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Proposal Details

Proposal ID	599
Proposal	National Committee Size and Delegate Apportionment
Presenter	Illinois Green Party
Floor Manager	Audrey Clement
Phase	Closed
Discussion	06/20/2011 - 07/10/2011
Voting	07/11/2011 - 07/17/2011
Result	Adopted
Presens Quorum	31 0.6666
Consens Quorum	59 0.6666 of Yes and No Votes

Background

Green Party of the United States (GPUS) Bylaws originally provided for
a National Committee (NC) that had two NC delegates per state. In
2002, the NC moved to a proportional representation system based on
the number of congressional districts per state and Green activity in
them. In 2007 the formula was changed to an apportionment based on
various measures of Green Party strength.

The NC has previously approved the following proposals dealing with
apportionment:
- #5 Proposal on implementation of proportional representation

- #175 Creation Of A Delegate Apportionment Committee

- #272 Allocation of Delegates to the National Committee of the Green
Party version 2
- #279 Apportionment Standing Committee Policies And Procedures

- #295 Delegate Allocation for GPUS National Committee

- #418 Proposal to Amend GPUS National Committee Delegate
Apportionment Formula
- #429 National Committee Apportionment Schedule
.
In 2010 the NC also adopted Proposal #443 Delegate Allocation for GPUS
National Committee for 2010, a computation of
delegate apportionment submitted by the GPUS Apportionment Standing
Committee. That round of reapportionment showed the need for:
- codification of all the rules approved by the NC pertaining to
apportionment within GPUS Rules and Procedures;
- calculation of the number of delegates allotted to a state party
that becomes accredited after apportionment (see 8-1.4 below);
- determination of the effect of an apportionment on pending proposals
at the time of apportionment (see 8-1.3 and 8-1.6).

This new proposal revises the rules for apportionment originally
passed as Proposal #272 as they appear in the GPUS Rules and
Procedures (http://www.gp.org/documents/rules.shtml#08) for clarity,
brevity, and consistent use of terms; and reorders, renumbers and
reformats the amended text to fit into the Article/Section/Sub-Section
format for GPUS rules documents and the existing numerical order of
the rest of the Rules and Procedures. As approved in #78 Creation of
a Green Officeholders Network, this proposal also
adds text that recognized Networks get one non-voting NC delegate.

To consolidate all proposals dealing with apportionment, this proposal
adds text from #175, which provided for a Delegate Apportionment
Formula to be established in 2006 and revisited in 2010 (but which
said nothing about what would happen after 2010) by establishing a
regular review of the formula every eight years, with an option for
the NC to authorize an additional, one-time review four years into any
eight year period, by a 2/3 vote (see 8-1.7 below.) In so doing, this
proposal attempts to strike a balance between having the formula
revisited every four years, which could be seen as a preoccupation
with structure at the expense of organizing; and having no regularly
scheduled intervals at all with which the party could review its
apportionment formula.

This proposal also embeds the Mission Statements and Rules of the
Apportionment Tabulation Committee (formerly the Apportionment
Standing Committee) and the Apportionment Review Committee (formerly
the Delegate Apportionment Committee) into the Apportionment Article.
The Apportionment Tabulation Committee becomes an ad hoc committee
appointed by the Steering Committee that sunsets when its work is
complete every two years. Additionally, the Apportionment Tabulation
Committee is authorized to "Solicit accredited caucuses to verify that
they still meet the Accreditation guidelines at the time of
reapportionment; i.e. having 100 registered members per GPUS Rules and
Procedures, Section 2-6". This addresses the concern that there is
currently no way to know whether a caucus still meets the criteria for
having NC delegates at the time of reapportionment. Finally this
proposal ensures that all apportionment work is done based upon the
data in the GPUS Elections Database as featured on the www.gp.org
website and that it is the responsibility of state parties to provide
updates to that data as necessary to ensure its accuracy.

The most substantial changes in this proposal are to the formula for
apportionment of delegates to the National Committee. First, this
proposal provides for a reduction in the size of the NC from 200 +/- 2
to 150 +/- 2, reducing the size of the body while still retaining both
proportionality and a two delegate per state party minimum.

