My thoughts about this effort are in italics at the beginning of each Article (and in paragraphs within the Article if I see need) for which I have applied any thought.

There is nothing magic about the organization of the Articles, EXCEPT, if you move anything you have to adjust all the references to it.

I have tried for consistent capitalization throughout.

Packaging. The whole is too big to digest, so, while the whole follows, it makes sense to think of 4 packages:

 
1. Priority package - has IMPORTANT changes, plus, some rearranging seems appropriate for clarity
 
• I - just start off right.
• II, III, and XVII together due to rearranging.
• IV-VII go together - VI is IMPORTANT.
• VIII-IX go together.
2. Second priority - XV is a major project.
3. Third priority - nice, but less critical: XI-XIV, XVI, and XVIII are individual.
4. Fourth priority - X needs careful review.

The Independence Party (IPNY) ( formerly Independence Fusion Party), having attained party status as that term is defined under the New York Election Law on November 8, 1994, does hereby adopt the following Rules. The symbol appearing below shall be the official symbol of the party.

Section 1(b) proposes rearranging SCDs in 2002 to better attend to fractional ADs (when the new census will move everything around anyway) (based on the 1990 census the 43 least populated counties would get 1 SCD per county).

001229: Explanation added here: The 147th AD and the 6 counties that contain parts of it are the most extreme example of need. I use weighted votes and SC vacancies as of May 2000 in what follows (PA - members authorized now; HV - positions filled now; NA - new rule would authorize; WT - authorized total weighted vote):

PA HV NA WT
12 _1 __ 12570 - 147th AD - its one SC member's vote was 462.
_2 _0 _2 _3568 - Wyoming county - all in 147th so no change.
_6 _0 _2 _2600 - Allegheny - 136/147/149.
_4 _1 _2 _3362 - Cattaraugus - 147/149 - above 462.
_4 _0 _2 _7206 - Genesee - 137/147.
_6 _2 _2 10830 - Livingston - 129/136/147 - its SC members had 3512 votes each.
18 16 16 69080 - Erie - 140-148 - one pair of members gain 410 votes each from the 147th.

In summary, while this proposes no change for Wyoming and only a trivial change for Erie, the other four counties, while they get their authorized members reduced from 20 to 8, would likely elect more than the present 3 members and have more voting power.

Section 1. STATE COMMITTEE DISTRICTS (SCDs). These shall be the unit of representation for electing State Committee members, as follows:

(a)For elections prior to the 2002 fall primary:

 
• Within each county each complete or partial Assembly District (AD) shall be an SCD.

• For counties with a total population of 1 percent or less of the total population of New York State, the county shall be an SCD.
• For remaining counties, each partial Assembly District (AD) containing 0.333 percent or less of the total population of New York State shall be combined with adjacent full or partial ADs within the county. The result shall be SCDs which are full or partial ADs, or results of the required combining, such that every SCD contains more than 0.333 percent of state population, but not more than 1 percent of state population.

Section 3. ELECTION.

1. Members of the State Committee shall be elected at the fall primary election in each even-numbered year. Once elected,  members shall hold office until the election of their successors.
2. In case an election results in a tie vote, which is not resolved by law or by agreement among the tied candidates, the remaining members of the State Committee shall determine which tied candidate shall be elected at the organization meeting.


010117: Should we drop next par - I reworded it?

3. In case a vacancy exists because no candidate was elected, qualified candidates may apply to the State Committee for election.  For each such candidate the State Committee shall first vote as to whether it accepts the candidate as a nominee.  If only one is accepted at any State Committee meeting, that candidate is elected; if more than one, then the State Committee shall elect one of the nominees.


010117: Optimized the wording a bit - this was expanded from original Independence Party rules.

4. In case a person ceases to be a member of the State Committee, due to resignation or other cause, the remaining members of the State Committee residing in that county, if any, shall constitute a committee to fill such vacancy.  Filling the vacancy shall require agreement by members holding a majority of the total weighted vote of all committee members.


The committee may meet and vote for this purpose in any manner it finds agreeable.  If it finds such decisions impractical, then said vote shall occur at a meeting of said remaining members on seven days notice by regular mail which notice shall be given by the first remaining State Committee member in the county who notifies the Secretary of the State Committee and receives confirmation from said Secretary that he or she is the first such person whose notice has been received by said Secretary. Said notice shall be mailed within five days of such confirmation.

Rules for members calling a meeting REWRITTEN - we got in trouble here.

Section 1. Meetings of the State Committee shall be held upon the call of the Chairperson or of the Vice Chairperson in the case of vacancy in the office of the Chairperson, of the Secretary of the outgoing Committee in the case of the organization meeting, or as specified in Section 3.

010117:  Steve suggests 7 days minimum.

