Microsoft put to the test in Iowa caucuses - CNET

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As the first votes of the 2016 presidential primary season are cast at the Iowa caucuses tonight, new Microsoft technology will be used to give up-to-the-minute updates as the results come in. Local officials from both the Democratic and Republican parties will use their own versions of the Microsoft apps to report vote tallies in a bid to improve speed and accuracy in caucus reporting.

"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," Dan'l Lewin, Microsoft's corporate vice president of technology and civic engagement, wrote in a company blog post. "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 new apps come four years after vote-counting problems bedeviled the Iowa Republican caucus. In the 2012 race, Mitt Romney appeared to be the Iowa winner for weeks, by a margin of just 8 votes, only for the final tally to show a narrow victory for Rick Santorum instead.

More than a year ago, Redmond, Washignton-based Microsoft reached out to the state's parties about getting involved in the caucuses to help prevent such errors from recurring.

The new Microsoft apps replaced a touch-tone phone reporting system which party officials admitted was vulnerable to errors.