MISSOURI REPUBLICAN PARTY

2020 CAUCUS TRAINING

THE BASICS

Who?

What?

When?

Where?

Why?

• What are caucuses?

• Where will caucuses take place?

– At least one caucus will be held in all 114

counties and the city of St Louis.

– Details will be posted at www.missouri.gop

• Who can participate?

– Any self-declared Republican who is registered

to vote.

– Voters must participate in the county where

they are registered to vote at the time of the

presidential primary.

THE BASICS

• Why do we have the primary/caucus

system?

– RNC Rule 16(a)(1): prohibits state parties from

holding non-binding primaries.

– RSMO 115.755: Primary held on March 10

– RSMO 115.776: MOGOP required to “conduct

a series of caucuses culminating in

congressional and state conventions” for the

purposes of selecting delegates to the national

convention.

THE BASICS

• Why does MRP set the rules?

– MRP is authorized by state statute

• RSMO 115.776: Delegates to the national conventions

shall be chosen at the congressional district and state

conventions pursuant to rules established by the

political parties.

• RSMO 115.625. The state committee of any established

political party may, except as otherwise provided by

law, call a convention of delegates to be apportioned,

chosen or elected in such manner as it may prescribe for

the purpose of nominating presidential electors,

electing delegates to national conventions, electing

members of national committees adopting or making

declarations of party principles on national questions,

and to do and perform any other act not inconsistent

with the law.

THE BASICS

THE BASICS • 2020 Timeline– Primary in March

– National Convention in August

• Previously in July

• RNC Rule 20: National Delegates must be selected

45 days before convention (Friday, July 10

deadline)

– State Convention in June

• Previously in May

DELEGATE BINDING

Delegate Allocations

Scenario 1

Scenario 2

2020 DELEGATES

• 2020 Delegate Allocations

County 1: State/CD

County 2: State/CD

County 3: State/CD

County 4: State/CD

County 5: State/CD

County 6: State/CD

***Choose counties based on location of

presentation; list multiple CD’s if applicable

2020 DELEGATES

• Missouri: 54 national delegates

• Previously 52 national delegates (Missouri was

awarded more delegates due to more

Republicans in office)

– 24 Congressional District Delegates

• 8 districts x 3 delegates each

– 27 At-Large (Statewide) Delegates

– 3 Automatic Delegates

• State Chairman

• National Committeeman

• National Committeewoman

SCENARIO 1 • Candidate wins absolute majority on March 10

– Missouri will be a winner-take-all state

– All Missouri delegates will be bound to vote for

the winner at the national convention.

– Votes cast for candidates who drop out of the

race or suspend their campaign prior to March

10 will not be counted in the calculation.

SCENARIO 2 • No candidate wins majority on March 10

– Missouri is winner-take-all by Congressional

District with bonus

– 5 delegates awarded to top vote-getter in each

Congressional District

– 11 delegates awarded to top vote-getter

statewide

CONDUCT OF CAUCUSES

Call to Convention

New for 2020

Local Rules

Election of Delegates & Alternates

CALL TO CONVENTION

• What is the Call to Convention?

– Document approved by the Missouri

Republican State Committee

– Sets rules and procedures for caucuses and

conventions

– Available at www.missouri.gop

NEW FOR 2020• Eligibility

– Only self-declared Republicans who are

registered in the county at the time of the

presidential primary may vote at the caucus

• Delegate Numbers

– The total number of state delegates decreased

by about 8 percent

• Additional Changes

– All names on each nominated slate must be read

– Names and counties will be made public upon

request

IMPORTANT REMINDERS

• Local Rules

– Passed a single set of rules to ensure that all

caucus goers know what to expect

– All local caucuses must follow these rules or

risk their delegates being denied seats

• Caucus Notice

– No requirement to advertise in a local

newspaper

• Recording

– Recording (writing or media) of caucus

proceedings, within reason, is allowed

LOCAL RULES• Voting

– Participants entitled to one vote; no proxies

– Voters in split counties will vote only in the

Congressional District in which they reside

– 6 voters required to request division of the

vote

• Time Limits

– Speeches on questions and nominations

limited to 3 minutes; no seconds required for

nominations

– Debate limited to 6 minutes, divided equally

on both sides

LOCAL RULES • Agenda– Call to order

– Reading portion(s) of the 2020 Call (optional)

