State Central Committee Adopts Standing Rule to Clarify for Whom the National Delegates May Vote

The Utah State Central Committee, the policy arm of the Utah Republican Party, in an overwhelming vote of 70 in favor and 12 opposing, adopted a standing rule to clarify the term "Candidate" in the party's bylaws. For an explanation of why this needed to occur and the process for accomplishing this, see the letter below sent out to committee members prior to our meeting this morning. Also, you can link to http://www.utgop.org/ to view the other documents involved.

{The committee will meet to decide how to proceed with the written request from
Mitt Romney to release his delegates. At our State Convention on May 10,
2008 delegates voted to “postpone indefinitely” a bylaw change for this issue,
in essence making the governing body of the Republican Party, the State Central
Committee, the final word on the subject.

We also received a written request from a State Central Committee member to resolve the issue. One of the byproducts of asking for the advice and consent of State Central Committee members two weeks ago on resolving this issue was the idea that the plain language of our bylaws already provides for a candidate who withdraws from the race.

Our Party General Counsel researched this idea and indicated that it
appeared to have merit. A standing rule was submitted to the Constitution
and Bylaws Committee for review. They unanimously endorsed it. The
standing rule was submitted to the Executive Committee and they encouraged the
proposed standing rule. The following is both an explanation of why a
standing rule is needed and the standing rule itself.

The question has arisen in the presidential nomination that requires an interpretive ruling of our Bylaws by the State Central Committee, following the interpretive procedures of Roberts Rules page 570 (i.e. "Each society decides for itself the meaning of its bylaws."). Aside from the events of this year, the general question is how to allocate Utah ’s national delegate votes when a candidate becomes a
non-candidate. That could happen for many reasons, including the death or
incapacity of a candidate, the candidate withdrawing from the race, or a
candidate’s failure to qualify for nomination under the rules of the Republican
National Committee.

According to RNC rule 40 (b), to be considered a candidate for nomination, he/she shall “demonstrate the support of a majority of the delegates from each of five or more states, prior to the presentation of that candidate for nomination.” Utah Republican Party Bylaw 7.0 (B) states “all National Convention delegates and alternates shall be allocated to the candidate receiving the most votes of the statewide vote in the Republican Presidential Primary. On the first ballot, the national delegation shall be bound to vote for the candidate who has received the most votes in the Republican Presidential Primary, but the delegation shall not be bound on any subsequent ballots.”

There is an ambiguity in our Bylaws as to when "the candidate" is defined - at the time of the state primary election, or at the time of the first national convention ballot.

The first interpretation would bind our delegation to a person who may not be a candidate at the national convention. That would be considered an “absurd result” by the candidate and by our delegation, using the language of Roberts Rules.

The second interpretation will not create that problem, and will meet the Utah Republican party Bylaw requirement of binding our delegation to the candidate among the remaining candidates who received the most votes in the Utah Primary.

On Feb 5, Mitt Romney received the most votes in the Utah Republican Presidential Primary. The results are as follows:

Mitt Romney 90% 255,218 votes

John McCain 5% 15,264 votes

Ron Paul 3% 8,295 votes

Mike Huckabee 1% 4,054 votes

Rudy Giuliani 0% 928 votes

Fred Thompson 0% 575 votes

Duncan Hunter 0% 204 votes

On Feb 29, Mitt Romney sent a letter to the Utah Republican Party stating
that he was no longer a formal candidate for the presidency. Further, he
asked that all delegates bound to him be released. We have confirmed with the
RNC that Mitt Romney will not be a candidate on the ballot at the National
Convention. The Utah Republican Party has consulted RNC legal counsel, Governor
Romney, Utah Republican Party Counsel David Crapo (see attached letter), the
C/B committee, and the Executive committee on this matter.

The following standing rule is proposed: Standing Rule

This Standing Rule has been adopted by the State Central Committee of the Utah Republican Party and shall be a binding rule of the Utah Republican Party unless and until superseded by a change in the Constitution or Bylaws of the Utah Republican Party, or by a subsequent standing rule adopted by the State Central Committee expressly revoking or modifying this Standing Rule:

It is hereby ruled by the State Central Committee of the Utah Republican Party that: 1. An ambiguity exists in the meaning of “the candidate” as it is used in Bylaw 7.0 (B) that is sufficient to have generated controversy among Party members over the meaning and effect of Bylaw 7.0(B); and that 2. Each reference to “the candidate” in Bylaw 7.0(B) is hereby interpreted to mean a person who is a candidate for nomination on the first ballot at the National Convention at the time of that ballot, according to the rules of the Republican National Committee and any rules adopted by the National Convention; and that 3. Bylaw 7.0(B) does not require that the Utah
National Convention delegates and alternates be allocated to or bound to vote on
the first ballot for a person who does not meet the definition of candidacy defined in part 2 of this Rule; and that 4. Bylaw 7.0(B) does require that the Utah National Convention delegates and alternates shall be allocated to and bound to vote on the first ballot for “the candidate” as defined in part 2 of this Rule, who has received the most votes of the statewide vote in the Utah Republican Presidential Primary. Adopted this 23rd day of August, 2008, by the State Central Committee of the Utah Republican Party, in the presence of a quorum.}