Link to the June 2020 Michigan Libertarian
Editor’s note: The Historic nomination portion of the Libertarian Party National Convention transpired over three days starting on Friday May 22nd and adjourning on Sunday May 24th. It is scheduled to continue in Orlando Florida on July 9th. The historic three days are posted in their entirety as three long videos on YouTube (Call to order and preliminary business, Presidential nomination & Vice Presidential nomination). This is the First time a national political party has selected it’s Presidential and Vice Presidential candidate in a virtual convention involving almost a thousand people.
Our Presidential nominee is Jo Jorgensen, and our Vice Presidential nominee is Spike Cohen.
What follows is a look forward by Libertarian Party of Michigan Chair Greg Stempfle.
Post Historic National Convention part 1
A big thanks again to everyone who participated in both the actual historic convention and in the discussions on the Michigan Libertarians Slack channel. As a delegation, we successfully cast 34 votes on all seven rounds of balloting, in a very timely manner. We easily finished in under half the time that the last states to report needed. It was fun to sit back in the Slack channel and make fun states like Virginia and Ohio for their chronic slow voting!
Special thanks again go to Andrew Chadderdon for running our LimeSurvey polls. He had to update the list of poll recipients and help troubleshoot all while screen streaming the results live as they came in for full transparency.
Below are the results from the Michigan delegation. I know many of you were very passionate supports of candidates that did not receive our nomination. I was going to urge those delegates not to be discouraged. Fortunately, since the convention adjourned,, I have seen nearly our entire delegation pull together online to rally support for our ticket!
Status of National Convention part 2, Rosen Shingle Creek Resort, Orlando, July 9th-12th
This is my current understanding of things as of Tuesday May 26…
- The same 34 delegates and 47 alternates that were selected at our April 4thconvention (for the historic virtual convention) will be our delegates to the July 9th-12th Orlando convention. This is apart from a few people who permanently ceded their position.
- The Libertarian National Committee and Convention Oversight Committee met on Monday night to discuss the convention contract. From what I gather, the contract needs one more review from legal counsel before being presented to the LNC chair for his signature by Friday.
- Here is the latest from the Rosen Single Creek Resort website.
- While I have expressed doubts this event will occur, I intend to be in Orlando to chair our delegation, unless I am subject to any future travel restrictions.
- There is no current plan to allow remote participation. That would still require a bylaw change in Orlando. I am not optimistic such a bylaw would pass. The ability to manage both delegates present in a physical room and on a video conference adds to the complexity of running the convention. Also a demonstrable method of proceeding this way must exist before we vote on such a bylaw. I hope to work with the LNC or state chairs in any discussions or trial runs at including remote participation. Furthermore, I will keep Michigan delegates up to date with the latest information I have.
- If you are 100% sure you do not want to be a delegate or alternate to the Orlando convention, even if the possibility of remote participation exists, please let me know so that we may move up alternates and help make everyone’s travel plans easier
Status of Michigan State Nominating Convention at Treetops Report, Gaylord, July 18
This is my current understanding of things as of Tuesday May 26th…
- According to a May 23 update on their website, Treetops Resort will begin opening on May 28, with limited options. They anticipate being able to accommodate a safe socially distanced state convention.
- We have not changed our convention plans and we are still planning to hold an in-person convention as previously called.
- A number of members have indicated to me that they will not be traveling to Treetops for the state convention. This is either due to health concerns or because Orlando is the previous weekend. We face the exact same questions national faces, but at least ours is on a smaller scale. At this time we have not ruled out the possibility of remote participation and are aware of the concerns of our membership. A hybrid convention will make deliberations extra challenging. Also our state party bylaws don’t directly address this. There is also lot of paperwork at a nominating convention that needs to be signed, double checked, and distributed to various election officials across the state. These are not necessarily prohibitive concerns, just ones we will need to properly addressed as we proceed.
