Delegates reject show-of-hands motion; convention retains paper ballots after procedural debate

Delegates at the Washington State Republican Party convention on the morning of the meeting debated whether to replace paper ballots with a show-of-hands for statewide endorsements. A delegate moved to clarify the voting method to a show of hands rather than paper ballots; the motion was seconded by John Cena (who identified himself as a Spokane delegate). The chair said ballots were printed and, based on his reading of the rules, paper ballots are implied and a suspension of the rules would be required to change the method.

The parliamentarian advised that suspending the rules to change the balloting process would require a two-thirds vote; delegates were asked to raise their hands to suspend the rules and allow the motion to be considered. After debate and multiple points of order and information, the chair concluded there were not two-thirds in favor of suspending the rules and directed that the convention use the printed ballots for endorsements. "Therefore, paper ballots to do the voting," the chair said.

Why it matters: The method of voting determines transparency, observation and logistics for counting endorsements. Some delegates argued a show-of-hands would speed the process and avoid long waits; others said the adopted rules and prior committee work implied paper ballots for a secret or at least structured endorsement process. A delegate moved that the chair’s change in order be accepted to allow processing to continue; that motion passed by voice vote.

The chair then instructed delegation chairs to collect printed ballots and return them to the tellers table where counting would take place in the room and candidates could request observers. Delegates raised several procedural concerns during and after the debate, including whether national-delegate selections and platform timing should be adjusted; the chair answered that national delegate nominations would proceed and that ballots were being distributed to delegation chairs.

Direct quotes from the floor included the motion-maker’s request to expedite and the chair’s explanation that suspending the rules required a two-thirds vote. The transcript records the motion and the chair’s ruling; no formal roll-call tally for the suspension motion appears in the record, and the chair announced that paper ballots would be used and that the counting would occur behind the stage with observers allowed.