Green Party of the United States - National Committee Voting

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Proposal Details

Proposal ID	149
Proposal	Bylaw Amendment - SC Recall And NC Removal
Presenter	Green Party of Illinois
Floor Manager	Jake Schneider
Phase	Cancelled
Discussion	06-20-2005 - 07-10-2005
Voting	07-11-2005 - 07-17-2005
Presens Quorum	Two Thirds of Active Accredited States/Caucuses
Consens Quorum	Two Thirds of Yes and No Votes

Background

One fundamental democratic right of a body is the right to recall its
officers. Green Parties have worked to institute such democratic reforms
in several places, and in California in 2003 the Green Party of California
endorsed the recall of the Governor of California. Current GPUS Bylaws do
not allow for recall of Steering Committee members, however. The only
process provided in the bylaws is one for "impeachment". This is not
sufficiently democratic, as it only allows for removal based on a number of
delineated grounds, whereas there might be reasonable and justifiable
grounds that are not "impeachable offenses" that a body such as the
National (Coordinating) Committee may wish to remove Steering Committee
members.

Because it is a different process, and removal is a heavy thing to do, the
process must also provide safety that such motions could not happen with
simplicity. Under the current bylaw, three delegates from three different
states may bring forward impeachment charges, with the matter being sent to
a "grievance tribunal". But unlike impeachment, with recall, a "grievance
tribunal" does not make as much sense. Therefore, to provide a safeguard,
the threshold necessary for introducing such a proposal must be set very high.

While an impeachment-style removal process is not a sufficient standard for
removal of an officer, it does qualify as a sufficient process for removal
of another member of the body. An elected officer must be subject to
recall; a peer can not be subject to recall, but if the individual is
engaging in activities that are destructive to the Green Party, it is the
responsibility of that individual's peers to take appropriate action.

Therefore, the GPUS bylaws are deficient in not providing for a basic
removal (not recall) process for National (Coordinating) Committee
members. The process must be different and more difficult than removal of
Steering Committee members and should involve something akin to a grievance
tribunal.

The structure of the existing bylaws is somewhat confusing so this proposal
adds numbering to existing bylaws for ease of understanding.

Proposal

1. GPUS Bylaws, Article VI, shall have numbering and headings added as
follows:

"A. Nomination" added before the first paragraph;
"B. Vacancies" added before the second paragraph;
"C. Method of Election" added before the third paragraph.

2. Everything after the third paragraph of Article VI shall be stricken
and replaced with the following:

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D. Recall

A proposal to recall a member of the Steering Committee may be brought
forward by no less then 20 National Committee members representing no less
than 10 states or caucuses. No such proposal can be to recall more than
one Steering Committee member. The proposal must at all times retain
support sufficient to have brought it forward. After introduction of the
proposal, the NC shall begin voting upon the proposal no sooner than four
weeks after introduction and no later than six weeks after
introduction. The vote will be conducted online, even if a national
meeting falls within the specified window. The voting threshold shall be
two-thirds of all National Committee members, and the Steering Committee
member will only be recalled if there are at least twice as many Yes votes
as No votes and more Yes votes than No and Abstain votes combined.

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2. GPUS Bylaws, Articles I and II, shall have existing section numerals replaced with letters for ease of understanding.

3. GPUS Bylaws, Article II, shall have an additional section inserted after existing section 2 (B) as follows, with existing section 3 (C) to be renumbered appropriately:

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C. Removal of National Committee Members

The following will be grounds for removal of National Committee members:

1. Committing the Green Party to actions, endorsements, and other policy positions outside the decision-making process.
2. Misrepresenting the decisions and policies of the Green Party.
3. Misappropriation, embezzlement, or unauthorized disbursement of Green Party funds.
4. Advocacy or practice of discrimination.
5. Advocacy or practice of violent political action.
6. Misrepresentation of self.
7. Harassment.
8. Actions taken to undermine the Green Party.

A proposal to remove a member of the National Committee may be brought by no less than twenty National Committee delegates representing no less than ten states or caucuses. The operative section of the proposal must specify cause for removal. No such proposal can be to remove more than one National Committee member. Once such a proposal is brought forward, the Steering Committee shall designate a body, either through appointment of a special body or through referral to a standing committe, to convene hearings on the charges; delegates involved in bringing the proposal forward shall not be appointed to such a body or shall recuse themselves if a standing body on which they serve is selected. Officers of the state party or caucus from which the relevant National Committee member has been elected must be notified immediately upon receipt of the proposal and representatives of that state or caucus must be given the opportunity to speak before the SC-designated body. The charged National Committee member shall have the right to call witnesses on his/her behalf. Within three weeks after the introduction of the proposal, the SC-designated body shall issue a report complete with recommendation to the National Committee. The National Committee shall commence voting no less than one week and no more than two weeks after the issuance of such a report. The voting threshold shall be two-thirds of all National Committee members, and the National Committee member will only be removed if there are at least twice as many Yes votes as No votes and more Yes votes than No and Abstain votes combined.

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Resources

CONTACT: Phil Huckelberry, phil@mcleancountygreens.org

References

None

The voting software used by the Green Party of the United States is free software, licensed under the General Public License v2 (GPL).