Iowa Democrats will hold vote-by-mail contest to comply with Biden's plan to revamp 2024 calendar

The rules panel of the Democratic National Committee on Friday approved a plan from Iowa Democrats to comply with a reworked presidential nominating calendar proposed by President Joe Biden in a move that will see the state shift out of the first-in-the-nation position it has held since 1972.

The panel also took a step toward sanctioning New Hampshire Democrats over what's expected to be an early primary contest next year that won't comply with party rules.

The Iowa plan is a major step toward enacting the revamped nominating schedule the national Democratic Party adopted earlier this year, which demoted traditional early-voting states Iowa and New Hampshire, while elevating South Carolina, Nevada and Michigan.

Under the new Iowa plan, which the state party announced shortly before Friday's meeting in St. Louis, Democratic voters will have until March 5 to cast their votes for a presidential nominee in a process conducted entirely by mail.

Iowa Democrats will be able to register to receive a presidential preference card in the mail starting November 1. Those cards will start being mailed out on January 12, 2024, and the last day to request one will be February 19. The state party will release results on March 5, which is also the last day that voters can mail their cards.

Iowa Democrats will also hold in-person caucuses on January 15, the same day that Iowa Republicans will gather, but those meetings only be used to conduct party business, not to vote for president.

The new Democratic primary calendar took away Iowa's special status as an early state, despite a state law which requires the caucuses to be held before any other contest.