Tag Archive for: Convention

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Clark GOP Convention, Part III: Delegate Challenge

 

By Ernie Geigenmiller

Editor’s Note: This is the third article following the results of the March 30 Clark County GOP Convention held at the Vancouver Hilton. The event itself has been laden with charges of incompetence, vote tampering, political shenanigans, and fraud.

On Thursday, April 19, GOP Delegate Nathan Mellor, from Precinct 925, filed a legal challenge to the results of 18th Legislative District (LD) caucus election of delegates and alternates to the Washington State GOP Convention.

According to Mellor, the basis of his challenge is “simple – the 18th LD caucus election was fraudulent, violated the rules of the Washington State Republican Party, and should be set aside, because significantly more ballots were cast than the number of eligible voters (credentialed delegates) present at the caucus.”

Mellor is referring to events on the afternoon of March 30. The credentials committee representative Margie Ferris declared, prior to voting on delegates for the state convention, that 213 delegates were credentialed to vote.

After the first round of voting, 284 votes were cast, and that cast doubt on the entire process, which was beset with a confusing registration process and numerous delays.

Mellor contends in his challenge that there are only two possible explanations for the outcome.

“Either a significant number of people who voted who were not properly credentialed,” Mellor says. “Or else credentialed delegates cast multiple ballots.”

 

GOP
Legislative District 18 in a caucus breakout session gathered
on March 30 to vote on 32 delegates to send to the Washington
State GOP Convention in May.
He’s also upset that caucus leadership permitted the results of the election to stand.
Mellor claims Washington State Republican Party (WSRP) rules were violated. He cites rules 14, 15, 24 and 29. In rule 24, he says “rules are obviously designed to ensure that only qualified votes are allowed to vote in the election of delegates to the state convention.”
He says the 18th LD violated both the letter and spirit of the WSRP rules.
“The fraudulent results of this caucus must be struck as void, and the delegates and alternates elected from the 18th LD should not be seated at the state convention,” Mellor stated.
The proceedings were filled with confusion and delays. Several delegates were concerned that caucus leadership did not sufficiently control access to ballots. It was also clear that non-credentialed individuals were allowed to mix with delegates in the room. Daniel Rupp was seen carrying four ballots. It was later explained he was voting for his father, and that teller security officers closely monitored the process. An explanation for the other two ballots is less clear, but party officials state two ballots were destroyed.
“I smelled a rat from the beginning,” said Delegate Susie Huckvale, who witnessed the proceedings as they happened. “The whole day was chaotic.”
Delegate Craig Rollins, who was also witnessed the proceedings, said “I saw very well-meaning people overwhelmed and unprepared for the details of the day.”

“I really don’t know what happened with regard to credentialing,” Graham said. “But I felt from the aspect of running our district caucus we did the best we could. We had to give everyone time for nominations and speeches and that took a long time, but those are the rules.”

She said when Ferris provided her report to the district “she looked horrible, like something bad happened to her – and that’s not her, she’s usually very upbeat and happy.”

