RNC delegate guidelines from Washington, D.C., 2016

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This page provides known guidelines for Republican delegates representing Washington, D.C. at the 2016 National Republican Convention, as compiled from "District of Columbia Republican Presidential Convention and Delegate Selection Plan for the 2016 Republican National Convention." The full text of relevant regulations is reproduced below.

HIGHLIGHTS

* Washington, D.C. sent 19 delegates to the 2016 Republican National Convention, including 16 district delegates are three Republican National Committee delegates. District delegates are elected at the district convention, following the district primary election.

* DC GOP bylaws allowed delegates to select which candidate would receive their vote at the national convention, provided that that candidate won delegates in the district primary election. RNC delegates got to select first, followed by the district delegates, starting with the delegate who received the most votes at the district convention.

* DC GOP bylaws in 2016 stipulated that district delegates were bound to their candidate through the first round of voting at the convention. If a candidate who was allotted delegates at the district convention withdrew prior to the national convention, their delegates become "unbound." If only one candidate's name was placed in nomination at the national convention, DC GOP bylaws stipulated that all district delegates would vote for that candidate, provided that that candidate won delegates in the district primary election.

## District of Columbia Republican Presidential Convention and Delegate Selection Plan for the 2016 Republican National Convention[edit]

The text below has been reproduced verbatim from: District of Columbia Republican Presidential Convention and Delegate Selection Plan for the 2016 Republican National Convention

1\. This delegate selection plan is governed by the Rules of the Republican Party (“RRP”) as adopted by the Republican National Convention August 28, 2012, as amended.

2\. The DC Republican Party (“DCGOP”) has been allocated a total of 19 delegates and 16 alternates for the National Convention. (RRP Rule 14)

3\. Following the adoption of this delegate selection plan by the DC Republican Party, it shall be submitted to the Secretary of the Republican National Committee by October 1, 2015. (RRP Rule 16f)

4\. The DCGOP Chairman shall be empowered to make any technical changes or revisions to this document as required by the RNC. All questions of interpretation of these rules and procedures shall be subject to final resolution by the DCGOP Executive Committee.

### SECTION II: Description of the DC GOP Presidential Convention[edit]

1\. The Convention for the determination of the District of Columbia Republican presidential preference shall be held on Saturday, March 12, 2016 beginning at 10:00 AM EST and ending at 4:00 PM EST.

2\. Voter Participation in the Process

1\. Participation in the DCGOP presidential convention is open to all eligible voters affiliated with the DC Republican Party. (RRP Rule 16(d)(2) and (3)) Individuals may vote in the DCGOP presidential convention if he or she is (1) registered to vote in the District of Columbia and (2) registered as a Republican in the District of Columbia on or before February 29, 2016. To be eligible to vote in the presidential convention, the voter must present proof that he or she is a registered Republican. “Proof” means:

1\. a state issued photo ID matching current D.C. Board of Elections voter registration rolls for name and date of birth or
2\. if not on the voter rolls, evidence of current voter registration from the appropriate elections office and a state issued photo ID with a matching name and date of birth
2\. At no time during the DCGOP presidential convention shall any person be required to pay a cost or fee to participate. (RRP Rule 16(d)(10)) Voluntary contributions to the DC Republican Party or to a campaign may be made, but under no circumstances shall such a contribution be mandatory.

3\. No persons shall participate or vote in the nominating process for the Republican Presidential candidate who also participates in the nominating process of any other party for the same or corresponding election. (RRP Rule 16(d)(3)).

4\. The Executive Committee shall establish a voting process that would accommodate active duty military, disabled veterans, and overseas voters who qualify under Section II A(2) as (1) registered to vote in the District of Columbia, and (2) registered as a Republicans in the District of Columbia on or before February 29, 2016.

5\. There shall be no absentee, nor proxy voting with the exception of those voters who qualify under Section II (D).

### SECTION III: Presidential Candidate Ballot Access and Convention Participation[edit]

1\. In order to gain access to the DCGOP convention ballot, a Republican Presidential candidate must be registered as a Republican Presidential candidate with the Federal Election Commission, and either (1) pay a filing fee of $12,500 on or before 5:00PM EST, Monday, January 4, 2016, or (2) submit a valid petition of at least 150 duly registered and qualified Republican voters from D.C. on the DC GOP Standard Form (such form may be available from the DC GOP upon request) and submit a payment to the DC Republican Party in the amount of $7,500 on or before 5:00 PM EST, Monday, January 4, 2016.

