Republican Timing Penalties

On 24 August 2020, the RNC approved the Rules of the Republican Party for the 2024 Presidential Nomination calendar. See Rules 16 and 17.

The "carve-out" states of Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Nevada (designated with a ‡) may begin their process on 1 February 2024. All other states must wait until Tuesday 1 March 2024.

  • If any ... state Republican Party violates Rule No. 16(c)(1) [beginning before 1 March] ..., the number of delegates ... shall be reduced for those states with 30 or more ... delegates to 9 plus the members of the Republican National Committee ..., and for those states with 29 or fewer ... to 6 plus the members of the Republican National Committee ... ." [Rule 17(a)].

The Republican jurisdictions are listed below in chronological order according to their first major delegate selection event. Many of these events are primaries whose dates are established by state law. Hence, it would take an act of the state legislature to move the date. The issues:

  • State legislatures might change their election laws and state parties might change their caucus dates to comply with the new rules.
  • States could ask for a waiver to be "grandfathered" to the date set by law prior to the adoption of this rule.
  • If any state retains their February date, the "carve-out" states are likely to move their dates into January. For example, New Hampshire law [RSA 653:9] states that their Presidential primary is held "... on a date selected by the secretary of state which is 7 days or more immediately preceding the date on which any other state shall hold a similar election..."

 

"Some form of proportional delegate allocation" is required for events before 15 March 2024. This provision does not apply to the four "carve-out" states (Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Nevada).

By "proportional", the RNC means

  • Delegates who are bound to Presidential candidates based on the statewide or Congressional District vote may not be bound "winner-take-all" before 15 March 2024. However, a state may set an up to 20% qualification threshold (that is, a candidate must receive 20% or more of the vote in order to qualify for delegates) and a state may set a 50% or more winner-take-all threshold (that is, if a candidate receives 50% of the vote, that candidate receives all of the delegates).
  • The proportional allocation rule does NOT apply to delegates directly elected in a primary, or National Convention delegates who are NOT bound to vote for a particular candidate.

Other winner-take-all notes:

  • About 11 states use a pure winner-take-all (WTA) election.
  • Several states use a "winner-take-most" formula. That is, a primary or caucus with proportional and WTA components.

 

On 21 December 2022, the date of the 43rd Republican National Convention was announced as Monday 15 July - Thursday 18 July 2024. According to Rule 16(c)(1) "No ... process to elect, select, allocate, or bind delegates to the national convention shall occur ... less than 45 days before the national convention is scheduled to begin" which means all delegate allocations must be settled on or before Friday 31 May 2024.


