LPO RESOLUTION FOR STATE AFFILIATE SPEECH AUTONOMY
Affirming Affiliate Autonomy and Procedural Due Process Within the Libertarian Party
Adopting body: Executive Committee of Libertarian Party of Oregon Adopted: 6/6/2026
WHEREAS, Libertarian Party of Oregon is a chartered state-level affiliate of the Libertarian Party;
WHEREAS, Article 5, Section 5 of the Libertarian Party Bylaws provides that “the autonomy of the affiliate and sub-affiliate parties shall not be abridged by the National Committee or any other committee of the Party, except as provided by these bylaws”;
WHEREAS, the strength and integrity of the Libertarian Party have historically depended on the deliberative independence of its state affiliates, who reflect the political character and judgment of their respective state memberships;
WHEREAS, recent action by the Libertarian National Committee raises questions of broad institutional concern about the scope of national authority over state affiliate communications and the procedural standards governing affiliate discipline;
WHEREAS, the Bylaws of the Libertarian Party contain no express grant of authority to the National Committee to police the social-media or other speech of state affiliates beyond the specific affiliate-conduct prohibitions stated in Article 5, