RNC delegate guidelines from Alabama, 2016
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This page provides known guidelines for Republican delegates representing Alabama at the 2016 National Republican Convention, as compiled from the Republican Party of Alabama's "2016 Alabama GOP Delegate Information Process," and "2016 Presidential Preference Primary Resolution." The full text of relevant regulations is reproduced below.
2016 Alabama GOP Delegate Information Process[edit]
The text below has been reproduced verbatim from: 2016 Alabama GOP Delegate Information Process.
Who can run for delegate?[edit]
Any qualified, registered Alabama voter may run for delegate. The voter must choose a presidential candidate and pledge their vote to that candidate.
When can I qualify to be a delegate?[edit]
Qualifying opens on Monday, October 5, 2015 at 8:30 a.m. CDT and closes on Friday, November 6, 2015 at 5:00 p.m. CST. No forms or fees will be accepted before the opening day and time.
What is the qualifying process?[edit]
There are two steps needed to qualify to run as a delegate: First, download a Delegate Candidacy form or request one from the ALGOP at 205.212.5900. Second, after filling out the form in its entirety, return it to the ALGOP headquarters with a payment of $150.00. Keep a copy for your records. Here are the ways to return the form and qualifying fee:
- Mail: Alabama Republican Party, 3505 Lorna Road, Birmingham, AL 35216 (Note: we recommend a certified return signature, but it is not necessary.) Enclose your $150 qualifying fee check made payable to the Alabama Republican Party. Please write the candidate and place number in the ‘memo’ column on your check.)
- Email: Scan the form and email to rphillips@algop.org ; pay the $150 qualifying fee online.
- Hand delivery: Return the form and qualifying fee to the headquarters (see address above).
How many delegate slots is Alabama allotted and how do I decide the slot to run in?[edit]
You have two choices: you may run at-large or you may run in your congressional district.
If you run at-large:[edit]
There are 26 slots, numbered At-Large #1, At-Large #2, etc. You must declare your place number on your form. Your name will be on every GOP primary ballot in the state of Alabama.
NOTE: If you do not have any opposition for your slot on the ballot, your name will not appear and the delegate place will go to you automatically if your presidential candidate gathers up the votes needed to obtain delegates.
If you run in a congressional district:[edit]
There are a total of 21 slots for the seven congressional districts, three per district. For example: CD1 Place #1, CD1Place #2, CD1 Place #3
If you choose to run per your congressional district, your name will be on the GOP primary ballots in just your congressional district.
NOTE: If you do not have any opposition for your slot on the ballot, your name will not appear and the delegate place will go to you automatically if your presidential candidate gathers up the votes needed to obtain delegates.
What if the slots are full with delegate candidates when I qualify?[edit]
You can still run. You must pick a slot and the voters will choose on the GOP primary ballot.
How many people can run for one slot?[edit]
As many as apply. For example, “At-Large #5” may have one person running or four people running.
Are there runoffs for a delegate slot?[edit]
No. The delegate selection will be decided on Tuesday, March 1, 2016 on the GOP primary ballot. The delegate who gets the plurality vote wins the slot. Your candidate must then get enough GOP primary votes to receive you as a delegate. The more votes a presidential candidate gets, the more delegates he/she picks up.
Can I campaign if I run for a delegate slot?[edit]
Absolutely, but it’s not required. The more of your friends and family that know you are on the ballot the better your chances are of winning. You can send out flyers, use your social media, your Christmas card list, have signs printed, etc.
How do I know if I won or not?[edit]
As you can imagine, March 1, 2016 election night will be busy with lots of information coming in to us. The Secretary of State’s office is planning to have live voting results that evening. The ALGOP will post the results on our website as soon as we receive them. If you run statewide, it’s a good chance we will not know who won for the next day or two until all votes are counted.
I ran but came up short and didn’t win a slot. What now?[edit]
You may run for an ‘alternate delegate’ slot. If you paid your $150, there will not be another fee. If you didn’t run as a delegate but want to try for an alternate delegate, there is a $150 fee and a completed qualifying form will be needed. The Alabama Republican Party members will select the alternates. That procedure will be announced later. What if I run for a delegate slot and my presidential candidate doesn’t win the proportion numbers needed to amass delegates from Alabama?
If this happens, then you will not be awarded a delegate slot. You may run for an alternate delegate slot and try again.
Can a presidential candidate receive all of our 47 Alabama delegates?[edit]
Yes, but the candidate would have to receive 50% plus one vote of the statewide GOP primary votes. That is very rare, especially this year with so many GOP candidates running. It’s possible, but not probable.
I ran as a delegate/I didn’t run as a delegate. Can I still attend the RNC Convention?[edit]
The delegates and alternate delegates are all guaranteed rooms, transportation and event invitations while at the convention, at their own cost. You can come to the convention as a guest, but you will be on your own for your transportation and hotel needs. Each delegate and alternate delegate receives a guest pass for each RNC session. They control their guest passes.
