Document:National Constitution, Bylaws, and Convention Rules 1974: Difference between revisions

LIBERTARIAN PARTY

a non-profit corporation

The name of the corporation shall be the "Libertarian Party", hereinafter referred to as the "Party".

The duration of the Party shall be perpetual.

The purpose for which the Party is organized is to implement and give voice to the principles embodied in the Statement of Principles by:

a. Nominating candidates for the offices of President and Vice President of the United States and supporting can­didates for political office.

c. Entering into political information activities.

Section 1. The officers of the Party shall be a Chairman, a Vice Chairman, a Secretary and a Treasurer. All of these officers shall be elected at a Regular Convention of the Party by the attending delegates and shall take office immediately upon the close of the convention and serve there­after until the final adjournment of the next Regular Con­vention.

Section 2. No offices shall be combined.

Section 9. An officer may be suspended, that is, denied the authority to perform his specific functions, by a two­-thirds vote of the Executive Committee.  The office of a suspended officer shall be declared vacant, unless the suspended officer appeals his suspension to the Judiciary Committee within three days of suspension. The Executive Committee shall appoint new officers if vacancies or sus­pensions occur, such officers to complete the term of the office vacated, or the time during which the suspension is in effect, as applicable.

Section 1. The Executive Committee of the Party shall be composed of the following:

a.  The four elected officers of the Party and the immedi­ate past Chairman;

Section 6. The Executive Committee shall meet in a manner, time and place as prescribed in the Bylaws.

Section 1. The Party shall hold a convention every year, at a time and place selected by the Executive Committee.

Section 2. Conventions held in odd-numbered years shall be designated Regular conventions and held sometime during the period July through October of that year; those held in the even-numbered years shall be designated Non-Regular Conven­tions. All business required to be conducted at Regular conventions shall be conducted at Regular conventions only.

Section 5. Duly selected alternates may be freely substitut­ed for any members of their delegation who are temporarily or permanently absent from the floor, provided the proceedure has been clearly specified by the affiliated party in advance of the convention, and the Secretary has been pro­vided with lists of the affiliated party's delegates and alternates, as well as a copy of the affiliated party's rules governing substitutions.

There shall be a Platform Committee, a Constitution, Bylaws and Rules Committee, and a Credentials Committee for each Reg­ular Convention. There shall be a standing Judicial Committee.

Section 1. The Constitution, Bylaws and Rules Committee shall consist of ten Party members appointed by the Executive Com­mittee.

Section 4. The Judicial Committee shall be appointed by and exclusive of the Executive Committee for the same term as the Executive Corm1ittee and shall be composed of nine mem­bers; any five members shall constitute a quorum,

Section 1. The Party shall adopt a Platform at its first Reg­ular Convention. Said Platform shall include, but not be limited to, a Statement of Principles and the implementation of those principles contained in the Statement, in the form of Planks.

Section 2. The Statement of Principles affirms that philosophy upon which the Libertarian Party is founded, by which it shall be sustained, and through which Liberty shall prevail.

Section 3. The Platform, other than the Statement of Principles, may be amended by deletion, substitution, or addition of any Plank. A Plank may be deleted by a simple majority vote of the Convention delegates in session and voting. The substi­tution of a new Plank for an old Plank, or the addition of a new Plank, shall require approval by a vote of two-thirds of the delegates in session and voting.

Section 1. Nominations of candidates for President and Vice-President of the United States may be made only at the Regular Convention held in the year preceeding the Presidential election year.  

Section 2. No candidate may be nominated who is ineligible to serve as President under the United States Constitution, or who has not expressed a willingness to accept the nomination of the Party.  

Section 5. The Party's nominee for Vice-President shall be chosen by the same proceedure as for the Presidential nominee, except that the Presidential nominee shall have the power to veto any candidate for Vice-President with whom he does not wish to run.  

Section 1. The Executive Committee of the Party shall char­ter affiliate parties from those organizations requesting such status in each state and the District of Columbia. No organization shall be so chartered which does not rat­ify the Statement of Principles of the Party. No affili­ate party shall endorse a candidate for President or Vice­President of the United States other than those elected to candidacy at a Regular Convention of the Party.

The autonomy of the affiliated parties shall not be abridged by the Executive Committee or other committee of the Party, except as provided herein.

