Republican National Convention: When is it and how does it work?

How and when the party selects its presidential candidate

In August, Republicans from around the country will gather at the Republican National Convention to vote for their preferential presidential candidate.

Though the location of the convention has been up in the air – it is now set for Jacksonville, Florida after originally having been scheduled for Charlotte, North Carolina – the selection of the party's presidential candidate will go on as normal.

The party's national convention is an event in which delegates from across the country vote for their preferred presidential candidate, official party business is done and where the party determines its platform heading into the next election.

An incumbent president has never been replaced at a convention, and the Republican convention ahead of the 2020 US election will be no different.

In February, the Republican National Committee voted that it would throw its full weight behind the re-election of President Donald Trump. As a result, several states outright cancelled their primaries.

What actually happens at the convention?

Party national conventions are something of a chimera, part political rally, part working session, part election. During business hours, party members meet together and hold rallies. Most of the working sessions are focused on determining the party's broad platform priorities.

In between working sessions, members of the party - often more obscure members - give speeches to the gathered crowds.

In the evenings, voting occurs and notable Republicans give speeches and hold rallies. For younger or more obscure members of the party, being asked to give an evening speech is often indicative that they're being considered rising stars and potential future leaders.

The selection of the president and the vice president takes place on the final day of the convention. This year - as there is no viable challenger to Mr Trump - the selection process will be simple. Delegates from each state will make their selection. If a candidate receives enough votes to secure the nomination - 1,276 of the possible 2,550 available - then they become the party's nominee.

In the event no candidate is able to reach the vote threshold – a brokered convention – a second round of voting begins. For each round of voting that occurs after the first, a certain number of pledged delegates - those who are bound to vote for a specific candidate as determined by their state's primary or caucus - are released to vote how they see fit. Through this process, delegates can change votes and ultimately swing the convention towards a specific candidate.

Delegates and Commitments

There are three types of delegates who vote at the convention. At-large delegates are essentially state delegates - non-states, like territories and the District of Columbia also have at-large delegates - and each state begins with 10 delegates. Bonus delegates are awarded to states based on recent Republican electoral victories and how many of the state's delegates voted for the incumbent president in the last election.

In addition to the at-large delegates, states also are given congressional district delegates. These delegates must live in the districts they represent. Each of the congressional districts in a state are given three of these delegates.

Finally, there are Republican National Committee members. These individuals are always the state's top three RNC officials - the national committeeman, national committeewoman and the state's chairman.

States can choose how to disperse their delegates through two methods; proportional allocation or winner-take-all allocation.

Under proportional allocation, delegates are bound to a candidate based on the percentage of votes each candidate received during the state's primary or caucus. The GOP requires that 20 states use a proportional system to determine who their delegates will support at the convention. Those states are Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Massachusetts, Maine, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Idaho, Michigan, Missouri, Mississippi, North Dakota, Washington and Hawaii. In these states, a candidate must win at least 20 per cent of the total delegates in order to receive any at all. Once they clear that 20 per cent threshold, the number of delegates they win will be the number of delegates bound to support them during the first round of voting at the convention.

Winner-take-all delegate allocation is one in which the winner of the state is awarded all of the state's delegates. Florida, Illinois, Ohio, Georgia, and the US territories of American Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands use a winner-take-all allocation. No state can choose to use a winner-take-all allocation unless they hold their primary or caucus after 15 March.

When and Where Will the Convention be Held?

The location of the convention is now the Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida.

The original venue was to be in Charlotte, North Carolina, at the Spectrum Center. Mr Trump demanded that Democratic governor Roy Cooper allow the Republicans to use the venue without having to adhere to coronavirus safety measures like social distancing and attendance limits.

When Mr Cooper refused to commit to those demands, Mr Trump demanded the venue be changed. While business meetings will still be held at the Spectrum Center due to contractual obligations between the Republicans and the venue, the main rallies and spectacle of the convention will be moved to Florida, where Republican governor Ron DeSantis is unlikely to impose any restrictions on the convention.

The convention is scheduled for 24 August to 28 August.