– Certification of list of qualified voters

– Election of the Caucus Chair

– Election of the Caucus Secretary

– Election of delegates and alternates

– Platform discussion

– Adjournment

ELECTION OF DELEGATES & ALTERNATES

• Local Caucuses with 10 or more

delegates:

– Vote by slate

– Full and complete slates required

– People listed on slates do not need to be present

at caucus

– Slates will be presented for consideration

– Majority of votes required to win

– If no slate receives a majority, top 2 slates will

be presented for final consideration. Majority

voter getter wins.

ELECTION OF DELEGATES & ALTERNATES

• Local Caucuses with fewer than 10

delegates:

– Vote by slate OR individual

– Majority of votes required to win

PREPARING FOR THE CAUCUSES

Pre-Caucus Tasks

Caucus Day Needs

Express Registration

Post-Caucus Tasks

Dates of Importance

• To do list:

– Appoint credentials committee by March 27

– Secure venue (minimum of 2-3 hours)

– Provide details to MRP by March 20

– Recruit volunteers for registration

– Find a parliamentarian

– Request Registered Voter List from county or

city election authority

PRE-CAUCUS TASKS

• To do list:

– Copies of Call to Convention

– Copies of draft platform

– Sign in sheets (provided by MRP)

– Agenda template (provided by MRP)

– Certificates of Election for delegates and

alternates to the state and congressional

district conventions (provided by MRP)

– State Convention registration forms for

elected delegates and alternates

– Serve as temporary chair

CAUCUS DAY NEEDS

• Express Registration

– MRP will offer advanced caucus registration on

our website

– MRP will verify voter registration details

– We will provide counties with a list of pre-

registered attendees

– Caucuses should offer an “express line” for

pre-registered attendees, allowing them to

bypass registration

• Pre-registered attendees are required to show a

photo ID

EXPRESS REGISTRATION

• To do list:

– County caucuses are required to complete &

mail copies of the following documents to the

MRP immediately following the caucus:

• Certificate of Election forms for each State

Convention Delegate and Alternate

• Certificate of Election forms for each

Congressional District Convention Delegate

and Alternate

• Agenda Template for Reporting the Minutes

• Roster of attendees

• Approved platform amendments

POST-CAUCUS TASKS

• In addition, we are requesting that all

counties complete and return a

spreadsheet listing the names and

contact information for all delegates

and alternates.

• MRP will provide the reporting

template.

POST-CAUCUS TASKS

DATES OF IMPORTANCE

• February: Draft platform sent to

county committees

• March 10: Presidential Primary

• March 20: Deadline to submit caucus

details to MRP

• April 4: Local Caucuses

• April 7: Caucus info due to MRP

• April 17 by 5 pm: Caucus challenges

due to MRP

DATES OF IMPORTANCE

• May 30: Congressional District

Conventions

• June 19-21: State Convention

– St. Charles, MO

• August 24-27: National Convention

– Charlotte, NC

BECOMING A DELEGATE

BECOMING A DELEGATE

• How many delegates are elected?

– State delegates: 1,653

– Congressional District delegates: 1,653

– National delegates: 54 (51 elected)

• National delegate considerations

– Spend week of August 24-27 in Charlotte, NC

– Pay for hotel, travel, etc

– Fee to participate in delegation events (covers

food, transportation, etc)

BECOMING A DELEGATE

• The Process

– All delegates—Congressional District, State,

National– must be elected.

– Congressional District and State Convention

delegates are elected at the local caucuses.

– National Convention delegates are elected at

the Congressional District and State

Conventions.

– National delegates do not need to be

delegates to the State or Congressional

District Conventions.

YOUR QUESTIONS

Charlie Dalton, Political DirectorCharlie@mogop.org