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Proposal Details

Proposal ID	955
Proposal	Amend Rules Procedures Article 10 - Recognition of Declared Candidates for President
Presenter	Presidential Campaign Support Committee
Floor Manager	Justin Beth
Phase	Closed
Discussion	04/22/2019 - 05/19/2019
Voting	05/20/2019 - 05/26/2019
Result	Adopted
Presens Quorum	34 0.6666
Consens Quorum	68 0.6666 of Yes and No Votes

Background

NOTE: Quorum is 32 states/caucuses at this time.

Since 2008, the Presidential Campaign Support Committee (PCSC) has been tasked by the GPUS Rules and Procedures with establishing criteria by which presidential candidates can be officially recognized by the party as being in contention for the GPUS presidential nomination . A principal purpose of this recognition process is to assist state parties, GPUS members, and the media in determining which self-declared candidates are sufficiently active to justify providing them with attention and support in the primary phase. The criteria adopted are intended to be sufficient to weed out satirical or spoofing candidates and to make it clear when declared candidates are not really doing the organizing required to allow their campaign to operate at the presidential level.

The criteria for recognition in Article 10 were last revised on June 21, 2015. Based upon the experience of working with those standards in 2016, the PCSC is proposing to update the process through a revision to Article 10. The primary purpose of the revisions is to make the recognition criteria clearer, to make administration of the process more straightforward, and to provide more useful measures of the state of each campaign.

Nine metrics which track the progress of a candidate’s campaign are defined. All will be tracked and made available to GP members for inspection. Official recognition requires meeting specified minimum criteria for the first seven metrics. The emphasis on a metrics-based approach ensures that the PCSC will provide meaningful, constantly updated information to GP members which allows voter insights that go deeper than any simple pass/fail recognition test applied at only one point in the campaign.

Some of the major improvements included in this revision are:

- All recognition criteria are applicable at the time of application, rather than being phased in over time. Previously the criteria started with easier thresholds first followed by increasingly more difficult ones. The result was that several candidates achieved recognition based upon the easiest criteria, and then lost it later on. This resulted in confusion within the Green Party and by the general public regarding who was actually recognized by the Party.

- Ambiguous language regarding how to judge the candidate’s efforts to participate in state primaries is removed.

- The fundraising criteria acknowledges the Green Party’s commitment to reducing big money donor influence by lowering the maximum donation that can qualify toward meeting the fundraising criteria from $500 per donor to $250 per donor. In addition, a candidate is permitted to qualify by obtaining small donations from 100 donors (which is similar to several state-level clean money provisions which emphasize number of donors rather than dollars).

- Collection of signatures of support occurs online. The process is open-ended rather than ceasing after 100 signatures are verified.

- The PCSC itself is responsible for developing procedures for reviewing applications submitted by candidates, validating submitted data, and reviewing recognition decisions.

In summary, the revised Article 10 takes a new approach by defining metrics that are public and continuously available for public inspection rather than defining criteria for internal decision-making by a committee at a single point in time in order to issue a pass/fail declaration. This is intended to allow the official recognition process to promote the Green Party commitment to democracy by strengthening voter awareness and reducing reliance on decision-making by internal party committees.

Summary Comparison of Old Article 10 and Revised Article 10

The proposal text below provides a paragraph-by-paragraph comparison of text changes between the old and new versions of Article 10. Any such point-by-point comparison of old and new text runs the risk of obscuring the overall process improvement being sought, so we are providing separately a clean copy of the new Article 10 which will result from passing the proposal below.

Proposal

Article 10 of the GPUS Rules and Procedures shall be amended as follows:

The current heading and un-numbered text which currently reads:

Section 10-1 Eligibility

An individual may become an officially recognized candidate for the Green Party nomination for President provided that he/she:

Shall be replaced with the following:

Section 10-1 Assessment Metrics

The campaign of individuals running for the Green Party nomination for President will be assessed by the Presidential Campaign Support Committee (PCSC) using the following criteria:

- - - - - - - - - -

Paragraph 10-1.1 which currently reads:

10-1.1 Submits a filled out official Candidate Questionnaire to the Presidential Campaign Support Committee;

Shall be replaced with paragraph 10-1.1, which shall read:

10-1.1 Candidate Questionnaire: Candidate has submitted a completed Candidate Questionnaire as provided by the PCSC.

