This version is composite, including:

• What is intended to be the majority report.
• What  is intended to be separated , and issued as the minority report.  This will be items that were rejected at the committee meeting, or not even presented, that a minority claims NEEDS consideration at the Feb. meeting.
• What is intended to be separated , and issued as a deferred report.  This will be items such as statewide designation that have no need for action at the Feb. meeting.

Each change in destination will be flagged with a line in bold text indicating destination of the following text (with article headings always belonging to the majority report and included as needed in the other reports):
                   MAJORITY REPORT  MINOR REPORT  DEFER REPORT.

DEFER REPORT

Rules need a more extensive rewrite, with much more detailed contents than follow.

MAJORITY REPORT

Following are proposed as a complete replacement for current Independence Party rules.  These rules are rearranged and in many cases reworded for easier understanding without change in meaning.  Meaning changes are also proposed in many areas where problems have been recognized:

Comments in italics, such as this text, are ABOUT the proposal, not to be included in rules as approved.

Where text is a revision of previous text, changes will be flagged as bold text, with THESE markings not to be included in rules as approved.

   I.  Establishment of Rules.
  II.  State Committee Districting and Membership.
 III.  State Committee Meetings.
  IV.  State CommitteeQuorum Requirements.
   V.  Voting at State Committee Meetings.
  VI.  State Executive Committee.
 VII.  County Organization.
VIII.  Judicial District Conventions.
  IX.  Cross Endorsements, etc..
   X.  Recall.
  XI.  Party Funds.
 XII.  Clubs and Affiliated Organizations.
XIII.  National Party Affiliation.
 XIV.  Additional Rules.
  XV.  Exclusivity.
 XVI.  Severability
 

The Independence 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. STATE COMMITTEE DISTRICTS (SCDS). The unit of representation shall be by Assembly District. Members will be chosen from Assembly Districts subject to the following conditions:

• (a) Where Assembly Districts are coterminous with or contained within a county, they shall have two members.
• (b) Where an Assembly District is made up of two or more whole counties, each county shall have two members.
• (c) Where an Assembly District is made up of parts of counties or a combination of a whole county or counties and part or parts of another county or counties, each county and part county unit shall have two members.
• (d) Each member shall be an enrolled voter of the Independence Party within the unit from which each member is elected.
• (e) Representation from each unit shall be equal by sex.

SECTION 3. 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 4. VACANCIES.

(a) In case of the death, disqualification, resignation, removal from district, or removal from office of a member of the State Committee, the vacancy created thereby shall be filled by majority weighted vote (in person or by proxy) of 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. A quorum for said meeting shall be the smallest number greater than fifty percent of the remaining members present in person or by proxy. Should there be no remaining members, the vacancy continues until a new member is elected at the next regular election of the State Committee.

(b) 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 V of these rules.

MINOR REPORT

Seems like 4(a) could better be said in two paragraphs, with a bit of change.  Our attention came here because the original detailed list missed an item.  Seems there are two responses:

• Add the noticed missing item, HOPING that was all that was missed.
• Restate the list as a summary, since we want all the items that might  go in the list.

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.

DEFER REPORT

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.

 The words below for 1(a) have been objected to because Dutchess County contains two parts of the 96th AD.  DWK response:

• Seems to me those two parts are PROPERLY described as a single"partial Assembly District".
• Seems to me those two parts are EACH a "part county unit" as specified in original par. 3.
• BUT, my understanding was that the complaint was that my words would split an SCD, rather than combining a couple.

(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.

010119 - suggested motion for State Committee:  Moved that  ", with representation equal by sex"  be deleted in above paragraph.

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 causes, 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 remaining 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.

ARTICLE III
STATE COMMITTEE MEETINGS

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.

010127: Steve remembers the max for non-organization meetings as 30 days.

Meeting calls shall specify the time and place of the meeting and shall be served by mailing the call to each member, and to each Executive Committee member, before such meeting. Such notice shall be directed to the address of each member as it appears on the records of the State Committee.  The call shall be mailed not less than thirty (30), nor more than forty-five (45) days, before organization meetings; not less than ten (10) days, nor more than twenty (20) days, before other meetings.

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

For organization meetings, the Secretary shall attempt to know the addresses of all nominated candidates and mail the call to each.

010122 - per committee, all fall meetings get the 14 day limit that is required in leap years.