Second, the apportionment formula, while retaining the same general
categories, is significantly simplified, and revised to address
difficulties that non-registration states and states with difficult
ballot access requirements have faced. The Membership Strength
category now allows for states to use 0.1% of the state population as
a replacement for partisan registration, addressing the long-standing
apples and oranges conundrum of comparing partisan registration states
against non-registration states by assuming a baseline registration
percentage for every state. The Candidate and Officeholder Strength
category is greatly simplified, using only the metrics of total number
of candidates and total number of officeholders. The State Voting
Strength category is also simplified, establishing metrics of total
number of votes for all Green Party candidates, and votes for the
highest partisan candidates. Finally, the Presidential Voting
Strength category provides for a baseline presidential voting
percentage of 0.1%, offsetting the imbalance for states in which the
presidential nominee was not on the ballot in preceding years.

Proposal

(1) That the existing ARTICLE VIII ALLOCATION OF DELEGATES TO THE
NATIONAL COMMITTEE OF THE GREEN PARTY of the GPUS Rules and Procedures
be replaced by the following:

ARTICLE VIII. NATIONAL COMMITTEE SIZE AND DELEGATE APPORTIONMENT

Section 8-1. Size and Apportionment of National Committee

8-1.1 The National Committee shall consist of 150 +/- 2 delegates,
when including all delegates from all state parties and caucuses
accredited and active at the time of bi-annual apportionment, as
described in 8-1.3.

8-1.2 All active, accredited state parties as defined in Article I
Apportionment are entitled to a minimum of two delegates. All
accredited caucuses that have 100 registered members as per Article I
Apportionment are considered active for the purposes of this Article
and are entitled to one delegate. All recognized networks are
entitled to one non-voting delegate, which shall not be included in
the calculation of the 150 +/- 2 delegates as established in 8-1.1.
State parties, caucuses, and networks may voluntarily choose to have
fewer delegates than those allotted to them.

8-1.3 Apportionment of delegates to state parties shall be based upon
the Delegate Apportionment Categories in 8-5 and the Delegate
Apportionment Formula in 8-6. Every two years, in the odd-numbered
year, the Apportionment Tabulation Committee shall calculate the
implementation of the Delegate Apportionment Formula and forward its
results to the National Committee as a proposal. The proposal shall
require a two-thirds vote for approval; and if approved, shall become
effective 60 days after the conclusion of the vote, except as provided
for in 8-1.5.

8-1.4 Accredited and active state parties and caucuses and recognized
networks may also send alternate delegates (henceforth referred to as
alternates) to the National Committee. Accredited and active state
parties may send as many alternates as the number of delegates they
are entitled to send. Accredited and active caucuses and recognized
networks may send up to two alternates. Alternates are entitled to
vote in the stead of delegates according to internal rules of state
parties and caucuses.

8-1.5 Should any state party become accredited, or have its status
change to active, after the bi-annual apportionment, the Apportionment
Tabulation Committee shall recalculate the Delegate Allocation Formula
with the newly accredited or active state party included, and the
National Committee shall be expanded by the number of delegates
allotted to the newly accredited state party. Only newly accredited
or active state parties shall be affected by this calculation.
Existing state parties shall retain their previously approved number
of delegates. Should a new caucus become accredited after the
bi-annual apportionment, the National Committee shall be expanded by
one delegate per new caucus. After such expansions, the next
bi-annual apportionment shall return the size of the National
Committee to as close to 150 as the mathematics of the formula allows,
within +/- 2.

8-1.6 All proposals before the National Committee that are in the
discussion phase when a new apportionment becomes effective shall
operate under the new apportionment during the voting phase. All
proposals before the National Committee that have entered the voting
phase shall operate under the apportionment in place when the voting
phase began, regardless of whether a new apportionment became
otherwise effective during the voting phase.

8-1.7 Amendments to the Delegate Apportionment Categories and the
Delegate Apportionment Formula may be proposed to the National
Committee by the Apportionment Review Committee once every eight
years, in the odd-numbered year before the presidential elections.
The National Committee may authorize the Apportionment Review
Committee by a two thirds vote, to convene and propose amendments four
years into an eight year period, in the odd-numbered year before the
presidential elections.

