The Precinct Delegate Plan (PDP)
Under this proposal, Precinct Delegates (there are currently around 2,800 precincts in Georgia) will be elected in the May primary along with the many others races. Each precinct is allotted one automatic delegate and one additional delegate for every 250 votes (or majority thereof) cast for the Republican presidential nominee in the precinct in the previous presidential election; this would give a total of just over 11,000 precinct delegates.
Precinct Delegate candidates file a notarized Affidavit of Identity to qualify for ballot access during the same period as candidates for local, state, and federal offices. Precinct Delegate candidates will not be required to file campaigns disclosures if they spend less than $2,500.
The role of a Precinct Delegate will be given new importance as an elected office similar to a small municipal alderman. Precinct Delegates elected directly by the voters of each precinct will serve as a bridge between the voters of their communities and the Republican Party in the finest American tradition of decentralized local representation.
The average precinct will elect 4 delegates each and will have between 200-500 votes cast in the primary. Each voter will be given as many votes as there are delegate positions available. For example, My precinct would be entitled to elect up to five delegates and I as a voter could vote for up to five candidates. The top five vote-getters (1st-5th place) would be elected as delegates and the next five (6th-10th place) would be elected as alternates. If an elected delegate were to fail to attend the convention to which he/she was elected, an alternate would be elevated to serve as delegate with the highest vote getting alternate being first in order for elevation, and then the second place vote getting alternate, and so on.
The small size of the precincts (average population: 3,600) and number of delegates (average 4 per precinct) will maximize participation while easing the campaigning requirements for the candidates for precinct delegate.
The average cost of running for a delegate will be less than $100 and require only a few hours of campaigning by a candidate. The cost (in time and money) will be greatly reduced when candidates pool their resources and campaign as a team.
After the primary, those elected as Precinct Delegates and alternates will be officially certified and will be eligible to attend and participate at the district conventions (in June) and the state convention (in July). Precinct Delegates would take their official notification to the district or state convention to register with the convention credentials committee.
The district and state conventions will act as a runoff, nominating candidates for any/all statewide and federal offices where no candidate won a majority. Only candidates who won at least 10% of the primary vote would be eligible for consideration by the conventions. Voting would be conducted by secret ballot and each delegate’s vote would be available for public review within ten days of the conclusion of the convention.