Section 2. 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. Day in January and not later than President's Day 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 and not later than fourteen (14) days after the primary election.

Section 3. Upon written petition of forty or more members of the Committee representing not less than twenty counties, or of a majority of State Executive Committee members, filed jointly or separately in the office of the Chairperson asking for a meeting of the Committee, it shall be the duty of the Chairperson within 10 ten days after receipt of said petition to issue a call for the meeting of the Committee to be held in Albany or within twenty-five miles of the State Capitol, the date of such meeting to be not later than 20 twenty days, nor earlier than 10 ten days from the issuance of the call. In the event that the Chairperson shall fail to call such meeting within 10 ten days after the filing of such petition, the meeting shall be called by the Vice Chairperson or the Secretary or by an alternate convenor who shall be a member named in the petition. The notice of meeting shall include any and all agenda items called for by the petition.
 

MINOR REPORT

010127: Dave Ketchum version of Section 3:

Section 3. Any member of the State Committee may draft text for calling a meeting, and seek approval of the text via petition.  Having collected signatures from forty (40) or more members of the Committee, representing not less than twenty (20) counties, with no signature more than forty (40) days old and the list of petitioning members being added to the call, the call shall be filed in the office of the Secretary for issuance. In the event that the Secretary shall fail to call such meeting within ten days after the filing of such petition, the meeting shall be called by the Alternate Convener specified in the petition for this purpose. The meeting shall be held within 25 miles of the State Capitol Building in Albany and on a weekend to provide for maximum attendance.

Any member of the State Executive Committee may proceed as above, requiring signatures of a majority of the Executive Committee for this purpose.

DEFER REPORT

Section 4. Order of Business:

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

To be defined.

At meetings of members of the State Committee, there shall be present at least a majority of the voting power of all members of the State Committee, or of the appropriate subcommittee, 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 zero (0) weighted vote at State Committee meetings.

Section 2. At meetings of members 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.

1. Proxies shall be in writing, signed and dated, and expire at the end of the meeting for which issued.
2. 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.
3. A proxy may direct how the holder shall vote it.
4. A proxy holder must be a State Committee member, and shall not vote the proxy if the giver is present and chooses to vote.
5. Proxies shall be non-transferable,  except that they may list two or more carriers, with only one of the carriers registering as the holder at any one time
6. In case of dispute as to the validity of any proxy, a Credentials Committee shall give its opinion as to the proxy's validity, at which time the whole State Committee, not including the disputed votes, shall decide the question, such questions taking precedence over any other business..

Some alternate proxy rules to consider. As to 12 months - that could be amended:
 

DEFER REPORT

Something needs to be said about documenting the credentials committee.
 

MINOR REPORT

010122: Dave Ketchum: lost track of whether the committee directed deletion of the following paragraph and 3 bullets:

010119:  While what follows takes many more words than what precedes, it should permit speeding up meetings while giving all members normal control.  Note that I have heard complaints about "senses" - yet this is a judgement call for the chair:

• If the body is showing willingness to settle for consensus, then more of this makes sense.
• If the body consistently demands roll call votes, there is little sense in trying for anything else.

• If the chair senses that the meeting has reached consensus (general agreement - that while some may feel reluctance, they realize the body's decision is obvious and that there is no value in prolonging debate), the  chair may assume this with statements such as "If there is no objection, ..." or "Without objection, ...", pause a moment, assume unanimous consent, and proceed.  If any member objects with "reasonable promptness" (even after the chair proceeds), then the consent does not exist and the chair must proceed as if it had never been assumed.
• If the chair senses that they may correctly indicate the will of the body, voice, rising, or show of hands voting may be used.  Again, any member may object.
• If the chair senses that the above would not successfully indicate the will of the body, and/or they get objected to, then voting shall be done by weighted roll call vote of the members present in person or by proxy.  Here abstain counts as not voting and Robert's Rules determines whether a majority or other measure of the votes cast is required for approval.

010122:  Again I lost track, but doubt the committee reviewed thr following paragraph carefully:

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.

DEFER REPORT

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.

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.

010117:  The above still needs something - par (a) talks of "none", the yeas and nays could be clearer.

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 2. 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.

Section 4. 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.

(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. 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 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 IX 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) 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, 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 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 committee 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.