 
Republican
Chronologically
(sort)
Jurisdiction
delegates
(sorted by)
Start Date
Date
Issue
Delegate
Selection
Delegate
Selection
Issue
Iowa (40)Monday 15 January 2024before 1 FebruaryProportional 
New Hampshire (22)Tuesday 23 January 2024before 1 FebruaryProportional 
Nevada (26)Thursday 8 February 2024 Proportional 
Virgin Islands (4)Thursday 8 February 2024before 1 MarchWinner-Take-All 
South Carolina (50)Saturday 24 February 2024 Winner-Take-All (district and statewide) 
Michigan (55)Tuesday 27 February 2024before 1 MarchAdvisory 
Idaho (32)Saturday 2 March 2024 Winner-Take-Most 
District of Columbia (19)Sunday 3 March 2024 Proportional 
North Dakota (29)Monday 4 March 2024 Winner-Take-Most 
Alabama (50)Tuesday 5 March 2024 Winner-Take-Most 
Alaska (29)Tuesday 5 March 2024 Proportional 
Arkansas (40)Tuesday 5 March 2024 Winner-Take-Most 
California (169)Tuesday 5 March 2024 Winner-Take-Most 
Colorado (37)Tuesday 5 March 2024 Proportional 
Maine (20)Tuesday 5 March 2024 Winner-Take-Most 
Massachusetts (40)Tuesday 5 March 2024 Winner-Take-Most 
Minnesota (39)Tuesday 5 March 2024 Winner-Take-Most 
North Carolina (74)Tuesday 5 March 2024 Combined Selection Statewide: Proportional, District: Winner-Take-Most 
Oklahoma (43)Tuesday 5 March 2024 Winner-Take-Most 
Tennessee (58)Tuesday 5 March 2024 Winner-Take-Most 
Texas (161)Tuesday 5 March 2024 Winner-Take-Most 
Utah (40)Tuesday 5 March 2024 Winner-Take-Most 
Vermont (17)Tuesday 5 March 2024 Winner-Take-Most 
Virginia (48)Tuesday 5 March 2024 Winner-Take-Most 
American Samoa (9)Friday 8 March 2024 Delegate Selection 
Georgia (59)Tuesday 12 March 2024 Winner-Take-Most 
Hawaii (19)Tuesday 12 March 2024 Proportional 
Mississippi (40)Tuesday 12 March 2024 Winner-Take-Most 
Washington (43)Tuesday 12 March 2024 Winner-Take-Most 
Northern Marianas (9)Friday 15 March 2024 Winner-Take-All 
Guam (9)Saturday 16 March 2024 Delegate Selection 
Arizona (43)Tuesday 19 March 2024 Winner-Take-All 
Florida (125)Tuesday 19 March 2024 Winner-Take-All 
Illinois (64)Tuesday 19 March 2024 Combined Selection Statewide: Winner-Take-All, District: Loophole 
Kansas (39)Tuesday 19 March 2024 Winner-Take-All 
Ohio (79)Tuesday 19 March 2024 Winner-Take-All 
Louisiana (47)Saturday 23 March 2024 Winner-Take-All 
Connecticut (28)Tuesday 2 April 2024 Winner-Take-Most 
Delaware (16)Tuesday 2 April 2024 Winner-Take-All 
New York (91)Tuesday 2 April 2024 Winner-Take-Most 
Rhode Island (19)Tuesday 2 April 2024 Proportional 
Wisconsin (41)Tuesday 2 April 2024 Winner-Take-All (district and statewide) 
Wyoming (29)Saturday 20 April 2024 Winner-Take-All 
Puerto Rico (23)Sunday 21 April 2024 Winner-Take-Most 
Pennsylvania (67)Tuesday 23 April 2024 Combined Selection Statewide: Winner-Take-All, District: Loophole 
South Dakota (29)Circa May 2024 (date not set) Delegate Selection 
New Mexico (22)Wednesday 1 May 2024 Delegate Selection 
Missouri (54)Saturday 4 May 2024 Winner-Take-Most 
Indiana (58)Tuesday 7 May 2024 Winner-Take-All (district and statewide) 
Maryland (37)Tuesday 14 May 2024 Winner-Take-All (district and statewide) 
Nebraska (36)Tuesday 14 May 2024 Winner-Take-All 
West Virginia (32)Tuesday 14 May 2024 Winner-Take-All 
Montana (31)Saturday 18 May 2024 Delegate Selection 
Kentucky (46)Tuesday 21 May 2024 Proportional 
Oregon (31)Saturday 25 May 2024 Winner-Take-All 
New Jersey (12)Tuesday 4 June 2024After 31 MayWinner-Take-All 
 

Circa or presumably-- an unofficial date. An unconfirmed Presidential Primary established by currently-effective State statute or introduced bill; or- where the foregoing information could not be obtained- the state's prior delegate selection process and associated dates adjusted to the corresponding dates in the current year.

‡ Pre-window state.

 


  Election 2024 - Presidential Primary, Caucus, and Convention Home  
 
  Presidential Candidates  
 
  States Alphabetically  
  Events Chronologically  
  Major Events Chronologically  
  Democratic "First Determining Step" Chronologically  
  Poll Closing Times Chronologically   --   Poll Closing Times Alphabetically  
  Subscribe to iCalendar Feed  
 
  Chronological Cumulative Allocation of Delegates  
  Weekly Delegate Distribution and Availability  
 
Delegate Counts
  Democratic Pledged and Unpledged Summary   --   Republican Pledged and Unpledged Summary  
  Democratic Hard and Soft Summary   --   Republican Hard and Soft Summary  
Commentary: THE TIES THAT BIND-- OR DO THEY? or, Politicus Unbound
 
Delegate Allocation
  Democratic Quick Reference   --   Republican Quick Reference  
  The Math Behind the Democratic Delegate Allocation   --   The Math Behind the Republican Delegate Allocation  
  Democratic Timing Penalties and Bonuses   --   Republican Timing Penalties  
 
  Democratic Delegate Pledging and Voter Eligibility   --   Republican Delegate Selection and Voter Eligibility  
 
  Primaries at a Glance  
 
  Results Status and Date Retrieved  
....
  Estimating the Delegate Count  
....

 
Documentation
  Historical Analysis of the Presidential Nominating Process  
  Historical Analysis of the apportionment of delegate votes at the National Conventions of the two major parties  
  Primary/Caucus/Convention Glossary  
  Statutory Election Information of the Several states / Presidential Primary  
  Dates of PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARIES re: selection and/or allocation/distribution of Delegates to Major Party National Conventions  
 
  (download)