The Republican National Committee on Friday defended the various systems that states and territories are using to award delegates, and said it’s up to candidates to know how the system works in each state.
The Friday morning memo was released after a week in which Donald Trump complained that Ted Cruz was able to sweep all of Colorado’s 34 delegates. Colorado decided not to have people vote in a preference poll, and all the delegates went to Cruz.
Trump blamed the Republican establishment for a “crooked” system, but the RNC memo said the plans of Colorado and other states were known well in advance, and that it’s the candidates’ job to learn those rules.
“The rules surrounding the delegate selection have been clearly laid out in every state and territory and while each state is different, each process is easy to understand for those willing to learn it,” RNC Chief Strategist and Communications Director Sean Spicer wrote in the memo.
“It ultimately falls on the campaigns to be up to speed on these delegate rules,” he said. “Campaigns have to know when absentee ballots are due, how long early voting lasts in certain states, or the deadlines for voter registration; the delegate rules are no different.”
“Whether delegates are awarded through a primary, caucus, or convention, this process is democracy in action and driven by grassroots voters across the country,” Spicer added.
Spicer said the RNC wants the rules to be transparent, and in an effort to clarify the remaining races, his memo briefly outlined how the remaining states voting in April will award delegates:
WYOMING (29 DELEGATES)
Delegates in Wyoming are elected at the grassroots level at the Wyoming State Party Convention. Campaigns can organize supporters to run as delegates and those candidates can be bound if they declare for a candidate.
NEW YORK (95 DELEGATES)
On April 19, New York Republicans will go to the polls with 95 delegates at stake. Delegates are awarded by congressional district and on an at-large basis. If a candidate receives over 50 percent of the vote in a congressional district they win all three of the at-large delegates in that district. Only those candidates who receive more than 20 percent of the vote are eligible to receive delegates. The delegates bound by the primary vote will then be elected by their peers at grassroots congressional district meetings. The 11 at-large delegates to the National Convention are voted on by the Republican State Committee at their meeting on May 18.
APRIL 26th STATES (172 DELEGATES)
CONNECTICUT (28 DELEGATES)
Delegates are submitted as slates by the candidates and are awarded on an at-large and congressional district basis. At-large delegates are awarded proportionately for all candidates who receive over 20 percent of the vote with all at-large delegates awarded to a candidate if they break 50 percent. The plurality winner of the congressional district vote wins all three delegates from the district. Both the at-large and congressional are elected at the State Committee Meeting on April 26.
DELAWARE (16 DELEGATES)
Delegates are awarded on a winner-take-all basis and are voted on as a slate at the state convention on April 29.
MARYLAND (38 DELEGATES)
Three delegates for each candidate are elected directly on the ballot in each congressional district and at-large delegates are voted on individually at the State Central Committee meeting on May 14. Congressional district delegates are winner-take-all by district vote, at-large delegates are winner-take-all by statewide vote.
PENNSYLVANIA (71 DELEGATES)
Pennsylvania elects three delegates from each congressional district on the primary ballot and the State Committee elects 14 at-large delegates at their meeting on May 21. Congressional district delegates are submitted by campaigns, though are technically unbound. At-large delegates are winner-take-all based on the statewide vote.
RHODE ISLAND (19 DELEGATES)
Delegates are elected directly on the ballot in the primary election. Delegates are awarded proportionately on an at-large and congressional district basis with a 10 percent threshold.
