[Lnc-business] Husted v. APRI: Amicus Brief Final Draft
Wes Benedict
wes.benedict at lp.org
Wed Sep 27 10:28:12 EDT 2017
The Libertarian Party including its candidates for President have a long
history of embracing the U.S. Constitution and Declaration of Independence.
Go to LP.org and search for either term. Here are a few examples:
https://www.lp.org/blogs-mary-ruwart-us-constitution-day-resolution-2011/
https://www.lp.org/blogs-staff-constitution-day-links/
Libertarian Candidates, and other organizations like the libertarian
Cato Institute are known for their activism handing out pocket copies of
the Constitution and Declaration of Independence.
I have plenty of disagreements with the Constitution and Declaration of
Independence.
While what Caryn Ann has written below about the bylaws is correct, I
don't think it's a big surprise or a huge mistake that someone would
describe the Libertarian Party in the terms used in this brief.
I would not have described the party the way it was described in that
brief, but I think it's probably okay the way it is for this particular
instance.
There's hardly any brochure, press release, platform plank, bylaw, or
legal contract, where we all agree on the acceptable wording.
If we spend too much time perfecting wording in certain areas, or
holding meetings to get consensus on what still will probably be less
than perfect wording, that could cause us to get a smaller amount of
overall work done.
I realize there's a balance between getting things right, and getting
more done. We don't want a lot of sloppy work getting produced by the
party. But, we also want to coordinate with others where we can and do
it efficiently. This brief is an example of where we have an opportunity
to make a small difference and it's worth a small effort, but probably
not worth laboring over too much.
The more time our Counsel and Chair spend wordsmithing something like
this, and having multiple meetings about it, the less time they have to
work on the next opportunity (or the long list of "to do's" that already
exists).
I think we'll all pay more attention to the first paragraph of these
types of briefs in the future.
Wes Benedict, Executive Director
Libertarian National Committee, Inc.
1444 Duke St., Alexandria, VA 22314
(202) 333-0008 ext. 232, wes.benedict at lp.org
facebook.com/libertarians @LPNational
Join the Libertarian Party at: http://lp.org/membership
On 9/26/2017 5:46 PM, Caryn Ann Harlos wrote:
> Oliver I see the language taking that middle ground and I think your
> reasoning is correct. Focusing on the more narrow in this particular
> factual instance does not exclude the broader nor give any hint of
> excluding the broader. Sometimes focusing on the narrow does (for
> instance people who are convinced that only income taxation is unjust
> force because that is what we focus on in our Platform though since
> day one we have put out material against all taxation), in this
> particular situation, I don't think it has that unfortunate result.
>
> However, there is a blatant incorrect fact in the opening paragraphs.
> The Libertarian Party was not founded to promote the principles of
> liberty set forth in the Declaration of Independence and United States
> Constitution. Our bylaws address this specifically that we exist to
> promote the principles in our Statement of Principles which mentions
> neither document. Yes there is a lot of overlap, particularly with
> the Declaration of Independence, but there is disjunction-
> particularly in some views of the Constitution. I would say that
> representing us in that manner violates what our bylaws say about our
> purpose to wit:
>
> ==ARTICLE 2: PURPOSES
>
> The Party is organized to implement and give voice to the principles
> embodied in the Statement of Principles by: functioning as a
> libertarian political entity separate and distinct from all other
> political parties or movements; moving public policy in a libertarian
> direction by building a political party that elects Libertarians to
> public office; chartering affiliate parties throughout the United
> States and promoting their growth and activities; nominating
> candidates for President and Vice-President of the United States, and
> supporting Party and affiliate party candidates for political office;
> and, entering into public information activities.==
>
>
> And
>
> ==ARTICLE 3: STATEMENT OF PRINCIPLES AND PLATFORM
>
> 1.
>
> The Statement of Principles affirms that philosophy upon which the
> Libertarian Party is founded, by which it shall be sustained, and
> through which liberty shall prevail. ==
>
> I *object strenuously *that characterization.
>
>
> On Tue, Sep 26, 2017 at 3:32 PM, Caryn Ann Harlos
> <carynannharlos at gmail.com <mailto:carynannharlos at gmail.com>> wrote:
>
> I will read but am immediately alarmed by that distinction. Many
> anarchists do consider themselves principled non-voters - yet
> highly political. The immediate past Chair of the Libertarian
> Party of Colorado - Jay R North - is an example. He is not
> alone. I will read to see if it is accurate but let's not
> misrepresent a group that we are in a position to know about.
