May 8 GOP Convention

Here are 3 things that you need to understand about the 2021 Republican Party state nominating convention:

When to Expect Results

Ranked-Choice Ballot

Weighted Votes

When to Expect Results

The convention ends at 4 pm Saturday, May 8. Don’t expect results right away. It could take two or three days for the results in all three statewide races to be tabulated.

The hand-count in Richmond is expected to proceed according to the proposed schedule:

VPAP will post the results as soon as they are available.

The ballots – there could be more than 50,000 cast at 39 locations around Virginia – will be counted by hand. That is party due to the fact that many Republicans believe that widespread voter fraud and tampering with election voting machines undercut the integrity of last year’s presidential election. The Republican Party has opted for old-fashioned paper ballots that will be counted by hand.

The count will take place under the watchful eye of candidate representatives and the media in the ballroom of the Downtown Marriott near the State Capitol.

Ranked-Choice Ballot

Limitations on the size of indoor gatherings meant the Republican Party of Virginia had to find novel way to hold a convention to select candidates for Governor, Lt. Governor and Attorney General.

The party opted for a “disassembled convention” at 39 locations around Virginia. Instead of attending a day-long event, delegates will drop off a ballot in which they rank candidates for each office by their first choice, second choice, third choice and so on.

Ranked-Choice Voting has been used to pick nominees for local office in Virginia, but this is the first time it’s been used in a statewide election.

In the first round, if no candidate receives more than 50 percent of the vote, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated and his or her voters will be reallocated to the remaining candidates based on 2nd choice preferences.

This process continues, round after round, until one candidate receives a majority of the vote.

Weighted Votes

The weight of your vote depends on where you live.

The GOP uses a weighted voting system. Each local unit earns a set number of votes based on how well the party's candidates did in the last presidential and gubernatorial elections.

This means a small, conservative county can have a bigger voice than a large, liberal city.

Depending on turnout, a delegate’s vote could count for a lot — or a little.

Source: Call of the Republican Party of Virginia 2021 Convention.