A Libertarian Party Bylaws Amendment Proposal (for 2026, Perhaps?)

As of the last time I checked, more than 1,400 names had been submitted by state Libertarian Party affiliates as delegates or alternates to the 2024 Libertarian National Convention -- and there will be more.

As of its April 2024 Membership Report, the Libertarian National Committee reported 12,211 "sustaining members" and 3,244 "life members."

Delegates have to be either national "sustaining members" or members of the affiliate they represent, but there are usually very few who are only the latter. And there are way fewer actually active party members than there are of either group.

With the possibility of more than 1,000 delegate seats plus alternates, arise problems.

Problem #1: A whole lot of people selected as delegates or alternates really only engage with the party for the national convention. They don't follow what's going on in between, they haven't spent time looking at the issues the party faces, etc. Many of them end up not showing -- they just get a dopamine hit from being selected and feel no need to actually attend. Or they do show up, but are mostly absent from the business sessions where the party's work gets done. They're on a libertarian vacation instead of doing the job they asked for.

Problem #2: Only so many places in the country are equipped to accommodate a business meeting with more than 1,000 participants. That limits the cities and hotels from which to pick convention venues.

Solution:

Article 10, section 3 of the party's bylaws reads:

Each affiliate party shall be entitled to send delegates to each regular convention on the following  basis:

a. One delegate for each 0.14 percent, or fraction thereof, of the total Party sustaining membership in that affiliate; provided that at least one such delegate must be a resident of that State or District.

b. One delegate for each 0.35 percent, or fraction thereof, of the votes cast nationwide for the Libertarian Party candidate in the most recent presidential election, cast in that affiliate's state. If a state conducts its presidential election via Ranked-Choice or Instant Runoff Voting, the ballots for the Libertarian candidate as tabulated in the first round of ballot counting will be used for this purpose.

That section should be amended to read:

Each affiliate party shall be entitled to send two delegates, and one additional delegate per US House district in the affiliate's state, to each regular convention.

That would provide for a maximum of 538 delegates -- about half the current maximum -- plus alternates. It happens to be the same formula used for the Electoral College.

Fewer delegates would likely mean more engaged delegates -- people who will actually be there, actually do the work, and perhaps take some time ahead of convention to familiarize themselves with that work.

It would also dramatically expand the number of cities/venues that could host the convention.

Are there down sides? Yes.

A smaller delegate body might mean lower convention revenues, not as good a group room rate at the hotel, etc.

Might.

There would be nothing to stop the LNC from selling non-delegate "packages" (it already does) for people who just want to come and do things with other Libertarians. The only difference would be that those people wouldn't be wearing a "delegate" badge and voting (or failing to show up to vote) on party business, meaning the meeting hall could be smaller. But it's conceivable that there would be fewer attendees.

This proposal is not on the bylaws committee's report and IIRC bylaws proposals can't be moved from the floor. But it's something to consider for the 2026 bylaws committee.