- - - - - - - - - -

Paragraph 10-1.2 which currently reads:

10-1.2 Is not a registrant of any state or national level political party in the individual’s primary state of residence except for a state party which has affiliated with GPUS, or a party forming for the intent of GPUS affiliation in a state where there is no GPUS affiliated state party;

Shall be replaced with paragraph 10-1.2, which shall read:

10-1.2 Party Affiliation: Candidate is not a registrant or otherwise a party member of any state or national level political party in the individual’s primary state of residence except for a state party which has affiliated with GPUS, or a party forming for the intent of GPUS affiliation in a state where there is no GPUS affiliated state party.

- - - - - - - - - -

Paragraph 10-1.3 which currently reads:

10-1.3 Has pledged in writing to the Presidential Campaign Support Committee to appear on all offered statewide Green Party ballot lines;

Shall be replaced with paragraph 10-1.3, which shall read:

10-1.3 Ballot Lines: Candidate has pledged in writing to the PCSC to appear on all offered statewide Green Party ballot lines.

- - - - - - - - - -

Paragraph 10-1.4 which currently reads:

10-1.4 Has a website to promote his/her candidacy.

Shall be replaced with paragraph 10-1.4, which shall read:

10-1.4 Website: Candidate has a dedicated website to promote the candidate’s candidacy, where the website must be publicly accessible via a provided URL, is controlled by the candidate, is not shared with another campaign, clearly identifies that the candidate is running for the Green Party nomination, and has an online donation capability. Social media pages do not satisfy this requirement.

- - - - - - - - - -

Paragraph 10-1.5 which currently reads:

10-1.5 Receives and submits written support from 100 Green Party members to the GPUS Secretary, with no more than 50 from one state, and including members from at least five state parties; this requirement is not applicable until December 1st of the year preceding the presidential election;

Shall be replaced with paragraph 10-1.5, which shall read:

10-1.5 Signatures of Support: Candidate has collected at least 100 signatures of support from Green Party members acquired via an online signature submission form provided by the PCSC. The PCSC, assisted by state party officers, shall be responsible for verifying that at least 100 of the submitted signatures are valid signatures of Green Party members. Of the 100 verified signatures, no more than 50 may be counted from any one state, and signatures must come from at least five state parties.

- - - - - - - - - -

Paragraph 10-1.6 which currently reads:

10-1.6 Establishes a campaign committee and files with the Federal Elections Commission; this requirement is not applicable until December 31st of the year preceding the presidential election;

Shall be replaced with paragraph 10-1.6, which shall read:

10-1.6 FEC Filing: Candidate has established a federal campaign committee for the current presidential campaign, as recognized in public listings of the Federal Elections Commission (FEC).

- - - - - - - - - -

Paragraph 10-1.7 which currently reads:

10-1.7 Raises at least $5,000, not including self-financing, for the purpose of his/her campaign; verified by submission of a campaign finance report to this effect with the Federal Elections Commission (FEC), received and posted on the FEC’s web site; where no more than $500 from any individual donor may count towards this threshold, and where at least $300 must come from at least five states, or at least $100 from at least ten states. This requirement is not applicable until February 1st of the year of the presidential election;

Shall be replaced with paragraph 10-1.7, which shall read:

10-1.7 Fundraising: Candidate has demonstrated fundraising success consistent with running a viable national campaign by either (1) raising at least $5000 where no more than $250 from any individual donor may count towards this threshold and least $300 must have been raised from at least five states, or at least $100 from at least ten states OR (2) having received donations of at least $10 each from at least 100 individual donors. This metric shall be verified through campaign finance reports filed with the FEC and posted on the FEC’s web site.

- - - - - - - - - -

Paragraph 10-1.8 which currently reads:

10-1.8 Has made a good faith effort to participate in the presidential preference processes of state Green Parties, either by sending a declaration of candidacy to those state parties, by seeking to appear on the ballot where there is a party primary and/or by otherwise seeking to comply with the relevant procedures for inclusion in a state party’s preference process.

Shall be replaced with paragraph 10-1.8, which shall read:

10-1.8 Participation in state primary processes: Candidate participation in state primary processes shall be assessed by the number of states in which the candidate appears on the state government’s Green Party primary ballot or is included by name in the state party-run presidential preference caucus, convention, or online voting process. No minimum criteria is required for official recognition.

- - - - - - - - - -

Paragraph 10-1.9 shall be added, which reads:

10-1.9 PNC Delegates: This metric consists of the number of committed Presidential Nominating Convention (PNC) delegates awarded to the candidate so far based on data obtained by the PCSC in collaboration with other Green Party committees. No minimum criteria is required for official recognition.

- - - - - - - - - -

Heading 10-2 which currently reads:

Section 10-2 Recognition

Shall be replaced with a new heading 10-2, which shall read:

Section 10-2 Recognition Process

- - - - - - - - - -

Paragraphs 10-2.1 through 10-2.3, which currently read:

10-2.1 Provided that a candidate is eligible under Section 10-1, then the Presidential Campaign Support Committee shall consider whether to extend official recognition as a candidate for the Green Party nomination.

