Green Party of the United States - National Committee Voting

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Proposal Details

Proposal ID	175
Proposal	Creation Of A Delegate Apportionment Committee
Presenter	DC Statehood Green Party
Floor Manager	Jake Schneider
Phase	Closed - Adopted
Discussion	09-12-2005 - 10-02-2005
Voting	10-03-2005 - 10-09-2005
Presens Quorum	Two Thirds of Active Accredited States/Caucuses
Consens Quorum	A Majority of Yes and No Votes

Background

To improve internal democracy in the GPUS, we reform our representation on
the National Committee using the principle of proportional representation. It is
imperative that all members of the Green Party recognize that decisions made by
the national party reflect the true will of the membership, and that all votes of
the membership are fully counted and respected in selecting the party's presidential
ticket.

To institute a more proportional system of representation the GPUS must
develop a set of criteria that fairly allocates delegates. While a number of
obstacles exist to developing a fully unified set of standardize criteria - including
registration and ballot access laws - it is imperative that the national party work to
improve their current system to ensure party unity.

Developing a method for allocating delegates based on a more proportional
system of representation is one of the most important tasks currently facing the
National Party, and all efforts should be made to resolve this problem by the 2006
national convention.

Proposal

I. Committee Creation

We call upon the GPUS to improve internal democracy by adopting a national
policy based on the principles of proportional representation. This policy should
strive to create the fairest possible representation of the Green Party membership,
while assuring that all accredited states are represented in our leadership body
and at our national nominating convention.

To facilitate the adoption of a more proportionate system or governance, the
GPUS shall create a committee to develop a set of criteria for establishing the
delegation size of each state. This committee shall be given six months to makes
recommendations to the GPUS, at which time these recommendations shall be
voted on by the NC.

The criteria proposed by the internal committee shall constitute an amendment
to the bylaws and therefore require a 2/3's vote for passage. If these criteria
are rejected by the NC, the committee shall by given 6 more months to
incorporate the concerns of the NC and come back with a new proposal for allocating
delegates. All proposals must, however, adhere to the principle of proportional
representation.

II. Committee Structure

A. Voting Membership. The internal committee shall consist of 8 members (the
same size as the steering committee) chosen from among the NC delegation. This
structure will allow committee members to communicate more frequently with one
another via teleconferences and help eliminate some of the pitfalls associated with
large committees and their reliance on email list serves to conduct business.

Nominees wishing to serve on this committee shall be required to submit a
biography detailing their qualifications.

All biographies from nominees must be submitted to the GPUS secretary within
one month after the passage of this proposal. The election of members to the
internal committee shall start two weeks after the deadline for receiving
biographies.

B. Election of Internal Committee.

The members of the Internal Committee shall be elected by the NC using Meek's
method of Single Transferable Voting.

The threshold a candidate must pass in order to be elected will be the total
number of ballots cast minus the total vote value of the non-used portion of
all exhausted ballots, all divided by one more than the number of seats
being filled.

All ballots that have reached a particular elected candidate shall have their
remaining vote value multiplied by the candidate's surplus multiplier: the
total vote value of all ballots that have reached that candidate at the
point they reach that candidate, minus the election threshold, all divided by the
total vote value of all ballots that have reached that candidate at the
point they reach that candidate.

All ballots cast, along with the name of the delegate casting each ballot,
and a spreadsheet showing the vote-counting process, shall be publicized.
The Steering Committee shall certify the results of the election no earlier
than one week after the ballots and spreadsheet are publicized. The SC's
certification may only be overruled by a resolution from the NC, passed by
simple majority, amending the certification. No motion for an amended
certification may be offered more than 30 days after the SC's original
certification.

C. 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.

D. 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.

E. Co-Chairs.

1. Two co-chairs, preferably reflecting gender balance, shall be elected no
later than one month after the completion of the election of committee members.
If more than two candidates are nominated, the committee shall vote using STV
(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 NC and SC members for the Delegate Apportionment
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.

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

III. Membership Status

A. 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, meaning, criminal sexual harassment or criminal harassment
based on racial, ethnic, religious, gender, sexual identity, age or disability, as
well as verbal harassment as constituted by continuous behavior that undermines
participation and is clearly and unequivocally beyond the bounds of political
disagreement and discourse;
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 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 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, a two-thirds majority vote is required for approval
for all substantive decisions, including the disposition of preliminary and final
reports.
Substantive decisions shall include any decisions involving the outlay of
funds or other tangible resources, changes to committee rules, or formal
statements being made by the committee. For non-substantive 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. The second notice shall include a proposed agenda.

E. Irrespective of the type of meeting (email, phone, in-person), the quorum
to permit decision-making is 2/3 of the members.

Resources

None

References

CONTACT: Michael Piascek -

This proposal is time sensitive in that the presenters
believe we need to have a set of criteria in place for establishing
delegation sizes by the national convention in 2006. Since this
process could take up to one year to resolve, it is imperative that we
set up the proposed committee as soon as possible.

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