RNC delegate guidelines from Virginia, 2016

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Date July 18-21, 2016 Location Cleveland, Ohio

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This page provides known guidelines for Republican delegates representing Virginia at the 2016 Republican National Convention, as compiled from the "Virginia Delegate Allocation Rules" and The Code of Virginia Sec. 24.2-545. The full text of relevant regulations is reproduced below.

HIGHLIGHTS

Virginia sent 49 delegates to the Republican National Convention in 2016: three automatic delegates from the Republican National Committee, 33 congressional district delegates, and 13 at-large delegates.

Except for the three unbound automatic delegates to the convention, delegates from Virginia were bound to the results of the state primary for the first ballot of the convention. They also were required to sign a pledge indicating that they intended to support all nominees of the Republican Party during their term.

Rather than allocate congressional district delegates by the results of each congressional district, they were instead grouped with the at-large delegates and allocated based on the results of the statewide primary vote.

Virginia Delegate Allocation Rules

The text below has been reproduced verbatim from: Virginia Delegate Allocation Rules

The following Resolution was adopted by the Republican Party of Virginia’s State Central Committee on September 19, 2015:

RESOLVED: The Republican Party of Virginia adopted the March 1, 2016 Presidential Primary as the method by which Virginia’s delegation to the 2016 Republican National Convention will be bound. Based on the results certified by the Virginia State Board of Elections of the Virginia Presidential Primary, the Delegates and Alternate Delegates will be bound as follows:

1. Each of Virginia’s 46 elected Delegates and 46 elected Alternate Delegates, including those elected at Quadrennial Congressional District Conventions and those elected At- Large at the Quadrennial State Convention, shall be bound for the first ballot at the Republican National Convention based on the official results as certified by the Virginia State Board of Elections of the March 1, 2016 Virginia Presidential Primary.

2. In order to comply with the national Rules of the Republican Party, the Republican Party of Virginia will proportionally allocate among the presidential candidates receiving votes in its March 1, 2016 Republican Presidential Primary the Delegate votes of the 46 Delegates and 46 Alternate Delegates to be elected in Virginia in 2016 at the Virginia Republican State Convention and at the Congressional District Conventions. This is with the understanding that Virginia will continue to be entitled to 13 At-Large Delegates.

The percentage of the 46 Delegate votes each candidate receives will be based as follows on the percentage of votes that candidate receives in the March 1 primary. Multiply 46 by the fraction of the total primary vote the candidate receives. Since fractional Delegate votes are forbidden by national party rules, for each candidate, round upward or downward to the nearest whole number of Delegates.

For example, assume six candidates received eligible votes in the primary as follows: Candidate A 43.4%, Candidate B 18.12%, Candidate C 17.0%, Candidate D 12.5%, and Candidate E 8.90%.

That would produce the following Delegate votes per candidate:

After rounding

Candidate A           46 x 0.4340 = 19.964         20 Delegate votes

Candidate B           46 x 0.1812 = 8.335           8 Delegate votes

Candidate C           46 x 0.1700 = 7.820           6 Delegate votes

Candidate D           46 x 0.1250 = 5.570           6 Delegate votes

Candidate E           46 x 0.0890 = 4.094           4 Delegate votes

3. In the event that a Delegate or Alternate Delegate is unallocated due to mathematical rounding, the unallocated delegate vote shall be cast in favor of the candidate closest to the rounding threshold. In the event that Delegates or Alternate Delegates are over-allocated due to mathematical rounding, the over- allocated delegate shall be removed from the candidate furthest from the rounding threshold.

4. As Virginia’s representatives on the Republican National Committee, the Chairman, National Committeewoman, and National Committeeman shall not be bound.

The Code of Virginia Sec. 24.2-545

See also: Correll v. Herring

The text below has been reproduced verbatim from: The Code of Virginia Sec. 24.2-545.

A. The duly constituted authorities of the state political party shall have the right to determine the method by which the state party will select its delegates to the national convention to choose the party's nominees for President and Vice President of the United States including a presidential primary or another method determined by the party. The state chairman shall notify the State Board of the party's determination at least 90 days before the primary date. If the party has determined that it will hold a presidential primary, each registered voter of the Commonwealth shall be given an opportunity to participate in the presidential primary of the political party, as defined in § 24.2-101, subject to requirements determined by the political party for participation in its presidential primary. The requirements may include, but shall not be limited to, the signing of a pledge by the voter of his intention to support the party's candidate when offering to vote in the primary. The requirements applicable to a party's primary shall be determined at least 90 days prior to the primary date and certified to, and approved by, the State Board.

B. Any person seeking the nomination of the national political party for the office of President of the United States, or any group organized in the Commonwealth on behalf of, and with the consent of such person, may file with the State Board petitions signed by at least 5,000 qualified voters, including at least 200 qualified voters from each congressional district in the Commonwealth, who attest that they intend to participate in the primary of the same political party as the candidate for whom the petitions are filed. Such petitions shall be filed with the State Board by the primary filing deadline. The petitions shall be on a form prescribed by the State Board and shall be sealed in one or more containers to which is attached a written statement giving the name of the presidential candidate and the number of signatures on the petitions contained in the containers. Such person or group shall also attach a list of the names of persons who would be elected delegates and alternate delegates to the political party's national convention if the person wins the primary and the party has determined that its delegates will be selected pursuant to the primary. The slate of delegates and alternates shall comply with the rules of the national and state party.

The State Board shall transmit the material so filed to the state chairman of the party of the candidate immediately after the primary filing deadline. The sealed containers containing the petitions for a candidate may be opened only by the state chairman of the party of the candidate. The state chairman of the party shall, by the deadline set by the State Board, furnish to the State Board the names of all candidates who have satisfied the requirements of this section. In furnishing the name of each such candidate, the state chairman shall certify that a review of the filed candidate petitions found the required minimum number of signatures of qualified voters for that office to have been met. Whenever only one candidate for a party's nomination for President of the United States has met the requirements to have his name on the ballot, he will be declared the winner and no presidential primary for that party will be held.

C. The names of all candidates in the presidential primary of each political party shall appear on the ballot in an order determined by lot by the State Board.

D. The State Board shall certify the results of the presidential primary to the state chairman. If the party has determined that its delegates and alternates will be selected pursuant to the primary, the slate of delegates and alternates of the candidate receiving the most votes in the primary shall be deemed elected by the state party unless the party has determined another method for allocation of delegates and alternates. If the party has determined to use another method for selecting delegates and alternates, those delegates and alternates shall be bound to vote on the first ballot at the national convention for the candidate receiving the most votes in the primary unless that candidate releases those delegates and alternates from such vote.

E. The election, or binding of votes, of delegates to a political party's national convention for the nomination of that party's candidates for President and Vice President of the United States through the presidential primary process shall be considered to be equivalent to a primary for the nomination of a party's candidate.

F. The cost of the presidential primary shall be paid by the Commonwealth pursuant to the provisions of the appropriation act.

See also

• Correll v. Herring
• Republican National Committee
• Republican National Convention rules, 2012
• Republican National Convention, 2016
• Types of delegates
• Presidential election in Virginia, 2016