The Delegates’ Bill of Rights: Support of the Delegate Protection & Oversight Amendments

Meeting with JD Glaser, Dan Adams and Jon Smith in regards to District 5 and the State Committee.

To the Members of Michigan’s Congressional District Republican Committees:

We write as grassroots Republicans in Hillsdale County who have lived, firsthand, what happens when a small group of insiders is allowed to use process and position to shrink participation in order to retain control.

For years, precinct delegates and conservative activists in our county have fought against statutory members and Party insiders who use their access to government offices and Party machinery to:

• Manipulate delegate allotments and delegate elections to retain control,
• Punish dissenting delegates, and
• Delay any meaningful resolution for as long as possible.

The message to ordinary Republicans has been clear:
You are welcome to vote for us, but you are not welcome to share power with us — or even have the ability.

That is not the Republican way. It is not what our platform says. It is not what we tell voters we stand for.

The amendments now before you, the Delegates’ Bill of Rights, are a serious attempt to correct this problem — not just for Hillsdale, but for every county in the 5th District and across Michigan.

We support these amendments because they:

• Put precinct delegates back at the center of Party governance, where they belong.
• Require honest, timely, and transparent conventions that any working Republican can attend without guessing what game is being played that night.
• Establish an Oversight Committee with real procedures and tools to address abuses, so that delegates aren’t left waiting years for State Committee to intervene.
• Set a fair, vote-based formula for delegate allotments, so that no county board can quietly shrink the Party to keep control of it.

These changes do not weaken the Michigan Republican Party. They weaken a culture of insider control that has been strangling it.

We need a Party that grows. We need more precinct delegates, not fewer. We need people who love the Constitution, who love their communities, and who are willing to serve, even when it puts them at odds with comfortable incumbents.

These amendments help create that Party. They tell new people: If you are willing to step up and become a delegate, we will protect your rights, follow our bylaws, and resolve disputes fairly. That is how you build trust. That is how you grow.

On behalf of the conservatives in Hillsdale County who have been fighting for years just to be heard inside their own Party, we are asking the 5th District — and all the districts in Michigan — to send a clear message:

• We will not tolerate shrinking participation as a tactic to retain power.
• We will not side with those who weaponize process against their own base.
• We will choose transparency, accountability, and growth over fear and control.

We urge you to fully support and vote in favor of these amendments when they come before you, and to encourage your State Committee members to do the same.

If the Republican Party is going to be the vehicle for liberty, limited government, and constitutional principles in Michigan, it cannot be run like a private club afraid of its own members. It has to trust its delegates, bind itself to fair rules, and open its doors wider — not narrower.

That is what this reform represents. We stand behind it, and we ask you to stand with us.

Respectfully,

The Hillsdale Conservatives
(Grassroots members and embattled precinct delegates of the Hillsdale County Republican Party)

The Delegates’ Bill of Rights

Quick Answers to Insider Scare Tactics

1. “This will hurt the Party.”

Translation: “This will hurt the people who currently control everything.”

What the amendments actually do:

• Protect duly elected precinct delegates from being purged or sidelined.
• Require real notice, open doors, and fair credentialing at conventions.
• Give the Party a clear internal process (Oversight Committee) to handle disputes instead of letting them fester for years.
• Tie delegate allotments to Republican votes, not insider preferences.

If your plan is to grow the Party, that helps you.
If your plan is to shrink the Party to keep power, that threatens you.

So when someone says “this hurts the Party,” ask:
“Do you mean it hurts the Party—or just your control over it?”

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2. “The State Committee can’t do this. It’s illegal.”

The opposite is true:

• The bylaws already say the State Committee can amend the bylaws with notice and a 2/3 vote in person.
• The bylaws already allow additional standing committees. The Oversight Committee just defines one clearly and gives it rules.
• Nothing in state law says a political party can’t:
  • Protect its delegates,
  • Standardize how conventions are run, or
  • Use an internal committee to resolve disputes.

This package doesn’t “repeal state law.” It tells the Republican Party:

“Within the law, this is how we are going to govern ourselves.”

If someone claims it’s “illegal,” they should be able to point to the exact law or bylaw it violates. If they can’t, it’s not a legal argument—it’s a scare line.

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3. “This will bring lawsuits.”

Let’s be honest: we already have lawsuits, threats of lawsuits, and people talking about lawsuits.

Right now, when something corrupt or abusive happens:

• There’s no clear internal path to fix it,
• People either give up or hire lawyers,
• Fights spill into court or social media.