Graham said there were problems all over the place and was worried because there was no Sergeant-At-Arms. Graham is also addressing fraud allegations from delegates who claim there were alternates in the room than necessary – and that they came in before being credentialed.
“I’m looking closely at caucus paperwork and matching those names to registration records,” she said. “We are taking an exhaustive look at everything.”
Delegates from Precinct 966 felt disenfranchised because six delegates were voted in at caucus but the County GOP turned three away. What happened?
“The precinct representation shrunk over time,” Graham said. “Why? Because their voting habits show a decrease in voting, so they were cut in half. We flipped a coin to see which three would have to be turned away.”
Other precincts have reported their full delegation was in attendance and saw alternates mingling and voting at the convention.
“Those alternates should not have been there,” said delegate Rick Russell. “Our entire delegation was there and there were alternates from our precinct walking around and voting. I want that investigated.”
Graham says they continue to look into the matter and are checking registration records. And therein lies the problem – registration was chaotic.
Brent Boger, a GOP rules official said “it was a train wreck and I could see it coming.”
Boger said simply a lot of people were not properly checked in, so chaos ensued.
“It was clear there were alternates that should not have been there,” Boger said. “The convention showed problems within the party apparatus. There are many things that need to be fixed. I also wanted more rules to be transparent in the official book, but I was limited to two pages. I really wanted people to have all the rules in front of them, but I wasn’t allowed to do that.”
He also places blame at Ron Paul supporters.
“They like to cause chaos and delay and get their opponents worn out so they go home early,” Boger said. “We have lives, the Ron Paul people don’t.”
Regarding this challenge, Boger believes it would be embarrassing to have no representation from the 18th LD, but “to have no Romney delegates from a district that went overwhelmingly to Romney is simply wrong.”
If this challenge holds up, Boger says, the 18th LD results from March 30 would be null and void.
Mellor thinks the problems from March 30 stem from “a lack of planning for a group of this size.”
Mellor believes a good reform is to abolish the caucus system and reinstate a binding primary again for Washington state.
Brian Kashas, a Ron Paul supporter, disagrees. He says “our founders wanted a representative democracy and the caucus system does that.”
Kashas says the results of the convention were raw politics, but legal. But he agreed the process was disorganized and confusing, and invited tampering. He wasn’t pleased with the process and the delays.
Mellor also calls for an investigation on why the credentials report was so inaccurate.
 “Individuals who had not been credentialed were permitted to mix with delegates on the floor and ballots were distributed without verifying credentials,” Mellor said in his legal challenge. “These individuals could have been alternate delegates, they could have come from other counties, or they may even not have been registered voters or Washington voters.”
He says democracy was turned upside down and that the only way to protect voter rights is to not seat the 32 delegates because “they were elected by fraud.”
He says this will send a strong message to people who try to commit fraud and shenanigans.
So where is the problem?
An anonymous source within the County GOP thinks the party needs to purge the Ron Paul supporters from two leadership posts.
“They say one thing and then do another and then scream the loudest!” the source says. “They cause confusion and want to abolish everything. Sometimes I think they’re really radical Democrats, other times I think they’re anarchists. Either way, they really don’t belong in the Republican Party. They’re not our friends.”
Boger agreed with the anonymous source. “Ron Paul supporters don’t back down and have very strong opinions that are more in line with the Libertarian Party and that’s where they should be,” he added.
Huckvale questions Ron Paul supporter’s motives.
“I question whether they really support GOP principles or are just trying to make noise,” Huckvale said. “In the end will they really support the GOP nominee?”
The anonymous source also points blame directly at Katja and Mike Delavar. “They play right into the Ron Paul playbook which is delay, confuse, delay, confuse and then try to be the stand-up’s in the room. When the 284 count was announced Katja was the first to cry foul and then started yelling. They did this before and they’ll do it again. Katja stood up many times during the proceedings to interrupt and throw everyone off track. They just try to tire everyone else out so they go home before voting is complete. It pads their numbers.”
Dirk Bunker thinks Ron Paul supporters are “really Democrats trying to screw up the Republicans – and it’s working.”
“Katja acted like she knew what was going on,” said Rollins. “But we’re not so sure.”
The anonymous source also thinks long-time GOP activist Mike Gaston needs to go. For the record, Gaston is not a Ron Paul supporter.
“He has served the GOP well,” said the source. “But it’s time for him to go. He hasn’t kept up with technology and is very disorganized. We all end up following his lead – to our detriment. His heart is in the right place, but it’s just time he leave.”
The WSRP provided a letter from Chairman Kirby Wilbur, indicating they were in receipt of Mellor’s challenge.
In the letter, Wilbur states “I will refer these materials to the Credentials Committee of our Republican State Convention for their consideration. The Credentials Committee will review the challenge, and make a determination of how to proceed. WSRP staff does not evaluate the materials upon which credentials challenges are based or where the challenge complies with the convention rules. Those decisions are made by the convention’s Credentials Committee.”
There are several outcome scenarios. One outcome is that the entire 32-seat delegation will not be seated, citing irregularities and rule-breaking as the basis. Another outcome is to change nothing. Still, a third outcome, says Boger, is to re-do the 18th LD elections – but that’s unlikely.
The WSRP Credentials Committee will make a decision in May.
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Clark County GOP Convention, Part II: Some Questions Answered; More Questions of Fraud, Ballot Control; And Vote Tampering Linger

