The Democratic and Republican National Conventions are not meetings of the Supreme Soviet. Delegates are not required to rubber-stamp whatever party leaders dictate. Instead, they have been delegated authority to exercise their best judgment in selecting presidential nominees.
Aren't some delegates required to vote for Donald Trump, whether they think he is fit to be president or not? No. That is a widespread misunderstanding, but a misunderstanding, nonetheless.
On Monday, a federal district court judge ruled unconstitutional Virginia's statute binding delegates, saying delegates are free to vote as they think best. The ruling's logic applies to the other 19 states with similar statutes.
The decision was nothing new. Whenever laws purporting to bind delegates have been challenged, they have consistently been struck down by federal courts, up to and including the Supreme Court. In the entire 160 years of the Republican Party, there isn't a single instance where the courts have enforced laws purporting to bind delegates. Not one. Zero.
Likewise, state party rules cannot bind delegates. The Republican National Convention is the highest governing authority of the party. The rules adopted at the convention supersede rules of the state parties. Indeed, the national party and the state parties are creatures of the national convention, not vice versa.
