Over 20% of College Republican federations across the country were allegedly disqualified from voting Sunday due to a last-minute change in rule interpretation, resulting in chaos and confusion for the upcoming National Chair election.
After todays credentials call, over 20% of the nation’s College Republican federations have been deemed ineligible to vote at convention. This is an embarrassment and it must be fixed immediately. pic.twitter.com/dI1gRnUYco
— Ignite CRNC (@IGNITE_CRNC) July 11, 2021
After an 11-hour national College Republican National Committee (CRNC) credentialing meeting that began at 3 a.m. Pacific Time, federations from Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Louisiana, Montana, New York, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, and South Dakota were allegedly disqualified from the ability to vote on the organization’s national leadership, according to the federation chairs’ letter to the national board.
We can’t remain in an organization that devalues the efforts of its members by taking away their rights to vote. We call on the @CRNC to give its federations our hard-earned votes and end their attacks on accountability and transparency. Posted on behalf of the AFCR Exec Board. pic.twitter.com/dYhEapmALd
— Arkansas College Republicans (@ArkansasCR) July 12, 2021
According to Judah Waxelbaum, a candidate for the National Chair of CRNC, the arbitrator allegedly changed the interpretation of the credentialing process last-minute and contradicted both information from previous workshop meetings and the CRNC Constitution, a document that is allegedly not available to the public.
Waxelbaum alleges that at the credentialing meeting the previous understanding of requirements was unexpectedly changed. Before, the state needed letters of reference from two universities to prove that the chapter existed only if it failed to submit any information by the initial deadline to qualify in the voting process. The arbitrator at this year’s meeting, however, suddenly reinterpreted that all states needed the two letters of reference in order to be qualified.
Furthermore, certain College Republican federations were allegedly denied appeal based on well-prepared information tailored to the chapter. Colorado, for example, was allegedly denied in the appeal process because one of its members was accused of being registered in another state. (Related: Campus Republican Club Suspended Over 9/11 Memorial Poster)
The federations that publicly endorsed Waxelbaum were all allegedly denied appeal after the initial disqualification, while the states that supported his opponent, Courtney Hope Britt, were all allegedly granted appeals after failing to meet the new requirements after the altered rule interpretation. The arbitrator allegedly has the sole authority on rule interpretations and is not obligated to explain his rulings, according to College Republican insiders.
Not sure what’s going on with the @CRNC – all states should have a voice. Work together to put strong Republicans in office! https://t.co/cl96fezmqs
— Dr. Kelli Ward (@kelliwardaz) July 12, 2021
Transparency, a major platform of Judah Waxelbaum’s campaign, has been one of the focal points of this national election for the CRNC. According to sources inside the College Republicans, even the CRNC Constitution is only accessible through Google drive and that multiple chairs were allegedly never granted access to this drive. Without the 11 federations that were disqualified, his opponent can allegedly win the election with merely 40% of the vote, according to College Republican insiders.
College Republicans have been crucial in helping GOP candidates get elected on both state and national levels, with the New York Federation allegedly helping the GOP gain 46 electoral wins, according to Augustus LeRoux.
The College Republican National Committee has not yet provided a comment on this event for the Daily Caller.