The Judicial Committee shall rule to either re­voke the charter of the affiliate party or to reinstate the charter, with all rights and privileges pertaining thereto, no later than ninety days prior to a Regular Convention. Should the Judicial Committee fail to rule, the affiliate party's charter shall be reinstated with all the rights and privileges pertaining thereto.

There shall be two classes of membership for the purposes outlined in this Constitution:

a.  National members shall be those persons whose national dues are current.

b.  Affiliated members shall be those persons whose affiliated party dues are current.

In addition to the responsibilities set forth in Articles IV and X, the Judicial Committee shall be responsible for the fol­lowing:

a. Disciplinary actions against any Party member shall be in accordance with Robert's Rules of Order, Newly Revised, except as otherwise provided herein.

If the Plank is vetoed by the Judicial Committee, it will be declared null and void, but can be reinstated in the Platform by a three-fourths vote of the Regular Convention.

Section 1. The Executive Committee shall promulgate the Bylaws in accordance with applicable law.

Section 2. The Bylaws of the Party may be amended by a majority vote of the delegates at any Regular Convention of the Party, or by a vote of three-fourths of the Executive Committee at any other time.

Conventions of the Party shall be governed by the current rules and Bylaws, unless otherwise amended at a Regular Convention.

Section 1. This Constitution may be amended by a two-thirds vote of the delegates at any Regular Convention.

Section 2. Article VIII, Section 2, shall not be amended by a vote of less than seven-eighths of the delegates at a Regular Convention (after 1972).

Section 1. Organizations which wish to become affiliated par­ties with the Libertarian Party shall apply for official des­ignation on a standard petition form, as adopted by the Exec­utive Committee; which petition shall be signed by not less than 10 members of the organization residing within the ap­propriate state.

Section 2. There shall be no more than one affiliated party in any one state or the District of Columbia, and the affili­ated party shall determine who shall be the delegates from its respective state to all Regular Conventions.

Section 1. The Party Chairman shall be the chief executive officer of the Party, holding the full powers and duties ac­corded the office by the Constitution.

Section 2. The Vice-Chairman shall be the chief assistant to the Chairman, performing such duties as the Chairman shall prescribe, and holding such executive powers as the Chairman shall delegate.

Section 4. The Treasurer shall receive all monies paid to the Party, and shall deposit the same in such bank or banks as have been designated by the Executive Committee, and shall disburse said monies upon order of the Executive Committee. He shall make an annual financial report to the Executive Committee. He shall perform all duties required of his of­fice by applicable federal and state law.

Section 1. The Executive Committee shall have such powers and duties as are prescribed in the Constitution.

Section 2. The Executive Committee shall meet at such times and places as may be determined by action of the Committee, by call of the Chairman, or by the written request of one­third or more of the members of the Executive Committee. A written notice of the time and place of all meetings shall be mailed to each member of the Executive Committee not less than thirty days prior to said meeting.

Section 5. Except as otherwise provided in the Constitution, a majority vote of those present at a meeting shall rule.

Section 1. The Chairman of the Constitution, Bylaws and Rules Committee and of the Platform Committee shall be the presiding officer of his respective Committee.

Section 2. A majority vote of those of the Committee members present is necessary for a "do-pass" recommendation, and in the case of the Platform Committee, a majority must approve each specific Plank separately.

Section 6. More than one-half of the membership of each Com­mittee shall constitute a quorum.

Section 1. The fiscal term of the Party shall begin on the first day following the adjournment of each Convention.  

Section 2. The Executive Committee shall cause an efficient double entry system of accounts to be installed and maintained.

Section 4. The Executive Committee shall have the power to designate the depository of all funds of the Party, and shall appoint such officers and employees as in its judgement may seem advisable to deposit and withdraw funds from said de­pository.

Robert's Rules of Order, _Newly Revised shall be the par­liamentary authority for all matters of procedure not spec­ifically covered in the Constitution, Bylaws or Rules of the Party.

Fees for membership in the Party shall be set by the Exec­utive Committee and amended from time to time as the Execu­tive Committee deems necessary.

Amendments to the Bylaws shall be in accordance with the Constitution.

Section 1. The Secretary, acting on behalf of the Executive Committee, shall report the number of delegates registered in attendance and eligible to vote directly after the open­ing of the first business session, and at the beginning of each succeeding session.

Section 2. All delegates shall be eligible to vote on all mat­ters. In order to vote on a given matter, a delegate must be present on the floor at the time the vote is taken. Each delegate present shall have one vote.

