Microsoft's new reporting technology press release can be found here.