Section 8-2. Apportionment Tabulation Committee

8-2.1 Mission Statement

The Apportionment Tabulation Committee shall:

8-2.1(a) Calculate the implementation of the Delegate Apportionment
Formula, through a process of communication and consultation with
state parties;

8-2.1(b) Apply the criteria contained in the Delegate Apportionment
Categories, as interpreted by the committee and based upon official
election results, voter registration totals and other such information
where available;

8-2.1(c) Present its result in the form of a proposal to the National
Committee.

8-2.2 Duties and Responsibilities

The duties and responsibilities of the Apportionment Tabulation
Committee are to:

8-2.2(a) Design spreadsheets to facilitate performing the
calculations of the Delegate Apportionment Formula.

8-2.2(b) Base its work upon available census and election information
as available online, and in particular on election information
contained in the GPUS Elections Database as displayed on the
www.gp.org website; and solicit state parties to review this
information and send any updates necessary to ensure that it is
accurate. If a state party does not submit updates within the
timeline established for that process, the Apportionment Tabulation
Committee is empowered to use the data as is on the www.gp.org website
until the next apportionment.

8-2.2(c) Solicit accredited caucuses to verify that they still meet
the Accreditation guidelines at the time of reapportionment; i.e.
having 100 registered members per Article I Apportionment. A report
of membership from the Co-Chairs of the caucus, forwarded to the Chair
of the Apportionment Tabulation Committee and copied to the National
Committee Votes List, shall be considered verification. Such
information shall be included in the background to the proposal to the
National Committee as described in 8-2.1(c).

8-2.2(d) Apply the Delegate Apportionment Formula to the data,
perform the apportionment calculations and report the results in the
form of a proposal to the National Committee.

8-2.2(e) Develop and make available a formal challenge process for
data submitted by a state party or to the data entry or computational
analysis, review any such challenges, and make the final decision
regarding numbers to be used.

8-2.3 Membership and Structure

8-2.3(a) Between November 15th and December 15th of every
even-numbered year, the Steering Committee shall appoint seven people
to the Apportionment Tabulation Committee. One of the seven people
must be a Steering Committee member, and no more than two of the seven
people may be Steering Committee members. The Steering Committee's
appointments shall be published to the National Committee votes list
as part of the Steering Committee minutes.

8-2.3(b) The Steering Committee shall designate the chair of the
Apportionment Tabulation Committee.

8-2.3(c) The Steering Committee may remove members from the
Apportionment Tabulation Committee, or replace members should
vacancies occur.

8-2.3(d) Any appointment on the part of the Steering Committee to the
Apportionment Tabulation Committee may be overturned by a two-thirds
vote of the National Committee, upon National Committee approval of a
proposal by a state party or caucus to that effect. Such a proposal
must be sent to the Steering Committee within six weeks of the
publishing of the minutes of the appointments made and shall have a
two week discussion and one week vote.

8-2.3(e) The 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.

8-2.4 Decision-Making

8-2.4(a) The voting membership shall attempt to reach consensus on
all proposals.

8-2.4(b) Failing consensus, a two-thirds majority vote is required
for approval of the proposal to send to the National Committee as
described in 8-2.2(d) and for establishing the challenge process as
defined in 8-2.2(e). For other decisions a majority vote is required
for approval.

8-2.4(c) The committee shall maintain an email listserv for committee
business and formal decision-making.

8-2.4(d) 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.

8-2.4(e) Quorum for decision-making shall consist of a majority of
voting members.

Section 8-3 Delegate Apportionment Process and Timeline

8-3.1 The Apportionment Tabulation Committee shall convene 30 days
after the November General Election in the even numbered year, review
the information available in the GPUS Elections Database and put out a
call to state parties to request that they review the same information
and offer any corrections to the Apportionment Tabulation Committee no
later than 75 days after the November General Election.

8-3.2 Within the Delegate Apportionment Categories, there are
multiple methods of determining the strength of a state party relative
to the others. The state party may choose which method in each
category to use. If the state party does not choose, the
Apportionment Committee will use the method in each category that
gives each state party its highest possible percentage of delegates on
the National Committee.

