[EL] In brokered convention, can GOP nominate non-candidate?

[Scarberry, Mark]

I would read Rule 40 to mean that no name can be put in nomination unless at the time of nomination a majority of delegates from eight states supports the candidate. Delegates are only bound on the first ballot, right? So a candidate could be nominated for the second or subsequent ballot despite not having won a majority of delegates in the primaries or caucuses held in eight states. There would be some sort of certification by delegates of who they will vote for in that round.  (The GOP does have some delegates who aren't pledged even on the first ballot, right? They could help a candidate be nominated even on the first ballot. But the GOP doesn't have the large number of super-delegates that the Democratic Party has, does it?)

The rule says, if I remember correctly, that if only one candidate has the support of a majority of delegates from eight states, then that candidate -- the only one whose name can be put in nomination -- may be elected by acclamation, without the need for a roll call vote. I don't know quite what that means. Would the chair ask for a voice indication of support and declare the candidate the winner by acclamation absent a substantial volume of nays? I have a hard time believing that the candidate simply wins if he or she is the only one who can be nominated. Perhaps a clarification of the meaning of being chosen by acclamation should be the convention's first order of business.

I think election by acclamation may require unanimous consent. I'm certainly no parliamentarian, but see Robert's Rule 67,  http://www.rulesonline.com/rror-11.htm#66, and http://www.roberts-rules.com/parl06.htm. On the other hand, it's hard to believe the GOP meant to allow a single nay to require a roll call vote of the states.

Disclaimer: It's been a few days since I read Rule 40, and I don't know how it has been interpreted (if it ever has).

Mark

Mark S. Scarberry
Pepperdine University School of Law


Sent from my iPad

On Mar 8, 2016, at 6:15 AM, Craig Holman <holman at aol.com<mailto:holman at aol.com>> wrote:

I have read Rule 40 and it still is not clear to me. One reading would suggest the second and subsequent ballots go on until someone who was nominated by at least 8 states eventually gets a majority. A different reading is that the second ballot opens to all candidates beyond those nominated by 8 states. I read one news account that said the second ballot is open to any candidate except those who lost when competing for the nomination of at least 8 states.

Someone on this listserv should know how the RNC has interpreted Rule 40. (Unless, of course, it has been so long that the RNC isn't sure, either.)


Craig Holman, Ph.D.
Government Affairs Lobbyist
Public Citizen
215 Pennsylvania Avenue SE
Washington, D.C. 20003
T-(202) 454-5182
C-(202) 905-7413
F-(202) 547-7392
Holman at aol.com<mailto:Holman at aol.com>


-----Original Message-----
From: Thomas J. Cares <Tom at TomCares.com<mailto:Tom at tomcares.com>>
To: Election Law <law-election at uci.edu<mailto:law-election at uci.edu>>
Sent: Tue, Mar 8, 2016 3:06 am
Subject: Re: [EL] In brokered convention, can GOP nominate non-candidate?

(I think the relevant portion starts at rule 40).

On Tuesday, March 8, 2016, Thomas J. Cares <Tom at tomcares.com<mailto:Tom at tomcares.com>> wrote:
I was looking at the rules and it seemed unclear.
https://prod-static-ngop-pbl.s3.amazonaws.com/media/documents/Call%20of%20the%202016%20Convention_1448920406.pdf

Can they nominate Bloomberg, for example, on a 2nd ballot.

If you ask me, they'd be smart to do so - might really save the trajectory of the party.

Thomas Cares


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