By Ernie Geigenmiller
Days after last weekend’s confusing and emotional Clark County GOP Convention, new answers shed light on the event while persistent questions linger that could put the county’s state delgation into jeopardy. 
The issues at hand include fraud, disorganization, violation of state and GOP party rules, irregularities, vote tampering, and disenfranchisement.
Numerous questions linger within several precincts in the 18th District, and several are crying fraud. Some of these complaints stem from delegates being denied participation on multiple occasions and through multiple mediums. Charges of vote tampering run rampant. One delegate received notice in the mail that his delegate status was denied. Another, Steve Gillespie, was elected, but never received any type of verification or confirmation from party officials.
GOP
An accurate and legal vote count is at the heart of
the Clark County GOP Convention controversy.
 
“I thought that was strange,” he said. “And when I saw the results from the convention, I thought it was strange given how the county had given Romney bigger numbers from the caucus.”

Another delegate, Mike Convey, was elected a delegate at the March 3 Caucus and participated in a pre-convention organization meeting. A few days prior to the convention, he too received a notice that his services as a delegate were no longer needed.

“The letter stated the local GOP had made a mistake in the number of delegates – that they went from 8 to 3 for our precinct,” said Convey. “It was odd. I had already gone to one meeting and they said I would receive notice about a second meeting, and then I got that letter, so I didn’t attend the convention.”

Romney supporter Susie Huckvale said, however, she saw Convey’s name on the caucus verification ballot/list while trying to register at Saturday’s convention. “Mike Convey’s name was on the list,” she said. “I saw it with my own two eyes. I know he was elected as delegate and now someone has disenfranchised him. He’s a good man and he was denied this opportunity. It’s fraud.”

Delegate Spencer May said on Monday he plans to file a challenge to the state GOP over a motion that was made to extend Saturday’s convention from 6 to 8 p.m. His claim is that because the rule was changed any votes after that hour should be null and void. He said the motion wasn’t properly debated. His motion could put the county’s state convention delegation into jeopardy.

Of the 75 delegates elected, Clark County GOP state committeeman Ryan Hart said Monday that 37 are for Ron Paul, 30 are for Santorum, six are for Romney and two are for Newt Gingrich.
Delegate Rick Russell is also upset that several alternates from his precinct were voting. “Our delegation was there,” he said. “So there was no place for our precinct’s alternates. They shouldn’t have been in the room, and they definitely should not have been voting. They’re all Ron Paul people.”
Disorganization issues included hundreds waiting in line for hours, confusion at registration, lack of proper credentialing, and lack of ID verification, among others.
 