(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

(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 Executive Committee may act under this Section 4 should the Secretary not act within a reasonable time.

(a) All powers delegated to or exercised by any person appointed by the State Executive Committee to the position of "County Chairperson" pursuant to the previous Article XV of these rules shall be null and void and any person so appointed shall no longer occupy said position.

(b) Considering that interim county organizations are transitional in nature and will eventually be replaced by fully constituted county committees, the Executive Committee may, by vote of three quarters of its total members voting at a meeting of the 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 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 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.

(iii) At said meeting the representatives of the interim county organization 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 Executive Committee.

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

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

Definitions, for use throughout these rules:

• "IPCC" shall mean an Independence Party County Committee, legally constituted pursuant to the Election Law.
• "IPICO" shall mean an Independence Party Interim County Organization, formed by its county pursuant to Article VII of these rules.

• (a) Convening of an initial organizational meeting shall be in accordance with the following:
• (i) Any elected State Committee member wishing to call the initial organizational meeting shall submit a request, in writing, for authority to convene such meeting to the Secretary of the State Committee.
• (ii) The Secretary of the State Committee shall fax or mail confirmation of receipt of such requests within four (4) days after receipt, giving authority to convene such meeting to the first requester from each county.
• (iii) Having received such authority, each first requestor shall, within the next seven days, select the time and place of the initial organizational meeting and give notice of such meeting to, at least, all State Committee members representing the county, giving no less than seven (7) days, nor more than twenty (20) days, notice of said meeting.  Such notice may be given by mail, or by other equally adequate means.
• (b) Holding of an initial organizational meeting shall be in accordance with the following, consistent with Articles IV and V of these rules.:
• (i) Attendance and voting may be in person or by proxy carried by an elected member of the State Committee from that county.
• (ii) The quorum shall be a majority of the weighted vote of the county's State Committee members.
• (iii) Each State Committee member shall vote by weighted vote.
• (c) Duties of an initial organizational meeting shall include:
• (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 Articles IV and V of these rules), the addition of members to the IPICO and such other matters as are necessary to the work of the IPICO.
• (iii) Include in such rules provision for supporting organization of the IPCC or IPICO that will succeed this IPICO after the next election of party committees.  A succeeding IPICO may not organize until after the State Committee organizes.
• (d) Duties of an IPICO Secretary shall include:
• (i) Within five (5) days after the initial meeting, 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.
• (ii) Within three (3) days after officers are elected, file a certificate listing such officers with the state board of elections and the county board of elections, as would be required for an IPCC.
• (iii) Within ten (10) days after rules are adopted or amended, file such rules with the state board of elections and their county board of elections, and village boards of elections when appropriate, as would be required for an IPCC.
• (iv) File documents for other activity, as would be required for an IPCC.
• (v) Mail the call for the organizational meeting of the succeeding IPCC or IPICO as appropriate.
• (e) The IPICO shall be dissolved if, due to resignations or other causes, there are no remaining State Committee members in said county. In such case any succeeding IPICO will require an initial organization meeting.
• (f) The term of an IPICO shall be until the succeeding IPCC or IPICO is organized but, if neither can organize, end at the next biennial State Committee organizational meeting.

1. (a) The judicial district convention for the nomination of party candidates for the office of Justice of the Supreme Court in the 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 9th, and 10th Judicial Districts shall be constituted by the election of one delegate and one alternate delegate from each assembly district in the judicial district for each one thousand (1000) votes or major fraction thereof cast in such assembly district or portion, for the party candidate for Governor under the party emblem in the last preceding gubernatorial election. The judicial district convention for the nomination of party candidates for the office of Justice of the Supreme Court in the 1st, 2nd, 11th, and 12th Judicial Districts shall be constituted by the election of one delegate and one alternate delegate from each assembly district in the judicial district for each two hundred fifty (250) votes or major fraction thereof cast in such assembly district or portion, for the party candidate for Governor under the party emblem in the last preceding gubernatorial election. The judicial district convention for the nomination of party candidates for the office of Justice of the Supreme Court in the 8th Judicial District shall be constituted by the election of one delegate and one alternate delegate for each two thousand (2000) votes or major fraction thereof cast in such assembly district or portion, for the party candidate for Governor under the party emblem in the last preceding gubernatorial election. The judicial district convention for the nomination of party candidates for the office of Justice of the Supreme Court in the 7th Judicial District shall be constituted by the election of one delegate and one alternate delegate for each three thousand (3000) votes or major fraction thereof cast in such assembly district or portion, for the party candidate for Governor under the party emblem in the last preceding gubernatorial election.