All meeting calls shall specify the time and place of the meeting and shall be served by mailing the call to each member not less than ten (10) days, nor more than twenty (20) days, before such meeting. Such notice shall be directed to the address of each member as it appears on the records of the State Committee.

For meetings other than the Regular Meetings specified in Section 2, the call shall specify the business to be transacted.

For organization meetings, some election results may not be known at the time of making the call. For any such case the call shall be mailed to all nominated candidates.

Section 2 was approved in September.

Section 2. Regular Meetings: Regular Meetings of the State Committee shall be held three (3) times a year: one in the Winter, one in the Spring and one in the Fall.

1. Winter Meeting: The Winter Regular Meeting shall be held not earlier than two (2) days before Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday in January and not later than PresidentUs Holiday in February.
2. Spring Meeting: The Spring Regular Meeting shall be held not earlier than twenty (20) days before the first day to sign designating petitions for the primary election and not later than two (2) days before the first day to sign designating petitions for the primary election.
3. Fall Meeting: The Fall Regular Meeting shall be held not earlier than four (4) days after the primary election, not later than fourteen (14) days after the primary election in presidential election years, and not later than fifteen (15) days after the primary election in other years.

 

 

In years when a new State Committee is elected it shall organize at this meeting by the election of officers and adoption of rules and transact such other business as may properly come before the meeting.

Section 4. Order of Business:

A proposal was offered at the SC meeting as Article 6.4, but not considered.

To be defined.
 

001229: While proxies can be misused, I remain SOLIDLY convinced that they should be allowed - if nothing else, any of us can have a catastrophe, be unable to attend a meeting, and yet want to exercise our voting muscle on at least some issues. On the other side, I remain SOLIDLY convinced that we need defenses against misuse - I wrote elsewhere about a Republican County Chair becoming a dictator, and IPNY recently experienced a single member almost ending a meeting by walking out with a pocketful of proxies.

001229: Partly because this is a fairly simple topic, and partly because we are not near consensus, we can afford to list a variety of ideas.

Section 1. At all meetings of the State Committee, there shall be present at least a majority of the voting power of all State Committee members in order to constitute a Quorum. If a Quorum is not present, a lesser number may adjourn the meeting to some future time, not more than 10 days later.  Any State Executive Committee members who are not State Committee members may participate in debate, but shall have 0 weighted vote at State Committee meetings.

010117:  Added a bit above about EC members who are not SC members having no vote here (they have no SCD to determine a vote from).

Section 2. At meetings of the State Committee, members may be present and vote, via proxy, to the same effect as if present and voting in person. The use of proxies shall be limited as follows.

001229: Some are deserving:
1. Proxies shall be in writing, and expire on the last day of the year in which signed, unless an earlier expiration is specified in the proxy.
2. Proxies shall be in writing, and expire after 12 months unless an earlier expiration is specified in the proxy.


But maybe 12 months is too long - when holders go back to givers for an updated proxy they can be asked to explain what they have done.

3. Proxies shall be revocable at the pleasure of the person executing the proxy, either in person, by written notice to the Chairperson or Secretary, or by execution of a subsequent proxy.
4. A proxy may direct how the holder shall vote it.
5. A proxy holder must be a State Committee member, and shall not vote the proxy if the giver is present and chooses to vote.
6. No individual may hold proxies worth more than ten (10) percent of the voting power of all State Committee members at any meeting.
7. No individual may hold proxies whose aggregate weighted vote is greater than twice the highest voting power assigned to members from any SCD.
8. Proxies shall be non-transferable.

010117: But, maybe, the giver has two friends, and does not care which votes the proxy?  I sort of like the idea, but think those trying to keep track need some help, so I specify one holder at a time:
9. Proxies shall be non-transferable,  except that they may list one or more contingent carriers, with only one of the carriers registering as the holder at any one time.
10. In case of dispute as to the validity of any proxy, the Chairperson and Secretary shall each give their opinion as to the proxy's validity, at which time the whole State Committee, not including the disputed votes, shall decide the question, such question taking precedence over any other business.


001229: Some are more like maybes:

11. Members of the State Executive Committee may authorize as their proxies only other members of the State Executive Committee, and in no event shall a member of the State Executive Committee hold more than one proxy.


001229: Some are more like lemons:

12. A proxy holder, if not a member of the State Executive Committee, must be a resident of the same Judicial District as the State Committee member giving the proxy.
13. No individual may hold more than five (5) proxies at any meeting.

010117:  Steve suggests determining everything by majority.  We really want to follow Robert's Rules, which demands a super majority for cases such as "Call the Question".

Each State Committee member shall be entitled to cast the number of votes cast for Governor from the SCD represented, on the line or column of the Independence Party, in the last preceding election for governor.  In determining the total number of votes on any issue, abstentions shall not be considered to be votes.

