On July 28, the Libertarian Party of Connecticut State Central Committee was presented with a long resolution on affiliate speech. Readers will recognize the resolution as an attempt to defend the so-called “Libertarian Party of New Hampshire” from disaffiliation. One a roll-call vote, the motion was rejected 4-3.
The text of the resolution follows.
RESOLUTION ON STATE AFFILIATE AUTONOMY,
SPEECH ATTRIBUTION, AND PROCEDURAL FAIRNESS
Protecting decentralized affiliate judgment while preserving bylaws-based accountability
DRAFT FOR CONSIDERATION BY THE STATE CENTRAL COMMITTEE
ADOPTING BODY State Central Committee of the Libertarian Party of Connecticut
| ADOPTED | Draft pending consideration by the State Central Committee |
WHEREAS, the Libertarian Party of Connecticut (“LPCT”) is a chartered state-level affiliate of the Libertarian Party;
WHEREAS, Article 5, Section 4 of the Libertarian Party Bylaws provides that no affiliate party shall endorse a candidate who is a member of another party for public office in a partisan election and that no affiliate party shall take any action inconsistent with the Statement of Principles or the national Bylaws;
WHEREAS, Article 5, Section 5 provides that the autonomy of affiliate and sub-affiliate parties shall not be abridged by the Libertarian National Committee or any other committee of the Party except as provided by the national Bylaws;
WHEREAS, Article 5, Section 6 authorizes the Libertarian National Committee to revoke affiliate status for cause by a three-fourths vote of the entire National Committee, requires a revocation motion to specify the nature of the cause, and provides a right of appeal to the Judicial Committee;
WHEREAS, Article 5, Section 6 further prohibits revocation of affiliate status within six months before a regular convention, reflecting the importance of stability, convention participation, and protection against disruption of affiliate representation;
WHEREAS, the protections for affiliate autonomy and the provisions governing affiliate accountability must be read together so that neither autonomy nor disciplinary authority is treated as unlimited;
WHEREAS, the Libertarian Party is a voluntary political association grounded in decentralization, freedom of association, and defined limits on delegated authority, and its governing bodies should exercise their authority within the scope of and consistently with the Bylaws, including through duly adopted rules authorized by those Bylaws and applied through clear, prospective, and evenhanded procedures;
WHEREAS, official communications issued through an affiliate-controlled account, by an authorized spokesperson, or with subsequent affiliate ratification may constitute organizational action, while the personal speech of individual members or officers should not be attributed to an affiliate solely because of title or membership;
WHEREAS, the LPCT Bylaws vest management of the Party’s affairs in the State Central Committee (“SCC”), authorize the designation of Party spokespeople, preserve the freedom of individuals and groups to express their own views when they do not imply Party endorsement, and authorize the SCC to approve local, county, and congressional district affiliates;
WHEREAS, revocation of affiliate status is a severe institutional sanction that may affect a state party’s use of the Libertarian Party name, participation in national governance, relationships with members and candidates, and ability to carry out its political mission;
WHEREAS, the current national Bylaws establish voting, notice-after-revocation, and appellate requirements but do not comprehensively state the procedures that should govern the period before a revocation vote;
WHEREAS, clear written charges, access to the evidence relied upon, a meaningful opportunity to respond, impartial fact-finding where facts are disputed, and a reasoned final record promote legitimacy and reduce inconsistent, selective, or unpredictable enforcement;
WHEREAS, this Resolution concerns internal procedural fairness within a private voluntary association, does not assert that constitutional due-process standards apply, and takes no position on the merits of any specific pending or past affiliate dispute;
WHEREAS, nothing in this Resolution endorses any specific communication or creates immunity for threats, fraud, violence, unlawful conduct, endorsement of another party’s candidate contrary to the Bylaws, or any other conduct that supplies valid cause for discipline under the applicable Bylaws.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED:
- LPCT affirms the autonomy of state affiliates to determine their own strategy, priorities, messaging, and communications, subject to the Libertarian Party Bylaws, the Statement of Principles, and duly adopted rules that are authorized by and consistent with the national Bylaws.
- For purposes of affiliate discipline, a communication should be attributed to an affiliate when it was knowingly authorized or ratified by the affiliate, issued through an account owned or controlled by the affiliate, or made by a person acting with actual authority on the affiliate’s behalf. A communication issued through an affiliate-owned or affiliate-controlled account should create a rebuttable presumption of affiliate attribution, subject to evidence of unauthorized access, action outside delegated authority, prompt repudiation, or reasonable corrective action.
An affiliate may also be responsible where it knowingly created and failed to correct a reasonable appearance that a communication was authorized. A person’s office, candidacy, membership, or use of a party title, standing alone, should not conclusively establish affiliate authorization. Relevant considerations should include account control, actual authorization, subsequent ratification or repudiation, reasonable corrective action, and whether the conduct was isolated or repeated.
- Before voting to revoke affiliate status based in whole or in part on communications or alleged organizational conduct, the National Committee should provide the affected affiliate with at least fourteen (14) calendar days’ advance written notice. The notice should state the date, time, and method of the meeting at which revocation will be considered or, in the case of an electronic ballot, the date and time when voting will open and close.