I ran and won, but I’ve changed my mind on who to cast my vote for at the RNC Convention. May I switch my vote at the convention?[edit]
No. You must vote for the candidate that you pledged your oath to on your qualifying form. However, if the candidate releases his delegates/alternates then you may vote for a different person.
For example, on August 24, 2012 Senator Rick Santorum released his delegates to vote for Mitt Romney for a unified RNC Convention in Tampa the week before the event.
When and where is the 2016 RNC Convention?[edit]
The 2016 RNC Convention will be in Cleveland, Ohio. The first session will be on Monday, July 18 and will end the evening of July 21, 2016. Most delegates/alternates arrive on the Sunday prior to the opening (July 17, 2016), but you can arrive earlier. Hotel reservations are for July 17-21 only. Any other nights you will have to secure yourself.
If I win, who pays the costs for my trip to the RNC Convention?[edit]
You do. You pay all expenses including your travel plans, hotel accommodations and any delegate fees that may be assessed to offset convention costs. The RNC will assign the hotels. All delegates/alternate delegates will have one room available and transportation to and from official RNC events will be provided.
What is a Super Delegate?[edit]
A Super Delegate is a member of the Republican National Committee. In Alabama, those three delegates are the Alabama State Chairman, the Alabama National Committeeman and the Alabama National Committeewoman. These three Super Delegates are not pledged to any candidate and may vote for the candidate of their choice. However, they historically vote for the winner of the state of Alabama’s presidential primary.
2016 Presidential Preference Primary Resolution[edit]
The text below has been reproduced verbatim from: 2016 Presidential Preference Primary Resolution.
BE IT RESOLVED by the Republican Party of Alabama acting by and through the Alabama Republican Executive Committee, as follows:
Paragraph 1[edit]
The Republican Party of Alabama hereby elects and states its intention to hold a presidential preference primary pursuant to Chapter 13 of Title 17 of the 1975 Code of Alabama, as amended, and prescribes the method by which electors in said primary are to indicate their preferences, the method by which delegates and alternate delegates are to be selected, elected, chosen, and replaced, and the pledge by which delegates and alternates are to be bound.
Paragraph 2[edit]
The Republican presidential preference primary in Alabama shall be held Tuesday, March 1, 2016. In order to qualify the name of a person to appear on the ballot as a candidate for the Republican nomination for the office of President of the United States, a petition or petitions in support of such person’s candidacy must be filed with the Chairman of the Alabama Republican Executive Committee or his or her authorized representative, not earlier than October 5, 2015 at 8:30 a.m., and not later than November 6, 2015 at 5:00 p.m. Such petition or petitions shall comply with the election laws of the State of Alabama applicable thereto and shall be in substantially the form attached as Exhibit A to this resolution. No candidate shall be allowed to have his or her name placed on the ballot at such presidential preference primary unless at the time of filing such petition or petitions there shall be paid to the Chairman of the Alabama Republican Executive Committee a qualifying fee in the amount of $10,000.00.
Paragraph 3[edit]
Persons desiring to be elected as delegates to the 2016 Republican National Convention must file with the Chairman of the Alabama Republican Executive Committee or his or her authorized representative, not earlier than October 5, 2015 at 8:30 a.m., and not later than November 6, 2015 at 5:00 p.m., a declaration of candidacy in substantially the form attached as Exhibit B to this resolution and shall pay to the Alabama Republican Executive Committee a qualifying fee in the amount of $150.00. As a part of such declaration of candidacy, each delegate candidate shall state the name of the Republican Presidential candidate to whom such delegate candidate is pledged, or, in the absence of such a pledge, that the delegate candidate is uncommitted. Each delegate candidate must specify whether he or she is a candidate from a congressional district or from the State at Large, and each candidate must designate the delegate place number to which he or she desires election. No person may qualify as a candidate for a delegate position from both a congressional district and the State at Large. Candidates for delegate from a congressional district must be qualified electors of the district, and candidates for delegate from the State at Large must be qualified electors of the State. In order for a delegate candidate to be eligible to appear on the primary election ballot, his or her declaration of candidacy must include either the statement that the candidate is uncommitted to any Republican presidential candidate or a pledge of support to a candidate for the Republican nomination for the office of President of the United States whose name is entitled or becomes entitled to appear on the Republican Presidential Preference Primary ballot pursuant to paragraph 2 of this Resolution. No person may be a candidate for more than one delegate position, and no person may submit a pledge other than in support of one presidential candidate. Any person filing a declaration of candidacy pledging support for a presidential candidate who fails to qualify pursuant to paragraph 2 of this Resolution or who withdraws pursuant to § 17-13-104 of the Code of Alabama may either withdraw as a delegate candidate and receive a refund of the qualifying fee paid or become an uncommitted delegate candidate for the same delegate position.