Section 5. All members must wear the identification badge is­sued upon registration in order to be admitted to the conven­tion hall.

Section 1. On all matters, except the election of Party officers and the Executive Committee, and the nomination of Presidential and Vice-Presidential candidates, voting will be on a voice­vote basis. If ten or more delegates object to the Chairman ' s ruling on the outcome of a voice-vote, a roll-call vote will be held.

Section 2. The Chairman may require any motion offered from the convention floor to be: in writing, signed by the mover and submitted to the Secretary.

Section 1. The State Chairman shall serve as chairman of his delegation, unless that delegation selects some other member of that delegation to serve as its chairman, and so notifies the Secretary.  

Section 2. In cases where a roll-call vote is required, polling shall be by state. The Secretary will ask for the vote from each state in alphabetical order, and the chairman of each delegation shall report the vote for his state. Convention seating will be by state delegations. If someone challenges the vote reported by any state's chairman, the Secretary shall poll the delegates from that state individually.  

Section 1. The votes required for passage of amendments to the Constitution, Bylaws, Rules, Statement of Principles and Plat­form shall be as specified in the Constitution.

Section 2. A quorum shall consist of 40% of the total number of delegates registered in attendance at the Convention.

Section 1. The Chairman of the Constitution, Bylaws and Rules Committee shall report the Committee's recommendations to the floor. The Convention Chairman shall open the report for dis­cussion. Any delegate may propose an amendment, or series of amendments; said amendment(s) to be presented in the form of a motion to add, delete, or alter any portion of the report. Each proposed amendment shall be debated and voted upon sep­arately, with a maximum of ten minutes discussion on any one amendment. A simple majority shall suffice to pass any pro­posed amendment.

Section 2. When all proposed amendments have been considered, the delegates shall then vote to accept or reject the commit­tee's report, as amended. A simple majority shall suffice to adopt the Bylaws and Rules, a two-thirds vote of the delegates shall be required for amendments to the Constitution.

Section 3. At any time during the debate on a given amendment, any delegate may move to close debate on that amendment. This motion is not debatable, and requires a two-thirds vote to pass. If it passes, the Convention shall proceed immediately to vote on the amendment at hand. Similarly, any delegate may move at any time to close debate on the Report itself, and a vote on this motion shall be taken immediately, with two-thirds required to pass. On proceedural votes, such as cloture, the ruling of the Chair shall be final.

Section 1. The current Platform shall serve as the basis of all future Platforms. At Regular Conventions, the existing Platform may be amended. Any proposed addition to the Platform must be approved by two-thirds of the delegates present and voting. Any portion of the Platform may be deleted by a simple majority vote of the delegates present and voting.

Section 2. The Platform Committee shall meet to consider proposed amendments, prior to the Convention, and shall issue a report to the Convention. Its recommendations shall be reported to the floor on a plank-by-plank basis, and each shall be debated and voted upon separately, in the following order:

Section 7. At any time during the discussion on any Plank, any delegate may move to close debate on the Plank or amend­ment under discussion; a two-thirds vote is required to close debate, and the ruling of the Chairman on the vote is final.

Section 1. Nominations for the four Party offices shall be from the floor, with any delegate eligible to run for any office. For each office, a majority vote will be necessary and sufficient for election; in cases where no candidate re­ceives a majority, runoff votes will be held, dropping the candidate with the least votes after each ballot.

Section 2. Nominations for the seven at-large Executive Com­mittee positions shall also be from the floor, with all del­egates eligible for nomination·. Each delegate shall cast seven votes in electing the seven at-large members, but may not cast more than one vote for any nominee. The seven nominees receiving the highest vote totals shall be elected, providing each received votes from a majority of those pre­sent and voting.

Section 4. The Executive Committee members from each of the 8 Regions shall be elected by the delegates from that Region, provided there are at least five such delegates present, in caucus, after the election of the four officers and the seven members-at-large. If a Region is represented by fewer than five delegates, the incumbent Regional Representative will remain in office until a new Regional Representative is elect­ed at a Regional caucus to be held within ninety days of the last day of the Regular Convention. The incumbent Represen­tative shall call said caucus, and preside over it. Each Region's delegates may elect their representative by what­ever manner they choose, provided all delegates present from that Region are given equal voice in the selection.

The Libertarian Party's Presidential and Vice-Presidential nominees shall be chosen according to the proceedure described in Article IX of the Constitution.