I don’t recall if this is true, but I heard that it took some time to calculate all the votes in the Iowa caucus (at least days IIRC). Microsoft has developed an app that will be used, which is also supposed to make the totals more accurate (apparently some issues last time), and we should know the totals and winner within a few hours after the caucus Monday night.
I do not agree with electronic voting, but if that’s what they’re doing, then it cannot be helped.
For what it’s worth......
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iowa_caucuses
snip
Starting in 2016, the caucus site voting that was previously a non-binding poll becomes
the binding method of selecting delegates.[6] Acting in accordance with a mandate from the
Republican National Committee, the delegates are bound to vote for candidates in proportion to
the votes cast for each candidate at the caucus sites.
Charlie Szold, communications director for the Republican Party of Iowa, said, “”We have partnered
with Microsoft and they have built us a special app that allows our precinct captains to report
data quickly. They can do that right there on their smart phones or tablets or computers and they
can do it very accurately because you can see the number you are typing in.”
He added that at the central collection point there will be special algorithms to flag any data
that doesn’t match up to expectations, so unusual numbers will generate contact with the precinct
for confirmation or correction.
Szold said, “The results will be made available almost in real time. The results will come
to us. They will go through that internal check I was talking about and then they will be
published on a public website with a map view of Iowa. You will be able to see results at
the precinct level.”[7]