010117:  Steve attached the following par. to "Additional Rules".  If it should live, it belongs here as part of voting.

• First, I see no need for it here - this could be done with a special rule if and when desired, and the rule could be tailored to exact desires.
• Second, the last sentence scares me - that implies that "Call the Question" would normally not be available when someone starts debatting how many angels fit on a pin.

The following sections apply to the special cases of designations for statewide office, nomination of presidential candidates and electors, and election of State Executive Committee members.

010117:  Following is from Steve's draft, with a bit of cleanup:  first topic is "designation" - SC does not have authority to nominate here.

STATEWIDE DESIGNATION. (a) In the case of designations for statewide public office, if more than two candidates are presented for designation and no candidate receives a majority of the weighted vote on the first ballot, additional ballots shall be held, in each case eliminating the candidate receiving the least number of votes on the preceding ballot, until one candidate receives a majority of the weighted votes. Voting shall be by roll call if there are two or more candidates for an office. At the end of the roll call for each ballot the Chairperson shall ask if any members wish to change their votes before declaring the ballot closed. It shall be in order to nominate "none" or "no candidate" in order to indicate a preference for a blank line for the office in question.

(b) Any candidate who receives twenty-five percent of the vote on any ballot shall be entitled to demand that his or her name appear on the primary ballot in accordance with the Election Law; Any such candidate who is not a member of the Independence Party shall be deemed to have received the authorization of the party to run in a primary election as required by election law, as shall any candidate designated by the party, without need for any further vote, and the Chairperson and Secretary shall issue any required Certificate of Authorization or other documentation to which such candidate or candidates are entitled.

(c) If a candidate who is not a member of the Independence Party has not received twenty-five percent of the vote on any ballot, immediately following the last such ballot for the office in question, it shall be in order for any member to move that such candidate be authorized to petition to run in an Independence Party primary election. A vote shall then be taken on such motion and, if passed, the Chairperson and Secretary shall issue a Certificate of Authorization as required by election law. Such motion shall not be in order at any other time.

010117:  Still seems like all the offices should be listed in order - else people start playing games.

(d) In the case of designations to the offices of Governor and Lieutenant Governor, designations shall be made for each office separately, the designation for Governor being decided first.

(e) In all cases regarding the designation of statewide candidates, the committee on vacancies required or allowed by election law shall be the State Executive Committee unless the State Committee shall appoint some other committee, ad hoc or otherwise, to be the committee on vacancies for one or more specific offices.

PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATION. In the case of nominations to the offices of President and Vice President of the United States, nominations shall be made to the two offices together as a slate, followed by the nomination of presidential electors. A roll call need not be taken to nominate presidential electors except on demand of two or more members. Presidential electors shall be nominated as slates consisting of not more than the number of electors to which the State of New York is entitled. If the State Committee should adjourn after nominating candidates for President and Vice President of the United States, but before nominating presidential electors, the State Executive Committee is empowered to nominate presidential electors.

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE ELECTION. Officers of the State Committee shall be elected in the following manner:

• (i) The Chairperson, Vice Chairperson, Secretary, Treasurer, and Second Vice Chairperson shall each be elected individually in the order just listed. Where more than one person is nominated to any of these offices, a roll call vote may be demanded by any two or more members; otherwise a voice vote shall be sufficient. When more than two persons are nominated to any of these offices, voting shall take place in the same manner as provided in paragraph (a) of statewide designation.
• (ii) After those five offices are filled, ten at-large Members of the State Executive Committee shall be elected in the following manner: Candidates shall be nominated to all ten positions simultaneously. If more than ten candidates are nominated, each candidate's name shall be read aloud in turn, or listed on a paper ballot at the option of the Chairperson, in the order nominated, and members shall vote "yea" or "nay" on each candidate. The ten candidates receiving the most affirmative votes shall be elected, provided each has received a majority of "yea" votes. If two or more candidates are tied for the tenth position, the winner shall be decided by lot. If less than ten candidates each receive a majority of "yea" votes, the remaining seats shall be vacant until the next meeting of the State Committee, at which time the State Committee may at its option fill the remaining seats. If a paper ballot is used, other business may take place while the ballots are prepared.

No person shall be nominated as an officer of the State Committee without that person's permission, but such person need not be present at the meeting in order to be nominated. Officers of the State Committee must be duly enrolled members of the Independence Party but need not be members of the State Committee. In the case of a person elected as an officer of the State Committee who is not a member of the State Committee, such person shall have a vote on the State Executive Committee and may participate in debates of the State Committee but shall have no vote on the State Committee.
 

Section 1. The officers of the State Committee shall be a Chairperson, a Vice Chairperson, a Second Vice-Chairperson, a Secretary, a Treasurer, and ten Members. Such officers shall constitute the State Executive Committee, and shall serve for two years or until their succssors ore elected.  At State Executive Committee meetings the quorum shall be a majority of members, proxies shall not be permitted, and each member shall have one vote.

