Resolution Affirming Affiliate Autonomy and Due Process

On June 24, 2026, the Executive Committee of the Libertarian Party of Hawaiʻi unanimously adopted a Resolution for State Affiliate Autonomy. The resolution affirms the independence of state affiliates, challenges any claim of national authority to police affiliate communications without express bylaws authorization, and calls for written procedural standards before any affiliate can be disciplined.

Similar models have since gone out to affiliates across the country, and the movement is growing. Wisconsin, Oregon, Delaware, and Maine have each passed resolutions of their own in recent weeks, all grounded in the same principle. Article 5, Section 5 of the Libertarian Party Bylaws states that the autonomy of affiliate parties "shall not be abridged by the National Committee".

Events at the national level have made the need for these resolutions plain. There has been an ongoing pattern of tension over speech and communication at the national level. As Affiliates Pass Free-Speech Resolutions, National Leadership Suppression Increases.

Our resolution takes no position on any specific affiliate's conduct or any pending proceeding. It addresses institutional principles. When national leadership claims authority over state communications without a textual basis in the bylaws, every affiliate's messaging is at risk.

The Full Text of the Resolution

RESOLUTION FOR STATE AFFILIATE SPEECH AUTONOMY Affirming Affiliate Autonomy and Procedural Due Process Within the Libertarian Party

WHEREAS, The Libertarian Party of Hawaii is a chartered state-level affiliate of the Libertarian Party;

WHEREAS, Article 5, Section 5 of the Libertarian Party Bylaws provides that "the autonomy of the affiliate and sub-affiliate parties shall not be abridged by the National Committee or any other committee of the Party, except as provided by these bylaws";

WHEREAS, the strength and integrity of the Libertarian Party have historically depended on the deliberative independence of its state affiliates, who reflect the political character and judgment of their respective state memberships;

WHEREAS, recent action by the Libertarian National Committee raises questions of broad institutional concern about the scope of national authority over state affiliate communications and the procedural standards governing affiliate discipline;

WHEREAS, the Bylaws of the Libertarian Party contain no express grant of authority to the National Committee to police the social-media or other speech of state affiliates beyond the specific affiliate-conduct prohibitions stated in Article 5, Section 4;

WHEREAS, the National Committee's own most recently applied procedural standards for affiliate discipline — as demonstrated in the 2021 New Hampshire matter and the 2022 New Mexico matter — included advance notice to the affiliate, articulation of specific alleged conduct, opportunity to be heard, and in the 2021 matter the convening of an investigatory committee to develop the record before any sanction;

WHEREAS, departure from those standards in any future affiliate-discipline matter would expose every state affiliate to discipline without procedural safeguards;

WHEREAS, the Executive Committee of The Libertarian Party of Hawaii takes no position in this Resolution on the merits of any specific affiliate's conduct or any pending appellate proceeding, but addresses only the institutional principles governing affiliate autonomy and procedural fairness;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED:

The Libertarian Party of Hawaii affirms the autonomy of state affiliates as guaranteed by Article 5, Section 5 of the Bylaws, and the right of state affiliates to determine their own messaging and communications consistent with the Bylaws and the Statement of Principles.

The Libertarian Party of Hawaii expresses concern about any assertion of National Committee authority to police state affiliate communications absent express bylaws authorization, and calls for the National Committee to articulate, with clarity and in writing, the textual bylaws basis for any such assertion of authority.

The Libertarian Party of Hawaii urges that any disciplinary action by the National Committee against any affiliate be conducted with: (a) advance written notice to the affiliate; (b) particularized articulation of the specific conduct alleged and the specific bylaws provision alleged to have been violated; (c) a meaningful opportunity for the affiliate to respond before any vote; and (d) the convening of an investigatory committee to develop the factual record where the alleged conduct is material or contested — consistent with the National Committee's own most recent applied precedent.

The Libertarian Party of Hawaii calls upon the National Committee to adopt and publish, through the appropriate bylaws or policy-manual process, written standards governing affiliate-discipline procedure, so that affiliates and their members may understand in advance the procedures by which their status may be reviewed.

The Libertarian Party of Hawaii directs its Chair to transmit a copy of this Resolution to the Chair and Secretary of the Libertarian National Committee, to the Chair of the Judicial Committee, and to the chairs of the other state-level affiliates.

Vote

Adopted June 24, 2026 by the Executive Committee of The Libertarian Party of Hawaii by unanimous vote.

A Look Ahead

Per its final clause, the resolution has been transmitted to the Chair and Secretary of the Libertarian National Committee, the Chair of the Judicial Committee, and the chairs of every state-level affiliate. Any affiliate that shares these concerns is welcome to adapt this model for its own use.

The individual is the smallest minority on earth. A party built on that principle cannot treat disagreements or choice of words as disorder. The Libertarian Party of Hawaiʻi will continue to defend the independence of affiliates and the right of every affiliate to speak for itself.

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