Convention delegate vote counting

I ran into a fellow who knew people from the Republican Party in the 1960’s when I was active.

I was president of the San Francisco Young Republicans in 1963 when it was the largest club in California and one of the largest in the U.S.; 4,000 members.  It was large because of all the young single hetero men and women flocking to the city.  They joined because we had great parties and the young Democrats were bores, boors and boars.

I went to several state Young Republican conventions where each county delegation (58 counties) voted as a block.  A few of us acted as ‘intelligence central’ finding out how each delegation was planning to vote and letting our candidates know.  I got to be a good vote counter.  

Trouble is, that skill was last used in the national conventions of the 1950’s when states had uncommitted delegates.  That changed with primary voting in most of the country and caucuses in the Democrat Party.  States become committed to candidates long before the conventions which are now public revelries and campaign kickoff events.