10-2.2 The Presidential Campaign Support Committee co-chairs shall make a written report including all documentation to the committee when an individual has met eligibility under Section 10-1, including a report on the objective efforts made to satisfy all requirements under Section 10-1.

10-2.3 If no action is taken by a committee member within seven days, beginning the day after notification under 10-2.2, then the candidate shall be extended official recognition. Within those seven days, any committee member may introduce a proposal, specifying which criteria in 10-1 have not been met, to decline to extend official recognition. Such a proposal shall be acted upon per the Presidential Campaign Support Committee’s standard policies and procedures, and candidate recognition shall only be declined upon a 2/3 vote of the committee. Should such a proposal fail, the candidate shall be extended official recognition.

Shall be removed and replaced with paragraph 10-2.1, which shall read:

10-2.1 Granting recognition: When a candidate feels that they have met the minimum criteria for metrics specified in Section 10-1, they must submit an application for recognition on a form provided by the PCSC. Once the PCSC confirms that the requirements of Section 10-1 have indeed been met, the PCSC will designate that candidate as “recognized”.

- - - - - - - - - -

Paragraph 10-2.4 which currently reads:

10-2.4 Once a candidate has been extended official recognition, such recognition may be rescinded by a proposal specifying cause and acted upon per the standard policies and procedures of the Presidential Campaign Support Committee, with a 2/3 vote of the committee; or, if, in the determination of the Presidential Campaign Support Committee Co-Chairs (with such determination subject to the review of the entire committee), an officially recognized candidate fails to meet one or more of the deadline-specific requirements for recognition delineated in Section 10-1 of this policy, such recognition shall be considered rescinded until and unless the candidate meets such requirements.

Shall be removed and replaced with paragraph 10-2.2, which shall read:

10-2.2 Rescinding Recognition: Once a candidate has been extended official recognition, such recognition may be rescinded by a proposal specifying cause and acted upon per the standard policies and procedures of the Presidential Campaign Support Committee, with a 2/3 vote of the committee. Grounds for rescinding recognition include a finding of significant fraud or misrepresentation in the application for recognition or a determination that the candidate is no longer seeking the nomination.

- - - - - - - - - -

Heading 10-3 shall be added to read:

Section 10-3 Access to Data and Resources

- - - - - - - - - -

Paragraph 10-3.1 shall be added to read:

10-3.1 Public Access: As part of its publicly-available information pages the PCSC shall include, as a minimum, the assessment metrics identified in Section 10-1 above for all candidates which the PCSC determines are actively seeking official recognition or which have already achieved official recognition. The PCSC shall also provide public access to the PCSC questionnaire submitted by each candidate.

- - - - - - - - - -

Paragraph 10-2.5 which currently reads:

10-2.5 Individuals who are officially recognized candidates may be eligible for GPUS provided resources, including information on GPUS sponsored websites, contact lists, and other resources that GPUS might provide.

Shall be replaced with paragraph 10-3.2, which shall read:

10-3.2 Candidate Access: Candidates who are officially recognized shall, through use of fair, equitable and published procedures, be eligible for special campaign assistance offered at the discretion of the GPUS, which may include special postings on GPUS websites, use of GPUS contact lists, or special visibility on GPUS communication channels.

- - - - - - - - - -

Section 10-3 and paragraph 10-3.1 regarding the of Vice Presidential nomination process, which currently reads:

Section 10-3 Vice-President

10-3.1 As per Section 5-11 of the GPUS Convention Rules, nomination of Vice-Presidential candidate to the Convention is made by the Presidential Nominee and the Convention votes on whether to affirm that individual. Therefore there is no official Green Party pre-convention ‘race’ or ‘contest’ for the Vice-Presidential nomination, nor shall recognition by the Presidential Campaign Support Committee or GPUS be considered or given to any individual claiming to seek the Vice-Presidential nomination.

shall be renumbered to be Section 10-4 and paragraph 10-4.1 with no further changes to the existing language.

Resources

IMPLEMENTATION/TIMELINE/RESOURCES: Metrics tracking information, signature forms, questionnaire responses, and other information shall be posted on the GPUS website in a timely manner. The assistance of the GPUS webmaster may be required to accomplish these postings.

CONTACTS: John Andrews, Sanda Everette, Co-Chairs, PCSc

References

Existing Article 10 as approved by National Committee on 6/15/2015: https://gpus.org/rules-procedures/#10

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