Problem: If a Libertarian Party candidate for President were to win 5% of the vote (under present rules), that would qualify the next Libertarian Party candidate for President for millions of dollars in taxpayer money and lead to many DC organizations weighing the chances of success and cost to takeover our Party.
Solution: Raise the cost and reduce the chances of success of a hostile takeover attempt so that no one even tries.
ARTICLE 11: CONVENTIONS
1. Regular Conventions:
The Party shall hold a Regular Convention every two years, at a time and place selected by the National Committee. Regular Conventions shall be held sometime during the period of July of an odd-numbered year through August of an even-numbered year. All business required to be conducted at Regular Conventions shall be conducted at Regular Conventions only.
2. Non-Regular Conventions:
In any year which does not include a Regular Convention, a non-regular convention may be held at the discretion of the National Committee.
3. Delegates:
a. Delegates shall be required to be members of either the Party or an affiliate party. At all Regular Conventions delegates shall be those so accredited who have registered at the Convention. At all Non-Regular Conventions, any person who wishes to attend may do so.
b. Any federal or state law to the contrary notwithstanding, delegates to a Regular Convention shall be selected by a method adopted by each affiliate party; provided however, that only members of the Party as defined in these Bylaws, or members of the affiliate party as defined in the constitution or bylaws of such affiliate party, shall be eligible to vote for the selection of delegates to a Regular Convention.
c. If the previous Party candidate for President received enough votes to qualify the next Party candidate for President for any taxpayer-funded subsidy, then only those delegates who have been members of the Party prior to the previous Presidential general election shall be eligible to vote on proposed amendments to the Bylaws and for Presidential and Vice-Presidential nominees. All delegates, including delegates who first became members after the previous Presidential general election, shall be eligible to vote on all other matters, including Platform proposals, elections for party office, and resolutions.
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5 comments:
Didn't this get brought up last year and either voted down or ignored?
This reeks of paranoia and isn't necessary.
This should be addressed in the off-cycle convention after it becomes necessary.
Until then, it's frivolous.
Doesn't this presume the LP would accept the money? It should not, and we might very well adopt a by-law forbidding acceptance of such funds. That would solve the problem of avoiding takeover.
Jon,
It's not the party that gets the money. It's the candidate. The party has no power whatsoever to prevent the feds from giving our money to the candidate.
M Carling
The LP could forbid a nominee to accept such funds, or refuse to nominate anyone who did. That was what I meant.
Jon,
The feds give the candidate our money AFTER the nomination. There is absolutely nothing the party can do to stop it. Even if the party could, it misses the crux of the problem. At that point, the party would have already been taken over and under the control of whatever organization was going after the money.
M
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