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REPUBLICAN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES VIRGIN ISLANDS The Rules of the 2020 Virgin Islands Republican Territorial Caucus Rule No. 1 (a) The Republican Territorial Caucus shall be governed by The Rules of the 2018 Virgin Islands Republican Territorial Caucus, which supersede the Rules, Principles, and Policies of the Republican Party of the United States Virgin Islands for the purposes of convening and conducting the aforesaid Republican Territorial Caucus. Rule No. 2 (a) The state chairman of the Republican Party of the United States Virgin Islands shall appoint a Caucus Committee consisting of four members from the electoral district of St. Croix and four members from the electoral district of St. Thomas—St. John. The secretary of the Republican Party of the United States Virgin Islands shall serve as chairman of the Caucus Committee. The members of the Caucus Committee shall elect a vice chairman, who must reside in the opposite electoral district of the chairman. The chairman and vice chairman shall serve as the district caucus supervisor of their respective electoral districts. (b) The Caucus Committee shall select one location in the electoral district of St. Thomas-St. John and one location in the electoral district of St. Croix to serve as district caucus precincts. These locations shall be open to any registered and qualified Republican voter for voting during the hours of 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. Atlantic Standard Time on a date selected by a majority vote of the Caucus Committee. The Republican Party of the United States Virgin Islands shall pay all costs involved in securing district caucus precincts. (c) The Caucus Committee shall prepare the ballot for the Republican Territorial Caucus. The Republican Party of the United States Virgin Islands shall pay all costs involved in preparing and printing the ballot. A sufficient number of ballots shall be distributed to the district caucus supervisor of each district caucus precinct on the day of the Republican Territorial Caucus and prior to the commencement of voting. (d) The chairman and vice chairman of the Caucus Committee shall sign the call to caucus for the Republican Territorial Caucus with public notice published on the official website of the Republican Party of the United States Virgin Islands. A copy of the duly- issued call to caucus shall be forwarded by the secretary of the Republican Party of the United States Virgin Islands to the duly-serving members of the State Committee. (e) The Caucus Committee shall appoint deputies and caucus officials as deemed necessary for the conduct of the Republican Territorial Caucus. A person need not be a registered Republican to be eligible for appointment. (f) The Caucus Committee may adopt all such policies, procedures, regulations, and rules as necessary for the conduct of the Republican Territorial Convention provided such policies, procedures, regulations, and rules are not inconsistent with these rules. (g) The Caucus Committee shall hear any disputes arising out of the Republican Territorial Caucus. (h) All disputes and challenges arising out of the Republican Territorial Caucus must be sent via United States Postal Service registered mail and received by the chairman of the Caucus Committee on or before 11:59 p.m. on the third day after the date of the caucus. The Caucus Committee may meet in-person or via linked telecommunications technology to consider a properly received and timely filed dispute or challenge. Any decision by the Caucus Committee is final and not subject to appeal. The burden of proof necessary to sustain a dispute or challenge rests upon the challenger, who must provide tangible evidence. Rule No. 3 (a) All voters and candidates in the Republican Territorial Caucus must be actively registered Republican voters, be on the electoral rolls of the United States Virgin Islands, and be bona fide residents of the United States Virgin Islands. No person convicted of a felony or other high crime and misdemeanor, including, but not limited to, crimes of fraud and moral turpitude, stand for election as a candidate. (b) No tax or fee shall be levied upon any person to vote. Rule No. 4 Supervision of the district caucus precincts and implementation and enforcement of these rules shall be the responsibility of a district caucus supervisor. District caucus supervisors shall be familiar with these rules. Rule No. 5 (a) Eligibility to participate in and cast a ballot shall be verified by a district caucus supervisor. Prospective voters shall present a valid Virgin Islands government-issued photo identification upon demand of the district caucus supervisor. (b) No absentee, provisional, or proxy voters are qualified to participate. Rule No. 6 (a) All candidates for nomination to federal or territorial office must be actively registered Republican voters, be on the electoral rolls of the United States Virgin Islands, and be bona fide residents of the United States Virgin Islands. Additionally, all Party candidates for federal or territorial office