The amendments actually reduce long-term legal risk by:

• Creating an Oversight process where complaints can be filed, evidence submitted, and rulings issued.
• Encouraging members to use Party remedies before running to court.
• Keeping the Oversight Committee away from campaign-finance decisions, which is where most legal landmines are.

Will someone somewhere still threaten to sue? Probably.
But with these amendments, the Party can show a judge:

“We have rules. We followed them. We tried to handle this in-house.”

That’s a stronger legal posture than “we wing it and hope nobody finds out.”

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4. “This is just about factional power.”

No. This is about who owns the Party.

Right now, reality in many counties looks like this:

• A small circle decides who gets delegate slots and who doesn’t.
• People who ask questions get targeted or quietly blocked.
• Years go by before any higher body even looks at the problem—if they ever do.

The Delegates’ Bill of Rights doesn’t hand power to some new hidden faction; it hands power to:

• Elected precinct delegates, and
• A balanced Oversight Committee with one member per congressional district.

If someone is fighting hard to keep conventions vague, delegates weak, and disputes unsolved, that tells you everything you need to know about what kind of power they’re trying to protect.

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5. “We just need unity, not new rules.”

Unity built on fear and silence is not unity. It’s surrender.

Real unity comes when:

• People trust they won’t be ambushed or purged.
• Conventions are run the same way everywhere, not one way for friends and another for critics.
• Delegates know there’s a real remedy if they’re abused.

These amendments don’t demand everyone agree on every issue.
They demand we all play by the same rules.

If our Party can’t handle that inside its own house, it has no business asking voters to trust it with government power.

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Bottom Line

When you hear:

• “This will hurt the Party,”
• “State Committee isn’t allowed to do this,”
• “This will cause lawsuits,”

you’re not hearing legal analysis. You’re hearing people afraid of losing a rigged system.

The Delegates’ Bill of Rights:

• Grows participation,
• Protects delegates,
• Forces transparency,
• And gives us an honest way to fix abuses.

That’s not a threat to the Republican Party.
That’s a threat to the people who’ve been shrinking it.

Proposed “Delegates’ Bill of Rights” Amendments [Plain language Version]

(Oversight Committee, Conventions, and Delegate Allotments)

1. Oversight Committee

(to be added as a standing committee under the Committees Article)

Oversight Committee – Composition.
There shall be a standing Oversight Committee consisting of one (1) member from each congressional district, residing within that district and elected by the corresponding district committee within sixty (60) days of the Spring State Convention in odd-numbered years. Members shall serve until a successor is elected at a subsequent Spring State Convention in an odd-numbered year. A permanent vacancy shall be filled by the corresponding congressional district committee.

Purpose and Responsibilities.
The Oversight Committee shall adjudicate disputes and open matters within its jurisdiction in accordance with the Oversight Process provided herein, for purposes of internal Party recognition, credentials, and privileges.

Quorum and Meetings.
The Oversight Committee may conduct business only when at least nine (9) members are present, and when at least seven (7) days’ notice of the meeting has been provided to all members. All meetings shall include an option to participate by video or other real-time electronic conferencing.

Use of Internal Remedies and Party Discipline.
For any matter within the scope of the Oversight Committee, no county, district, or state committee, nor any member thereof or delegate, shall initiate, promote, or fund litigation or fines against any other executive committee, member thereof, or delegate without first submitting the matter to the Oversight Committee and allowing the Oversight Process to run its course. Violation of this provision shall constitute grounds for party discipline under these Bylaws. Nothing in this section shall be construed to abridge any individual’s legal right of access to the courts.

Scope.
The Oversight Committee shall consider matters involving, but not limited to, alleged adverse actions affecting one or more delegates, committees, or committee members in their capacity as such, the conduct and validity of conventions, and disputes over internal Party recognition of committees and delegations, all to the extent permitted by law. The Oversight Committee shall not exercise authority over executive committee campaign-finance decisions, contribution coordination, fund transfers between committees, or coordinated communications as described in 11 CFR 110.3(b)(3) and 11 CFR 109.21.

Rules.
The Oversight Committee may adopt, amend, and promulgate rules to effectuate the Oversight Process provided herein. The State Committee may adopt and amend rules that expand or further define the scope and powers of the Oversight Committee, consistent with this Article and applicable law. Such rules shall be made available to any county, district, or state committee member and any delegate upon request.

