The Republican caucus process has turned into a big mess this year, and it seems the finger-pointing has only just begun.
On Tuesday, members of the Waldo County Republican Committee voted to recommend a censure of Maine Republican Party Chairman Charlie Webster for his handling of the party’s presidential caucuses, according to the Bangor Daily News.
After last Saturday’s announcement that the state’s presidential preference poll went to former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, Waldo County Republicans discovered that some of their votes were not counted, even though most communities there caucused well before the Feb. 11 deadline.
Raymond St. Onge, who leads the Waldo County GOP, told the Bangor Daily News that he sent the poll results to the state party on Feb. 7. When he asked party officials why those votes were not included in the results announced Saturday, he was told it was a clerical error.
Waterville’s count was also omitted from the results, even though the city caucused before the deadline.
St. Onge said the initial motion Tuesday at the Waldo County GOP meeting was to call for a vote of no confidence in Webster and a recommendation that he step down from his post. That motion was amended to recommend a censure instead, which passed by a strong majority, according to St. Onge.
While everyone can understand that errors happen, Webster has said in interviews that he will not release updated numbers until the state party committee meets March 10. He also said in interviews that he doesn’t believe including all the votes that were omitted will change the outcome.
But that’s not the point.
The point is that people took the time to organize these events, and even more people showed up to vote for their county and town committees and to support the presidential candidate of their choice.
The process has been tarnished for those who believe their vote counts ”“ as it should count ”“ even if it takes a few amendments to the results.
Webster is making light of these errors ”“ the same errors which have cost Republican party chairmen in Iowa and Nevada their positions after similar controversies in those states. Iowa initially awarded its caucus win to Romney, but announced about two weeks later that former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum actually won the contest.
The Maine Republican Party needs to get serious about this, because voting is a fundamental right of democracy, the importance of which cannot be brushed aside. A formal apology is in order as well as a new official tally of the caucus results ”“ and the sooner the better.
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Today’s editorial was written by City Editor Robyn Burnham on behalf of the Journal Tribune Editorial Board. Questions? Comments? Contact Managing Editor Kristen Schulze Muszynski by calling 282-1535, Ext. 322, or via email at kristenm@journaltribune.com.
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