Paragraph 4[edit]
There shall be space on the ballot of the Republican presidential preference primary, to be headed “Candidate of the Republican Party for President of the United States.” Underneath this heading there shall appear the words: “I hereby declare my preference for candidate for the office of President of the United States and for delegates pledged to such candidate to be as follows.” Below these words, there shall be printed the names of the presidential candidates in alphabetical order of their surnames and a heading designated “uncommitted,” and thereafter in the appropriate column by delegate place number the names of persons who are pledged to support each such presidential candidate or who are uncommitted and who have duly qualified for election to each such delegate position. The ballot shall not include the names of persons who qualify without opposition as delegate candidates. Such persons shall be certified as delegates in the event the results of the presidential preference primary are such as to entitle uncommitted delegates or a presidential candidate to the delegate positions for which such persons qualified under paragraph 3 of this resolution.
Paragraph 5[edit]
Pursuant to the Rules adopted by the 2012 Republican National Convention and subsequently amended, there shall be twenty-six delegates to the 2016 Republican National Convention from the State at Large and three delegates from each of the State’s seven congressional districts. In casting a vote for a candidate of the Republican Party for President of the United States, each elector shall vote for such candidate or shall vote uncommitted, and each elector may also vote for delegates who are pledged or unpledged in accordance with that elector’s presidential preference. An elector may not vote for a presidential candidate or vote uncommitted and also vote for delegates pledged differently. Pursuant to the Rules adopted by the 2012 Republican National Convention and subsequently amended, three additional delegate positions are designated for the three members of the Republican National Committee from each state. The provisions of this resolution do not apply to these three delegate positions.
Paragraph 6[edit]
All delegates from the State at Large shall be awarded to a presidential candidate who receives a majority of the votes in the Republican presidential preference primary election in the state. If no presidential candidate receives a majority of the votes in the state, then the allocation shall be as follows: Based on the relationship that the number of votes received by each presidential candidate bears to the total number of votes cast for candidates receiving at least 20 percent of the vote cast in the Republican presidential primary election in the entire State, the Steering Committee of the Alabama Republican Executive Committee shall apportion pro rata the number of delegates from the State at Large each of the presidential candidates is entitled to receive rounded to the nearest whole number; provided that a presidential candidate must receive at least 20 percent of the total vote cast in the State in the Republican presidential preference primary election in order to be entitled to any of the twenty-six State at Large delegates. Uncommitted delegate positions shall be similarly awarded, and committed and uncommitted delegate positions in the State at Large and in each congressional district shall be awarded by counting uncommitted presidential votes as if they were cast for a single, duly qualified presidential candidate. All delegates from each congressional district shall be awarded to a presidential candidate who receives a majority of the votes in the Republican presidential preference primary election in that district. If no presidential candidate receives a majority of the votes in a congressional district, then the presidential candidate who receives the most votes in that congressional district shall receive two (2) delegates and the presidential candidate who receives the second most votes in that congressional district shall receive one (1) delegate, provided that a presidential candidate must receive at least 20 percent of the total vote cast in the district in the Republican presidential primary election in order to be entitled to any of the three delegates from that district. If only one presidential candidate receives 20 percent or more of such total vote in the district, such presidential candidate shall be awarded all of the delegates from that district.
In the event no presidential candidate receives at least 20% of the total vote cast in the state at large, then based on the relationship the number of votes received by each presidential candidate bears to the total number of votes cast in the Republican presidential primary election in the entire state, the Steering Committee of the Alabama Republican Executive Committee shall apportion pro rata the number of delegates from the state at large each of the presidential candidates is entitled to receive rounded to the nearest whole number. In the event no presidential candidate receives at least 20% of the total vote cast in the Republican presidential preference primary election in a congressional district, then based on the relationship the number of votes received by each presidential candidate bears to the total number of votes cast in the Republican presidential primary election in that district, the Steering Committee of the Alabama Republican Executive Committee shall apportion pro rata the number of delegates from such congressional district each of the presidential candidates is entitled to receive rounded to the nearest whole number.
Paragraph 7[edit]
In the event the pro rata apportionment of delegates leaves one or more delegates unassigned by process of mathematical distribution, then any such delegate or delegates shall be authorized for the candidate with the largest portion of the vote in the State in said Republican presidential preference primary. In the event pro rata apportionment entitles candidates by process of mathematical distribution to more delegates than authorized hereunder pursuant to the Rules adopted by the 2012 Republican National Convention and subsequently amended, then the number of delegates authorized for the candidate receiving the least number of votes in the State, among those otherwise entitled to delegates, shall be decreased to the extent necessary to conform to the number of authorized delegate positions. Uncommitted delegate positions shall be similarly allocated by counting uncommitted votes as if they were cast for a single, duly qualified presidential candidate.
