Dear All,
Let me start by thanking everyone who has worked so hard to plan our
convention in Austin as well as those who have spent a great deal of time
and energy coming up with alternatives and contingency plans and
researching our options for how to proceed in the current situation. We
will have an open and transparent meeting on Saturday where everyone will
be heard and our national committee will make some difficult decisions.
Before the meeting begins, I wanted to raise some issues that I have been
thinking about so that the other members of the committee also have time to
think about them in advance of our meeting.
The legal and practical restrictions on travel during the COVID-19 crisis
make it more difficult for some portion of our delegates to attend an
in-person convention. This difficulty is different from the normal time,
money, and effort needed to attend an in-person convention, in that
delegates from certain areas of the country have restrictions placed on
their travel into Texas than delegates from other areas of the country due
to infection outbreaks that are completely outside their control.
Additionally, delegates who have either personal or family health concerns
would be required to take risks to participate meaningfully in an in-person
convention that are above and beyond the normal requirements to
participate. To analogize, the Libertarian position is that anyone should
be allowed to choose to shoot heroin or ride a motorcycle without a helmet,
but it would be a different thing entirely to require someone to do those
things in order to have a voice in the organization.
Before we get to the question of what is possible under the bylaws, the
question of whether the members of the committee want to allow credentialed
delegates to participate in our convention without being physically present
needs to be answered. I understand that different members of the committee
may have different opinions on this underlying question, but bringing that
conflict out into the open should probably be done prior to dealing with
the specific questions of if and how it could be done according to the
rules and bylaws. I know there are members of the committee who absolutely
support to participation of delegates remotely and members who absolutely
oppose it, and that has an impact on what options they are willing to
consider. A full discussion of those positions and the reasons behind them
may help us make better decisions.
Another consideration that needs to be discussed is whether the nomination
of a Presidential candidate and the ability to obtain ballot access,
campaign, and raise money is more or less important than having an
in-person convention and any media coverage that may take place at that
convention. The first week in July is roughly six weeks after Memorial Day
and the cost of extending the nomination contest for six weeks will be paid
by the eventual nominee and the LNC in ballot access and campaigning time.
Whether that cost is worth it is a discussion for this committee, but we
should recognize that the cost exists.
The last thing to consider is that we as members of the board have duties
to obey the bylaws and rules as well as fiduciary duties to act in the best
interest of the goals and finances of the organization. If and when those
duties conflict, each member will have to carefully consider which is more
important and that judgment is personal to each member. A member may decide
that following the letter of the rules is more important than imposing
increased risk of loss on the Libertarian Party, or vice versa. The
delegates who elect the next LNC will determine whether the judgment each
member comes to is the right one, but there is no clear answer that a
member could look up in a rule or law book.
Protecting the rights of all of our delegates to meaningfully participate
and determine the leadership of the party and the standard bearers for the
election are my paramount considerations. There are options that would
privilege one group of members over another and other options that maintain
a level playing field. My inclination is to support the latter over the
former, but I will carefully listen to all of the discussion at our meeting
on Saturday.
Thank you all for your service, it has been an honor to be your Chair over
this last term and there is no better group to face these challenges with.
Yours in liberty,
Nick
