On June 22, 2016, there was a Libertarian Party Executive Committee meeting to discuss the following issues:
- Increasing the Illinois encumbrance from $50,000 to $70,000.
- Authorizing the LNC to join as an amicus in the Ohio ballot access case.
- Potentially authorizing an encumbrance for Maine to support them getting voter registrations before the July 12 deadline.
Ohio
The Ohio ballot access issues were previously reported on IPR here, here, here, here, and here.
Hagan moved for the Libertarian Party to join in as an amicus in the appeal of the Ohio suit discussed here. Redpath seconded. Mattson inquired as to cost, and it was clarified that there was none.
Roll Call Vote
Hagan-Yes
Lark-Yes
Redpath-Yes
Mattson-Yes
Vohra-Yes
Sarwark-Yes
Goldstein-Absent
Although not on the agenda, without objection, Moellman gave an update on the petitioning efforts in Ohio. He suggests that they raise their threshold to from 4,500 to 5,000 signatures with a higher per signature rate ($.50 higher) which requires additional funds.
Goldstein moved to increase the encumbrance from $12,500 to $15,125, and Redpath seconded.
Redpath stated that he would like to know if Ohio is putting everything they have into this with regards to volunteers and funds.
Roll Call Vote
Hagan-Yes
Lark-Yes
Redpath-Yes
Mattson-Yes
Vohra-Yes
Sarwark-Yes
Goldstein-Yes
Illinois
The prior access encumbrance for Illinois was previously discussed at IPR here.
Redpath moved to increase the Illinois encumbrance from $50,000 to $70,000 Hagan seconded. Christopher Thrasher confirmed that the wire transfer from the Johnson campaign for $20,000 was completed. Discussion on how this would be reckoned in accounting took place.
Sarwark reported that we are on track, and this should get us over the finish line through the situation is very fluid. The rate was raised a while ago to $3.00 per signature and this raised encumbrance is just this increase coming through. They have resisted going any higher than $3.00 per signature.
Roll Call Vote
Hagan-Yes
Lark-Yes
Redpath-Yes
Mattson-Yes
Vohra-Yes
Sarwark-Yes
Goldstein-Abstain (he come in late on the discussion)
Maine
Previous IPR articles on the situation in Maine can be found here, here, here, and here.
Former LPME Chair Jorge Maderal reported that they are 487 Libertarian registrations shy of being given ballot access. The volunteer drive is not getting them there, thus they are looking for $3,000 to pay for petitioners to get the 487 by the 7/12/16 deadline. This is coming after a court victory that won them ballot access.
Current LPME Chair Chris Lyons also provided an update on the procedural obstructions and said they will not fail if they get a little help. An inquiry was had on the unusually high rejection rate of voter registrations in this attempt. There are some areas in which there were nearly 100% rejection rates, and there is not much they can do about this as there are issues with some town clerks. Some areas have overly complicated registration forms, and some municipalities require voters to verify their desire to register after the fact when the registrations are turned in by a third party (such as the Libertarian Party of Maine). They have started keeping copies of the registrations now that these problems have been encountered.
Sarwark stated that the National Party sent out a call to action to everyone in our database for Maine Libertarians to register. Conditions in Maine are quite frankly insane.
Andy Jacobs gave information on problems he has encountered in obtaining registrations in the field, including in Maine.
Redpath moved to encumber the $3,000 for this effort, and Lark seconded.
Roll Call Vote
Hagan-Yes
Lark-Yes
Redpath-Yes
Mattson-Yes
Vohra-Yes
Sarwark-Yes
Goldstein-Yes
Pennsylvania: Sarwark reported that they may have a victory in that state to get the signature requirements down, and there is a good chance this may happen.
edit made to correct positions of the Maine attendees
This is only a partially accurate account of what I said. My primary point was that the validity on the registration drive was terrible and was a sign of incompetence. I have registered thousands of people to vote across the nation, including doing paid and volunteer registrations for the LP, and I never had a rejection rate that was even close to being as low as the one they had. It also took them far longer to do the job than it should have. This was a job that 4 Libertarians could have realistically knocked out successfully last year in about two months.
I also made the point that getting partisan registrations is more difficult than getting petition signatures for a party/candidate, and therefore it needs to pay more.
It is a summary not a transcript Andy. My concern is properly recording the LNC decisions,.. the commentary of guests is always somewhat truncated. Thank you for providing more information in the comments.
Actually, should read, “had a rejection rate that was as high as the one they had.” or, “had am acceptance rate that was as low as the one they had.”
it is more difficult to get people to register to vote under the Libertarian Party banner than it is to get them to sign a Libertarian Party ballot access petition, but on the plus side, it is generally easier to get a high validity rate on voter registrations than it is on petitions.
“it is generally easier to get a high validity rate on voter registrations than it is on petitions.”
That’s what we thought up here in Maine, until it proved otherwise.
I suspect much of our problems is that cards not filled out directly at the municipal office get a bit more scrutiny if it’s a first time registration, and additional documentation may be needed from the individual. If the address on the card is somehow incorrect, or incomplete, or if the person registering doesn’t respond back, then there’s a lost registration.
Also of note was the fact that this was the first time that forming a party by registrations was ever done in Maine. The individual town clerks, who do the entry into the state’s database, may have neglected the fact that the written in party enrollment for “Libertarian” was even an option in the system, and entered our registrations as “Unenrolled”, the default status for voters who do not select a political party.
We’re keeping a tighter eye on things now, and directly contacting town clerks to make sure they are in the know.
But if we clear this hurdle, we will be able to maintain ballot status in future years with ease.
(/*Knock on wood*)
Past ballot drives in Maine for statewide candidates have been completed in about a week with four paid petitioners (LP members) and validity rates of 91% to 92%. It’s hard to beat that.
Final minutes up
https://independentpoliticalreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/2016_06_22-LNC-ExComm-Meeting-Minutes-approved.pdf