Alaska delegates at the Republican National Convention say their votes for president were miscounted last night, all for Donald Trump, due to what they say is a misinterpretation of state rules. It wouldn’t have affected the outcome, but it’s matter of principle, and the Alaskans got pretty steamed.
Here’s how state party chairman Tuckerman Babcock reported Alaska’s vote on the floor of the convention: “Alaska! We proudly vote exactly as the people of Alaska voted: 12 votes for Cruz, 11 votes Trump, five votes for Marco Rubio.”
Here’s how the convention secretary recorded it: “Alaska. Twenty-eight votes Trump.”
It was a total surprise to the Alaskans that they’d all be counted as Trump delegates. Even the Trump supporters among them didn’t think it was fair. Anchorage delegate Dave Donley took to the mic to object from the floor.
“We represent the tens of thousands of Alaskans who voted in our preferential primary. Our duty was that their votes are honored, that their votes are recorded,” Donley said shortly afterward. “And they refuse to allow us to do that.”
Funky disco music boomed across the Quicken Arena as proceedings were halted for 20 minutes. Convention functionaries were dispatched to poll the Alaskans individually. But the RNC didn’t budge, still recording all 28 Alaska delegates for Trump.
It’s a dispute that turns on the interpretation of state party rules. Those rules say if candidates drop out before the national convention, their delegates go to the remaining candidate. But Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio only “suspended” their campaigns. The RNC, at the convention, is saying suspend is the same thing as drop out. (Babcock says RNC lawyers offered Alaska the opposite advice earlier this year, when Rubio left the campaign, saying “suspending” was different from dropping out.)
While Donley was lodging his objection on the floor, Babcock went backstage and protested to a lawyer for the Republican National Committee. To no avail. The state party chairman says the RNC sprung it on them out of the blue.
“It’s very disappointing there wasn’t the communication. I know they’re very busy. They have a lot going on. But Alaskans came a long way to play our part in this great convention. And to have our votes unilaterally re-organized, was not appropriate,” Babcock said.
Babcock says this was about respecting Alaska’s rules and votes, not an effort to deny Donald Trump the nomination. Trump won the nomination with hundreds of votes to spare.
Liz Ruskin is the Washington, D.C., correspondent at Alaska Public Media. Reach her at lruskin@alaskapublic.org. Read more about Liz here.
