Free New Mexico Party Adopts Resolution Affirming State Affiliate Autonomy

The Free New Mexico Party has become the latest Libertarian state affiliate to adopt a resolution affirming state party autonomy and calling for clearer standards governing disciplinary action by the Libertarian National Committee.

The Free New Mexico Party’s State Central Committee adopted the resolution unanimously on August 7 in a 7–0 vote. The measure, later shared to the LNC’s public Business List by Region 1 Representative Austin Martin, argues that the national party’s bylaws preserve the autonomy of state affiliates except where they explicitly provide otherwise and that the LNC should only be able to limit that autonomy when the bylaws clearly give it the authority to do so.

The resolution points to Article 5, Section 5 of the national party bylaws, which states that affiliate autonomy may not be abridged except as otherwise provided in the bylaws. It argues that the provision places the burden on the national party to establish where its authority over an affiliate comes from before taking disciplinary action.

In making that case, the New Mexico affiliate invokes James Madison’s Federalist No. 45, which argues that powers delegated to the federal government should be “few and defined.” The state party acknowledges that the comparison is not binding on a private political group but says the same principle provides a useful analogy for how the national party should approach its authority over state affiliates.

It also calls for clearer procedures before the LNC takes disciplinary action against an affiliate, including written identification of the bylaws authority for the action and the conduct alleged to violate party rules. It further asks the national party to establish formal written standards for affiliate discipline and clarify terms such as “official endorsement,” “affiliate communication,” and “cause.”

Several other Libertarian state affiliates adopted their own resolutions related to affiliate autonomy earlier this summer, including affiliates in Oregon, Maine, Hawaii, Delaware, Wisconsin, and Nevada. The measures have varied in their language, with some directly addressing the disaffiliation of the Libertarian Party of New Hampshire in May; however, all have focused primarily on affiliate autonomy and the procedures governing disciplinary action.