Convention Rules

RULE 1: ORDER OF BUSINESS

The standing order of business for a Regular Convention shall be as follows:

1. Call to Order

2. Membership Secretary’s report

3. Adoption of agenda

4. Reading of Resolutions

5. Adjunct Committee Report

6. Recess

7. Resolutions

8. Adjunct Committee Report, continued.

9. Amendments from the floor for the subject of the Adjunct Committee Report

10. Nomination of candidates

11. Election of Party Officers and at-large members of the Executive Committee (odd-numbered years only or to fill a vacant position in even-numbered years)

12. Election of Judicial Committee

13. Other business

RULE 2: VOTING ELIGIBILITY

  1. The Membership Secretary 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.

  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.

  3. Duly selected alternates may be freely substituted for any members of their delegation, except for ex-officio delegates, who are temporarily or permanently absent from the floor, provided the procedure has been clearly specified by the affiliate party in advance of the Convention, and the Membership Secretary has been provided with lists of the affiliate party’s delegates and alternates as well as a copy of the affiliate party’s rules governing substitutions.

  4. An alternate, upon certification by the Membership Secretary, may function as a delegate whenever a delegate of the same county has not been registered in attendance. This status shall continue until the absent delegate registers in attendance. If the affiliate party has made no provision for filling delegate vacancies, the alternate substitute shall be decided by drawing lots.

  5. If the affiliate party has made no other provision, an alternate may temporarily vote in place of a delegate from the same county while he or she has the written consent of that delegate; however, no delegate may cast more than one vote on a question.

  6. All members must wear the identification badge issued upon registration in order to be admitted to the Convention hall.

RULE 3: VOTING PROCEDURE AND MOTIONS

  1. On all matters voting will be by voice vote except in the election of Party Officers and at-large members of the Executive Committee and the nomination of candidates. If ten or more delegates object to the Chair’s ruling on the outcome of a voice vote, a counted vote will be held.

  2. The Chair may require any motion offered from the Convention floor to be in writing, signed by the mover, and submitted to the Recording Secretary.

RULE 4: ADJUNCT COMMITTEE PROCEDURES

  1. A majority vote of those 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.

  2. One-fifth (1/5) of the members of an Adjunct Committee may join together to issue a minority report regarding any recommendation of the committee.

RULE 5: DEBATING AND VOTING – ADJUNCT COMMITTEE REPORTS

  1. Any addition to or alteration of the Platform must be approved by two-thirds (2/3) of the Convention delegates present and voting, however any plank may be deleted by a simple majority.

  2. An Adjunct Committee, having met before each regular Convention to prepare a report containing its recommendations on the subject proper to the committee (as defined by the Bylaws) shall set forth the order in which its recommendations shall be considered.

  3. The Chair of the Adjunct Committee, or the Chair’s designee, shall report each recommendation of the Committee to the Convention separately. The Adjunct Committee Chair, or designee, shall read the recommendation and may have up to two minutes to explain the intent or purpose of the proposal.

  4. Recommendations for which there is no minority report shall be debated and voted upon in the following manner:

a. The Convention Chair shall open the recommendation to discussion and amendment for a period of time. For a Bylaws and Convention rules recommendation, this period is fifteen (15) minutes. For a Platform recommendation, this period is twenty (20) minutes.

b. If debate ceases during the time allotted or a motion to call the question is adopted, the Chair shall then call for a vote on the recommendation.

c. If the allotted time expired during debate, the Convention Chair shall allow for a motion to extend time, such motion requiring a two-thirds (2/3) majority for approval. Failing such time extension, a vote will be taken on whether to bring the recommendation (as amended, if this is the case) to a final vote. If a majority vote is in favor of immediate consideration, the vote to accept or reject the recommendation must follow immediately. If a majority vote is against immediate consideration, the proposed recommendation shall be tabled for later consideration after all other recommendations receiving a favorable majority vote from the Adjunct Committee have been considered.

5. Recommendations for which there is a minority report shall be debated and voted upon in the following manner:

a. Spokespersons for both the majority and minority positions shall each have two minutes to present their views.

b. The Chair shall then open consideration of both positions for five minutes during which time any delegates may express their views without offering amendments. After five minutes, there will be a vote on which of the two reports shall be considered for purposes of adopting a recommendation. The report receiving the greater number of votes shall then be discussed and voted upon in the manner described in Section 4.

6. After all Adjunct Committee recommendations have received initial consideration, any delegate may propose amendments. The delegate may take up to two minutes to state and explain the proposal, with debating and voting to proceed as described in Section 4.

7. Finally, if time permits, proposals which were considered by the Adjunct Committee but which received an unfavorable vote from a majority of the Committee, may be considered, with a spokesperson for the minority position giving the reasons in favor and the Adjunct Committee Chair or other representative of the majority position giving the reasons why it was voted down, before the proposal is taken to the floor for debate.

