PolicyMic
Hamdan Azar
“Someone on the stage made a motion to adjourn. People started screaming ‘Nay.’ The convention was declared over. They took away the microphones and began turning off the lights."
Such were the frantic proceedings at Saturday’s Arizona Republican State Convention, in the words of one shaken delegate from Scottsdale, Arizona. Nearly 1,000 Republicans gathered at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix to elect the state’s slate of delegates and alternates to the Republican National Convention.
Thanks to exclusive interviews conducted by Public Appeal, a clear picture is finally emerging of what transpired at yesterday’s convention. Ron Paul delegates came out in force and had a sizable presence on the convention floor. Nevertheless, the meeting descended into chaos on various occasions, amidst allegations of election fraud and disenfranchisement.
Several Ron Paul-supporting alternate delegates complained that the organizers refused to seat them as delegates even though numerous vacancies existed – largely due to Romney delegates who started trickling out of the convention in the early afternoon.
Further disputes arose when the ballots for the at-large delegates were distributed early Saturday evening. Sources report that the initial set of ballots had the Romney-supporters listed in bloc at the top of the ballot with asterisks next to their names signifying “endorsed by the Romney campaign.” The Paul campaign’s slate of delegates was listed on the bottom of the sheet with no such designation.
After protests from the floor, the ballots were sent to be reprinted; however, the new set of ballots still had the Romney delegates listed at the top of the form. There were also numerous allegations of ballot stuffing and Romney supporters being given multiple ballots which they then deposited into ballot boxes despite vocal outcry from Ron Paul supporters.
After at-large voting was completed, the convention proceeded to elect candidates for the National committeeman and commiteewoman positions. According to results announced by Arizona Republican Party Chair Tom Morrissey from the convention floor, Bruce Ash won re-election as committeeman with 436 votes, compared to 297 votes for Paul backer Seraphim Larsen. Karen Johnson, a Ron Paul supporter, won the most votes for committeewoman (329), while Sharon Geise took 274 votes and Lind White 133.
Hamdan Azar
Such were the frantic proceedings at Saturday’s Arizona Republican State Convention, in the words of one shaken delegate from Scottsdale, Arizona. Nearly 1,000 Republicans gathered at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix to elect the state’s slate of delegates and alternates to the Republican National Convention.
Thanks to exclusive interviews conducted by Public Appeal, a clear picture is finally emerging of what transpired at yesterday’s convention. Ron Paul delegates came out in force and had a sizable presence on the convention floor. Nevertheless, the meeting descended into chaos on various occasions, amidst allegations of election fraud and disenfranchisement.
Several Ron Paul-supporting alternate delegates complained that the organizers refused to seat them as delegates even though numerous vacancies existed – largely due to Romney delegates who started trickling out of the convention in the early afternoon.
Further disputes arose when the ballots for the at-large delegates were distributed early Saturday evening. Sources report that the initial set of ballots had the Romney-supporters listed in bloc at the top of the ballot with asterisks next to their names signifying “endorsed by the Romney campaign.” The Paul campaign’s slate of delegates was listed on the bottom of the sheet with no such designation.
After protests from the floor, the ballots were sent to be reprinted; however, the new set of ballots still had the Romney delegates listed at the top of the form. There were also numerous allegations of ballot stuffing and Romney supporters being given multiple ballots which they then deposited into ballot boxes despite vocal outcry from Ron Paul supporters.
After at-large voting was completed, the convention proceeded to elect candidates for the National committeeman and commiteewoman positions. According to results announced by Arizona Republican Party Chair Tom Morrissey from the convention floor, Bruce Ash won re-election as committeeman with 436 votes, compared to 297 votes for Paul backer Seraphim Larsen. Karen Johnson, a Ron Paul supporter, won the most votes for committeewoman (329), while Sharon Geise took 274 votes and Lind White 133.
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