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DELEGATE 411
Congratulations on being selected to represent your state or territory at the 2008 Republican National Convention! Serving as a delegate or alternate delegate is one of the most important ways Americans can directly participate in the electoral process. Together, you and your fellow delegates will ratify the Republican platform and rules, and vote for our Party’s nominees for president and vice president of the United States. Together, you will make history as the GOP comes together for its most successful convention ever in Minneapolis-Saint Paul.
There is a lot of planning that will go into your trip – and your state delegation and our convention team here in Minnesota are ready to help. We recommend that the 2,380 delegates and 2,230 alternate delegates consider extending their convention stay to take it all in. The official convention proceedings and delegation events will take up much of your time, and there is so much to see and do in and around the host cities.
Your 2008 delegate experience promises to be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. You will feel the energy and pulse of a nominating convention. You will come to know the host cities and share with the people of Minnesota their excitement as they welcome an anticipated 45,000 guests. You will see and hear from GOP leadership – and return to your own community an authority on our party’s message and the nominee’s vision for the future.
 Sample Responsibilities and Credentials
The primary responsibility of a delegate to the 2008 Republican National Convention is to participate in the official proceedings of the party’s 39th presidential nominating convention. Convention sessions will be held at the Xcel Energy Center, located in downtown Saint Paul. Delegates and alternate delegates will receive credentials that will allow entry into the complex, along with official delegation seating information.
Each day’s program will highlight the Republican Party’s optimistic message and the nominee’s vision for the future. Delegates will hear from GOP leadership, elected officials, and other special guests to be announced in the coming months. Delegates will ratify the Party platform and rules that will guide the GOP for the next four years. In the roll call of the states, delegates will cast a vote for the Republican Party’s nominees for president and vice president of the United States.
In addition to the convention’s official proceedings, delegates will have responsibilities to their state delegation. Delegations often travel together, stay together at the same hotels, and plan delegation specific outings in and around the host cities. Individualized state pages, accessible in the margin on the right, will provide delegates with their delegation’s up-to-date scheduling information.
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 Sample Schedule and Activities
Each day of the convention program will have a different focus and schedule of events, which will be announced in the coming months. Each day will, however, have certain things in common.
Most mornings, delegations will meet for breakfast at their hotels for a briefing on the day’s events and a report from state and party leadership. Later in the day, delegates and alternate delegates will head to the Xcel Energy Center for the official convention program. Delegates’ transportation to and from the convention will be supplied by official transportation providers.
Each afternoon, many delegates will submit the highlights of their day or their thoughts on the delegate experience for posting on the convention’s official website. These delegate diaries will offer digital delegates and those participating from afar a firsthand perspective. After hours and evenings in the host cities may be filled with a delegation outing to one of Minneapolis-Saint Paul’s award-winning restaurants or critically acclaimed theaters.
Individualized state pages, accessible in the margin on the right, will provide delegates with their delegation’s up-to-date scheduling information.
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