Yepsen Calls For Caucus Reform

A big deal...David Yepsen, the Dean of the Iowa political press corps -- and yes, he deserves the capital letter -- calls for fundamental reform of the Iowa precinct caucuses.  To wit: Involve the county auditors to maintain integrity. Use secret ballots to prevent pressure tactics and intimidation. Ban same-day registration for the caucuses, which guards against fraud, allow absentee ballots and choose a different day to hold the events. 

If you're looking at these ideas and wondering whether they'd make the caucuses more like a primary, you're right. The herd effect would be diminished, and the organizational bias would be on registration and persuasion, not on paying to transport people to the caucus on caucus day.