Microsoft app used to tally votes at Iowa caucus fails in some areas

www.usatoday.com

A graphic from a Microsoft video about its caucus vote counting app.(Photo: Microsoft)

As Republican and Democratic caucus voters used new Microsoft tallying apps during the Iowa caucuses, some took to Twitter to say the sites were crashing, while others complemented them on how swiftly they worked.

USA TODAY

Iowa caucuses: What's happening right now

Looks like Microsoft's caucus tallier crashed...https://t.co/D45W22T1VM#IowaCaucuspic.twitter.com/M9qM4U5Qc7

— Miranda Green (@Mirandacgreen)

And the Iowa GOP caucuses results site is down. Good job, @microsoft !#IowaCaucuspic.twitter.com/33PgBWONhl

— Michelle Malkin (@michellemalkin)

Add “Iowa Caucus vote tracking” to Microsoft’s long list of unsuccessful promotional efforts…pic.twitter.com/RqZmx7Q11x

— Michael DeGusta (@degusta)

Microsoft Recount APP was not working properly at 1 location-Iowa Caucus Stream-A-Thon! Continued...https://t.co/0QQ92oFsUI via@YouTube

— CelesteHolmes (@Dallas4Bernie)

Some users noted  the system might simply be temporarily overwhelmed and suggested users wait a moment and then try again.

@michellemalkin@Microsoft Just try a few seconds later. The server is probably getting more requests than it can handle. Bashing is easy.

— Boris Pulatov (@BorisPulatov)

In an emailed statement, Microsoft said that the mobile apps for both parties worked without issue.

However national interest in the Iowa Caucuses overwhelmed the Democratic and Republican Party Iowa Caucus websites, which Microsoft was working to resolve, the company said.

Some online  charged that Microsoft founder Bill Gates had donated “millions” to the Clinton Foundation, making the company's creation of the apps suspect. However Microsoft created apps for both the Republican and Democratic parties, so others said that seemed unlikely.

Columnist Matt Drudge tweeted, “Watching the Iowa folks put their votes into Microsoft app is terrifying...”

Microsoft provided the free app in hopes of cutting down on errors and increasing speed in the reporting process, in response to issues at previous Iowa caucuses.

In a blog post in June, Microsoft's vice president for technology and civic engagement Dan'l Lewin, said the software company was "honored to support the 2016 Iowa caucus via a new, mobile-enabled, cloud-based platform that will facilitate accuracy and efficiency of the reporting process."

The secure system was meant to enable precincts "to report their results directly by party and will ensure that only authorized Iowans are reporting results. This announcement represents the first-of-its-kind major technology component to caucus reporting," he wrote.

Microsoft built apps for each political party in Iowa for all mobile and PC platforms, with the results to be securely stored and managed in Microsoft’s Azure cloud computing platform, he said.

COMMENTS