BY-LAWS OF THE LIBERTARIAN PARTY OF HAWAII

As Adopted November 8, 2015

 

ARTICLE I (Name)

The name of the organization shall be “The Libertarian Party of Hawaii”, hereinafter referred to as the “Party”.

 

 

ARTICLE II (Principles and Objectives)

The Party is a political organization which affirms the following principles:

            A. That each individual possesses the right to life and liberty and justly acquired property;

 

            B.  That no person or institution, government or private, has the right to initiate the use of physical force or to initiate fraud against another;

 

         C.  That all individuals are entitled to choose their own lifestyles as long as they do not forcibly interfere with the equal right of others to live their lives in whatever manner they choose;

 

            D. That the voluntary exchange of goods and services is a fundamental right of the individual; and

 

         E. That the only moral basis of politics is the protection of individual rights. In recognition of the fact that the initiation of force by government has been the chief instrument for the expropriation of individual rights and freedom, the party enters into politics for the specific purpose of eliminating the intervention of government in moral and economic affairs.

 

 

ARTICLE III (Membership)

Section 1.

Party members shall be those individuals who subscribe to the Principles and Objectives (above) and have signed and uphold the Party Pledge (“I hereby certify that I do not believe in or advocate the initiation of force as a means of achieving political or social goals”)

 

Section 2.

The Party Dues is an annual fee paid to the Party in exchange for the privileges of Party membership. Currently that fee is twenty dollars ($20) per year.

 

Section 3.

Membership privileges include the right to vote in Party elections, receipt of the Party newsletters and emails, and the right to represent the Party in candidacy for public office.

 

 

ARTICLE IV (Officers and Duties)

The officers of the Party shall be:

            (1) a Chairperson

            (2) a Vice-Chairperson

            (3) a Secretary, and

            (4) a Treasurer,

to be elected at the State Convention. No individual may hold more than one office at a time.

          A.    The Chairperson shall preside at all meetings of the Party, shall perform such duties as usually pertain to the office, and shall perform such other duties as are assigned by the Executive Committee.

 

          B.  The Vice-Chairperson shall act as assistant to the Chair-person shall perform the duties of the Chairperson in the Chairperson’s absence, and shall also perform such other duties as are assigned by the Executive Committee.

 

           C.   The Secretary shall keep an accurate, complete and up-to-date record of the Party and the Executive Committee Meetings and present at each meeting the minutes of the previous meeting for approval. In all elections and roll call votes, the Secretary shall keep an accurate tally of such votes.

 

          D.    The Treasurer, or any assistant treasurer recognized by the Executive Committee, shall receive all monies paid to the Party and shall deposit the same in such bank or banks as shall have been designated by the Executive Committee and shall disburse funds upon order of the Executive Committee.

 

 

 

ARTICLE V (Executive Committee)

The Executive Committee of the Party shall be composed of the following:

            (1) the four elected officers of the Party; and

            (2) five members elected at large at the State Convention.

The Executive Committee shall take office immediately upon the close of the State Convention and serve thereafter until the adjournment of the next State Convention.

 

         A. The Executive Committee shall meet at such times and places as may be determined by the action of the Committee by call of the Chairperson, or by the written request of three or more of the members of the Executive Committee.  The Chairperson shall notify all Committee members of all meetings of the Committee.

 

         B.  More than one-half of the membership thereof shall constitute a quorum at all meetings of the Executive Committee for the transaction of business, and a majority vote of those present at a meeting shall rule.  Each member of the Executive Committee shall have one vote and no voting by proxy shall be permitted.

 

          C. The Chairperson, or a designated substitute, shall report all business transacted by the Executive Committee at the next General Membership Meeting.

 

          D.  All Executive Committee Meetings shall be open to observation by any Party member.

 

          E.   The Executive Committee may interview intended candidates for political office to determine their familiarity with the National or State Party and if they are in general agreement with the principles and ideals of the Party and its Platform. If an intended candidate disagrees with one or more planks of the platform, the Executive Committee may require, as a condition of certifying the intended candidate as a Libertarian Party candidate for the government office, that the intended candidate agrees not to raise certain specified planks as an issue in their campaign. The Executive Committee may choose to waive adherence by the intended candidate to one or more planks of the platform if they feel that the intended candidate has principled philosophical objections to the wording of those particular planks.

 

         F.   The Executive Committee shall have the responsibility, subject to the direction of the  General Membership Meetings, for the development and implementation of Party policy, the creation of budgets for the implementation of Party policy, and the operations of the Party, and for the expenditures of Party funds.