2\. The DCGOP will only coordinate with a presidential candidate’s representative(s) certified to the Party Chair, in writing, by the presidential campaign as authorized representatives.

### SECTION IV: Election of Delegates and Alternate Delegates to the Republican National Convention[edit]

1\. Delegates and alternates shall be elected at a Convention called for that purpose by the Chair of the DCGOP on Saturday, March 12, 2016. (RRP Rule 16(d)(1)). The number of delegates to be elected shall be sixteen (16). The number of alternate delegates to be elected shall be sixteen (16). The meeting process shall be as follows:

1\. Anyone having properly submitted their application for a delegate position shall be on the ballot (“Delegate Candidate”).
2\. The Convention attendees shall cast their votes for delegates and alternates in the delegate preference vote, as described more fully in this Section IV (1) (B). Convention attendees shall select up to thirty-two (32) Delegate Candidates on the Delegate Candidates ballot. The number of Delegate Candidates’ votes received shall be ranked from the most number of votes received to the least number of votes received. The top sixteen (16) Delegate candidates in order of votes received shall be designated as delegates. The next sixteen (16) Delegate candidates receiving the 17th through the 32nd most number of votes shall be designated as the alternate delegates. In the event of a tie the winner shall be determined by lot.

2\. In order to be eligible to be selected as a delegate or alternate delegate, the individual must (1) submit $50 (“Delegate Payment”) payable to the DC Republican Party or submit 25 signatures (“Delegate Signatures”) of registered Republicans in D.C. on the DC GOP Standard Form (such form may be available from the DCGOP upon request), (2) be registered as a DC Republican on or before January 1, 2016. The DCGOP shall develop a standard form for self-nomination of delegates and alternate delegates. Such forms shall be finalized no later than December 30, 2015. Copies of the self-nomination form shall be made available to any DC Republican so requesting. All documentation as stated in (1) and (2) must be completed and submitted in person to the offices of the DC Republican Party no later than 5:00 PM EST, February 12, 2016. Applicants must be willing to sign an affidavit that they are willing to be bound to the results of the Convention and support the candidate their delegate seat is bound to as outlined in Section V.

3\. There shall be no automatic delegates to the national convention who serve by virtue of party position or elective office, except for the State Party Chair, National Committeewoman, and National Committeeman (“RNC Members”). (RRP 16(d)(11), 14(a)(2)).

4\. All delegates and alternate delegates to the Republican National Convention are required to pay for their own transportation, lodging, meals and associated expenses. No delegate or alternate delegate, or candidate for delegate or alternate delegate, shall be required to pay an assessment or fee as a condition of standing for election or serving as a delegate or alternate delegate to the national convention. (RRP 15(d)(10))

5\. In the election of delegates and alternate delegates to the Republican National Convention voting by slate (a single vote for a predetermined list of delegates) shall be prohibited.

### SECTION V: Allocation and Binding of Delegates and Alternate Delegates[edit]

1\. The DC GOP shall hold the Convention, first, to conduct the presidential preference vote, then to select the delegates and alternates to be bound to each presidential candidate allocated delegates under this section.

2\. Delegates and alternate delegates (“DC Delegation”) shall be bound on a proportional basis through the first ballot to candidates receiving in excess of 15% of the certified districtwide vote of the presidential preference poll. If no Presidential Candidate reaches the 15% threshold of the districtwide vote, the threshold becomes 10% for a candidate to receive delegates and alternate delegates. If no Presidential Candidate reaches the 10% adjusted threshold, the threshold becomes 8% for a candidate to receive delegates and alternate delegates. (RRP Rule 16(C)(2) and (3)) District delegates and alternate delegates shall remain bound until released by the candidate.

3\. If a candidate receives in excess of 50% of the certified districtwide vote of the presidential preference poll, that candidate receives all of DC’s delegates.

4\. Delegates and alternate delegates shall be allocated by the following formula: The votes received by each Presidential Candidate who receives in excess of the threshold, without rounding, shall be divided by the total number of valid votes cast for all Presidential Candidates receiving in excess of the threshold. Starting with the candidate receiving the highest number of districtwide votes the percentage shall be multiplied by the total number of delegates rounding up to the next whole number to produce the delegate allotment for each candidate. Repeat this allocation process with each of the remaining Presidential Candidates in descending order of their districtwide totals until all available delegates are allotted.

