The Libertarian National Committee has completed its calculations for state delegation totals ahead of the party’s upcoming national convention next May. The convention will have a total of 1,045 possible delegate seats.
In a December 1 message on the LNC’s public Business List, Secretary Evan McMahon said he formally notified all state affiliate chairs that the allocation process had finished. The process was first initiated earlier this year under then-Secretary Caryn Ann Harlos, who started with compiling individual state presidential vote totals to be used in the calculations.
Under the LNC’s Policy Manual, state delegation sizes are based on a combination of national sustaining membership counts and each state’s share of the vote for the Libertarian Party’s presidential nominee in the most recent election. Both components take into consideration differing fixed percentage formulas to determine the value of a single delegate seat.
“One delegate for each 0.14 percent, or fraction thereof, of the total Party sustaining membership in that affiliate; provided that at least one such delegate must be a resident of that State or District,” the Policy Manual reads. “One delegate for each 0.35 percent, or fraction thereof, of the votes cast nationwide for the Libertarian Party candidate in the most recent presidential election, cast in that affiliate’s state. If a state conducts its presidential election via Ranked-Choice or Instant Runoff Voting, the ballots for the Libertarian candidate as tabulated in the first round of ballot counting will be used for this purpose.”
According to figures provided in the notice, the 2026 Libertarian National Convention will seat up to 1,045 delegates, six fewer than were allocated for the 2024 convention in Washington, D.C. Though marginally smaller, the total is broadly consistent with the total number of available delegate seats from more recent convention cycles.
The Libertarian Party of California will send the largest delegation, with 107 seats. California holds the largest share of national sustaining members and recorded the second-highest number of votes for the Libertarian presidential ticket in 2024, totaling 10.25% of votes cast for Chase Oliver and Mike ter Maat. Texas narrowly surpassed California in the presidential tally with roughly 2,000 additional votes cast for the ticket, or 10.54%, and will send the second-largest delegation with 86 seats.
Both California and Texas will see increases compared to 2024, gaining four and ten seats, respectively. Eighteen other states will also send larger delegations in 2026, with Florida, Missouri, and Pennsylvania among the most notable increases. In contrast, 15 states and Washington, D.C. will send smaller delegations. Illinois and New York each lost eight seats, while Tennessee lost five. Thirteen states saw no change.
As of October 31, which is the cut-off date used to determine national membership numbers, the Libertarian National Committee reports 9,348 dues-paying and life members. This includes 60 memberships that are not assigned to a specific state.
Welcome to convention season. Now that the numbers are out, the prep begins!
As Head Teller for the 2026 Libertarian Convention, I am seeking volunteers for the Teller Team. The Teller Team processes the ballots and supplemental paperwork (nomination forms, motion forms, etc.) and is the backbone for the convention.
This is my fourth convention doing this. I run the cleanest elections in the country, with a clear custody chain and double-checked processes every step of the way.
I’m looking for about 16 volunteers to help. Duties include counting floor votes, tally sheet entries, cross-checking tallies, handling nomination petitions, tallying platform tokens, and distributing and receiving ballot packets to the state delegations.
Past experience is preferred, but we do train as well.
If interested, please contact your state chair, the Bylaws Committee, or the Judicial Committee. It will find its way to me.
Thank you!