[okie01]

After the first round of voting, all delegates are "released" and can vote for whomever they want.

I believe the delegates from some states are bound thru the second ballot. A few may be bound through three ballots.

[Stonewall Jackson]

I hadn't heard that. Everything I've read has said that the delegates are "released" after the first vote.

But it would make sense in a way to keep them tied to their candidate for the first couple of rounds. Let's say that after the first round of votes, Candidate A is 100 votes ahead of Candidate B, but still 150 votes shy of securing the nomination because Candidate C controls those deciding delegates. It would make sense that they would give the candidates time to broker some sort of deal (like giving Candidate C the Vice Presidency in exchange for his delegates) instead of turning it into a massive free-for-all.

It could turn out to be a very interesting summer.