Section 2. Duties of Officers:

A set of proposed duties was offered at the SC meeting as Article 2.3, but not considered. Perhaps the Executive Committee can try these as standing rules and offer comments.

To be defined.

001229: Rearranged some more to allow for varied notice.

Section 3. Meetings of the State Executive Committee may be held on call by the Chairperson or any three members thereof. The call may be transmitted by any available means provided the indicated notice is given.  The required notice may be abbreviated, but only when all members agree to this:

1. For in person meetings, seven days.
2. For other meetings not involving special urgency, three days.
3. For other meetings restricted to items of special urgency, one day.

 
1. Official minutes are taken that document meeting attendance and all actions taken.
2. All eligible meeting members have equal access to the technology and devices that will be used to conduct the meeting.

This is a big one. There is general agreement that it needs continuing but NEEDS amending.

BTW - ICOs need to have a home in the law, and the law provides a home for "committees", but not for_"sub-committees" - be careful.

1. Definitions

010117:  Tell me how an ICO handles 6-108, which offers NO suggestion that the SC has any business doing caucuses.

Also, SCs are organized pursuant to Article 2.:

• (a) As used herein and throughout these rules, the term "interim county organization" shall mean the body responsible for representing the Independence Party and carrying out the functions and exercising the authority delegated to "county committees" under these rules and the Election Law. An interim county organization shall be considered a committee of the State Committee under Section 2-110 of the Election Law.
• (b) As used herein and throughout these rules, the term "county committee" shall mean a body constituted and organized pursuant to Article 2 of the Election Law.

• (a) Said interim county organization is hereby delegated and shall exercise the authority and carry out the functions of a county committee (including the execution and filing of documents pursuant to Article 6 of the Election Law) in accordance with the following.
• (b) The elected State Committee members in each county shall hold an initial organizational meeting and, by weighted vote consistent with Article V of these rules:
• (i) elect a Chairperson, Secretary and Treasurer, each of whom shall be a separate person and an enrolled member of the Independence Party residing in that county, and shall be present at the initial organizational meeting.
• (ii) adopt rules governing future voting (which shall be by one person-one vote or by weighted vote consistent with Article V of these rules), the addition of members to the interim county organization and such other matters as are necessary to the work of the interim county organization.
• (iii) allow voting at the initial meeting in person or by proxy carried by an elected member of the State Committee from that county.
• (c) Convening of initial organizational meeting shall be in accordance with the following:
• (i) Any elected State Committee member wishing to call the initial organizational meeting must provide written notice of the initial organizational meeting to the Secretary of the State Committee.
• (ii) The right to select the time and place of the initial organizational meeting shall be with the first State Committee member residing in the county whose written notice pursuant to (i) above is received by the Secretary of the State Committee.
• (iii) The Secretary of the State Committee shall fax or mail confirmation of receipt of the written notice of the initial organizational meeting within four days after receiving the notice.
• (iv) The notice of the initial organizational meeting must be mailed by the person receiving the aforesaid confirmation within seven days of receipt of said confirmation and must give no less than seven days, nor more than twenty days, notice of said meeting.
• (d) The Secretary elected at the initial meeting shall within five days thereafter file with the Secretary of the State Committee an affidavit certifying that the initial organizational meeting was held pursuant to this Article, that officers were elected and that rules were adopted and shall append to said document the names and addresses of the elected officers and a copy of said rules.
• (e) A quorum of the smallest number greater than fifty percent of the county's State Committee members is required at the initial meeting in person or by proxy.
• (f) The interim county organization shall be dissolved if, as a result of death, disqualification, resignation, removal from district, or removal from office there are no remaining State Committee members in said county.
• (g) The term of an interim county committee shall be until the next biennial State Committee organizational meeting, after which the county may reorganize the interim county organization if a county committee has not been elected and organized in accordance with election law.

010117:  I still claim there is room for proxies in here.  We can debate whether the default quorum is a majority, but we might get away with a permissive rule:  If they accept our belief that the quorum shuld be a majority, then we say we are agreeable to their using proxies to get there.

3. (a) When a County Committee is elected for the first time and no prior rules are in effect, the State Chairperson, or the first elected County Committee member who so requests, if designated by the State Chairperson, shall secure a convenient site for the organizational meeting of the new County Committee and mail notices according to election law to all members of the County Committee setting forth the time and place of the initial organizational meeting. Such person shall call the meeting to order and preside over the election of a temporary chairperson for the meeting, but shall have no further role without the consent of the County Committee.

(b) Failure of the State Chairperson or the Chairperson's designee to act shall not invalidate any organizational meeting of a County Committee otherwise properly held.

