Any contested election — especially in an organization filled with college students — will inevitably come with its share of drama.
But drama and integrity are not mutually exclusive. One can engage in petty infighting while still maintaining respect for institutions and general propriety.
Unfortunately, the College Republican National Committee’s (CRNC) credentialing process for the upcoming National Chair election, between Courtney Britt, the “establishment candidate,” and Judah Waxelbaum, who I am supporting, has been utterly devoid of respect — an unacceptable reality for an official auxiliary of a party that stands for election integrity.
As we understand it, the credentialing rules were changed by the designated arbitrator at the last minute. It is impossible to say for certain, as CRNC leadership has chosen to make the organization’s Constitution unavailable to the public, but the new interpretation of the rules differed substantially from what all parties had been previously told.
In the past, two letters from universities in the state were required only if a federation failed to submit its information in a timely manner, but this year, the arbitrator suddenly decided that all states who wished to appeal their delegate allotments were required to submit two university letters.
As a result, after a marathon, 11-hour meeting (which started at 3 AM Pacific Standard Time), the federations representing Florida, New York, South Dakota, Rhode Island, Puerto Rico, Connecticut, Colorado, Arkansas, Oregon, Louisiana, and Montana were each denied their rightful delegation.
Coincidence? I think not. Why? Each of the 11 federations denied representation support Mr. Waxelbaum. These federations were continually denied representation upon appeal. Meanwhile, any state supporting Ms. Britt was immediately granted their delegates on appeal. Virginia, Ms. Britt’s home state, was even granted more delegates.
Furthermore, there were oddly specific reasons for the denial of delegates. Probably the most egregious example was Colorado, which was told upon appeal that its delegates were denied because one of its members was allegedly registered in another state.
How could the arbitrator deny delegates with that level of detail if there was not some sort of plan ahead of time?
Under the mysterious CRNC Constitution, the arbitrator has sole authority over rule interpretations, as if the meeting is a totalitarian state. As such, he or she is not required to explain their reasoning to anyone, even upon request.
Naturally, such proceedings raise questions of the election being rigged, and caused great concerns for the delegations affected. How can people trust the process if the process is utterly devoid of transparency? Concerned federations went to the CRNC chairman, Chandler Thornton, for assistance, or at the very least some form of comment.
What has Mr. Thornton said in response to this incident? Nothing. Although Mr. Thornton had neither public comments nor answers for his constituents in regards to the credentialing meeting; he did have enough time to tweet a critique of the Daily Caller’s reporting on the incident.
We, the members of the CRNC, represent a major component of the ground game of almost any political campaign at all levels of government. Our youth is often disparaged, but we are the ones who guide campaigns down the path of victory.
In this instance, however, party officials are right to treat us like immature whelps.
How is any Republican campaign supposed to trust us to conduct their operations with integrity if we can’t manage our own business peaceably?
With leaders like Chandler Thornton, it is no wonder that we are losing political capital to organizations like Turning Point USA and Young America's Foundation.
We have a right to a fair election, free of arbitrator kings and delegate manipulation. The 11 federations have a right to have their status evaluated fairly.
With friends like these, who needs enemies? If something doesn’t change within the CRNC — quickly — they may not like the consequences.
Garion Frankel is a graduate student at Texas A&M University’s Bush School of Government and Public Service with a concentration in education policy and management. He serves as the policy director for the Texas Federation of College Republicans, which supports Mr. Waxelbaum.