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.

RULES OF THE NEW YORK STATE COMMITTEE
OF THE INDEPENDENCE PARTY

ARTICLE I
ESTABLISHMENT OF RULES

Just cleaner words here

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.

party symbol HERE

ARTICLE II
STATE COMMITTEE DISTRICTING AND MEMBERSHIP

Articles II and III repackaged for clarity, closer to law 2-102; Removal moved off to XVII with recall.

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.

(b)For 2002 fall primary and future elections SCD assignment shall be based on population as of the last official census:

• 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 2. STATE COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP: Each SCD shall have two members, with representation equal by sex. At time of election, and continuosly thereafter, each member shall be an enrolled member of the Independence Party and a resident of the SCD from which elected (except, for the first election after readjustment or alteration of SCD boundaries, residence for the twelve months immediately preceding the election in the county containing the SCD shall satisfy the residence requirement).

Section 3. ELECTION. Members of the State Committee shall be elected at the fall primary election in each even-numbered year. Such members shall hold office until the election of their successors.

ARTICLE III
STATE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Redone, but based on old thought - AND - meeting flexibility.

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.

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:

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

Section 4. These meetings may be held in person, by teleconference, video conference, internet meeting, or other means that provide real-time direct interaction by the participants, for which:

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.

Section 5. At all meetings of the State Executive Committee, at least a majority of the members shall be present. Proxies shall not be permitted.

ARTICLE IV

001229 - moved to VI

(deleted).

ARTICLE V

Moved elsewhere for strength and consistency.

(deleted).

ARTICLE VI
MEETINGS

001229: Threw rest of IV and VII in and renamed this one - the new words about regular meetings promoted this.

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.

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 3. Any member of the State Committee may draft text for calling a meeting, and call such meeting upon approval of the text via petition by forty (40) or more members of the Committee, representing not less than twenty (20) counties, the list of petitioning members being added to the call as issued. The date of such meeting shall be not later than sixty (60) days from the date of the first petition signature listed in the call.

Section 4. Order of Business:

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

To be defined.

ARTICLE VII

001229 - moved to VI

(deleted).

ARTICLE VIII
QUORUM REQUIREMENTS

Rewritten - but may need more. I got the proxy ideas from the Democrats, and know they need thought.

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.

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, revocable at the pleasure of the person executing the same, 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.
2. A proxy may direct how the holder shall vote it.
3. A proxy holder must be a State Committee member, and shall not vote the proxy if the giver is present.
4. No individual may hold proxies worth more than ten (10) percent of voting power of all State Committee members at any meeting.
5. Proxies shall be non-transferable.
   But, maybe, the giver has two friends, and does not care which votes the proxy?

   001229: Some are more like maybes:

6. 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:

7. 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.
8. No individual may hold more than five (5) proxies at any meeting.

Section 3. Changes to this Article shall take effect at the end of the meeting that adopts them.

ARTICLE IX
VOTING

Rewritten - for clarity and because proxies were attended to above - is per 6-104.4 and 2-102.1

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 general election.

ARTICLE X
CROSS ENDORSEMENTS
NOMINATIONS AND AUTHORIZATIONS FOR ELECTIONS
AND FILLING VACANCIES

Needs careful thought, especially the last 2 paragraphs.

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 XV 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 XV 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 XV 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 XV 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 XV 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 XV 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 XV 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 XV 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 X and XV 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 X and XV 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 X and XV 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 XV 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 XV of these rules, Section 4, the Secretary shall issue an authorization to each candidate approved by a county.

ARTICLE XI
VACANCIES ON STATE COMMITTEE

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

001229: clarify vacancy.

In case of a person ceasing to be a member of the State Committee, due to resignation or other cause, the vacancy created thereby shall be filled by the remaining members of the State Committee residing in that county.

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.

The quorum and voting for the remaining members for this meeting shall be as defined in Articles VIII and IX for the full State Committee. Should there be no remaining members, the vacancy continues until a new member is elected at the next regular election of the State Committee.

001229: Should we drop next par?