     (b) In no event, however, shall any assembly district in any judicial district be entitled to less than one delegate and one alternate.

     (c) If, by reason of a change in the boundaries of assembly districts after an election for governor, the exact vote at such election in the territory consisting the altered district is not ascertainable, such vote for purposes of this section shall be estimated.

2. The state executive committee shall fix the time and the place of the meeting of the judicial district conventions.

3. The call for any judicial district convention shall be issued by the state executive committee or the state chairman.

4. The quorum at any judicial district convention of the Independence Party shall be a majority of the total number of delegates or respective alternates elected to serve at that convention pursuant to Section 1 of this Article. All nominations at any convention shall be made by a majority of the delegates present and voting and, if a majority of the delegates present and voting shall vote not to nominate any candidate to fill a vacancy, then no candidate shall be nominated to fill that vacancy.

MINOR REPORT

010126:  As usual, I see good and bad in the versions offered by Harry, Steve, and Tom Connolly at the meeting. I see:

• Harry's is a reasonable length for what it covers, but could use a bit of editing.
• Steve picks the average votes per district as a base.  From half that much to 1.5 times that much (a range of 1.0 times the base) districts get 2 delegates; for less, 1 delegate; for 1.5 to 2 times (a range of 0.5 times the base) districts get 3 delegates, and one more for each additional 0.5.
• The third proposal requires MUCH more math than seems reasonable to me, and has the smell of needing redoing after each gubernatorial election and after each census.

1. Each complete or partial Assembly District within a judicial district shall be a unit of representation and elect delegates and alternate delegates to the district's judicial convention.  The number of delegates authorized for each unit of representation shall be based on the number of votes the Independence Party's candidate for governor received in the preceding general election.
2. If, due to changes in Assembly District boundaries after an election for governor, the exact vote count for a unit is not ascertainable, an estimate shall be used in the following calculations.
3. The unit with the most votes shall have five (5) delegates, or such other number as the State Committee shall specify for the Judicial District.  The base vote count shall be the average of two numbers, rounded to an integer.  The numbers shall be the above most votes divided by the number of delegates to be authorized for that unit, and the same dividend divided by that divisor minus one.  Each unit's authorized number of delegates, and authorized number of alternate delegates shall be its vote count divided by the base vote count, with all fractions rounded up.  The State Executive Committee shall see to including these authorizations in the party call specified in Section 2-120.
4. The Chairperson of the Independence Party State Committee shall appoint five persons, each of whom shall be an enrolled member of the Independence Party, to be 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.

Convention details:

1. It shall be in order to nominate "no candidate" to indicate a preference for a 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 votes for a person. No person receiving fewer votes than "no candidate" shall be nominated.
2. 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 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.

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.


010127: Old text was illegal and agreed to be deleted.  Stated as such to keep common numbering.

6. Deleted.
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:

(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 VI 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.

(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 committee (or to the determination made pursuant to (a) above.)

(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.

(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 or should fail to set the time of said meeting for before the tenth day after the first day for petitioning for said office, by any County Chairperson within the City of New York.

(ii) A quorum to do business shall be at least two County Executive Committee members from each county within the city that has a county committee or interim county organization, or at least three members each from three or more counties that in the aggregate cast a majority of the the votes cast for Governor within the City of New York on the Independence Party line in the last preceding election for Governor.

(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 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 of said vote shall be required to authorize the candidacy of any person who is not a member of the Independence Party.

(iv) Representation by proxy shall not be permitted at said meeting.

(v) The certificates of authorization shall be signed and acknowledged by the presiding officer and secretary of said meeting.

