Democratic Race Is in Turmoil as Iowa Results Are Questioned

Jeff Weaver, Mr. Sanders’s adviser, said the campaign found the debate rule change to be “an outrage” but otherwise believed “the D.N.C. has tried to be evenhanded.”

But Mr. Weaver added, “Of course, given our experience, we are ever vigilant.”

It’s not just Sanders supporters who are uneasy with Mr. Perez.

James Carville, who has said the chairman should resign, pointed to another controversy this week that has been overshadowed by the Iowa chaos: the ouster of the top aides who had been planning the party’s nominating convention in Milwaukee. He cited it as another sign of the party’s disarray.

“We can’t count votes, put on a convention or deliver a winning message,” said Mr. Carville, the longtime Clinton strategist.

In Iowa, officials said that if a recanvass were requested, they would have to effectively start over in tabulating results from Monday’s caucuses

Though campaigns and The Times have found a number of errors across the state, the problem appears to be most acute in data from the 87 satellite caucuses, locations for Iowa Democrats who could not participate at one of the regular caucus locations. Those are locations at which the state party’s posted results show Mr. Sanders doing particularly well.

Across Iowa, Democrats formed a circular firing squad. D.N.C. officials said the state party was in charge. State party officials said the app developer failed them. Young urban Democrats said rural septuagenarian volunteers should have been able to figure out how to use the app. Rural officials said urban caucuses had grown too large to function.

“Some of these bigger caucuses, there were lots of distractions going on, lots of people not listening, lots of people not knowing what they’re doing,” said Chris Petersen, a member of the Iowa Democratic Party’s State Central Committee. Mr. Petersen caucused in rural Thornton, where 15 people participated at his precinct. “I liked the old way where you called in the result and were done.”

Astead W. Herndon and Katie Glueck contributed reporting from Merrimack, N.H.

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