Proposed 2026 Convention Rules
General March 14th, 2026
General
1. The order of business for this convention shall be as listed in the official agenda
for the convention, subject to the discretion of the convention chair and the
consent of the convention.
2. “Roberts Rules of Order, Newly Revised” shall be the parliamentary authority on
all points not covered by the Constitution of the 55 th District Republican Party of
Minnesota, the official call, or the rules as adopted by this convention.
3. Establishment of a quorum shall be as provided in the 55 th District Republican
Party of Minnesota Constitution (20% of eligible delegates), and once established
no quorum call shall be in order.
4. These rules once adopted shall not be amended nor suspended except by a two-
thirds vote of the convention or, as appropriate, a house district caucus for its
caucus only.
Seating of Delegates and Alternates
5. The permanent roll of the convention shall be constituted as follows:
a) The duly elected delegates of each precinct who have checked in, are present,
and seated.
b) For the purposes of these rules, any future reference to delegates shall include
delegates, and properly seated alternates. If any duly elected delegate to this
convention is absent, then a duly elected alternate for that precinct shall be
seated in their stead.
c) If no duly elected delegates or alternates from a precinct are present, that
precinct shall have no representation. No cross seating shall be permitted.
d) No elected delegate or alternate properly registered for a convention shall be
denied his/her right to be seated at any time during a convention or separate
house district caucus, except that no one shall be seated from the time any
written ballots have been distributed until after such ballots have been
collected.
e) The order of seating alternates shall be as follows:
(1) If alternates are ranked by the precinct they shall be seated by rank.
(2) If no ranking is known they shall be seated by a majority vote of the seated
delegates in that precinct.
(3) If no delegates are present and seated in that precinct the convention chair
or their designee shall fill the vacancies from registered alternates present
from that precinct.
6. The voting strength of each precinct shall be the number of delegates and seated
alternates present at the convention.
7. The Credentials Committee shall report any known changes in the delegations
prior to election of officers, election of delegates and alternates, endorsements, or
when requested by the convention chair.
Speaking and Floor Privileges
8. A delegate or seated alternate wishing to speak shall rise, address the presiding
officer, and when recognized, state his/her name and precinct, and the purpose for
which he/she arose.
9. Debate on any motion or subject shall be limited to (2) minutes by each speaker.
No person shall be allowed to speak more than twice upon the same subject or
issue. No person shall be allowed to speak a second time until all those desiring to
speak have had a first opportunity to speak.
10. At least two speakers on each side of a question shall be afforded the opportunity
to speak before a motion for the previous question shall be in order. This shall also
apply to a motion “To Lay on the Table.” If no one else wishes to speak or, after
two speakers on each side, the Chair may call for the vote.
11. The convention chair may, at any time after the first agenda item on convention
committees invite distinguished guests (at the discretion of the chair) to address
the convention for a period of no longer than five (5) minutes.
12. The convention chair shall appoint a timekeeper for the purpose of timing
discussions and speeches during the Convention, and shall enforce all time limits
equitably.
Voting
13. No elected delegate or alternate properly registered for a convention shall be
denied his/her right to be seated at any time during the convention, except that no
one shall be seated from the time any written ballots have been distributed until
after such ballots have been collected.
14. Only registered delegates and registered seated alternates present at this
Convention shall be permitted to vote.
15. The vote on all questions shall be by voice vote, except as follows:
a) Division. A rising or hand vote shall be taken if requested by any delegate or
seated alternate, or at the discretion of the convention chair.
b) Voting method may be specified in writing for specific committee reports.
c) To be valid, a ballot for election of delegates and alternates shall have a
number of votes equal to or less than the number of delegate positions to be
filled. Any ballot that exceeds this number shall be deemed spoiled in its
entirety.
16. A minority report of any committee may be offered for substitution for the
majority report if signed by one-third of the committee members.
17. Ballots will be distributed to and collected by the precinct chair or designee and
returned to the Chief Teller, Credentials Chair, or designee.
18. When the ballots are verified by precinct (correct number returned according to
the last credentials report) they will be co-mingled and then the results tabulated.
Elections of Delegates and Alternates
19. For election of Second Congressional District and State Convention delegates,
interested candidates should turn in the Self Nomination Form to the Nominating
Committee. The Nominating Committee will transmit to the appropriate House
Caucus all Self Nomination Forms deemed eligible not later than 10 minutes after
the conclusion of the Agenda item for the Nominating Committee Report to the
convention. Other nominations for Delegates and Alternates may be made from
the floor, and require a second.
20. No speeches or presentations shall be in order at the time of nomination.
21. Once nominations are closed, brief introductions may be made. The order of
speaking for candidates will be drawn by lot. Each candidate for Second
Congressional District and State Convention Delegate shall be allotted a maximum
of thirty (30) seconds for such introductions.
22. The Republican Party of Minnesota (RPM) has allotted the 55 th District
Republican Party of Minnesota a total of 27 delegates to the Second Congressional
District and State Conventions, based on the top-of-the-ticket vote total from the
2024 general election.
23. For election of Congressional District and State Delegates and Alternates there
shall be a single, written ballot for both conventions. The highest vote getters shall
be the elected delegates (27) to the Congressional District and State Conventions.
Alternates will be ranked according to their vote totals, up to the permitted number
of alternates (27 “first alternates” and up to an additional 27 “second alternates”).
Ties for the last delegate or alternate ranking positions shall be resolved by a
random method. If a person only desires to be an alternate he or she shall still be
listed on the ballot and if elected to a delegate position may drop to the first
alternate position by written notice to the BPOU chair within five days.
Resolutions
24. Resolutions shall be limited to those proposed by the Resolutions Committee and
shall be considered in the order of the blocks or topics contained in the
Resolutions Committee report. An exception may be made if at least 15% of the
seated delegates choose to remove a resolution from a block or topic for individual
consideration. The remainder of the block or topic will then be voted up or down.
Any exceptions will be considered individually after all other blocks and topics
have been voted up or down.
Adjournment
26. A motion to adjourn shall not be in order until the official business of the
convention, as stated in the agenda, is completed.
Signage and Rules of Conduct
27. All signs must strictly comply with the rules set forth by the host facility. The
Arrangements Committee may set a limit on the number of signs permitted per
candidate. All sign sizes, locations and method of attachment, must comply with
the rules of the Convention host facility. All signs must be removed within fifteen
(15) minutes of the close of the convention, and removed from the premises.
28. All campaign material must have the name of the candidate or delegate or
alternate responsible for the materials.
29. The registration fee for Delegates, Alternatives, and Guests attending and
participating in the Convention is necessary to cover associated expenses. It is not
the intention that this fee apply to those attending for a short period in support of a
candidate seeking party endorsement.
30. Polite and vigorous discussion and debate are expected, welcomed, and
encouraged. Disruptive and unruly conduct will not be tolerated and anyone
engaging in such conduct shall be removed from the convention.
31. All convention attendees must register with the Credentials Committee. A name
tag identifying convention attendees shall be worn at all times (an exception to the
nametag requirement may be made by the Credentials Committee for easily
identified party and elected officials and candidates for office).
32. There will be no recording or filming inside of the convention. Still photography
will be permitted only with prior approval of the Senate District Chair or one of
the House District Chairs. This is a private meeting, which may include press
passes, and will include a press release of proceedings. Any filming, photos
without proper approval, or recordings will have to be outside of the convention.
Rules Committee: Brian Ewoldt, Matt Day, Mark Hyde
