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Massachusetts Libertarians Call Special State Convention

Last updated on April 26, 2024

The United Libertarians of Massachusetts have circulated the following message, calling for a special state convention to remove Janel Holmes and Paul Lynch as National Convention delegates and to create a path to remove other delegates from the Massachusetts National Convention delegation:

The Unified Libertarians of Massachusetts experienced the theft of its Facebook page the day of our regular convention, March 16, As a result, several members have petitioned the state committee to have a special convention to amend the by-laws to allow the state committee or the delegates themselves to the National Convention to remove delegates who engage in certain violations of the Non-Aggression Principle, including theft of party property.

State committee members (including some of the original petitioners) suggested an alternative means without amending the by-laws.

The special convention will take place at 10:00 a.m. on May 18 via Zoom.

The link for the Zoom is here: (redacted)

You are invited to a Zoom meeting.
When: May 18, 2024 10:00 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Register in advance for this meeting: After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

So what will the special convention decide? The question to be considered by the special convention — i.e., the resolution proposed by the petitioners — will be:

Move:

Article III, section 3 of the by-laws shall be appended to read:

“4. The state committee may remove delegates voted to the national convention by the state convention by a three-fifths vote of all state committee members for grave violations of the Non-Aggression Principle committed or discovered after the convention vote, up until 72 hours before the start of the national convention.

“From 72 hours before the commencement of the national convention until the end of the convention, the delegates elected at the state convention shall have the power to remove delegates by a three-fifths vote for grave violations of the Non-Aggression Principle committed or discovered after the state convention vote.

“For the purposes of of this section, “grave violations of the Non-Aggression Principle” shall be defined to mean theft or intentional destruction of party property or felony conviction in a court of law for violence, including sexual violence, against another person, or a misdemeanor conviction or no-contest plea involving sexual crimes against children.

“This section, notwithstanding any finding or vote by the State Committee under this section, shall not in any way impair the plenary power of the delegates selected at the state convention under section 3 to fill up vacancies in the number of delegates by three-fourths vote.”

If you are confused as to how this works in our party by-laws, here’s a link to the current by-laws: https://lpofma.org/about-us/

An alternative proposed by state committee members, which has been added to the convention agenda, are the following two resolutions:

The Special Convention agenda shall be appended by the State Committee to include the option to reconsider the appointment of Paul Lynch as a delegate to the National Convention enacted at the regular annual convention on March 16, 2024.

The Special Convention agenda shall be appended by the State Committee to include the option to reconsider the appointment of Janel Holmes as a delegate to the National Convention enacted at the regular annual convention on March 16, 2024.

Note: At the Special Convention, all dues-paying members will have a vote (in accordance with the by-laws) on any of the three motions, but motion to reconsider on the last two resolutions can only made by a member who was present at the regular convention of March 16th, and who had voted in favor of making the named individuals a delegate to the National Convention.

Attending the convention by all party members is highly recommended.

Sincerely,

The Libertarian Party of Massachusetts
(Unified Libertarians of Massachusetts)
Web: lpofma.org
Twitter: @lpofma
Facebook (new!): @LPofMass
Instagram: @lpofmass