This is a proposal for a new Article to bring our rules into compliance with Sections 6-124 and 126 of the Election Law. These provisions defer to party rules on election of delegates, but require that they reflect gubernatorial vote in each assembly district. They also require a committee to set time and place of the conventions. Here's a shot at a proposal:
 

1. Each Assembly District within a judicial district shall elect to the judicial convention a number of delegates such that the assembly district in which the Independence Party's candidate for governor received the greatest number of votes in the preceding general election shall have 5 delegates and the other assembly districts shall have a number of delegates equal to the number derived by multiplying the number five by a fraction with the votes in the aforesaid assembly district as the denominator and the votes in the particular assembly district as the numerator with the result rounded to the next greater whole number.
2. The Chairperson of the Independence Party State Committee shall appoint a committee of five persons, each of whom shall be an enrolled member of the Independence Party, to a committee charged with carrying out the responsibilities accorded to it under Section 6-126 of the Election Law. The membership of said Committee may be changed only by majority vote of the State Executive Committee or by action of a successor State Committee Chairperson.

1. Judicial District Conventions for the purpose of nominating candidates to the office of Justice of the Supreme Court shall be constituted by the election of delegates and alternate delegates in the following manner: Each Assembly District or part of an Assembly District contained within each Judicial District shall be entitled to elect two delegates and two alternates, except that if the number of votes cast for Governor on the Independence Party line in the last preceding election for Governor in such Assembly District or partial Assembly District was less than fifty percent of the average vote for Governor on the Independence Party line among all such districts and partial districts contained within the Judicial District then such district or partial district shall be entitled to one delegate and one alternate, and except that if the number of votes cast for Governor on the Independence Party line in the last preceding election for Governor in such Assembly District or partial Assembly District was greater than one hundred fifty percent of the average vote for Governor on the Independence Party line among all such districts and partial districts contained within the Judicial District then such district or partial district shall be entitled to three delegates and three alternates plus one additional delegate and alternate for each additional fifty percent of the average vote for Governor by which the vote of such district or partial district exceeded such average. If, due to changes in boundaries in Assembly Districts occuring after the last preceding election for Governor, it becomes impossible to determine the vote cast for Governor within such newly defined districts, each such new Assembly District within the Judicial District shall be entitled to two delegates and two alternates, and each such new partial Assembly District shall be entitled to one delegate and one alternate.

2. A quorum to do business for any Judicial District Convention shall be twenty-five percent of the total number of possible delegates to be elected, or fifty percent of the number of delegates actually elected, whichever is fewer.

3. (a) Each delegate shall have one vote for each position to be filled. All nominations to the office of Justice of the Supreme Court shall be by a majority of all delegates present and voting, not counting abstentions. In the event that there is more than one position to be filled, voting shall be by individual candidate, with the candidate receiving the highest vote being nominated, provided such vote is greater than a majority of all delegates present and voting, not counting abstentions; and the person receiving the next highest vote also being nominated, provided such vote is greater than a majority of all delegates present and voting, not counting abstentions; and so on, until all positions are filled or until no further candidate receives the vote of a majority of all delegates present and voting, not counting abstentions. No delegate shall combine his votes in such a way as to vote for any one individual more than once.

(b) It shall be in order to nominate "no candidate" in order to indicate a preference for blank line for the office of Justice of the Supreme Court. Votes for "no candidate" are not abstentions and shall be counted in the same manner as a vote for a person. If "no candidate" receives a majority of votes of all delegates present and voting, no person receiving fewer votes shall be nominated.

4. The time and place of meeting of each Judicial District Convention shall be fixed by the State Executive Committee or by one or more committees appointed by the State Executive Committee solely for that purpose. The Chairperson of the committee fixing the time and place of meeting of a Judicial District Convention shall call to order the respective Judicial District Convention or shall designate in writing a person to call such meeting to order as provided for in state election law; if such person does not call the convention to order and has not designated a person to do so, then the delegate from the lowest numbered Assembly District or partial Assembly District within the Judicial District whose surname comes first alphabetically shall call the meeting to order.

5. Within the City of New York, the call for election of Judicial District Convention delegates and alternate delegates may be issued by the County Chair of any county contained within the Judicial District for which the call is issued; or, if the County Chair shall fail to act or the office be vacant, by the State Chair. Outside of the City of New York, the call for election of Judicial Convention delegates and alternate delegates shall be issued by the State Chair, or, if the State Chair shall fail to act, by the State Secretary or by any person authorized by the State Executive Committee.

010117:  This is from DWK 1229 except, at the end, I include alos Steve's cross-county words.

Mostly this is echoing sections of the Election Law, but it gets in a few words authorizing Interim County Organizations.

I have done one typo-level correction - seemed to me that where both a county committee and ICO are mentioned, then each should be mentioned in related phrases, rather than just the committee.
 

