Reasons to be a delegate at the NDGOP State Convention
ABOUT THE STATE CONVENTION
About 1,800 people at the North Dakota Republican State Convention will likely decide who all of the statewide elected officials are for the entire state. The state convention will be held in Bismarck April 1-2, 2022. Delegates attending will vote to determine which candidates the party will be endorsing for Attorney General, Secretary of State, US Congress, US Senate, Tax Commissioner, Agriculture Commissioner, and Public Service Commissioner.
If you attend as a delegate, you will have a say in who the Republican Party will support in these critically important statewide races. You will also help determine the rules and platform of the Party. The party platform is a statement of principles that is intended to guide the party’s direction. Now more than ever, we need strong conservatives to help steer the Republican Party towards - not away - from these principles.
WHAT IS A DELEGATE?
Delegates are people elected from each of the 47 legislative districts who choose to serve as representatives of their district at the state convention. Delegates are usually elected at separate district conventions for each of the 47 districts between January 1st and March 1st.
The time/date/location of these district conventions are set by the local Republican District Chairman. Each district is allotted a certain number of delegate slots. For instance, if a district is allotted 50 slots, then it can elect up to 50 delegates and 50 alternate delegates to send to the state convention.
HOW CAN I BE A DELEGATE?
Determine your district and your eligibility to be a delegate. To determine which legislative district you are in, plug in your address in the upper right hand corner of the recently updated statewide district map. In order to be eligible to be elected as a delegate, you must:
Be a legal voter of your district, having resided there for at least 30 days and be at least 18 years of age by the time of the November election.
Be a member of your District Republican Party, if required, depending on the district. District member dues amounts vary.
Be a member of the North Dakota Republican Party which requires a dues payment of $50 which can be paid online or in person at the district convention meeting to elect delegates.
Contact your Republican District Chairman. Introduce yourself and let him or her know that you’d like to be a delegate to the State Convention and participate in the process of selecting the Party’s 2022 endorsed candidates. Contact information for district chairs can be found here.
It is critically important to communicate with your district chair. Ask your chairman about the details of the district convention to elect delegates - time, date, location, and any participation requirements. Establishing a respectful line of communication with your district chair is an important first step in getting involved in the political process and ensuring that conservative Republicans are endorsed and elected.
Attend your District Convention. All District Chairs must call a District Convention sometime between January 1st and March 1st of 2022. Most meetings are noticed in the local county paper of record. Some may be listed on the NDGOP website. If the information is not online, be sure to ask your Chairman.
At the meeting, there will be a point at which the Chairman will ask for names of those interested in being elected as delegates. You can nominate yourself or have someone else do it. You have the ability to nominate others as well. You will not need to give a speech or “campaign” for the position.
If a district has, for example, 50 delegate slots, and only 40 people are interested, then all 40 will likely be elected to attend the State Convention. If 80 people are interested, then there must be an election of delegates at the district convention. The top 50 candidates with the most votes are elected as delegates, and the remaining 30 people would be placed into the alternate positions in the order of the votes they received. The alternate delegates only have voting power if a delegate cannot attend for any reason, in which case alternates are moved up into a voting delegate position.
NOTE: If you’re unable to attend your district convention, you may still be able to be a delegate. However, you must contact your Chairman and express your interest so that he or she can place your name into nomination on your behalf. Also, if the date of your district convention as already passed, you can possibly still be a delegate. Many districts do not fill all of their delegate slots, which means there are open spots available even after the district convention.
Once the District Chair approves the election and the meeting is adjourned, delegates must register and pay the $85 registration fee online using a password specific to their district. Once completed, you are a Certified Delegate and are able to be seated with full voting powers on the floor of the State Convention.
Attend and vote for conservative Republicans at the State Convention in Bismarck on April 2nd, 2022. Attending the State Convention on Friday, April 1st is optional as it is mostly a social time, but Saturday the 2nd is the actual business of the convention, so it is possible for delegates to only attend on Saturday. Do not withdraw consideration of being a delegate if you are unable to attend on Friday. Most delegates arrive on Friday night, check into their hotel, or head to Bismarck early Saturday morning.
If more and more conservatives decide to participate at the Republican State Convention by being a delegate, citizens across the state will have more opportunities to vote for candidates in the general election that hold true to the Republican Party Platform. This will have an incredible impact in making sure our state remains among the freest and most prosperous in the nation.
Contact NDCAN today for more information regarding the process of being a delegate.