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2. Oversight Process

Initiation.
Any plaintiff may initiate a matter by sending a written complaint to the Oversight Committee. The complaint shall include:
(a) the names and contact information of the plaintiff and any co-plaintiffs;
(b) the names and contact information of the defendants and any co-defendants (collectively, “the parties”);
(c) a summary of the nature of the complaint;
(d) specific charges; and
(e) the specific relief sought.

Acceptance of Complaints.
The Oversight Committee shall take up each complaint as a matter of course unless, by a two-thirds (2/3) majority vote of its members present, it determines that the complaint is without sufficient merit or outside its scope. A refusal to accept a complaint shall be accompanied by a brief written explanation.

Documentation Period.
Upon acceptance of a complaint, the Oversight Committee shall open a documentation period during which the parties may submit documentary evidence to a shared repository accessible to the parties and to the Oversight Committee. The parties and the Oversight Committee may submit written questions and answers to the repository.

The documentation period shall have a default duration of five (5) days and shall be reset to a new five (5) day period upon each submission to the repository. The documentation period may be closed only by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the Oversight Committee, and only after at least two (2) days’ advance notice of the intention to close has been provided to the parties.

Hearing.
Following the documentation period, the Oversight Committee shall conduct a hearing at which the parties may respond to questions from the Committee and present oral argument. The question-and-answer portion of the hearing may be closed by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the Committee. Each side (plaintiffs and defendants) shall be afforded no less than ten (10) minutes for closing argument.

Ruling and Opinions.
After the hearing, the Oversight Committee shall determine its ruling by majority vote of the members present and voting. The Committee shall submit a written majority opinion, bearing the names of the members joining that opinion, to the repository. In the case of a split vote, any minority position shall be set forth in a written minority opinion, bearing the names of the members joining that opinion. Any member may submit a separate concurring or dissenting opinion to the repository with the names of the members joining that opinion.

Transparency.
The repository of filings, evidence, and opinions shall be accessible to members of county, district, and state executive committees; to the parties; and to credentialed delegates, subject to reasonable privacy protections where legally required.

Powers.
For purposes of internal Party recognition, credentials, and privileges, the Oversight Committee may determine one or more of the following, as applicable to the matter before it:

1. Whether an executive committee has complied with these Bylaws, convention rules, and the rules of the Oversight Committee;
2. Whether a substitute convention shall be held and the parameters thereof;
3. Whether an adverse action against a delegate, taken in violation of these Bylaws or committee rules, shall be reversed;
4. The eligibility and composition of a delegation to a convention;
5. The eligibility of an executive committee to host a convention;
6. Persons ineligible to preside over a delegate convention in light of violations of these Bylaws or committee rules;
7. Persons recommended for precinct delegate removal, subject to any required delegate vote;
8. Which of two or more rival bodies shall be recognized as the official executive committee; and
9. Recommendations to the State Committee for further action.

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3. Conventions and Delegates

(replacement/expansion of the Conventions Article)

A. General.
Conventions shall be conducted in accordance with these Bylaws, applicable state law, and convention rules adopted by the State Committee. The State Committee shall determine the time and manner for holding state conventions and for any conventions at which delegates to a state convention are selected or members of an executive committee are elected, to the extent permitted by law.

B. Elected Precinct Delegates.
“Elected precinct delegates” are those individuals who:

1. Were most recently elected by voters at the even-year August primary election to serve as precinct delegates; or
2. Were elevated to fill vacant or open precinct delegate positions at, and in accordance with the rules of, a prior corresponding convention;

and who have not vacated their seat by:
(a) winning a primary election in the same even-year primary election for another partisan office in that precinct;
(b) submitting a written resignation to their corresponding executive committee chair;
(c) moving residence from the corresponding precinct;
(d) death;
(e) a two-thirds (2/3) vote of Elected precinct delegates at a county convention, which has not been reversed by the Oversight Committee; or
(f) term expiration on the day of the next even-year August primary election.

Persons selected at a county convention to serve as delegates to a state or district convention shall, for purposes of that convention, be afforded all rights and privileges provided to Elected precinct delegates in these Bylaws and shall be elected by Elected precinct delegates.

