WTE: Of Virtue and a Virtual Convention

The Wyoming Republican Party held part of its convention on May 9, 2020. I was present, sort of. The term, “convention,” means “coming together.” But digital platforms don’t actually bring people together.

Everyone who has ever participated in a Zoom “meeting” knows the technical challenges. More troublesome is the loss of real human contact and all the subtle yet vital interactions that make a real convention invaluable.

This is not a complaint. It’s a reality check. Zoom “meetings” will never be a viable substitute for actual meetings. We must keep this reality in mind so that we do not expect a virtual “meeting” to do what only a real meeting can accomplish.

Leaders in the Republican Party recognized this reality early on and responded with two strategies. First, they split the business of the convention into two parts—one that could be attempted virtually and one that could not. They decided that it was simply not feasible to debate resolutions, platform amendments and other deliberative business of the convention. This would have to be done in person, at a later date.

The time-sensitive nature of election to national offices forced convention planners to find a way to do other convention business online. However, even this could not be done without major rules changes. Robert’s Rules of Order simply never contemplated convening a convention that was never convened.

Changes to the rules and leniency in their enforcement were required even for the county conventions to elect delegates for the state convention. These rules changes were approved by national party leadership and put as the first item of business at every county convention. They were passed with little discussion. Few anticipated the effects of these changes.

At the center of the electoral process is the secret ballot. When people are together in one place, there are well-established and time-tested rules that allow ballots to be handled with near-complete accountability while also keeping the identity of each voter confidential.

But how can this be done in cyberspace? Counties that identified every ballot compromised secrecy. Those that emphasized secrecy compromised accountability. There exists no virtual way to maintain both.

The Credentials Committee of the convention is appointed to make sure that delegates are properly elected. Concerns arose about election integrity in three of Wyoming’s 23 counties. After carefully examining the claims of each, the committee concluded that irregularities at the Natrona County election prevented them from seating many of their delegates.

Approval of the Credentials Report is always the first order of the day, and usually uncontroversial. Not so last Saturday. A motion to amend the credentials report to seat the delegates was put on the floor and eventually adopted by the convention.

The Casper Star Tribune quickly posted an article titled, “GOP infighting culminates in attempt to block Natrona County from state convention.” This headline is the opposite of the truth. The culmination was that the GOP convention seated the delegates, giving them the benefit of the doubt.

Responsible reporting would have included the fact that the GOP spent three hours in good-faith discussion. Delegates wanted to know the nature of the rules violations and the reasons for them. They wanted to weigh the gravity of the irregularities against the gravity of not seating the delegates.

Coming to see the novel circumstances forced upon them by the novel coronavirus, they learned the extent that standards developed for in-person conventions must be adapted. Strict application would make the conduct of any business impossible.

Convention leaders then spent the next three hours finalizing and explaining the ballot that would be the main purpose of the convention. When the balloting was opened, technical difficulties were painstakingly addressed one at a time until an entire hour had passed with no additional issues raised.

Only then were the ballots counted. This count raised questions identical to those settled by accepting the results of Natrona County’s election. Did all the ballots cast make it into the hands of the counters? By successfully keeping the balloting secret, it was no longer possible to answer this question after the fact.

The moral of this story is two-fold.

First, it is time that we put to rest the fantasy that virtual “meetings” can ever be real meetings at all. All the wonders of technology can never replace human gatherings.

Second, every community ultimately depends on integrity and trust. Procedural rules cannot prevent every abuse. Nor can technical questions alone undermine confidence. Abuses are absent when every individual is acting with integrity and honor.

The Wyoming Republican Party Convention was a success because of the personal integrity, skill and good sense of the leadership that worked tirelessly to create the best and fairest environment possible under the circumstances. I thank God for their leadership.

This was also published in the Wyoming Tribune Eagle on May 22, 2020