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Proposal Details

Proposal ID	157
Proposal	Creation Of A Standing Ballot Access Committee BAC
Presenter	Coordinated Campaign Committee, Illinois Green Party, and Indiana Green Party
Floor Manager	Jody Grage
Phase	Closed
Discussion	07/04/2005 - 07/10/2005
Voting	07/11/2005 - 07/17/2005
Result	Adopted
Presens Quorum	32 0.6666
Consens Quorum	50 A Majority of Yes and No Votes

Background

As a political party, the Green Party is often known best by the candidates
it runs for office. While some Greens feel too much electoral work is done
and some Greens feel too little is done, there is no question that the Green
Party continues to run hundreds of candidates annually and will continue to
do so. In addition, the Green Party has fielded a candidate for President
of the United States in the last three presidential elections.

In many places one of the greatest obstacles to fielding candidates is a
series of arduous ballot access laws which in many cases are clearly
designed to hold third parties down. Ballot access has proven to be a
tremendous obstacle for Greens.

In general, ballot access issues manifest in three ways. The most obvious
is achieving ballot access through existing statutory methods. In most
cases, ballot access is initially achieved through petitioning, but in some
states Green registration totals or other methods will secure ballot access.
In addition to achieving ballot access initially, retaining ballot access -
often by candidates receiving a certain percentage of the vote - needs to be
considered. The second is lobbying state legislatures (and to a lesser
extent the federal government) to make improvements in ballot access laws.
The third is legal - Greens have been forced in many states to file suit
against state and local governments and others to protect ballot access
rights and/or to challenge unconstitutional ballot access laws. All of
these manifestations of the ballot access fight require coordination,
sometimes with state and local parties, sometimes with other political
parties or organizations, sometimes with candidates, sometimes with other
GPUS committees.

The purpose of the establishment of a standing Ballot Access Committee is to
bring together these disparate components. The 2004 election cycle
demonstrated that far more attention needs to be paid to ballot access.
While two existing committees - the Coordinated Campaign Committee (CCC) and
the Presidential Campaign Support Committee (PCSC) - have dealt with matters
related to ballot access, and the CCC has even created a working group
(Ballot Access Working Group - BAWG), the charges of those committees go
well above and beyond ballot access issues. At the same time, though, the
level of coordination required to work on ballot access
issues is great. Both the CCC and the PCSC have vested interests in
ballot access, but also recognize that the entire specter of ballot access
issues is sufficiently great to require special, directed attention.
Instead of diffused responsibility, both committees feel it is in the best
interests of GPUS to have a stand-alone committee dedicated to working on
issues of ballot access. As a stand alone committee, the Ballot Access
Committee will also have the opportunity to have a line item in the budget,
allowing the national party to fund ballot access efforts as needed.

Proposal

GPUS Ballot Access Committee (BAC)
Policies and Procedures

I. Mission Statement

The GPUS Ballot Access Committee (BAC) will work to assist Greens in
achieving ballot access through petitioning and other initiatives, lobbying
initiatives, and legal initiatives. BAC will work in conjunction with state
and local parties, Green candidates, outside organizations, and other GPUS
committees and in coalition with national and regional ballot access efforts
to expand ballot access opportunities for Greens through petitioning,
lobbying, and legal initiatives, and by so doing work to expand the Ten Key
Values of the Green Party.

II. Committee Structure

A. Voting Membership. The voting membership of the committee shall consist
of Green Party members from the various state parties and caucuses who have
been approved to serve by their state party or caucus. No state party or
caucus shall have more than three voting members on the committee. Each
voting member, not each state or caucus, is entitled to one vote.

B. Advisors and Observers. The voting members of the committee may at
their pleasure approve committee advisors and/or observers who are not
voting members from states or caucuses, per the decision making process
specified in these policies and procedures.

C. Inactivity. Members who have not participated on-line, in
subcommittees, or on teleconferences in the last three months shall be
considered inactive members and shall not be counted toward a quorum. An
updated roster shall be sent to the e-mail list at least every three months.

D. Co-Chairs.

1. Two co-chairs, preferably reflecting gender balance, shall be elected
with staggered terms of two years each. If more than two candidates are
nominated, the committee shall vote using IRV (with a Droop threshold.)
Members may nominate themselves. Vacancies shall cause a vote for a
replacement co-chair. A recall election of a chair may be called, following
the procedure for any proposal.

2. The responsibilities of the co-chairs shall include keeping the
committee on task, maintaining a current roster of committee members,
conducting votes, and communicating with CC and SC members for the BRPP
committee and its subcommittees. Co-chairs shall submit formal reports on
at least a quarterly basis to the CC list detailing committee activities.
The co-chairs shall come to explicit agreement and continue to consult with
each other about how their joint responsibility is to be shared.