> (I'm an anarchist - though I vote - myself so kinda know the
> community and the nuances - it's not a blanket thing)
>
> -Caryn Ann
>
>
> On Tue, Sep 26, 2017 at 3:18 PM Oliver Hall <oliverbhall at gmail.com
> <mailto:oliverbhall at gmail.com>> wrote:
>
> Greetings,
>
> Please find attached a PDF of the amicus brief as filed on
> behalf of the Libertarian National Committee in /Husted v. A.
> Philip Randolph Institute/, No. 16-980.
>
> After the executive committee meeting addressing this matter,
> I reviewed the draft brief and sent a lengthy list of comments
> and corrections, including those I received from committee
> members, to our counsel from Wilmer Hale. I also discussed
> these concerns with counsel by telephone. I believe the
> changes the firm made to address committee members' concerns
> are acceptable, although in some cases I would have preferred
> different wording. I have included detailed notes on several
> of those changes below, to provide a sense of how the concerns
> raised were addressed in the final draft.
>
> I wanted to address one point in particular: the Wilmer team
> thought it important to indicate that principled non-voting is
> not the same as an anarchist's complete abstention from the
> process. Therefore, although I had suggested replacing any
> mention of not voting in "a single election cycle" with more
> general language referencing "abstaining from the electoral
> process," the Wilmer team tried to chart a middle path between
> those two options. I agreed that was an appropriate strategy,
> since we are only arguing for a constitutional right not to
> vote based upon the choices, or lack thereof, in particular
> election cycles, and not necessarily the constitutional right
> not to vote under any and all circumstances.
>
> I know that committee members were not pleased with how little
> time the committee had to review and approve this brief. That
> is understandable. It should not have happened. In the future,
> I will make sure it doesn't.
>
> Thank you and I hope this final draft meets your approval.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> --
> Oliver B. Hall
> Special Counsel
> Libertarian National Committee
> 617-953-0161 <tel:%28617%29%20953-0161>
>
>
> _*Comments on Changes to Final Draft of Amicus Brief*_
>
> Page 3, second sentence: "But the Ohio policy at issue—a
> “use-it-or-loseit” rule whereby a registered voter is deemed
> “inactive,”commencing a process that can result in thevoter
> being purged from the voter rolls, because he orshe did not
> vote during a single election cycle—alsoraises serious
> constitutional concerns."
>
> * Inthe draft form, this sentence stated that a voter could
> be purged "merely for not voting in a single election
> cycle"; the addition of "commencing a process that can
> result..." makes thesentence accurate, even thoughit still
> contains the "single election cycle" language
>
> Page 3, last paragraph: reference to "a particular election
> cycle" waschanged to plural, "particular election cycles"
>
> Page 3, last full sentence: "Commencing a process to remove
> voters from the rollsbecause they did not vote in a single
> election cycle underminesvoters’ ability to take this type of
> political action,penalizes them for their acts of political
> expression,and is akin to forced political activity."
>
> * In the draft form, this sentence simply began, "Removing
> voters from the rolls because..."; again, as revised, this
> sentence is accurate, despite containing the "single
> election cycle" language
>
> Page 4, first paragraph: the reference to "particular election
> cycle" has been changed to the plural, "particular election
> cycles"
>
> Page 4, first paragraph: contains acomplete and accurate
> statement of how the statutory scheme works as applied,
> including the steps of mailing a notice, and then failing to
> vote in two subsequent election cycles
>
> Page 13, first full paragraph: the sentence beginning,
> "Coercing them to vote," now includes the language "if they
> choose to abstain from the electoral process"
>
> _______________________________________________
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>
> --
> *In Liberty,*
> *Caryn Ann Harlos*
> Region 1 Representative, Libertarian National Committee (Alaska,
> Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Kansas, Montana, Utah, Wyoming,
> Washington) - Caryn.Ann. Harlos at LP.org
> <mailto:Caryn.Ann.Harlos at LP.org>
> Communications Director, Libertarian Party of Colorado
> <http://www.lpcolorado.org>
> Chair, LP Historical Preservation Committee
>
> A haiku to the Statement of Principles:
> /We defend your rights/
> /And oppose the use of force/
> /Taxation is theft/
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> --
> *In Liberty,*
> *Caryn Ann Harlos*
> Region 1 Representative, Libertarian National Committee (Alaska,
> Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Kansas, Montana, Utah, Wyoming, Washington)
> - Caryn.Ann. Harlos at LP.org <mailto:Caryn.Ann.Harlos at LP.org>
> Communications Director, Libertarian Party of Colorado
> <http://www.lpcolorado.org>
> Chair, LP Historical Preservation Committee
>
> A haiku to the Statement of Principles:
> /We defend your rights/
> /And oppose the use of force/
> /Taxation is theft/
>
>
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Lnc-business mailing list
> Lnc-business at hq.lp.org
> http://hq.lp.org/mailman/listinfo/lnc-business_hq.lp.org
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