Paragraph 8[edit]
After determining the number and geographic distribution of delegate positions to which each candidate is entitled or to which uncommitted delegates are entitled, the Chairman of the Alabama Republican Executive Committee shall so notify each candidate and specify the number of delegates and alternate delegates authorized as uncommitted or for each candidate from the State at Large and from each congressional district. One uncommitted alternate delegate shall be authorized for each uncommitted delegate and one alternate delegate for each delegate shall be authorized for each candidate entitled to delegates. The delegate and alternate delegate positions so certified by the Chairman shall be allocated among the presidential candidates or as uncommitted in accordance with paragraphs 6 and 7 of this resolution.
The Chairman shall certify pledged delegates to the 2016 Republican National Convention from each congressional district and from the State at Large from among those persons who were pledged to each presidential candidate entitled to delegates and who were unopposed or who received the largest number of votes cast for each delegate position. Delegate positions for each presidential candidate shall be filled by unopposed delegate candidates and the recipients of the most votes for each place number in ascending order of place number for which they qualified under paragraph 3 of this resolution, until all delegate position for that presidential candidate in the appropriate district and the state at large are filled. Place numbers shall then be assigned to persons elected as delegates in the order of number of votes received by the presidential candidate to whom such delegates are pledged, and among each presidential candidate’s delegates, in ascending order of place number for which each delegate qualified as a candidate. Uncommitted delegate positions shall be certified similarly. Alternate delegates from the State at Large shall be elected by the Alabama Republican Executive Committee. Alternate delegates from each congressional district shall be elected by the members of the Congressional District Committee for that district. No alternate delegate position shall be deemed filled unless the person so elected (a) completes a pledge of support for the presidential candidate, if any, entitled to the alternate delegate position to which such person is elected and (b) pays to the Alabama Republican Executive Committee the $150.00 qualifying fee required of delegate candidates. There shall be no Alternate Delegates for the three members of the Republican National Committee.
Paragraph 9[edit]
No person named as a delegate or alternate delegate pledged to a person as the Republican nominee for President of the United States shall cast a contrary vote at such convention unless first released by (a) public statement or in writing by such presidential candidate or (b) two-thirds vote of all members of the Alabama Delegation to the 2016 Republican National Convention similarly pledged; and the vote of any person who attempts to violate the provisions hereof shall not be allowed, but such vote may instead be cast for the person to whom such delegate or alternate delegate is pledged either by the Chairman of the Alabama Delegation to the 2016 Republican National Convention or by the Secretary of such Convention.
Paragraph 10[edit]
Any vacancy in a delegate position shall be filled by his or her alternate delegate. Any vacancy in a delegate position for which there is no alternate or any vacancy among alternate delegates shall be filled with a person legally qualified to hold the position by majority vote of the remaining delegates and alternate delegates similarly pledged. If there are then no such remaining delegates or alternate delegates, any such vacancy shall be filled by the Alabama Republican Executive Committee. No vacancy shall be deemed filled until completion of the pledge required for the delegate or alternate delegate position in which the vacancy has occurred. We, the undersigned, who by our signatures affirm under penalty of perjury are qualified electors of (the State of Alabama) (the ___________________ Congressional District of the State of Alabama), support the candidacy of (name of candidate) for the Republican nomination for the office of President of the United States and petition the Republican Party of Alabama to cause such candidate’s name to appear on the ballot in the 2016 Republican Presidential Preference Primary in the State of Alabama:.
EXHIBIT “A”[edit]
STATE OF ALABAMA )
)
_______________ COUNTY )
DECLARATION OF CANDIDACY
I hereby declare that I am a candidate for the office of delegate to the 2016 Republican National Convention from the (State at Large) (______________ Congressional District) of the State of Alabama, Place No. ____.*
I certify that (l) I possess the qualifications fixed by law for said office and will in no way be disqualified from holding the same, and (2) I am a Republican and am in accord with, and endorse, the principles and policies of the Republican Party.
(I pledge my support and vote to ________________________________ for the Republican nomination for the office of President of the United States at the 2016 Republican National Convention, and agree to be bound and abide by the laws of the State of Alabama and the rules of the Republican Party of Alabama with respect to such pledge.) (I am uncommitted to any candidate for the Republican nomination for the office of President of the United States.)
This the ______ day of ___________, 2015.
WITNESS: _________________________ _________________________________________ (Signature of Candidate)
________________________________________ RESIDENCE Address (no post office boxes)
______________________ ________________ City Zip
_________________ _________________ Home Phone Office Phone
______________________________________________________________________________ (Type or print name as you wish it to appear on ballot – no titles)
- Candidates must run for either the State-at-Large or a Congressional District, not both.
See also[edit]
- Republican National Committee
- Republican National Convention rules, 2012
- Republican National Convention, 2016
- Presidential election in Alabama, 2016
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