No Quorum Means No Quorum By Gary Person

What happens if the Republican Party of New Mexico fails to make quorum again?

The answer should be simple: follow the rules.

There is no “three strikes” rule in Robert’s Rules of Order. There is no rule saying that if the State Central Committee fails quorum three times, the Executive Committee automatically takes over. Repeated failure to make quorum may be a serious leadership problem, but it does not create new authority.

New Mexico law requires political parties to operate under filed rules. The RPNM Uniform State Rules say the State Central Committee is the governing body of the Republican Party of New Mexico. Those same rules allow the SCC to delegate authority to the State Executive Committee, but only if that delegation actually exists and does not conflict with law.

That is the key point: delegation must be real, written, and rule-based. It cannot be invented after quorum fails.

The USRs also set a clear SCC quorum requirement: two-thirds of SCC members representing two-thirds of New Mexico counties, present in person or by proper proxy. If that quorum is not met, the SCC has not met the rule’s threshold to conduct SCC business. The rules also state that no Uniform State Rule may be suspended at the state or county level.

So if quorum fails again, the answer is not executive takeover. The answer is to adjourn, recess if proper, issue a proper call, secure attendance, gather lawful proxies, and try again.

The recent court order involving RPNM reinforces the same principle. The court recognized that party bylaws can be enforceable as a contract between members and the organization, and that requiring party officers to follow those bylaws is not an injury to them.

Even the national Republican rules show the same standard. When the Republican Party wants an Executive Committee to have authority between meetings, that authority is written into the rules. It is not assumed, invented, or created by frustration.

Before anyone claims the Executive Committee can act for the SCC after repeated failed quorum attempts, they should answer four questions:

What rule creates a “three strikes” quorum exception?

What rule lets the Executive Committee replace the SCC?

When did the SCC delegate that authority?

Where are the minutes showing it?

If those answers do not exist, then the authority does not exist.

Republicans cannot demand election integrity from the public while accepting rule-bending inside our own party. Process matters, especially when the outcome is inconvenient.

No quorum means no quorum.

Not three strikes.

Not executive takeover.

Not rulemaking by convenience.

Just the rules. 

Note: Gary Person is a former New Mexico Republican Party State Central Committee Member and Republican activist seeking party reform.