How to Become a Delegate

SOUTH DAKOTA REPUBLICAN PARTY
INSTRUCTIVE MATERIALS FOR POTENTIAL DELEGATES

For a complete copy of the South Dakota Republican Party Bylaws visit:  http://southdakotagop.com/about-the-party/bylaws/

STATE CONVENTION:

County Precinct Committeeman and Committewoman forms may be turned into your county auditor.

There are also up to three at-large delegate positions available in each county.  At-large delegates are elected in the primary election preceding the convention, who need not be members of their County Central Committee but must be registered Republican voters in their county. These positions may be ran for by turning in petitions containing at least 50 valid signatures for the office of at-large delegate to the Republican Party Convention.

At-Large Delegate Petitions Precinct Committeeperson forms must be turned into the County Auditor prior to March 29th, 2022.

NATIONAL CONVENTION:

Qualification:
A delegate or alternate to the Republican National Convention must:
1. Be a registered Republican voter in South Dakota
2. Have submitted an application by May 1st to the South Dakota Republican Party

Important Dates:
May 1, 2020 All applications due
May 20, 2020 All county recommendations to be filed with Regional Director
June 2, 2020 Primary Election
June 7, 2020 Regional nominations due to National Delegate Selection Board
June 13, 2020 Deadline for National Delegate Selection Board to select Delegates and Alternates
Aug 24-27, 2020 National Convention in Charlotte, NC

Procedure:
From Section VI of the South Dakota Republican Party bylaws:

1. All delegates and alternates to which South Dakota may be entitled under the National Convention membership formula shall be elected at large.  All elected delegates and alternates shall be bound to support the winner of the primary election as provided in this section.

2. All Republicans registered to vote in South Dakota may apply to become a delegate or alternate to the Convention by submitting an application to the state chairman or designee by May 1st in the year for which a National Convention of the Republican Party is to be held.

(Download delegate Application in Word Format)

An applicant must state in the application the presidential candidate that the applicant supports and sign oath or affirmation that the applicant will support and vote for that candidate through the first ballot at the National Convention unless that candidate withdraws, suspends campaign activities, or fails to have his or her name placed in nomination at the National Convention.  Applications will include information detailing the applicant’s activities and contributions to the party, including, but not limited to, time commitments and financial donations to national, state and county Republican parties, and to official Republican national, state, county and local candidates.  Applications may include a checklist and/or a written summary of the applicant’s activities in support of the Republican Party.  Applications may include a statement regarding the applicant’s interest, qualifications, and ability to serve on one or more of the national convention committees.

3. The state party shall forward all applications to the county party chairman of each applicant’s county and to the respective Regional Director.  A County Central Committee may recommend to the Regional Director up to three applicants from that county for each presidential candidate who will appear on the primary ballot.  Any recommendations must be provided to Regional Director no later than May 20th.  Minnehaha County is exempt from the provisions of this paragraph and may proceed directly to the regional process set forth below.  The recommendations made by the county central committee shall be given great preference by the regional nomination committee and the National Delegate Selection Board, but all applications will be considered at the regional and state level, even if not recommended by their county.

4. Each region, except Region 1, shall have a regional nomination committee comprised of one member from each county elected by the County Central Committee and the Regional Director, who will act as chairman.  For Region 1, the County Central Committee and the Regional Director will act as the regional nomination committee.  Each regional committee from regions 2, 3, 4, and 5 will nominate four delegates and five alternates from all submitted applications.  Region 1 will nominate five delegates and one alternate, and region 6 will nominate five delegates and five alternates.  Regional nomination committees shall make their nominations within five days after the primary election, and nominations may only be for applicants who pledged to support the candidate who received the most votes at the primary election.

5. The State Central Committee delegates the final election of national convention delegates and alternates to the National Delegate Selection Board.  The National Delegate Selection Board shall consist of all members of the State Executive Board and three registered Republican South Dakota voters who are designated by the presidential candidate who receives the most votes at the South Dakota Republican primary election.  The Board shall elect the delegates and alternates from the submitted applicants who pledged to support the candidate who received the most votes at the primary election, taking into consideration the nominations made by the regional committees.  The Board may not elect more than three delegates and three alternates from any county, except Minnehaha County, and the Board may not elect more delegates and alternates from a region than the number of nominees that the regional nomination committee could have made.  The Board shall elect the delegates and alternates on or before the second Saturday in June following the primary election.

6. It shall be the duty of the state chairman to certify in writing to the Secretary of the Republican Party a list including the full names and full addresses of each elected delegate and alternate.

7. The Secretary of State shall not accept any certification from a candidate containing the names of delegates and alternates pledged to a Republican candidate for President of the United States nor accept such certification containing the names of uncommitted delegates.  Only the names of presidential candidates shall appear on the primary ballot.  To appear on the primary ballot, a presidential candidate must comply with SDCL 12-5-3.14.  The names of any delegates or alternates shall not appear on the primary ballot.

8. The six regions are as follows:  1) Minnehaha, 2) Davison, Douglas, Hutchinson, Turner, Lincoln, Bon Homme, Yankton, Clay and Union 3) Aurora, Grant, Clark, Codington, Hamlin, Deuel, Kingsbury, Brookings, Sanborn, Miner, Moody, Lake, Hanson and McCook, 4) Jerauld, Roberts, Marshall, Day, Brown, Spink, Beadle, Hand, Hyde, Faulk, Edmunds, McPherson, Potter and Walworth, 5) Butte, Harding, Perkins Corson, Ziebach, Dewey, Sully, Hughes, Haakon, Stanley, Jackson, Jones, Lyman, Mellette, Oglala Lakota, Bennett, Todd, Tripp, Gregory, Campbell, Buffalo, Brule and Charles Mix, 6) Custer, Fall River, Lawrence, Meade and Pennington.

9. If any vacancy exists in the South Dakota delegation to the National Convention, the National Delegate Selection Board may fill such vacancies.  The use of this paragraph shall not result in regional representation of delegates and alternates more than the number allowed in paragraph 4.