Why this? “any candidate that was not successful for the office of President shall be deemed automatically nominated for Vice President if they communicate to the Secretary that they would accept the nomination for that office;” Susan Jane Hogarth Region 5 Alternate 919-906-2106 (tel:919-906-2106)
On May 11, 2020 at 3:09 PM, <Joe Bishop-Henchman via Lnc-business (mailto:lnc-business@hq.lp.org)> wrote:
Colleagues, I've attached (and pasted below) language providing procedures for online balloting, aiming to deviate as little as possible from our existing Bylaws and Rules. It was developed by the Bylaws Committee for the "rump" convention option and subsequently refined by a group of volunteers from the Committee in anticipation of being asked to do so by the LNC, although that did not come to happen. It's technically in the form of a Bylaws amendment. The Bylaws Committee is not empowered to do anything with this language given the approach the LNC has taken, so the mechanics of nomination and balloting are left in some fashion to the Chair, the Secretary, the Credentials Committee, the Convention Oversight Committee, the LNC itself, and the delegates themselves. I share this in case any of those parties may find anything in here of benefit or use. JBH PROVIDING FOR SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES OF CONDUCTING THE FIRST SITTING OF THE 2020 REGULAR CONVENTION 1. Pursuant to the LNC action of May 9, 2020 bifurcating the 2020 Regular Convention business between first online sitting beginning May 22, 2020 and second sitting as specified by the LNC, these procedures address the business of the 2020 Regular Convention. 2. This action will be submitted for ratification by the next in-person sitting of the Regular Convention. 3. All affiliate parties shall ensure that the Credentials Committee has received, if they have not already, the names, email addresses, and phone numbers of all delegates and alternates chosen to the 2020 Regular Convention. The names and contact information received by the Credentials Committee from the affiliate parties shall constitute the credentials report, and all such delegates shall be presumed present for electronic balloting upon the adoption of that report by the Credentials Committee. Delegation Chairs shall be permitted to substitute alternate delegates with primary delegates between any one round of voting, which shall be deemed, once confirmed by the Credentials Committee, to automatically be added to the credentials report. A delegate is determined to be present for quorum purposes, for any particular vote by casting a vote for that office. 4. Nominations shall be made via email from delegates to their Delegation Chair, who shall communicate the names and total number of nominations of each candidate to the Secretary; in the alternative, software or other electronic system provided by the LNC Secretary may permit nominations to be made. Each delegate is entitled to one nomination for each office to be filled. Nominations must be made by at least thirty (30) credential delegates. Nominations shall close one (1) hour before the start of the electronic ballot for that particular election; provided that any candidate that was not successful for the office of President shall be deemed automatically nominated for Vice President if they communicate to the Secretary that they would accept the nomination for that office; and further provided that nominations for the office of Vice President shall not close until two (2) hours after the conclusion of the final ballot for President. 5. Electronic balloting shall take place via method selected and utilized by each Delegation Chair, and the Libertarian National Committee shall make available the option of utilizing suitable software, combination of software, or other electronic means, provided that such method shall: a. permit all credentialed delegates to vote in a matter that is sufficiently verified and secure; b. inform delegates via e-mail or other electronic means of when ballots are sent and how long they have to vote; c. send an electronic receipt once a ballot is cast to that delegate with their votes, and to their Delegation Chair that the particular delegate has voted; and d. at the end of each round of balloting, send each Delegation Chair a running total of the votes cast by their delegation for each election. Any such balloting system should to the extent possible be secure, preserve the anonymity of particular delegates’ votes, and create a sufficient audit trail to be available for inspection and auditing if discrepancies should arise. Each electronic ballot shall be a single question or election. For election ballots, delegates shall have three (3) hours to vote or until all delegations have completed their tallies, whichever occurs first, and only one (1) electronic ballot shall be conducted at a time unless the system clearly annotates what the ballot being cast is being cast for, and in that event, not more than two (2) ballots shall be cast at the same time. Ballots shall not begin prior to noon Eastern Time nor conclude after 11 P.M. Eastern Time. 6. In the event of a technical difficulty which impedes the casting of any votes or the functioning of the elections system, including, but not limited to, the tabulation of votes or the auditing functions, the Libertarian National Committee shall have the ability to declare, by a three-fourths (3/4) vote, that a technical difficulty has arisen, and either (i) extend the period for that particular election or (ii) to declare a particular vote and election void, and then redo that election. The Libertarian National Committee shall be in continuous session during the Regular Convention. 7. The Chair shall, via public livestream or other suitable method, announce each ballot, the options nominated or available on that ballot, and if applicable and available, the results of any previous ballot(s). At the discretion of the Chair, nominating speeches for any office can be livestreamed, or, in the alternative, a link to pre-recorded nominating speeches, can be provided. 8. Ballots for all nominations and offices shall be conducted under the usual procedures regarding successive elimination ballots. Votes shall be recorded including the numbers for each state delegation, and these results shall be displayed in a manner that allows each delegation to review for accuracy. In the event of any discrepancy between the totals the delegation chair received and the totals posted, the Delegation Chair and Secretary shall endeavor to resolve the discrepancy, and, if they are not able to do so, the National Committee shall resolve that discrepancy. 9. The Chair may certify and report the results of the nomination for President to Vice President prior to the adjournment sine die of the 2020 Regular Convention, upon the conclusion of those ballots, if such certification is needed to meet any ballot access or filing deadlines. All voting shall be completed and all results shall be announced before adjournment sine die of the 2020 Regular Convention business session, regardless of this date and time. ------------ Joe Bishop-Henchman LNC Member (At-Large) joe.bishop-henchman@lp.org www.facebook.com/groups/189510455174837