8-3.3 No later than 100 days after the November General Election, the
Apportionment Tabulation Committee shall determine the number of
delegates allocated to each state party using the Delegate
Apportionment Formula and forward a proposal to the National Committee
for approval. The Apportionment Committee shall address any
challenges to its proposal according to the process described in
8-2.2(e) before the proposal goes to a vote of the National Committee.

8-3.4 Reserved for language specific to 2011 reapportionment.

Section 8-4. Apportionment Review Committee

8-4.1 Mission Statement

To facilitate the adoption of a proportional system of representation
that represents accredited state parties fairly, while assuring that
all accredited states are represented on the national committee, the
Apportionment Review Committee shall develop Delegate Apportionment
Categories and a Delegate Apportionment Formula for establishing the
apportionment of delegates to each accredited state party, and present
them for adoption by the National Committee.

8-4.2 Duties and Responsibilities

8-4.2(a) Convene once every eight years, or more frequently as
directed by the National Committee as per 8-1.6, to review and
potentially propose revisions to the Delegate Apportionment Categories
and a Delegate Apportionment Formula contained in this Article.

8-4.3 Membership and Structure

8-4.3(a) The Apportionment Review Committee shall consist of eight
members elected by the National Committee. All National Committee
members and alternates are considered automatically eligible to be
elected, as are any other Green Party members nominated or vetted by
their accredited state party or caucus.

8-4.3(b) Between fifty-five and sixty days before the November
General Election in the even-numbered, non-Presidential year, and
again between twenty-five and thirty days before said election, the
Secretary shall publish a call for nominations to the National
Committee Votes list. Nominations may be made by any National
Committee member or alternate, including the candidate. Nominations
shall be considered made when posted to the National Committee Votes
List. Nominations shall be considered accepted when posted as such to
the National Committee Votes List by the candidate. Self-nominations
shall be considered accepted when made. The deadline for nominations
and acceptance shall be three days after the November General
Election.

8-4.3(c) Elections to the Apportionment Review Committee shall be
conducted according to the procedures in Article VI of the GPUS Rules
and Procedures for multi-seat elections. Each nominee is expected to
submit a biography detailing their qualifications to the National
Committee Votes List. A two week discussion period followed by a one
week vote shall commence the first Monday in the week after the
November General Election.

8-4.3(d) The Apportionment Review Committee shall have two co-chairs.

8-4.3(e) The members of the committee may at their pleasure approve
committee advisors and/or observers who are not voting members from
states or caucuses.

8-4.4 Apportionment Review Committee Decision-Making

8-4.4(a) The voting membership shall attempt to reach consensus on
all proposals.

8-4.4(b) Failing consensus, a two-thirds majority vote is required
for approval for all substantive decisions, including the disposition
of preliminary and final reports. For non-substantive proposals
including procedural ones, a majority vote is required for approval.

8-4.4(c) The committee shall maintain an email listserv for committee
business and formal decision-making.

8-4.4(d) 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.

8-4.4(e) Quorum for decision-making shall consist of a majority of
voting members.

Section 8-5 Delegate Apportionment Categories

8-5.1 Definitions

8-5.1(a) Throughout the Delegate Apportionment Categories, when a
reference is made to "a state party�s proportion", the intention is to
take the state party�s count in a given category and divide by the sum
total of all such counts for all accredited and active state parties.

8-5.2 Membership Strength

8-5.2(a) Membership Strength shall be defined as the normalized
percent of the state party maximum of:
(i) Green Party registration in partisan registration states; or
(ii) One-thousandth (0.1 percent) of the United States Census
Bureau�s most recent state population estimate.

8-5.2(b) If legal action results in a state Green party having its
members legally invalidated, they may continue to use the last
membership count in place at the time of invalidation until the next
apportionment cycle.

8-5.3 Candidate and Officeholder Strength

8-5.3(a) Candidate and Officeholder Strength is defined as the
normalized percent of the maximum of the state party�s proportion of:
(i) Current Green Party elected officeholders; or
(ii) The total number of Green Party candidates for public office
during the previous four calendar years.