 

 

 

ARTICLE VI (Meetings and Conventions)

Section 1.

The Party may hold regular General Membership Meetings, which may be publicized through notification of all major news media by the Chairperson or other authority designated by the Chairperson for the purpose of inviting the public. Party members may be notified by mail, telephone, email, or other forms of communication of the time, day and location of each such meeting by the Chairperson or other authority designated by the Chairperson. These meetings may be conducted de facto or informally via such events as the Foolish Things Literary Salon or other venues that may be of interest to Libertarian Party members.

 

Section 2.

All Party transactions at the General Membership Meetings shall be conducted within 90 minutes of the scheduled meeting time.

 

Section 3.

The Party shall hold a State Convention at least bi-annually in conjunction with a regular monthly General Membership Meeting. The officers of the Party shall be the officers of the convention.  The Executive Committee shall have supervision and management of each Convention and shall fix the official program and order of business.

        A. The State Convention shall elect a Chairperson, a Vice-Chairperson, a Secretary, a Treasurer, and five members-at-large to the Executive Committee in each odd numbered year. Except that in times of vacancy each Committee member’s term shall expire at the close of business at the subsequent odd numbered year’s convention.

                        (1) Nominations for these posts shall be from the floor, with any Party member eligible to be elected.  In cases where no nominee receives a majority vote of all Party members present and voting on the first ballot, runoff votes shall be held, dropping the nominee with the lowest number of votes after each ballot.

                        (2) Voting shall be conducted separately for the four Party officers.

                        (3) Nominations for the at-large positions shall be voted on a single ballot with each Party member present allowed to vote for up to five persons. Only those persons receiving a majority of votes shall be elected. If less than five persons receive a majority of votes than there shall be up to three run off elections to fill the positions.

                        (4) The presiding officer of the Convention may call for a voice vote to close nominations after the first vote is held for at-large members.

                        (5) Executive Committee positions that cannot be filled under the Convention nominating process shall be filled by the rules for vacancy in Article VII.

                        (6) Notwithstanding anything in this section to the contrary an officer or at-large member who receives less than eight votes due to a low convention turnout shall serve only until the next Contention, rather than the next odd year’s convention.

 

         B.  The State Convention may adopt a State Platform which shall be submitted by the Platform Committee for approval.

                        (1) Each proposed plank shall be approved by two-thirds or more of the Party members present and voting to become a part of the State Platform.

                        (2) Any portion of the existing State Platform may be deleted by one third or more of the Party members present and voting at the State Convention.

 

        C.  A Platform Committee comprised of no less than three Party Members shall be appointed by the Executive Committee at least sixty days prior to the State Convention. The Platform Committee shall review the Party planks and make recommendations for the substitutes, deletions, and/or additions to the State Convention for adoption.

 

 

 

ARTICLE VII (Vacancy, Succession and Disciplinary Action)

Section 1.

In the event of a vacancy in the office of Chairperson, the Vice-Chairperson shall serve as Chairperson until the next State Convention.   In the event of the vacancy of any other elected position, the Executive Committee may appoint any Party member to fill such vacancy until the next State Convention.

 

Section 2.

The Executive Committee, by a two-thirds majority, shall have the authority to suspend on written notice the membership of any Party member who

            (1) follows a continued course of public action which is contrary to the principles or objectives of the Party,

            (2) claims to speak or represent the Party when no such authority has been granted, or

            (3) seriously and repeatedly disrupts meetings or activities of the Party.

The accused member shall be granted a full hearing by the Executive Committee within thirty days. Within ten days after such hearing the Executive Committee shall vote to withdraw the suspension or extend it to the next General Membership Meeting at which the Party members present and voting may override the Executive Committee by a two-thirds majority and reinstate said member.

 

 

 

ARTICLE VIII (Constitution and By-Law Amendments)

Section 1.

Proposed amendments to this Constitution and By-Laws shall be submitted to the Executive Committee at least thirty days prior to the General Membership Meeting at which they are to be considered. Each amendment to this Constitution and By-Laws shall be by a vote of two-thirds of the members present and voting at that General Membership Meeting.

 

Section 2.

A copy of the Party Constitution and By-Laws shall be made available to any Party member upon request.

 

 

 

ARTICLE IX (Parliamentary Authority)

Roberts Rules of Order, Latest Edition, shall be the Parliamentary Authority at all Party meetings for all matters of procedure not specifically covered in this Constitution and By-Laws.