The State Committee shall have the power to fill only vacancies created by the failure to elect a candidate at the last election of State Committee members and such vacancies may be filled by a vote taken in accordance with Article IX of these rules.

ARTICLE XII
ADDITIONAL RULES

Beefed up - original did not quite work.

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.

ARTICLE XIII
QUALIFICATION FOR PARTY OFFICE

Some wonder if this restriction is needed. Note that enrollmebt changes take effect in November and party elections are in September, meaning new members wait almost a year for eligibility per law; almost 2 years with this restriction. Still, Article XI replacements can occur at any time.

County Committee should be deleted, for we have no authority. For rest of this my bet is we lose in court. BTW - does this say a nonvoter can register and enroll in IPNY and get elected state chair the next day?

No person may be a member of the State Committee or one of its officers or a member of the State Executive Committee, a County Comittee, or an Interim County Organization who has effected a change of enrollment pursuant to Section 5-304(3) of the Election Law until one year after such change of enrollment is entered pursuant to Article 5 of the Election Law.

Last phrase deleted - OF COURSE the SC can amend this - and "five years after" is best translated ONE time!

This provision of the Rules of the State Committee shall expire June 11, 2004.

ARTICLE XIV

FORGET the nonsense IP had here. Certainly party members can be partisans in primary elections but the party, itself, is properly forbidden to take sides among its members by 2-126.

(deleted).

ARTICLE XV
COUNTY ORGANIZATION

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.

Here in Article XV 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).

1. Definitions:
   • (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 Sec. 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.

2. Interim County Organizations: Until such time as a County Committee is constituted and organized the elected State Committee members in each county shall be the Interim County Organization.

   • (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] this Article XV and Article X. [This authority shall be subject to (5)(b) below and shall be effective only as to authorizations notice of which was given to the Executive Committee not later than five days after the commencement of the applicable petitioning period under Article 6 of the Election Law.]

   • (b) The elected State Committee members in each county shall hold an initial organizational meeting and, by weighted vote consistent with Article IX 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 IX 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) voting at the initial meeting may be by 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 notice of said meeting and no more than twenty.

   • (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 and the county be governed by section 4 below, if, as a result of death, disqualification, removal from district, or removal from office there are no remaining State Committee members in said county.

   • (g) The term of an Interim County Organization shall be until the next State Committee election, after which the county may organize a new Interim County Organization if a County Committee has not been organized in accordance with (3) below. However, should occasion arise for the exercise of any of the powers delegated to an interim county organization during the period between said election and the earlier of the organization of a new county organization or 30 days, such power may be exercised at a meeting of the members of the State Committee in said county at which a quorum is present with quorum determined and voting done in the manner set forth in (b)(3) and (3) above.

   001229: Need help translating above references.

3. County Committees: The following shall govern the conduct of the organizational meeting of a County Committee (other than County Committees which have already organized and adopted rules) held pursuant to Sec. 2-112 of the Election Law.

   • (a) A Quorum of the County Committee's organizational meeting shall be the smallest number greater than 50% of the elected members of the County Committee.

   • (b) For purposes of establishing a Quorum at the organizational meeting, the votes of the elected members of the County Committee present or present by proxy held by an elected member of the County Committee shall be counted.

   • (c) Voting at a County Committee's organizational meeting shall be either by:

     • (i) elected members of the County Committee personally present, or

     • (ii) elected members of the County Committee present by proxy held by an elected member of the County Committee.

     • (iii) proxies may not be held or voted at the organizational meeting by individuals not elected to the County Committee

4. Other Counties: In a county where there are no elected members of the State Committee or where a deadlock occurs at the initial meeting, an authorization pursuant to Sec. 6-120 of the Election Law (hereinafter "authorization") shall be made as follows:

   • (a) the State Executive Committee shall establish a deadline by which members of other parties seeking authorization shall file a declaration of candidacy with the Secretary of the State Committee which declaration shall contain the candidate's address, telephone and fax number.

   • (b) the Secretary shall determine the cost of a first class mailing to each enrolled member of the Independence Party in the county (as shown on the most recent list published by the county Board of Elections) and such other costs as are necessary to carry out the process in this section 4, and shall assess, as a condition for authorization, a pro-rata portion of such cost upon each candidate who has filed a declaration of candidacy.