C. Convention Hosts and Duties.
Any executive committee hosting a convention, and any temporary or permanent chair of such convention, shall comply with the following:

1. Call to Convention.
   At least thirty (30) days before the date of the convention, the host executive committee shall issue a written call to convention, in accordance with convention rules adopted by the State Committee, which shall include:
   (a) an address within the corresponding county;
   (b) a date that does not fall on a Sunday or legal holiday;
   (c) a start time no earlier than 5:15 p.m. and no later than 7:00 p.m.;
   (d) a copy of this Article; and
   (e) notice of any delegate removal recommendation made by the Oversight Committee, including any corresponding information packet provided thereby.
2. Time and Place.
   The convention shall be held at the address and on the date specified in the call to convention. The convention shall commence within ten (10) minutes of the later of:
   (a) the stated start time; or
   (b) the time at which no additional Elected precinct delegates who arrived by the start time remain on the premises awaiting credentialing.
3. Credentialing of Delegates.
   The convention host shall credential each Elected precinct delegate who arrives at the convention address on the convention date by the stated start time and presents valid government-issued photographic identification corresponding to the precinct of record.
4. Notice to Non-Credentialed Persons.
   Within two (2) days following the convention, the host shall provide to any person who was denied a credential, with a copy to the Oversight Committee:
   (a) the name or names of the person or persons who denied the credential;
   (b) the reason for the denial; and
   (c) a copy of the call to convention.
5. Delegate Participation.
   The convention host shall ensure that every credentialed Elected precinct delegate is permitted to remain and fully participate in the convention, including voting on all matters before the convention, and that every vote cast by such delegates is counted, except where otherwise provided in these Bylaws or applicable convention rules.
6. Protection from Intimidation.
   The convention host shall not expel, trespass, threaten, fine, intimidate, or coerce the vote of any credentialed Elected precinct delegate, except in accordance with these Bylaws, convention rules, and the disciplinary procedures of Robert’s Rules of Order.
7. Order and Discipline.
   The convention shall be conducted in accordance with Robert’s Rules of Order, including Chapter 61 on discipline, as applicable.

D. Agenda Requirements.

Every convention governed by this Article shall include, in its agenda and before adjournment, the following segments, which shall not be closed except by majority vote of the delegates present:

1. Delegate Discipline.
   A segment during which the chair shall recognize motions to vacate Elected precinct delegate seats for cause. For each such motion, the chair shall entertain a motion to read any corresponding recommendation of the Oversight Committee.
2. Bylaws and Executive Committee Membership.
   A segment during which the chair shall recognize motions from Elected precinct delegates to:
   (a) amend the bylaws of the corresponding executive committee, which amendments shall require a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the delegates present and voting; and
   (b) remove and/or add members of the corresponding executive committee, with removals requiring a two-thirds (2/3) vote and additions requiring a majority vote of the delegates present and voting.
3. Resolutions.
   A segment during which the chair shall recognize resolutions introduced by Elected precinct delegates, which shall pass by majority vote of the delegates present and voting. At a state convention, a resolution shall be in order if it has been adopted within the prior twelve (12) months by a state committee, district committee, or delegate body of a district caucus or convention, or if its introduction is approved for consideration by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the delegates present and voting.

E. Selection of County Executive Committee.
At the even-year fall county conventions, except in counties subdivided by the State Committee, the Elected precinct delegates shall select not fewer than fifteen (15) persons to serve as members of the county executive committee for that county, to the extent permitted by law.

F. Evidence of Compliance.
Upon request by the Oversight Committee, the convention host shall provide reasonable documentation evidencing that the convention was conducted in compliance with these Bylaws, Oversight Committee rules, and applicable convention rules.

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4. Delegate Allotments

(to be added as a section in the County Executive Committees / Precinct Delegate Article)

Delegate Allotment Formula.
To the extent permitted by law, the allotment of Elected precinct delegates for each precinct shall be the greater of:
(a) one (1) delegate; or
(b) a number of delegates equal to the number of voters in that precinct who voted for the Republican nominee for Secretary of State in the most recent general election for that office, divided by a “count” value and rounded to the nearest whole number.

The default value of a “count” shall be one hundred (100), except that if the total allotment of Elected precinct delegates within a county, or within a county subdivision created by the State Committee, would thereby exceed one thousand two hundred (1,200), the “count” shall be recalculated as:

count = 100 × ( total_allotment / 1,200 )

where “total_allotment” is the sum of the per-precinct allotments calculated at count = 100.

The resulting per-precinct allotments shall be adjusted as necessary to comply with applicable election law requirements for near-equal apportionment, while maintaining the principle that Republican vote strength in a precinct is the primary basis for representation.

in liberty,
the Hillsdale Conservatives