5\. The proportional delegate allocation shall be rounded to the nearest whole delegate. In the event that a 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 are over-allocated due to mathematical rounding, the over-allocated delegate shall be removed from the candidate furthest from the rounding threshold.

6\. Delegates shall be bound using the following methodology: First, the three (3) RNC Members shall select the Presidential Candidate to which he or she is to be bound out of the Presidential Candidates who were allocated delegates and have delegate slots available. Second, starting with the delegate candidate who received the most number of votes and continuing in order from the most number of votes to 16th most number of votes, delegates shall select the Presidential Candidate to which he or she is to be bound out of the Presidential Candidates who were allocated delegates and still have remaining delegate slots available. The binding of delegate candidates shall proceed until all sixteen (16) delegates have been bound.

7\. If a Presidential Candidate who is allocated delegates withdraws prior to the National Convention, the delegates bound to that Candidate become unbound.

8\. However, notwithstanding the above, if only one candidate’s name is placed in nomination at the Republican National Convention, all delegates shall be bound to vote for such candidate on the first ballot provided that the candidate received votes in the DC presidential preference poll. (RRP Rule 16(C)(2) and (3)).

9\. The DC Delegation to the Republican National Convention shall be bound through the first ballot to vote proportionally in accordance with the outcome of the District of Columbia Convention.

10\. The DCGOP Chairman shall certify the proportional allocation of the delegates and alternates by March 13, 2016. In the event that questions arise relative to the delegate allotment, preference in awarding delegates shall always be given by rank to the candidate receiving the highest number of total votes. Delegates and alternate delegates shall remain bound until released by the candidate.

### SECTION VI: Filling Delegate and Alternate Delegate Vacancies[edit]

Should any duly elected delegate or alternate delegate decide to vacate or decline their position, they shall submit written notification of their intention to the Chair. A delegate vacancy will be filled by the alternate delegate who received the most number of votes at the March 12th Convention election for delegates and alternates. Tie votes shall be decided by lot. An alternate delegate vacancy will be filled by a majority vote of the DCGOP Executive Committee.

### SECTION VII: Convention Endorsements[edit]

1\. Submitting to the DCGOP a list of names of Delegate Candidates who they wish to endorse in written or email correspondence to the DC GOP Chair. Delegate Candidates must affirm they accept the endorsement. The presidential candidates’ endorsements of delegate candidates and the corresponding acceptance of such endorsement must be received by the DCGOP Chairman no later than 5:00PM EST, February 11, 2016.

2\. Delegate Candidates may be endorsed by only one campaign or no campaigns.

3\. Delegate Candidates who have accepted the endorsement shall have their name appear on the Convention ballot with the name of the endorsing Presidential candidate in the delegate selection vote.

4\. Presidential campaigns who wish to endorse any Delegate Candidates are strongly encouraged to endeavor to endorse Delegate candidates from all eight (8) wards in Washington, D.C.

### SECTION VIII: Delegation Chair[edit]

Upon approval of these rules, the 2016 Republican National Convention delegation chair from DC shall be the DC Republican Party Chair unless otherwise designated by the Chair.

## See also[edit]

* Republican National Committee
* Republican National Convention rules, 2012
* Republican National Convention, 2016
* Types of delegates
* Presidential election in Washington, D.C., 2016

v • e

2016 Conventions

Overviews|

Democratic National Convention, 2016 • Republican National Convention, 2016 • Green Party National Convention, 2016 • Libertarian National Convention, 2016 • Brokered conventions • State election law and delegates to national conventions

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Republican Party|

Republican National Convention rules, 1996 • Republican National Convention rules, 2000 • Republican National Convention rules, 2012 • Republican delegate rules by state, 2016 • Rule 12 • Rule 16 Rule 40 • RNC Rules Committee • RNC Standing Committee on Rules • Republican Platform and Platform Committee

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Democratic Party|

Democratic Platform and Platform Committees • Standing Committee on Rules • Superdelegates and the 2016 Democratic National Convention

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Presidential election|

2016 presidential election • 2016 presidential candidates • 2016 presidential nominations: calendar and delegate rules • Ballotpedia's battleground poll

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