must adhere to the eligibility requirements of the office they seek as established by Constitution or territorial law. A candidate shall file a notarized nominating petition with the Caucus Committee via United States Postal Service registered mail containing the original signatures of no fewer than 20 registered Republican voters using the nominating petition prescribed by the Caucus Committee on or before 11:59 p.m. on the fourteenth day preceding the caucus. (b) All candidates for party office must be actively registered Republican voters, be on the electoral rolls of the United States Virgin Islands, and be bona fide residents of the United States Virgin Islands. No person convicted of a felony or other high crime and misdemeanor shall be eligible to hold party office or serve as a member of the State Committee. A candidate shall file a notarized nominating petition with the Caucus Committee via United States Postal Service registered mail containing the original signatures of no fewer than 20 registered Republican voters using the nominating petition prescribed by the Caucus Committee on or before 11:59 p.m. on the fourteenth day preceding the caucus. (c) No person may seek nomination for more than one federal or territorial office. (d) Persons signing a candidate’s nominating petition shall meet the eligibility requirements of Rule No. 3(a). Rule No. 7 (a) Each registered Republican voter, appearing on the electoral rolls of the United States Virgin Islands on the day of the call to caucus, shall be allowed to cast one ballot. (b) A record of each registered Republican voter casting a ballot shall be recorded in lists maintained at each district caucus precinct. No person shall be allowed to cast more than one ballot. All lists shall be open to inspection at the close of voting. (c) Questions of voter eligibility shall be determined by the district caucus supervisor. (d) No provisional, absentee, or proxy ballots shall be allowed. Rule No. 8 (a) The Caucus Committee shall provide one ballot box at each district caucus precinct. Such boxes may be of cardboard construction. The district caucus supervisor shall ensure that the ballot box is empty at the commencement of voting. (b) Each registered Republican voter, provided they meet the eligibility requirements of these rules, shall be given an official ballot and allowed to cast their vote in private. Each such voter shall then deposit the ballot in the ballot box provided for such purpose by the Caucus Committee. (c) As soon as practicable after the conclusion of voting, the district caucus supervisors shall empty the ballot boxes and proceed to count the votes. As soon thereafter, the results of the counting shall be reported in writing to the Caucus Committee. The report shall include the total number of voters, the number of ballots casts, and the number of ballots rejected or spoiled. All ballots, including spoiled ballots, voter participation lists, and count sheets shall be preserved until the Caucus Committee certifies the results as final. (d) Final certification of the results of the Republican Territorial Caucus shall be given by the Caucus Committee no later than the fifth day after the caucus. (e) Any tie in the results shall be determined by a flip of the coin. (f) A ballot shall be spoiled if (1) the ballot contains lewd, impertinent, or extraneous markings; (2) if the ballot is substantially torn or defaced; (3) if the ballot bears obvious evidence of tampering; (4) if more votes are cast than the number of candidates to be elected; and (5) if votes are cast for both a ticket and individual candidates. (g) No electioneering shall take place within district caucus precincts. This shall include the posting of signs and distribution of handbills. (h) A candidate may send a designated representative to observe the counting of ballots, but said representative shall not interfere with or object to the counting of ballots. Any dispute or challenge must be filed in compliance with Rule No. 2. Any person seeking to observe the counting of ballots on behalf of a candidate for the aforesaid offices shall present credentials designating them as representatives of their candidate to the district caucus supervisor for accreditation. The credentials must bear the original signature of the candidate. (i) The Caucus Committee shall be empowered to promulgate additional rules, regulations, and procedures based upon generally accepted election practices. Rule No. 9 (a) The chairman of the Caucus Committee may publish unofficial results upon the tallying of votes after the period of voting has concluded. (b) Official results shall be published by the chairman of the Caucus Committee upon final certification by the Caucus Committee. Notice shall also be given by the state chairman of the Republican Party of the United States Virgin Islands, who, together with the secretary of the State Committee, shall make a filing of the results to the supervisor of Elections. The filing shall include the full name and address of all candidates nominated for federal and territorial office and all candidates elected to party office.