[Lnc-business] Proposal for Online Convention

[Sam Goldstein]

Steve,

Thanks for your well thought out plan, however none of what you suggest 
is possible if we want to stay within the Bylaws.  There is also a very 
good possibility that not even the party officers would be able to make 
it to Austin.  The COC is working on and considering a range of options 
and will report back to the LNC in a timely manner.

Stay safe and

Live Free,

---
Sam Goldstein, At Large Member
Libertarian National Committee
317-850-0726 Cell

On 2020-03-30 20:56, Steven Nekhaila via Lnc-business wrote:
> Dear All,
> 
> The way I see it, we have three viable options:
> 
> 1) The velocity of the SARS-Cov2 virus deescalates and government
> lockdowns and healthcare measures are so effective that despite not
> having a vaccine ready, governments nationwide decide to lift
> restrictions on movement and mass gatherings just as things are
> starting to get better. Life as we know it is back to normal.
> 
> 2) The lockdown measures stay in place as the SARS-Cov2 virus
> continues to spread, social distancing is still the norm as the 10 day
> doubling time keeps the curve flattened. Governments know that if they
> lift restrictions then the velocity of spread will increase, thus
> overwhelming our healthcare system more than it already is. Public
> outcry and fear allow governments to double down on measures, while
> some governments loosen the restrictions on businesses to allow for
> some economic commerce while strict social distancing practices remain
> in place. At this point, allowing a large public gathering in Austin,
> TX is seen as a public health risk to local municipal workers and
> residents, thus banned. Because the Libertarian Party Constitution
> does not grant us the ability to have online meetings, or allow
> alternative convention methods, or allow the LNC to decide how
> conventions are held with a 8/10th vote or other threshold, then the
> Party Officers meet in Austin with enough members for quorum to change
> the rules and immediately adjourn convention, thus legally changing
> our rules to assure that the legitimacy of our Presidential candidate
> moving forward cannot be legally contested. At this point, we move on
> to an alternative style meeting.
> 
> 3) The lockdown measures stay in place as the SARS-Cov2 virus
> continues to spread, social distancing is still enforced, and
> representatives lack an exit plan as they are caught between a public
> health crises and an economic crises. The Libertarian Party does not
> wish to endanger its members and can no longer hold a convention in
> Austin due to the imposed gathering restrictions. The LNC works with
> the CoC to come up with an alternative convention plan, and executes
> that plan...
> 
> This is my plan, and I invite you to consider it:
> 
> Having a Zoom convention with over one thousand members is possible,
> but with the complexity of our rules and communication, execution will
> likely be sloppy. Not to mention what could go wrong with giving over
> 1,000 people a public livestream, credentialing, and etiquette
> matters. Rather than an electronic convention, we utilize pre-existing
> meeting infrastructure and resources which we regularly use and trust,
> the State Chairs and State meeting tools.
> 
> The convention could be structured through a hierarchy, delegates to
> the State Chair and Secretary, the Chair to the LNC Secretary, the LNC
> Secretary announces the results and the next round of balloting
> ensues. Move the votes up the chain to the top, from the ground up. It
> would involve trust, its crude, but it would work. Plus, all of the
> State Chairs are used to holding meetings, which can be done over the
> phone using services like Free Conference Call, where the call in
> number can be used to positively ID delegates. Alternatively, users
> can be on the call, and votes can be privately sent to the Secretary
> of that state using voting software or simple tools like email,
> messenger, and Whatsapp. The State Secretary would record the votes,
> tally them up, the Chair would present the totals to the delegate body
> while keeping them anonymous just as the Chair does at convention, and
> then submit the totals to the LNC Secretary. Alternatively, we could
> vote by voice to ensure rigidity of elections. Our teams are smart, I
> am sure we can find a creative solution.
> 
> The State Chair sends in the tallies to the LNC Secretary, she counts
> the vote and announces the results, then we move forward. We could
> organize multiple meetings at preset times to allow for votes to be
> counted in the interim, or remain on the line until all states get
> their votes in and we move on. If our members are willing to travel to
> Austin amidst a national economic & health crises, I am sure they
> would be willing to hold on the phone. The logistics would not be
> daunting for most States, as the amount of allocated delegate slots
> for much of the country is low to moderate, in Florida we have around
> 54 delegate slots by last count. So we are more than average, however,
> the logistics of organizing a phone conference or Zoom meeting of that
> magnitude would not be challenging.
> 
> This would be the simplest retro-fit solution to use the power of our
> State affiliates and familiar technology to put the convention
> underway. I am sure we can work out the finer details, but the
> execution would be the easiest to plan for, sans there are no
> restrictions on Austin. Time will tell if this is necessary, but with
> the interest of our Party members health and representation on the
> line, we can choose when to start planning.
> 
> 
> In Liberty,
> 
> Steven Nekhaila
> Region 2 Representative
> Libertarian National Committee
> 
> Impotentes defendere libertatum non possunt
> "Those without power cannot defend freedom"