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Libertarian Party of California Membership History: Difference between revisions
Libertarian Party of California Membership History (view source)
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Records of "dues-paying membership" and the related category of "[[Central Committee|central committee]] membership" have not been maintained and reported consistently through the LPC's history. For some periods, only fragmentary information is currently available, though it is possible that further research will turn up more information. | Records of "dues-paying membership" and the related category of "[[Central Committee|central committee]] membership" have not been maintained and reported consistently through the [[Libertarian Party of California|LPC]]'s history. For some periods, only fragmentary information is currently available, though it is possible that further research will turn up more information. | ||
==Ways of Counting "Members"== | ==Ways of Counting "Members"== | ||
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===State Dues-Paying Members=== | ===State Dues-Paying Members=== | ||
There has been some sort of dues-paying membership since the beginning of the LPC. The very earliest reports of the number of "Libertarians" in California would actually be referring to national membership, since the LPC was not formally organized until | There has been some sort of dues-paying membership since the beginning of the LPC. The very earliest reports of the number of "Libertarians" in California would actually be referring to national membership, since the LPC was not formally organized until 1973. But since that time, except for the years that the LPC participated in the [[Unified Membership Program]], state and national membership have been separate, and the counts of members of these two types have often been significantly different. | ||
===All Financial Contributors=== | ===All Financial Contributors=== | ||
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==History of Membership Counts== | ==History of Membership Counts== | ||
[[File:CA_Membership- | [[File:CA_Membership-Graph_2024-02.png]] | ||
Sections of this graph where counts were available as part of a periodic series that appear to be comparable over time are shown as a curved line. A blue line represents central committee membership. For periods when counts of a larger number of contributors who did not all qualify as voting members were also available, a second line is shown in green.<ref>A spreadsheet containing the values corresponding to this graph can be found at: [[Media:CA_state-membership-data_2023-03-11.ods]]</ref> | |||
* Counts from late 1990 through late 1992 were reported contemporaneously in the newsletter [[California Libertarian News]]. | * Counts from late 1990 through late 1992 were reported contemporaneously in the newsletter [[California Libertarian News]]. | ||
* Counts from 1997 through 2003 are from tables posted contemporaneously on the LPC web site.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20030814152125/http://www.ca.lp.org:80/lpc-hist-ccm.html</ref> The jump from about 2300 to about 4500 at the beginning of this period represents the effect of joining UMP. | * Counts from 1997 through 2003 are from tables posted contemporaneously on the LPC web site.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20030814152125/http://www.ca.lp.org:80/lpc-hist-ccm.html</ref> The jump from about 2300 to about 4500 at the beginning of this period represents the effect of joining [[Unified Membership Plan|UMP]]. | ||
* Counts from 2013 through 2016 are estimates generated from a 2019 copy of the membership database, taking into account transactional data still available in the database at that time, but may not be exactly the same as would have been reported at the time if membership reports had actually been run during those years. | *Counts from 2013 through 2016 are estimates generated from a 2019 copy of the membership database, taking into account transactional data still available in the database at that time, but may not be exactly the same as would have been reported at the time if membership reports had actually been run during those years. | ||
* Counts since mid-2017 are from [[Libertarian Party of California Membership Reports|monthly reports]] distributed by the LPC Secretary. | *Counts since mid-2017 are from [[Libertarian Party of California Membership Reports|monthly reports]] distributed by the LPC Secretary.<ref>Changes were made in the requirements for central committee membership at the 2021 convention, and the data to properly calculate the count based on the new definition was not immediately available. In addition, the formula used in generating the reports was not properly updated, and this was not corrected until April 2022. As a result, variations in the count from May 2021 through April 2022 cannot be assumed to be accurate.</ref> | ||
Other data points, shown as small gray squares, are numbers taken from a variety of types of other reports, and in general the specific definition of membership that was used is not known. | Other data points, shown as small gray squares, are numbers taken from a variety of types of other reports, and in general the specific definition of membership that was used is not known. | ||
==History of Dues Levels== | ==History of Dues Levels== | ||
* 1980s - $15/year for basic voting membership | *1980s - $15/year for basic voting membership | ||
* 1989 - $25/year default, $15/year minimum, $500 life membership | *1989 - $25/year default, $15/year minimum, $500 life membership | ||
* 2007 - [[:File:LPC 2007.png|California Freedom news clip]] of dues returned to counts in California | *2007 - [[:File:LPC 2007.png|California Freedom news clip]] of dues returned to counts in California | ||
* current - $25/year for basic voting membership, $1000 life membership | *current - $25/year for basic voting membership, $1000 life membership | ||
In addition, various "premium" levels have been offered from time to time, but these had no effect on a person's voting status or the reports of the number of members. | In addition, various "premium" levels have been offered from time to time, but these had no effect on a person's voting status or the reports of the number of members. | ||
==Relationship to National Membership== | ==Relationship to National Membership == | ||
Except during the UMP period (approx 1997-2003), dues-paying national and state memberships have been separate. A person could be a national member and not a state member, or vice versa. There was always, of course, considerable overlap. But at times the number of national members was larger, and at other times the number of state members was larger. | Except during the UMP period (approx 1997-2003), dues-paying national and state memberships have been separate. A person could be a national member and not a state member, or vice versa. There was always, of course, considerable overlap. But at times the number of national members was larger, and at other times the number of state members was larger. | ||
[[File:CA_national-membership- | [[File:CA_national-membership-graph_2024-11-20.png]] | ||
Note: The exact way that the national party determines who is a dues-paying member for various purpose has varied over the years, and | Note: The exact way that the national party determines who is a dues-paying member for various purpose has varied over the years, and for a while there were at least two counts regularly published. This graph is mostly based on the traditional count of individuals who signed the membership certification and were "current" on their dues (including life members). A different rule, usually referred to by the term "sustaining" members (sometimes abbreviated "BSM", for "[what the] Bylaws [define as] Sustaining Member"), based on dues received during the past 12 months (but still including life members), has been used in recent years for purposes like allocation of national delegates. As illustrated by the period 2017-2023, where this graph shows both counts, although these counts differed somewhat they tracked pretty closely over time. In early 2023 the national office stopped reporting the traditional number, so only the latter number is shown. | ||
===References=== | ===References=== | ||
[[Category: California State Party Membership]] | [[Category: California State Party Membership]] | ||
<references /> | |||