Green Party of the United States - National Committee Voting

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Proposal Details

Proposal ID	82
Proposal	2004 Convention Floor Rules
Presenter	Presidential Campaign Support Committee (PCSC)
Floor Manager	Jake Schneider
Phase	Closed - Adopted
Discussion	04-04-2004 - 04-25-2004
Voting	04-26-2004 - 05-02-2004
Presens Quorum	Two Thirds of Active Accredited States/Caucuses
Consens Quorum	Two Thirds of Yes and No Votes

Background

This proposal is the result of two months of discussions by the members of the
Floor Rules Working Group (FRWG), a working group of the Presidential Campaign

Support Committee (PCSC), in regular consultation with the rest of the PCSC, the
Annual National Meeting Committee (ANMCom), and the Bylaws Rules Policy and
Procedure Committee (BRPP).

The PCSC and FRWG have begun discussing possible alternatives for rules
enabling the convention to endorse a candidate, should no candidate win the nomination.
We welcome feedback regarding endorsement rules.

The contact person for this proposal is
Marc Reichardt, PCSC Co-Chair, dystopia@wwnet.com.

Proposal

(Second Revision posted 4/22/04)

- - - Intent - - -

These floor rules are designed to meet the following goals:

* Simplicity.

* Democracy.

* Expedience.

- - - Overview - - -

Delegates vote in multiple rounds until there is a simple majority for a
candidate that will accept the nomination, or a simple majority for not
fielding a presidential ticket. After the second and all subsequent rounds,
last-place candidates and all candidates receiving less than 10% of the vote
during the rounds will be eliminated except as otherwise stated.

- - - The Election Administrator - - -

The GPUS Steering Committee shall select an Election Administrator to
supervise the nomination process, and to select Assistant Election
Administrators as necessary; all of which are to be given final approval by
the Coordinating Committee.

- - - Candidate Speeches - - -

Equal time shall be allocated for the purposes of addressing the convention
to those candidates who have submitted a petition documenting an intention
to vote for the candidate in the first round by at least 25 credentialed
delegates from at least 3 states. Such petitions must be submitted to the
Election Administrator by 6:00pm on Friday the 25th of June; delegate
signatures which appear on more than one petition will be disqualified. A
candidate need not qualify for the speeches portion of the agenda in order
to receive nominating votes.

- - - State Delegations - - -

Each state party shall elect a Reporter and an Alternate Reporter from among
its delegates, and shall provide the Election Administrator with the
Reporter and Alternate Reporter contact information in advance of the
nominating session.

Responsibilities of all state delegation Reporters include attending a
preliminary meeting of all state delegation Reporters on the morning of
Saturday, June 26, and accurately reporting vote totals from their state
within the allowed time limit set by the Election Administrator. A Reporter
may designate another delegate to announce votes.

If a state fails to designate a Reporter who can fulfill the required
duties, then the Election Administrator shall appoint an Assistant to carry
out such requirements for that state.

A state partys instructions to its delegates shall not be enforced by the
convention. Enforcement of instructions and mandates shall be a matter
between the state party and its delegates. Disputes shall be resolved by a
vote of a states delegation, according to the states rules, and the
convention shall accept the decision of the delegation.

- - - Rounds of Voting - - -

Multiple rounds of voting shall be conducted until a simple majority of the
voting delegates vote for an eligible candidate or for No Nominee.

In each round of voting, the states shall be polled. Each states Reporter,
or designated speaker, shall announce 1) the number of state delegates plus
alternate delegates standing in for regular delegates present (not to exceed
the states authorized number of delegates), and 2) the votes for each
candidate, including No Nominee. A delegation may pass no more than once
per round.

The total votes cast by any state may not exceed the number of authorized
delegates for that state, nor the number of delegates and alternate
delegates present. Half-votes from delegates assigned with such will be
counted in the first round. Succeeding rounds will count whole votes only.

Delegates may vote for any candidate or any non-candidate option during the
first round. If there is a first-round winner, that candidate must formally
accept nomination, or that candidate becomes ineligible and the voting
proceeds to the second round.

After the first round of voting, candidates who have not formally indicated
in writing their willingness to accept nomination and to allow their names
to be placed on all state ballots shall be ineligible to receive votes in
subsequent rounds.

The Election Administrator shall permit a reasonable period of time between
voting rounds for states to caucus, and for candidates to withdraw.
Candidates who withdraw shall not be eligible to receive votes in subsequent
rounds.

Beginning with the second round, only votes cast for eligible candidates or
for No Nominee shall count toward the threshold for nomination. Votes for
ineligible candidates or any non-candidate option besides No Nominee shall
be treated as abstentions and shall not count toward the threshold for
nomination. The next whole number greater than half the number of
non-abstention votes cast in each round shall be the threshold for
nomination in that round.

At the completion of the second round and all subsequent rounds, any
candidate who received less than 10% of the vote in that round shall become
ineligible. Should all candidates have received in excess of 10% of the vote
in the previous round, the lowest vote-getter from that round shall become
ineligible. No Nominee shall remain an option through all rounds of
voting.

In the case of a tie between last-place candidates receiving at least 10% of
the vote, none of these last-place candidates shall become ineligible after
the first such tie. If two consecutive rounds end in a tie between the same
last-place candidates and the elimination of all such tied candidates would
leave two or more candidates, all such candidates shall become ineligible.
If two or more consecutive rounds end in a tie between the same last-place
candidates and the elimination of all such tied candidates would leave fewer
than two candidates, no candidates shall become ineligible after any such
round.

When an eligible candidate receives the majority of votes in a given round,
the Election Administrator shall ask for an approval voice vote of the
assembled delegates, after which the candidate shall be declared the
presidential nominee of the Green Party of the United States.

Endorsement of candidates may only occur if the Party chooses not to
nominate a presidential candidate. Candidate endorsement rules and
procedures, as well as vice-presidential nomination procedures, shall
remain separate from presidential nomination convention floor rules.

Resources

None

References

The contact person for this proposal is Marc Reichardt, PCSC Co-Chair, dystopia@wwnet.com.

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