March - April 2008 (tentative date): Local Mass Meetings, Party Canvasses, and Conventions:
The election of the actual National Convention delegates (who will be formally pledged to the winner of the Virginia Republican Primary) begins with local meetings held in each independent city and county of the Commonwealth of Virginia. The State Party Plan requires each independent city and county Republican Party to hold a Mass Meeting, Party Canvass or Convention to select delegates to the congressional district conventions and state convention and to elect local Party officials.
A Mass Meeting is comprised of Republican voters for the independent city or county. The Mass Meeting elects a chairman and a secretary. The chairman of the meeting appoints various committees to propose rules for the meeting, check voter registration credentials of the participants, review potential candidates for election at the meeting, and recommend resolutions. The Mass Meeting may have guest speakers in addition to voting. The Mass Meeting is thus a form of a first-tier caucus.
A Party Canvass is similar to a primary, but it is conducted by the Party rather than the government. Republican voters of the independent city or county may vote at scheduled times and places. A Party Canvass is thus a form of "party-run primary" at the most local level.
A local Convention is used less frequently than the other two methods. Delegates for the Independent City or County Convention are elected at either a mass meeting or party canvass that precedes the convention. Only Delegates may vote at an Independent City or County Convention. Large-population localities such as Fairfax County and Richmond City tend to hold such conventions because of the high number of participants which would be involved in either a mass meeting or party canvass without a convention.
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