1. The nomination of a candidate for election to fill a vacancy in an elective office required to be filled at the next general election, occurring after the fifth Tuesday preceding a primary election, shall be made by the State Executive Committee; provided, however, that if such elective office shall fall within a county which has elected an Independence Party County Committee pursuant to the Election Law or formed an Interim County Organization pursuant to Article VII of these rules, and if the rules of said County Committee or Organization make provision for the filling of said vacancy, the vacancy shall be filled in accordance with that provision; and provided further that if such elective office shall fall within more than one county, each of which has elected a Independence Party County Committee pursuant to the Election Law or formed an Interim County Organization pursuant to Article VII of these rules, and if the rules of all of those County Committees and Organizations include the same provisions for the filling of said vacancy, the vacancy shall be filled in accordance with that provision.
2. Nominations for public office to be filled at a special election shall be made by the State Executive Committee; provided, however, that if such elective office shall fall within a county which has elected an Independence Party County Committee pursuant to the Election Law or formed an Interim County Organization pursuant to Article VII of these rules, and if the rules of said County Committee or Organization make provision for the filling of said vacancy, the vacancy shall be filled in accordance with that provision; and provided further that if such elective office shall fall within more than one county, each of which has elected an Independence Party County Committee pursuant to the Election Law or formed an Interim County Organization pursuant to Article VII of these rules, and if the rules of all of those County Committees and Organizations include the same provisions for the filling of said vacancy, the vacancy shall be filled in accordance with that provision.
3. Vacancies in nomination made at a judicial district convention, or by the State Committee or by the State Executive Committee, shall be filled by a committee appointed by such convention or State Committee or State Executive Committee to nominate candidates to fill vacancies in nominations made by such convention or State Committee or State Executive Committee, provided however, that in the event that such committee is not appointed or fails to act, the State Executive Committee may fill such vacancies.
4. In all cases where the Election Law allows a vacancy in a nomination to be filled by such committee as the rules of the party may provide, or in any other case of a nomination or designation, said vacancy shall be filled by the State Executive Committee; provided, however, that if such elective office shall fall within a county which has elected an Independence Party County Committee pursuant to the Election Law or formed an Interim County Organization pursuant to Article VII of these rules, and if the rules of said County Committee or Organization make provision for the filling of said vacancy, the vacancy shall be filled in accordance with that provision - and provided further that if such elective office shall fall within more than one county, each of which has elected an Independence Party County Committee pursuant to the Election Law or formed an Interim County Organization pursuant to Article VII of these rules, and if the rules of all of those County Committees and Organizations include the same provisions for the filling of said vacancy, the vacancy shall be filled in accordance with that provision. In the event of any vacancy in a nomination or designation not provided for above, said vacancy shall be filled by the State Executive Committee.
5. An authorization provided for shall be signified by the filing of a certificate, signed and acknowledged by the presiding officer and the secretary of the meeting at which such authorization was given, authorizing such designation, nomination or substitution with the officer or board with whom or with which such designation or substitution is required to be filed.
6. It is the specific intention of these Rules to require the authorization pursuant to Sec. 6-120 of the Election Law of the designation or nomination of a person as a candidate for judicial office who is not enrolled as a member of the Independence Party.
7. In counties where no County Committee has been established pursuant to the Election Law and no Interim County Organization has been formed pursuant to Article VII of these rules, nominations for town office shall be made by petition at the primary election preceding the general election.
8. In counties where no County Committee has been established pursuant to the Election Law and no Interim County Organization has been formed pursuant to Article VII of these rules, nominations for village office may be made by caucus, if an enrolled voter of the Independence Party residing within the village has been designated as village election chairperson. A village election chairperson may be designated by the State Chairperson of the Independence Party or the State Executive Committee or such other officer as may be appointed or designated for this purpose by the State Chairperson or State Executive Committee.


Cross endorsements - these need thought.

9. Limit on Cross Endorsements. A committee or officer which is empowered under these Rules or other Independence Party rules to issue an authorization of the Independence Party for candidates not enrolled in the Independence Party pursuant to section 6-120 of the election Law, may not authorize as candidates of the Independence Party a number of candidates who are enrolled in the same political party, which is greater than one-half of the total number of Independence Party candidates which will appear on the general election ballot for all ofices up for election within any one county, inclusive of elections within the county of smaller political subdivisions such as towns and cities. This rule may be waived by the State Executive Committee upon application of the County Chairperson.
10. Districts which cross county lines:


Here I offer Harry Kresky's way of indicating an update - additions are underlined and material to be deleted is in brackets [< I > < /I >] (but this copy gets HTML brackets for italics added here, plus HTML brackets for underlining - < u > < /u > - around added text).
 

