The Libertarian Party’s Bylaws Committee is soliciting feedback on 22 proposed changes to the party’s governing documents ahead of its national convention in Grand Rapids, Michigan, later this month.
Libertarian National Committee Vice Chair Paul Darr, who also chairs the Bylaws Committee, announced the feedback process this week on the LNC’s public Business List. The committee is asking members to complete an online survey, where participants can rate each proposal and provide written comments for the committee to take under consideration.
“The Bylaws Committee wants to hear from you,” Darr wrote. “We are officially opening the floor for feedback on the current proposals, and your input is vital to ensuring our governing documents reflect the needs of our community.”
According to the survey, respondents are asked to review each proposal included in the committee’s report and grade them on a scale of one to five. The committee also asks participants to include as much detail as possible, with responses to potentially be used for any final edits.
The Bylaws Committee has proposed extensive changes covering several areas of governance and convention procedure this year. One proposal would replace the party’s regional representative system with additional at-large seats on the Libertarian National Committee, while another would require national convention delegates to be sustaining members of the national party. Notably, the delegate requirement is the only proposal in the report with a minority report, with dissenters arguing that the change would weaken affiliate autonomy.
Other proposals would give the LNC discretion over whether to charter qualifying state affiliate organizations, require party officers to have been life members for at least one year at the time of their selection, and bar LNC members from using party resources “to favor or disfavor” candidates in LNC or Judicial Committee elections or in the party’s presidential nomination contest.
The report also includes proposed changes to presidential and vice-presidential nominations, including the elimination of nomination tokens and clarification that if “None of the Above” wins a majority in balloting for either position, no candidate is nominated. Nominations could then be reopened, with losing candidates barred from being renominated for that office.
A similar situation nearly played out during the party’s 2024 national convention, where Chase Oliver, the Libertarian Party’s presidential nominee, went through several rounds of balloting before facing None of the Above in the seventh round. While Oliver won, NOTA received substantial support from the convention with 36.6% of delegate votes.
Additional proposals cover officer elections, electronic balloting, floor motions, debate rules for bylaws and platform amendments, Judicial Committee procedures, delegate list deadlines, dues, life memberships, and appeals of LNC action or inaction.
Darr did not provide a cutoff date for feedback in the thread. However, he said the committee is scheduled to meet on May 3 at 3:00p ET for a public presentation of the report and a question-and-answer session.
He also said he will host livestreams for the next three Fridays through LP Happy Hour, a program he coordinates for libertarians to discuss party issues, to answer questions about the national convention more generally.
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