Empower the Delegates!
by Bill Stimmons
What would be the fairest, and at the same time, the most productive and efficient method of assigning delegate votes to the national party conventions? Longtime party activists and volunteers remember how the system of selection by district and state conventions stimulated party participation. The Republican State Convention used to fill the Civic Center Music Hall in downtown Oklahoma City. Now we do well to fill a large motel assembly room.
After twenty years, the so-called "Super Tuesday" presidential primary has given us little more than a formula to diminish party interest and participation. The binding of delegate votes by a presidential primary vote may initially sound like a fairer system which would encourage participation, but in actual practice nothing has been further from the actual result.
While Super Tuesday essentially gives the process over to money and the media, it is also fundamentally unfair because it does not operate on the principal of majority rule. Delegates are bound on the basis of plurality rule, where the most votes govern, even if far from a majority.
In other elections, we have runoffs, to assure that the winner is truly the choice of a majority of voters, not just a plurality. Of course, a runoff in a presidential primary would be extremely impractical. Even the primaries themselves can be very impractical for presidential candidates attempting to run nationwide.
On the plurality system, let's say there are a field of four conservative candidates and only two moderates. The conservatives may have a clear majority of votes, but they are divided up among four. Let's say the conservatives have a total of 60%, each conservative candidate with about 15%. The moderates have only 40%, but it is divided up between only two. Thus, if one of the moderates gets 25% and the other only 15%, the moderate has the plurality, and therefore unfairly gets Oklahoma's national convention votes. In any other election, there would be a runoff, so that the winner would be elected by a clear majority. But in a primary, it is the moderate candidate with only 25% that gets the delegate votes for the national convention. Hardly a fair and representative system!
With the convention system of electing national delegates, the state and district delegates may discuss, campaign, consider each presidential candidate, and sometimes even meet the those presidential hopefuls who come to our conventions. The electing convention may, if they so desire, bind the delegates, or they may simply elect principled persons whose judgment they trust and leave them uncommitted. District and state convention delegates may vote for national delegates, and if necessary take more than one ballot to narrow their choices and decide who gets the clear majority.
The convention system begins in the neighborhood, in the precinct, which should function as the heart and soul of the Republican Party. Neighbors meeting with neighbors, not simply to make a mark on a ballot, but to discuss, explain, inform, and become informed. They may develop a greater interest, meet local representatives, put forth suggestions the party platform and leadership. They may even decide to volunteer, or who knows, run for office themselves.
When you observe and participate in the process from precinct, county, district, state, and on to the national convention, you will be in awe as people, ordinary people, exercise a voice and vote in selecting their President.
Delegates to this year's Oklahoma Republican State Convention should strongly support a proposal to empower themselves and revitalize the party by return the delegate selection process to the precinct gatherings and conventions. The proposal is compatible with National Republican Party rules and Oklahoma state election law. It does not abolish the "Super Tuesday" primary, but it does allow the voters at the precinct gatherings and convention delegates to recover their voice as to which candidate(s) gets Oklahoma's votes at the national convention.
Here is the text of the proposal:
State Party Rule 18(g) READS NOW AS FOLLOWS:
Qualification of Nominees: A nomination before a convention for the position of delegate or alternate to the Republican National Convention shall be deemed qualified only if the State Convention Chairman or the chairman of the District Convention, whichever is applicable, shall have actually received an affidavit signed by the nominee stating the name and address of the nominee, and certifying that the nominee is a registered voter of the Oklahoma Republican Party, and that the nominee will accept the nomination if elected, and that the vote of the nominee on selection of the Republican candidate for President of the United States at the Republican National Convention shall be cast as provided in 26 O.S. 20-104(h).
THE PROPOSED AMENDMENT READS AS FOLLOWS:
AMEND [the above] Oklahoma Republican Party Rule 18(g) by striking the period following the words ôas provided in 26 O.S. 20-104(h)ö and adding in place thereof the following:
"according to each national convention delegate's own preference unless otherwise instructed by the state or district convention electing such delegate."
The Oklahoma Republican Party should finally vote to free the party to sound forth, activate, and grow. The proposal should not be postponed again. NOW is the time to deal with this lingering question before the candidates themselves become a factor. Precinct gatherings should once again be the place to welcome new participants to take full part in the process.
Many of us knew and loved the wit and wisdom of the late and long time Republican Party activist Harold Hite. Outspoken in his support for a return to the convention system, he wisely observed, "It is a system where caring counts more."
Bill Stemmons is a professional parliamentarian, having been registered with the National Association of Parliamentarians since 1981, and is past President and current Parliamentarian for the Oklahoma State Association of Parliamentarians. He is also a member of the American Institute of Parliamentarians, and has been published in the journals of both organizations. Stemmons advises attorneys, public officials, educators, and other associations throughout the U.S. He subscribes to the NAP/AIP Joint Code of Ethics. Stemmons has served as parliamentarian for numerous Republican conventions, and has worked in countless political campaigns. He has been a church teacher and counselor for more than thirty years, and is a graduate of Oklahoma State University and an Air Force veteran. For more information, visit:
www.secondthemotion.com
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