E. Ballot Access Working Group. There will be a continuing Ballot Access
Working Group (BAWG) with open membership and an open email listserv.
BAWG members who are not also voting members can be removed or otherwise
sanctioned by the standard decision-making process outlined in these
policies and procedures.

F. Other Subcommittees and Working Groups. The voting membership of the
committee may at their pleasure create working groups and subcommittees.

III. Committee Membership

A. Joining the Committee

1. New members shall be verified by written permission from their state
party or caucus to serve on the committee.

2. No new member from a state party or caucus shall be seated if that
individual exceeds the state party or caucus's allocated three members on
the committee, until such time that the state party or caucus clarifies
which member(s) are to be removed.

3. State parties and caucuses, through their co-chairs or other appropriate
officers, may change permission status for any committee member from their
state at any time, subject to GPUS Bylaws.

B. Sanction or Removal of Members

1. The committee is expressly prohibited from using disagreements regarding
differing views on issues and/or business before the committee as a cause
for sanction or elimination of membership privileges.

2. The committee and its members have a responsibility for maintaining an
open, civil, productive working environment, whether meeting in person, by
telephone, online, or by any other means. The committee shall not tolerate
actions including:

a. Misrepresentation of the committee's or a member's work;
b. Financial improprieties;
c. Violent personal attacks and/or threats, verbal or physical; d.
Discrimination against federal or state (where applicable) protected
classes; e. Harassment; f. Any other unethical or illegal activities
related to committee business or function.

3. Inappropriate actions as outlined above can lead to sanction, suspension
of privileges, or termination of membership via the processes described
below.

4. If at all feasible, the committee shall take steps to maintain a
productive working environment prior to sanction, suspension of privileges,
or removal. These steps may include:

a. Communication with the member's state party or caucus requesting they
intercede with the committee member regarding the behavior(s) in question.
b. Use of facilitation, counseling, mediation, and/or arbitration services,
as provided through the Dispute Resolution Committee or a mutually agreed
upon outside source if necessary, which shall be encouraged and expected.

5. A petition specifying charge(s) and proposed action(s) may be filed by
any three or more members of the committee from three different states
(hereafter known as "the petitioners") to require the committee
co-chair(s) to initiate and administrate formal action to curtail membership
privileges. Upon receipt of any such petition, the
co-chair(s)
shall forward the petition to the state party or caucus that the member
represents.

6. A 2/3 quorum and 2/3 vote, by state, of the committee, shall be
sufficient to confirm the charges and the initiate the action(s) detailed in
the petition.

7. The committee co-chair(s) shall initiate and execute follow through on
the approved action(s) and notify the member immediately following the vote.

8. In limited cases such as violent threats and/or harassment, the
co-chair(s) have the discretion to suspend listserv privileges pending a
vote of the committee.

9. After the member has been informed of disciplinary action, the
co-chair(s) shall, in writing, notify the GPUS National Committee and the
state party or caucus the member represents of the action taken.

10. The committee member in question may, within seven (7) days of these
postings, appeal the committee's action by notifying the GPUS Secretary of
the appeal. The Secretary shall forward the appeal to the National
Committee.

11. Per GPUS bylaws and rules, any state party or caucus may put forward a
proposal to the National Committee to lessen or overturn the action of the
committee. A majority vote of the National Committee shall be sufficient to
pass the proposal.

IV. Decision-Making

A. The voting membership shall attempt to reach consensus on all proposals.

B. Failing consensus, for decisions pertaining to finance, rules, or other
substantive decisions, a two-thirds majority vote is required for approval.
For simple proposals including procedural ones, a majority vote is required
for approval.

C. The committee shall maintain an email listserv for committee business
and formal decision-making.

D. Teleconferences. The committee shall, as needed, conduct
teleconferences for specific purposes. Notice of any committee
teleconference shall be sent out to the e-mail list at least one week in
advance and a reminder sent out two days before the teleconference. Such
notice shall include a proposed agenda.

E. For online votes, quorum for decision-making shall consist of one-fifth
of voting members from one-fifth of represented state parties and caucuses.
Proposals considered online must allow for at least seven days of voting;
upon any syntactical change to a proposal, a new seven-day period must
begin.

F. For teleconference votes, quorum for decision-making shall consist of a
majority of voting members from at least one-third of represented state
parties and caucuses. Failing quorum on a teleconference, decisions will be
reported out for a seven-day voting period on the listserv.

G. At face-to-face meetings at GPUS national meetings, quorum for
decision-making shall consist of a majority of voting members from at least
one-third of represented state parties and caucuses. Failing quorum on a
teleconference, decisions will be reported out for a seven-day voting period
on the listserv.

Resources

Contact:
Jen Walling, jennifer_walling@yahoo.com, Illinois, CCC
Phil Huckelberry, phil@mcleancountygreens.org, Illinois, BAWG

The BAC will require a line item in the annual budget as the NC
determines appropriate for coordinating ballot access efforts.

References

GPUS bylaws

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