• (a) Nominations and authorizations by County Committees and Interim County Organizations for public offices the districts of which cover more than one county, shall be determined [in accordance with Articles VII and IX of these rules, provided that each such county which has made a determination regarding such nomination or authorization shall cast a vote equal to the number of votes cast for Governor in the portion of the district within that county on the line of the Independence Party in the last preceding general election.] as follows:
• (i) For public offices, the districts of which cover two counties, in accordance with Articles VII and IX of these rules provided that each such county which has made a determination regarding such nomination or authorization shall cast a vote equal to the number of votes cast for Governor in the portion of the district within that county on the line of the Independence Party in the last preceding general election. The certificate shall be issued and filed by said county.
• (ii) For public offices, the districts of which cover more than two counties, in accordance with Articles VII and IX of these rules provided that each such county shall send a representative to a meeting at which the determination regarding such nomination or authorization shall be made by weighted vote based on the number of votes cast for Governor in the portion of the district within that county on the line of the Independence Party in the last preceding general election. The certificate shall be issued by the presiding officer and secretary of said meeting or such other persons as may be designated thereat. Said meeting may be convened by the chair of the interim county organization or county committee of any affected county (upon consultation with the other chairpersons) and shall be held on not less than seven days written notice at a convenient time and place within one of the affected counties. There must be present at any such meeting a person or persons empowered to cast a majority of the weighted vote of the affected counties.
• (iii) Notwithstanding the aforesaid, in the case of an office to be filled by all the voters of the City of New York, an authorization shall be made by majority vote of those present at a joint meeting of the executive committees of each of the county committees or interim county organizations within said city, provided a quorum is present at such meeting. The certificate of authorizations shall be signed and acknowledged by the presiding officer and secretary of said meeting. The representatives of each county at said meeting shall, in the aggregate, cast a vote equal to the number of votes for Governor in that county on the line or column of the Independence Party in the last preceding general election. Said meeting shall be deemed to have a quorum provided that at least one person representing each county which has organized a county committee or an interim county organization is present.
• (b) Should a district extend into a county which has made a decision on authorization pursuant to Article VII of these rules, Section 4, [the decision made by that county shall be subordinate to the decision made by any county within the district which has a County Committee or an Interim County Organization (or to the determination made pursuant to (a) above.)], said county shall have not in the determination.


001229: I need help translating that last phrase.
 

• (c) Should a district cover two or more counties each of which has made a decision on authorization pursuant to Article VII of these rules, Section 4, the Secretary shall issue an authorization to each candidate approved by a county.

10. (a) In cases of designation or nomination of candidates who are not members of the Independence Party to offices the districts of which include all or parts of two or more counties, each county committee or interim county organization whose county includes part of such district may authorize the designation or nomination of such candidates in accordance with section 6-120 of the Election Law, and may execute certificates of authorization.

(b) In the event that more than one county committee or interim county organization should issue certificates of authorization for the same office, in accordance with the preceding paragraph (a), each such certificate shall be equally valid.

(c) In cases where a district covers all or parts of two or more counties, none of which has a county committee or interim county organization, the State Executive Committee may authorize the designation or nomination of candidates who are not members of the Independence Party, but only upon application of an enrolled Independence Party member who is a resident of such district.

(d) Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the case of designation or nomination to an office to be filled by all the voters of the City of New York, authorizations shall be made in the following manner:

       (i) A joint meeting of the Executive Committees of the county committees and interim county organizations, if any, within the City of New York shall be called by the State Chairperson or by some person designated by the State Chairperson or, if the State Chairperson should fail to act by the first day for petitioning, by any County Chairperson within the City of New York.

       (ii) A quorum to do business shall be at least one County Executive Committee member from each county within the city which has a county committee or interim county organization, or a majority of all Executive Committee members from counties within the city which have a county committee or interim county organization, but in no case less than ten persons.

       (iii) The representative or representatives of each county present at such meeting shall cast votes equal, in the aggregate, to the votes cast for Governor on the Independence Party line or column in the last preceding election for Governor in the respective county, said votes being divided evenly among all representatives present from the respective county. A majority shall be required to authorize the candidacy of any person who is not a member of the Independence Party. Proxies shall not be permitted.

       (iv) Solely for the purpose of complying with section 6-120 of the Election Law, in case not all counties within the City of New York shall have county committees the State Executive Committee shall ratify the choice made at the meeting described, if any, and cause one or more certificates of authorization to be executed. In no case shall the State Executive Committee authorize a candidate not authorized at a meeting as described in this section.
 

Section 1. REMOVAL. Except as may be otherwise provided by law, a member or officer of the State Committee may be removed by the Committee for disloyalty to the party or corruption in office, after notice and a hearing upon written charges, to be heard by the committee or a sub-committee appointed for that purpose, which shall report the findings to the full committee.