8. Challenges of adopted Party planks believed by 10% of the delegates to be in conflict with the Statement of Principles shall be referred in writing, during the Convention, to the Judicial Committee by the delegates requesting action for consideration. The challenge shall specify in what manner the plank is believed to be in conflict. The Judicial Committee shall consider the challenge, decide whether the Statement of Principles is conformed to and report their findings and reasons to the Convention. If the plank is vetoed by the Judicial Committee, it will be declared null and void but can be reinstated by a 3/4 vote of the Convention.

RULE 7: RESOLUTIONS

  1. Resolutions must be approved by a 2/3 vote.

Resolutions must not be in conflict with the Statement of Principles. Challenges of such adopted Resolutions believed by 10% of the delegates to be in conflict with the Statement of Principles shall be referred in writing, during the Convention, to the Judicial Committee by the delegates requesting action for consideration. The challenge shall specify in what manner the Resolution is believed to be in conflict. The Judicial Committee shall consider the challenge, decide whether the Statement of Principles is conformed to, and report their findings and reasons to the Convention. If the Resolution is vetoed by the Judicial Committee, it will be declared null and void but can be reinstated by a 3/4 vote of the Convention.

RULE 8: ELECTION OF PARTY OFFICERS AND EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

  1. Nominations for Party Officers and at-large members with designated duties of the Executive Committee shall be from the floor. For each office where there are two or more nominees for the seats and None-of-the-Above, the election shall be conducted by using the Multiple Preferential Vote system. Otherwise, with one nominee and None-of-the-Above the election shall be chosen by majority vote.

  2. Nominations for at-large members without designated duties of the Executive Committee shall be from the floor. The election shall be conducted by use of the Single Transferable Vote system. Delegates may vote for None-of-the-Above once for each seat open.

  3. Nominations for Judicial Committee members shall be from the floor. The election shall be conducted by use of the Single Transferable Vote system. Delegates may vote for None-of-the- Above once for each seat open.

  4. Nominations for each seat may be made by any delegate present on the floor, provided he or she has the candidate’s permission. Nominating speeches shall be limited in duration as follows:

a. Chair: one two-minute nominating speech, two thirty- second seconding speeches;

b. All others: one one-minute nominating speech, one thirty- second seconding speeches.

  1. In any election where there are no barriers to nomination other than the consent of the candidate and where the option for None-of-the-Above is provided, any votes cast for a person not nominated shall be counted as votes for None-of-the-Above.

RULE 9: NOMINATION OF CANDIDATES

  1. Candidate nominations shall be from the floor.

  2. The Party’s nominee for single seat offices where there are two or more nominees for a single seat and None-of-the-above shall be chosen by the Multiple Preferential Vote system. Otherwise, with one nominee and None-of-the-Above the nominee shall be chosen by majority vote.

  3. The Party’s nominee for multi-seat offices shall be chosen by the Single Transferable Vote system. Delegates may vote for None-of-the-Above once for each seat open.

  4. Nominations for each office may be made by any delegate present on the floor, provided he or she has the candidate’s permission. Nominating speeches shall be limited in duration as follows:

a. Governor and US Senator: one two-minute nominating speech, two thirty-second seconding speeches;

b. All others: one one-minute nominating speech, one thirty- second seconding speeches.

RULE 10: MULTIPLE PREFERENTIAL VOTE SYSTEM

  1. A method of electing one winner within a multi-candidate field.

  2. The Recording Secretary shall distribute paper ballots to the delegates.

  3. To vote, each delegate shall write the names of the candidates in order of preference on the ballot with number one being the delegate’s first choice. Delegates do not have to list all candidates.

  4. Five minutes shall be allowed for the delegates to complete their ballots and return them to the Recording Secretary.

  5. At the end of five minutes the Recording Secretary shall count the number of ballots received and the number of first choice votes for each candidate and place each ballot in a stack sorted by the first choice candidates.

  6. If the number of first choice votes cast for a candidate is a majority of the votes cast, that candidate is declared elected. If no candidate has received a majority, the candidate with the lowest number of first choice votes is eliminated. Each of the ballots with that candidate listed as the first choice are transferred to the candidate who is listed as the second choice on that ballot. If any transferred ballot has no second choice, that ballot is discarded and no longer counted towards calculating a majority. If any candidate now has a majority of the remaining ballots, that candidate is elected.

  7. If no candidate has received a majority, the candidate that now has the lowest number of votes is eliminated. Each of the ballots with that candidate listed as the choice being counted is transferred to the candidate who is listed as the next choice on that ballot. If any ballot has no next choice, that ballot is discarded and no longer counted towards calculating a majority.