A shorter period should be used only upon a written finding by the National Committee that a specific and urgent circumstance makes fourteen days impracticable. The written finding should explain the urgent circumstance, and the affiliate should receive as much notice and opportunity to respond as reasonably practicable. A reasonable extension should be considered when the charges or evidence are unusually extensive.
- The written notice should identify with particularity: (a) the specific conduct or communication alleged; (b) the person, account, or organizational body to which it is attributed; (c) the basis for attributing it to the affiliate; (d) the specific Bylaws provision, portion of the Statement of Principles, or duly adopted rule authorized by and consistent with the Bylaws that allegedly supplies cause for discipline; and (e) the evidence on which the proposed action relies.
- If full disclosure of evidence is limited by law or by a specific and necessary confidentiality concern, the National Committee should provide redacted materials or a sufficiently detailed summary to permit a meaningful response, unless doing so would violate law or create a specific, documented risk. Confidentiality should not be invoked more broadly than necessary.
- The affected affiliate should receive a meaningful opportunity before the revocation vote to submit a written response, present argument to the National Committee, respond to material evidence, correct factual errors, request clarification of the charges, and identify relevant witnesses or documents, consistent with applicable rules.
- When the proposed sanction depends on material facts that are genuinely disputed, the National Committee should use an investigatory committee, hearing officer, or other impartial fact-finding process sufficient to develop a reliable record. Persons performing fact-finding should disclose material conflicts, should not have been directly involved in the underlying dispute, and should not have publicly prejudged the material facts. The fact-finder should issue written findings that distinguish factual determinations from recommendations concerning sanction. A separate fact-finding process need not be required when the material facts are admitted, documentary, or otherwise uncontested.
- Participation in any final National Committee vote shall remain governed by the national Bylaws and applicable parliamentary rules.
- Before revocation is imposed, the National Committee should consider whether correction, repudiation, removal of an unauthorized communication, mediation, a written opportunity to cure, a request for corrective action authorized by and consistent with the Bylaws, or another less severe remedy would adequately address the conduct.
Any final revocation resolution or accompanying written findings should identify the lesser measures considered and explain why they were inadequate, inappropriate, or unnecessary. Revocation may remain appropriate without prior lesser measures when the conduct is sufficiently serious, repeated, incapable of meaningful correction, or demonstrates that a lesser remedy would not adequately protect interests recognized by the Statement of Principles or the Bylaws.
- Any final revocation resolution, together with any accompanying written findings, should state the specific cause, governing authority, material factual findings, and reasons why revocation is warranted. The complete record relied upon should be preserved and transmitted to the Judicial Committee in the event of an appeal, including confidential material where disclosure to the Judicial Committee is lawful. Publicly available copies may be redacted only as authorized by law, the national Bylaws, or the Judicial Committee Rules of Appellate Procedure.
All proceedings, actions, and votes should comply with the open-session, roll-call, notice, agenda, minutes, and recordkeeping requirements of Article 7, Sections 13 through 15, of the national Bylaws, subject only to the executive-session exceptions expressly authorized by those Bylaws.
- LPCT calls upon the National Committee and, where appropriate, the national convention to adopt and publish prospective written standards governing affiliate-discipline procedures through the Bylaws, a policy manual, or both. Those standards should preserve all rights provided by Article 5, Section 6 and should not reduce any existing right of appeal.
- Nothing in this Resolution prevents discipline for valid cause under the national Bylaws or protects an affiliate that endorses another party’s candidate in violation of the Bylaws, acts inconsistently with the Statement of Principles or the Bylaws, or represents personal or unauthorized communications as official Party communications.
- LPCT adopts the procedural principles embodied in Sections 2 through 10 of this Resolution as internal policy governing SCC consideration of derecognition, suspension, or another material sanction against an LPCT town, county, or congressional district affiliate. Those principles shall be adapted as reasonably necessary to LPCT’s governing structure and shall apply only to the extent consistent with the LPCT Bylaws.
If a conflict exists, the LPCT Bylaws shall control. This Resolution does not amend the LPCT Bylaws, create disciplinary authority not otherwise granted by them, or authorize any sanction that the SCC is not otherwise empowered to impose.
- LPCT encourages its national convention delegation and the representatives serving the national region that includes Connecticut to support a national Bylaws amendment or other enforceable written procedure that provides a clear pre-revocation process while preserving the National Committee’s authority to act for cause under Article 5.
- The LPCT Chair is directed to transmit an adopted copy of this Resolution to the Chair and Secretary of the Libertarian National Committee, the Chair of the Judicial Committee, the representatives serving the national region that includes Connecticut, and the chairs of the other state-level affiliates. The LPCT Secretary shall retain the Resolution with the Party’s official records.
VOTE AND CERTIFICATION
Adopted by the State Central Committee on [DATE] [N] [N] [N]
In Liberty,
Libertarian Party of Connecticut
State Central Committee
Authorities referenced: Libertarian Party Bylaws, Article 5, Sections 4–6; Article 7, Sections 1–2 and 13–15; Article 8, Sections 2–3; Article 13; and Article 16 (adopted May 2024); Judicial Committee Rules of Appellate Procedure, Sections 1 and 3–9 (amended 2022); LPCT Bylaws, Article IV, Sections 1, 5, 6, and 8, and Article V, Section 7 (last amended November 15, 2025).
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