Section 2. RECALL. One or more officers of the State Committee or members of the State Executive Committee may also be removed by way of recall as follows:

• (1) At any meeting of the State Committee for which notice of intent to recall has been mailed to each State Committee member at least ten days prior to the meeting (such notice to be given by any member of the State Committee), a recall against specified officers of the State Committee or members of the State Executive Committee may be initiated by a vote of one half weighted pursuant to Article V.
• (2) Any officers of the State Committee or members of the State Executive Committee against whom recall has been initiated may be removed from office by a vote of not less than fifty-five percent at the same meeting of the State Committee weighted pursuant to Article V.
• (3) A new election for the officers or membership positions vacated by recall shall take place thereafter at the same meeting of the State Committee by the same voting procedure by which said offices or positions of membership were previously filled.
• (4) Recall may also be initiated by a petition calling for a State Committee meeting.

1. The party may solicit and accept unrestricted contributions, except from candidates for public office. The party may not accept restricted contributions except by vote of the State Committee.

2. The Treasurer shall not expend funds exceeding one hundred dollars to any single payee in any calendar year without authorization of the State Executive Committee. The Treasurer shall not expend funds exceeding one thousand dollars to any single payee in any calendar year without authorization of the State Committee, except in case of emergency declared by not less than three quarters of the State Executive Committee and agreed to by the Treasurer, and except for funds necessary to rent space in which to hold State Committee meetings.

3. The Treasurer shall not expend funds in support of any law suit or other court action in which the party is plaintiff or complainant unless such law suit or court action has been authorized by the State Committee.

4. The party may not borrow funds.

5. The Treasurer shall keep all acccounts and file all reports required by law, make such reports available to the public for no more than cost, and report on the status of the party's funds at each regular State Committee meeting, as well as at the request of the State Executive Committee at any time.

1. The State Committee shall have the power to approve, recognize, organize, form or charter affiliated or supporting organizations or clubs, such as in Assembly Districts, villages, neighborhoods, colleges, schools or workplaces, or consisting of youth groups, cultural groups, professional groups or similar groups of common interest, subject to such rules, regulations, procedures or decisions as it shall deem proper. The State Executive Committee may grant provisional recognition until the next meeting of the State Committee.

2. The State Committee may delegate supervision of such affiliated clubs or organizations to a county committee or interim county organization or to the State Executive Committee.

3. The State Committee shall have the power to rescind any approval, recognition or charter granted to any such affiliated club or organization on sixty days notice. The State Executive Committee shall have the power to suspend recognition of any such affiliated club or organization until the next meeting of the State Committee.

4. Except for county committees established acording to election law, interim county organizations established according to these rules, or other committees or subcommittees established by resolution of the State Committee, no organization shall have the right to use the words "Independence Party" as its name or part of its name without the written consent of the State Committee or provisional written consent of the Executive Committee and unless it agrees to the supervision, jurisdiction, rules, regulations and procedures of the State Committee.

1. The Independence Party of New York may affiliate with a national political party. The Independence Party of New York may disaffiliate from a national party at any time, notwithstanding any rule or regulation of such national party.

2. Any affiliation or disaffiliation with a national party shall occur only by vote of the State Committee. Such vote may take place at a biennial organizational meeting, or at any other meeting when notice that the issue is to be on the agenda is mailed with the meeting notice. Any committee member may demand such notice be included with a meeting notice, if such demand is made at least thirty days before the meeting, but the State Secretary may optionally include such notice even if requested less than thirty days before the meeting.

3. (a) Should the Independence Party be entitled to elect delegates or alternate delegates to any national political party convention, the State Committee may provide rules to comply with any requirements of election law and national party rules necessary to effect the election of such delegates or alternate delegates, which rules shall be appended hereto and shall be considered for all intents and purposes as part of this article but which shall automatically expire on the last day of the presidential election year.

(b) If it is not possible for the State Committee to meet by any deadline that may be established by election law to do any act necessary to ensure the ability to elect convention delegates at a presidential primary election, the State Executive Committee shall act in its place.

(c) The term of office of delegates or alternate delegates to national party conventions shall be as established by national party rule, but if no such rule exists the term of office shall be at the pleasure of the State Committee but not less than one year nor more than four years. Vacancies shall be filled in accordance with national party rules, but if no such rule exists vacancies may be filled by the State Committee.

4. Any national party offices, such as on a National Committee, to which the Independence Party should be entitled to appoint incumbents, shall be filled in accordance with national party rules, but if no such rule exists, they shall be elected by the State Committee in the same manner as officers of the State Committee, and shall serve at the pleasure of the State Committee.

Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised shall govern in all meetings of the State Committee and State Executive Committee in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with applicable law, these rules, or any special rules of order these bodies may adopt.
 

Notes:

• The official rules shall be filed with the State Board of Elections. .
• Bullets do not appear in original.