  8. If any candidate now has a majority of the remaining ballots, that candidate is elected. If not, repeat Section 8 and 9 until one candidate has a majority.

  9. The Recording Secretary may establish procedures to calculate the results by computer.

RULE 11: SINGLE TRANSFERABLE VOTE SYSTEM

  1. A proportional method of electing multiple winners within a multi-seat body.

  2. The Recording Secretary shall distribute paper ballots to the delegates.

  3. To vote, each delegate shall write the names of the candidates in order of preference on the ballot with number one being the delegate’s first choice. Delegates do not have to list all candidates.

  4. Five minutes shall be allowed for the delegates to complete their ballots and return them to the Recording Secretary.

  5. At the end of five minutes the Recording Secretary shall count the number of ballots received and the number of first choice votes for each candidate and place each ballot in a stack sorted by the first choice candidates.

  6. A threshold number of votes needed to win is calculated by dividing the number of valid ballots received by the number of positions to fill plus one then adding one and round down. Mathematically, T=(V/(P+1))+1; where P=the number of positions to be filled, V=the number of votes cast, and T=the threshold number required to be elected.

  7. Any candidates whose first-choice vote total is equal to or greater than the threshold number are declared elected.

  8. If all the positions are filed at this time, the election is over. If not, proceed to Section 9.

  9. For each winning candidate, the number of first choice votes cast for winning candidate in excess of the threshold number are divided by the totals number of first choice votes cast for the winning candidate and the fractional votes are distributed to the next choice candidate on each ballot that was cast for the winning candidate as described in Section 13 — Transfer of Fractional Votes. Any candidates whose first choice votes plus transferred fractional votes is now equal to or greater than the threshold number are declared elected.

  10. If all the positions are filed at this time, the election is over. If not, proceed to Section 11.

  11. The candidate with the lowest number of first choice votes plus transferred fractional votes is eliminated. Each of the ballots with that candidate listed as the first choice are transferred to the candidate who is listed as the second choice on that ballot if any. Each transferred fractional vote that the eliminated candidate received from the winning candidate’s excess votes is transferred to the third choice on the transferred fractional vote’s ballot. If any ballot has no second choice (or third choice for fractional ballots), that ballot (or fraction of a ballot) is discarded. If any candidate now has a vote total equal to or greater than the threshold number of the remaining ballots, that candidate is elected.

  12. If all the positions are filed at this time, the election is over. If not, repeat Sections 9, 10, 11, and 12 using the next choice candidates in each case, i.e. transfer now extra fractional votes to the next choice on each fractional ballot as described in Section 13 — Transfer of Fractional Votes.

  13. Transfer of Fractional Votes. A method of transferring the votes that a candidate receives which are in excess of the threshold number.

a. The number of votes in excess of the threshold number is calculated for each winning candidate. Mathematically, D1=C1-T; where C1=the number of votes cast for winning candidate, T=the threshold number; and D1=the number of votes in excess of the threshold number.

b. The current fractional ballot value is calculated for each ballot of the delegates whose first choice candidate has been declared a winner. Mathematically, F1=D1/C1; where D1=the number of votes in excess of the threshold, C1=the number of votes cast for winning candidate, and F1=the fractional ballot value.

c. For each ballot in the stack of the winning candidate with the excess votes, The Recording Secretary shall mark the ballot with the fractional ballot value (F1). Those ballots then become equal to the fractional ballot value and each ballot is transferred to the candidate ranked next on that ballot. If that next choice candidate has already been declared a winner or has already been eliminated, then the fractional ballot is transferred to the next still-active candidate ranked on the ballot.

d. When counting transferred ballots in subsequent steps, only count them as a fraction of a vote, equal to their current fractional ballot value.

e. If a ballot that has been reduced to a fractional value comes up in a subsequent transfer, recalculate the new fractional ballot value for the now-in-excess-of-the-threshold stack to which it has been transferred based on the number of votes now in the stack (whole votes plus fractional votes — not the number of ballots). Then multiply the ballot’s old fractional value (F1) by the new fractional value of the stack. Mathematically, F2=F1 (D2/C2), where F1=the old fractional value of the ballot, D2=the number of votes now in excess of the threshold, C2=the number of votes now cast for winning candidate, and F2=the new fractional ballot value. Mark the fractional ballot with the new fractional value (F2) and cross out the old fractional value (F1). Those ballots then become equal to the new fractional ballot value and each ballot is transferred to the candidate ranked next on that ballot.

14. The Recording Secretary may establish procedures to calculate the results by computer.

RULE 12: AMENDMENTS TO THE RULES

  1. The Convention Rules may be amended by a two-thirds (2/3) vote at a Regular Convention.

Copyright 1997, 2001, 2005, 2007, 2009 Libertarian Party of North Carolina

LPNC Convention Rules PDF