   • (c) each such candidate must pay said sum within one week of notice from the Secretary, and if one or more does not timely pay the others must make up the difference within three days after notice by fax from the Secretary, or if the candidate has not provided a fax number, then within two days telephonic notice.

   • (d) the Secretary shall send, by first class mail, a notice inviting all enrolled Independence Party members within the County who appears on the aforesaid list to an "authorization meeting" to be held at a reasonably convenient place within the county and at a reasonably convenient time (not earlier than ten days nor later than twenty days after the mailing)

   • (e) the meeting shall be presided over by one member of the State Executive Committee. If more than one attends, the one residing closest to the place of the meeting shall preside.

   • (f) each candidate who has filed a declaration of candidacy shall attend said meeting to be interviewed by enrolled members of the Independence Party.

   • (g) enrolled members residing in the county in attendance at said meeting shall then vote on whether to support the authorization of a candidate or candidates. The Secretary shall prepare and file the necessary certificate of authorization in a timely manner for any candidate receiving the support of said meeting pursuant to a democratic decision making process not inconsistent with Roberts Rules of Order.

   • (h) Notwithstanding the above, the State Executive Committee shall have the right to limit the number of declarations of candidacy to be acted upon in accordance with this Section 4 in any given election season, provided that the number of counties acted on cannot be lowered below 6 counties.

   • (i) Another member of the State Executive Committee may act under this Section 4 should the Secretary not act within a reasonable time.

5. Miscellaneous:

   I claim (a), about "County Chairpersons" relates to problems of a previous SC, and is no longer needed - ???

   • (a) (deleted).

   • (b) Considering that Interim County Organizations are transitional in nature and will eventually be replaced by fully constituted County Committees, the State Executive Committee may, by vote of three quarters of its total members voting at a meeting of the State Executive Committee, override an authorization made by an Interim County Organization pursuant to section 4 above, in accordance with the following[ procedure]:

     • (i) Within seven days of receipt of a challenge to an authorization by a State Committee member from a county containing some or all of the public office district, the Executive Committee shall provide notice of said challenge to the chairperson of the affected interim county organizations by overnight mail [of a list of authorizations from an interim county organization, the Executive Committee must notify the chairperson of that interim county organization by overnight mail which authorizations it is considering overriding].

     • (ii) Said notice shall invite the interim county chair (and two other persons of his choosing) to attend a meeting of the State Executive Committee to be held not earlier than three days nor later than five days thereafter where the question of override will be discussed and voted upon. An invitation shall simultaneously and in like manner be extended to the challenger.

     • (iii) At said meeting the representatives of the Interim County Organization and the challenger will be given the opportunity to speak [against override].

     • (iv) A vote on override shall take place at that meeting and no override shall occur unless it is voted for by three quarters of the total members of the State Executive Committee.

     • (v) The State Executive Committee must forward a written explanation of its reasons for voting to override by regular mail to the challenger and chairperson of the interim county organization no later than three days after the meeting at which the vote occurred.

   • (c) The provisions of this article shall override any provisions to the contrary in Article X of these rules.

   ARTICLE XVI
   EXCLUSIVITY

   A standard defense.

   These rules shall be the exclusive rules of the State Committee of the Independence Party. No other rules shall be effective unless approved in writing by the State Committee.

   ARTICLE XVII
   REMOVAL and RECALL

   I bring removal back here from Article II.

   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 IX.

   • (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 IX.

   • (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.

   ARTICLE XVIII
   SEVERABILITY

   Looks standard.

   If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section or part of these rules or any amendment thereto shall be adjudged to be invalid or otherwise rendered inoperative by any court of competent jurisdiction, such judgment or other judicial action shall not affect, impair, invalidate or render inoperative the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section or part thereof directly involved in the controversy in which such judgment or other judicial action shall have been rendered or taken.

   ARTICLE XIX
   JUDICIAL CONVENTIONS

   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.

Notes:

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