010122:  This article has a LOT of words - so many that I had never deciphered all of it, and suspect others had the same trouble - and thus we let it say things we really should not want.  For example:

• The first paragraph seems to be inspired by 6-116, 6-158.6, and 6-158.14 - but is a bit short:

1. Its term starts 5 weeks before primary, but 6-116 says the need starts before the end of petition period.
2. For early vacancies,one could want to wait til after the primary to decide who to pick, and 6-158.6 permits this, but WHO should file the certificate for vacancies occuring before primary day?  The old committee, which has at least had some time before primary day to start its search?  The new committee, which could face a deadline a week after primary day and perhaps having not yet gotten organized?
3. For late vacancies the deadline for nominating is 14 days after vacancy occurs.  Perhaps the old committee should attend to all vacancies for which the certificate must be filed before the new committee organizes.
4. This proposal avoids this date problem, and also thinks about vacancies that need attending to at the time new committees are being elected.
• We are properly nervous about renegade ICOs - and can get tempted into impossible restrictions:
1. For designating  petitions there is time, for the proper time for the ICO to ask permission is when the petition gathering starts to get serious, not at petition filing time.
2. For nominating  and other designating there can be as little as 4 days to decide on a candidate and file - and the committee can need ALL of that to pick a candidate.  Then the deadline for a Wilson-Pakula is only 4 days after that.
3. This proposal, as written, leaves ICOs on their own inside counties andgives them authority to join other counties in multi-county nomination and related authorization, but does not let ICOs do multi-county authorizations of designating petitions.
• I do not claim the following is perfect - partly because some of the decisions are value decisions - but I claim it is close enough to adopt now and clean up in May.
• The definitions probably belong with Article VII, but I wanted to use them here first.

• IPCC shall mean an Independence Party County Committee, legally constituted pursuant to the Election Law.
• IPICO shall mean an Independence Party Interim County Organization, formed by its county pursuant to Article VII of these rules.

1. Vacancy committees may perform all activity authorized by law to be performed by them.
2. Else for all activity authorized by law to be performed by County Committees:
• If the county has elected an IPCC and such committee provides for such activity, then it shall be handled as provided for by the IPCC.
• Else, for all activity which the State Committee controls in the absence of an IPCC:
• If the county has an IPICO, and such IPICO provides for such activity, then it shall be handled as provided by the IPICO.
• Else the activity shall be handled by the State Executive Committee.
3. Else for all activity related to statewide offices, by the State Committee or State Executive Committee, as the State Committee shall specify.
4. Else for other activity related to authorizing Independence Party designation or nomination of candidates who are not enrolled members of the Independence Party:
• For authorization of candidates for New York City citywide offices, proceed as specified below for multicounty nomination, with majority approval required for authorization.  Attendees must represent the Executive Committee of their IPCC or IPICO and neither the State Committee nor the State Executive Committee can issue the authorization if this committee fails to act.
• Each IPCC whose county includes part of such district may issue such authorizations.
• Each IPICO whose county includes part of such district may issue such authorizations for nominations, but not for designations.
• If there are no IPCCs or IPICOs with such authority, but an IPICO whose county includes part of such district, or an enrolled Independence Party member who is a resident of such district, apply for such authorization, then the State Executive Committee may issue such an authorization.  For this purpose the application shall provide as near to a week for the State Executive Committee to review the application as is possible.
• Else the authorization may be handled by the State Executive Committee.
5. Else for other activity related to designating or nominating candidates, if the rules of all of the IPCCs and IPICOs whose counties include parts of such district include compatible provisions for the filling of a vacancy, the vacancy shall be filled in accordance with those provision.  Requirements specified in these rules for such provisions are:
• Each of such IPCCs and IPICOs shall be notified of such meeting, with as much advance notice as practical, but not more than twenty (20) days.
• Attendees representing each county shall, together, cast a vote equal to the number of votes cast for Governor in the portion of the district within that county on the line or column of the Independence Party in the last preceding general election.
• The quorum for such a committee meeting shall be a majority of the total such votes in the district, whether or not every county has an IPCC or IPICO.
• Designation or nomination shall require agreement by a majority vote at such meeting.
6. Any activity not addressed above shall be handled by the State Executive Committee, or by a committee authorized to perform such activity by the State Committee or State Executive Committee.
7. Where a vacancy or other event occurs prior to a primary election at which party committees are elected, the outgoing committee shall be responsible for completing any related activity for which the deadline is earlier than twenty (20) days after the primary election.
8. 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.

• (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 IV.
• (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 IV.
• (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.

MINOR REPORT

010117 - Steve's words without editing - I am just prodding to hear more say they have given these words SERIOUS consideration.

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.
 

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.
 

DEFER REPORT

010122:  Seems like there is no real rush on this one.

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.

Notes:

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