He’s also “concerned with the Ron Paul cowboy guy who we all saw carrying around four ballots … he said he was voting for others that had already left.”
Delegates, alternates and observers felt organizers were overwhelmed, said Cynthia Haddock. “It was like they didn’t plan but they had to know how many people were coming.
The March 3 Caucus provided clear paperwork on how many delegates and alternates would be coming. That paperwork was in the possession of the Clark County GOP organizers.
They were overwhelmed, said GOP Rules official, Brent Boger, who is asking people to put the event in perspective.
“Were things screwed up?” said Boger. “Yes, absolutely. These are good, hard-working volunteers who simply didn’t prepare for an event of this size.”
Boger said GOP leaders called him a week ahead of the convention to ask for his help with the rules. Boger has been a long-time GOP activist who once served on the party’s state rules committee and understands how rules are supposed to work.
“I saw the train wreck coming,” he said. “There were no checks, no balances, and no ID’s were checked in the 18th Legislative District meeting. Because of that we had to try to verify by precinct and saw slots and openings and realized the credentials list was inaccurate. It was a mess.”
He said the local party was simply “unprepared,” and that he spoke with Brandon Vick, the County GOP Chairman about the consequences before the convention started.
The Romney people also talked with local leaders about having more check-in tables, but were ignored.
The Clark County GOP hasn’t yet issued a statement on the matter, but Lacamas Magazine is expecting a response. Phone calls were returned.
On history, Boger said once the state legislature denied Washington a primary, he recommended that the state GOP set up a caucus system that would mirror a primary as much as possible.
“The state committee disagreed,” he said. “And now we have this mess. They didn’t learn from what the Ron Paul people did in 2008, and I warned them and we all now realize the caucus system is absurd – it’s time to end it.”
As a solution, Boger says any GOP member can submit a rule change with the state committee, who would have to adopt said rule. It’s not an easy thing to do, but it is possible.
He recommends the state provide a primary only, and that delegates be apportioned according to the primary results. He says the party should bypass the state committee and simply allow the campaigns to pick the delegates.
“This is one reform,” said Boger, “and it’s not too hard to do. It’s a mail-in ballot. We all like those.”
Another reform is to elect state convention delegates at the caucus level and bypass the county convention. Boger recommends caucus goers vote on a slate, which he believes would save time, money and headaches.
As previously reported the 18th Legislative District had the most problems, the largest of which was ballot discrepancy. At the onset of voting, party officials announced that 213 delegates were certified to vote at the convention. When ballots were cast and tallied, the total was 284, and the worn out, exhausted crowd was aghast. It sent confusion and anger throughout the room.
Boger believes the disorganization and irregularities at check-in were the cause.
“A lot of people simply were not checked in,” he said. “There were alternates that should have not been in there. We all know that. It’s likely that there were people voting that should not have been voting.”
Boger also sheds light on technology and ballots.
“We’re using a machine that works but is very, very old,” he said. “And we simply don’t have enough ballots to fill the machines, so they didn’t have enough placard ballots and the 17th District was using recycled ballots – they were using pre-punched ballots!”
The convention lacked ballot control.
“People were passing out ballots without checking ID or credentials,” said Russell. “Anybody off the street could come in and vote and that’s why we have this disaster. We spent 12 hours trying to do our jobs in a system frought with fraud and lack of ballot controls. It’s ridiculous.”
Liz Pike, who is running for the 18th Legislative seat was witness to the events at the convention and understands why people are discouraged.
“It was my honor to meet many of you for the first time at last Saturday’s GOP convention, and it was a pleasure to see long-time friends again too,” she said. “If you attended the convention, thank you for giving up your day to be part of the solution to get our county, state and nation back on the right track. Please do not be discouraged. Volunteers and party officials worked hard on Saturday. The convention undoubtedly had its challenges but it is time to put that behind us. Although we may not all agree on who should be our Presidential nominee, we are united in our enthusiasm for conservative values and preservation of founding principles that make America great.”
GOP
Delegates in the 18th Legislative District Meeting vote at Saturday’s meeting.
Boger understands why Romney supporters are upset. He said many are participating for the first time and they see the caucus straw poll with Romney at 37 percent and then the convention gives him seven percent.
“It’s a mess, for sure, and it’s wrong,” Boger said. “But to the Romney people, realize this is Ron Paul’s high water mark – I don’t think we’re leaving the UN or going onto the gold standard anytime soon.”
As to the Unity Slate and the Open Slate controversy, Boger says the problem is “this is Santorum’s method of operation … he says one thing and then does another … and this is why he shouldn’t be president.”
The Unity Slate was an agreement by the Romney, Santorum and Gingrich people to elect delegates that would vote for the eventual nominee. It was designed to minimize the impact of the Ron Paul delegation. The Santorum people backed out of the agreement and forged a temporary coalition with the Ron Paul delegation, which enabled them to shut out the Romney delegation from the 18th District.
“It turned the will of the people upside down,” said delegate Don Thurston. “It’s just not right. Romney got the most votes on March 3 and now we’re sending no Romney delegates from the 18th District.
And that’s where this story continues, as there is growing evidence that more people voted than were credentialed, which puts the convention results into question.
More to come.
  
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