USVI-On-Line

You can't make this stuff up...

A group of four political activists moves to St. John at the end of 2015 to skew the delegate count for a US presidential candidate. After being rejected on St. John for inadequate residency, they take the ferry to St. Thomas and attempt to register there under false pretenses, are caught in the falsehood and ruled ineligible, but that ruling is then overruled, such that they remain on the ballot and can be voted for in today's caucus as delegates to the Republican National Convention. These guys and gals could, should they and perhaps some friends vote for them in what should be a very low turnout election, win four of the six open delegate seats (three more of the nine total are determined by the party, and not by voters). In addition to coming in handy as delegates, it turns out that winning a Territory has value far beyond the mere delegate count:

"And, as Open Secrets pointed out in a blog post last year, in a contested convention Cruz may have to comply with the so-called Rule 40, which requires that he has won the majority of delegates in eight states or territories to be the nominee. Winning a majority of delegates [in the VI] could help Cruz get one closer to being eligible to be the nominee at a contested convention."

The voting results should be available tomorrow (Friday).

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/virgin- ... convention

All the best,

Kevin

Since residents here in the USVI are not eligible to vote in the National election of a President sending delegates to any convention is really just proof that we will take any reason to join the party - any party!

Hey now! Did someone say party?
Hey hey, hey, come right away
Come and join the party every day

I can see this thread taking an unpleasant turn. The first thought I had is that I have moved several times in my adult life and was able to register to vote the very minute I was able to establish and prove my residency. Granted, I could not vote if the election were the next day, although some states do allow same day voter registration. If I recall, once registered, I could vote in any election 90 days later. I've never heard of having to be a resident for 90 days to be allowed to even register. I wonder if the USVI rule requires an additional 90 day wait after registration. That would be a 6 month wait to be eligible for a resident to vote? Seems excessive. Sorry you guys don't get a vote in national elections- ridiculous IMO

And the one with the most toys....in an election that means money wins. The best election money can buy is the US one. Rock on!

So I'm reading throughout the comments sections of some of the articles on this story and came across this:

" Back in 1972, the Supreme Court ruled that long residency requirements were unconstitutional; they did allow a short residency requirement of 30-50 days for administrative convenience, but not a longer one. So how are the Virgin Islands getting away with this?"

If this is true it may explain why the judge overturned the Republican Committeewoman's ruling. This will be fascinating (if you are in to this type of thing) to follow. Thanks for posting Kevin.

equineannie wrote:And the one with the most toys....in an election that means money wins. The best election money can buy is the US one. Rock on!

I think, until Jeb! ran, most of us believed that money always won. Jeb! had more money than any candidate except Trump, and he won nothing. He didn't even show up in the top three most of the time. There were times when he couldn't beat the margin of error.

At least this year, money does not always win.

JIM

Well, three of the four of these "operatives" won their seats as delegates. Astounding. The term "carpetbagger" comes to mind, despite a few historical differences. Their influence could be very valuable in the right circumstances; I'm presuming that they are on Cruz's team.

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/j ... in-islands

All the best,

Kevin

I'm curious if the delegate seats that were won by the new folks were contested or vacant. If vacant and a new resident wants to fill is that not a positive?

It may make you feel a little better to know that with regard to Rule 40, Cruz already has won 8 states so the USVI territory will not make a difference- he is eligible for the nomination already. This development will only serve to give the USVI more of (albeit still tiny) a voice at the Republican convention. That should not matter to Democrats. I imagine they might be more concerned about their own convention.

Most of the election laws in the VI were written in the 1960s. Senator Gittens of St Croix and his committee have been going through the election laws with the hope of updating and clarifying them. So far the residency issue for registration has not been issued in draft for comments but the suit filed by the new residents may force a change.

Supposedly the Republican party in the VI has tripled the number of members which is now over 300, and one of the new residents managed to get the highest number of votes.

They could have avoided all this drama if they had just read the VI Election System website where the 90 day residency is clearly stated. Then they could have given an earlier move date when they originally went to the St John office to register. At least one of the new residents is a high profile Republican consultant so it's not like he was new to voting.

Wonder where all those new Republicans came from????

Lets see how long they remain residents after the convention.

Remarkable... some background reporting on this fellow Yob, as well as internecine skirmishes within the VI Republican party whose delegation Yob, his wife, and friend's wife will lead:

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watc ... 6242883785

I had to mute a 30 second commercial before the segment ran.

All the best,

Kevin

The saga continues on Politico.

http://www.politico.com/blogs/2016-gop- ... nds-221102

Ha, ha! Since when has the VI followed the rules? Only when it suits them.

ms411: You know, I was debating about posting on this development today, and wasn't sure that anyone would appreciate my bumping the thread at this point. So thanks for leading with this; it's all a bit crazy. The question that I have is: What candidate are the six possibly disqualified delegates supporting? Their leader wrote a book on contested conventions, and for all we know, John Yob and his relatives and friends may be trying to stake out a few delegate slots on the cheap, hoping to sell them to the highest bidder should the convention dealing become intense. Remarkable! TPM reporting below.

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/virgin-island-gop-chaos

All the best,

Kevin