8-5.3(b) For the purposes of this category, Green Party office
holders and candidates are defined as any Green Party member who runs
for public office, who is not also a member of the Republican or
Democratic Party; and who has not run solely on the ballot line of
another statewide or national political party. Green Party office
holders and candidates who ran in an election where fewer than 300
ballots were cast shall count as half. Office holders and candidates
at the precinct level shall not be counted in any of the calculations.

8-5.4 State Voting Strength

8-5.4(a) State Voting Strength is defined as the normalized percent
of the maximum of the state party proportion of:
(i) The total number of votes for all Green Party state and local
candidates during the previous four calendar years; or
(ii) The total number of votes for the Green Party candidates in each
state who received the highest number of votes in a partisan election
for state or local office during the previous four calendar years,
subject to adjustment.

8-5.4(b) For the purposes of this category, Green Party candidates
may not also be members of the Republican or Democratic Party; and may
not have run solely on the ballot lines of another statewide or
national political party.

8-5.4(c) For the purposes of 8-5.3(a)(ii), the candidate with the
highest number of votes must have run in a race also contested by
candidates of both the Democratic and Republican Parties; or, if the
candidate with the higher number of votes did not run in a race so
contested, one-fourth (25%) of that candidate�s vote total can be
used.

8-5.5 Presidential Voting Strength

8-5.5(a) Presidential voting strength is defined as the normalized
percent of the maximum adjusted Green Party proportion of vote for
President in each of the preceding two presidential election cycles,
where adjusted Green Party vote for President is defined as the
maximum of the state party proportion of the sum of the greater for
each state of:
(i) Votes for Green Party presidential nominee in that state; or
(ii) One thousandth (0.1 percent) of the number of ballots cast for
President in that state.

Section 8-6 Delegate Apportionment Formula

The Delegate Apportionment Formula shall be based upon the Delegate
Apportionment Categories described in 8-5 and calculated as follows:

8-6.1 Calculate the score in each of the four Delegate Apportionment
Categories. Normalize each category so that the total percentage is
100%.

8-6.2 Add up these scores and divide by 4 to get an average score.
This is the percentage of the delegation designated to the state.

8-6.3 If the percentage is less than the minimum percentage threshold
of delegates allocated to each state, then two delegates will be
allocated to that state party. The minimum percentage threshold is {2
/ [150 - (number of accredited caucuses)]} x 100%.

8-6.4 If the percentage is greater than the minimum threshold, that
is the initial percentage of delegates allocated to the state party.

8-6.5 Once the initial percentages are calculated for all accredited,
active parties, these values must be normalized to assure that the
total percent of delegates equals 100%. The formula for normalizing
the initial percentages is as follows:

8-6.5(a) Set all states with initial percentage scores below the
minimum threshold value equal to the minimum threshold.

8-6.5(b) Add up the initial percentage scores of all states and
divide each state's initial percentage by this total.

8-6.5(c) Repeat the steps in 8-6.5(a) and 8-6.5(b) until the total
percentage of delegates allotted to all states (150 - number of
accredited caucuses) equals approximately 100% (will usually take 3 to
4 iterations). The number of delegates allocated to each state is
calculated by multiplying the normalized percentage of each state by
[150 - (number of accredited caucuses)] and rounding off to the
nearest integer.

8-6.5(d) Cap the total number of delegates allowed for a single state
at 21% of the target National Committee size in 8-1.1.

8-6.5(e) Adjust the rounding threshold if necessary to bring the
total number of delegates within the range of +/- 2 of the target
number.

(2) That the Apportionment Standing Committee is hereby dissolved.

Resources

Rules and Procedures change would become effective upon passage.

CONTACT: Phil Huckelberry
phil.huckelberry - at - gmail.com

References

- 5 Proposal on implementation of proportional representation,
- 175 Creation Of A Delegate Apportionment Committee
- 272 Allocation of Delegates to the National Committee of the Green Party version 2
- 279 Apportionment Standing Committee Policies And Procedures
- 418 Proposal to Amend GPUS National Committee Delegate Apportionment Formula � unrevised
- 429 National Committee Apportionment Schedule

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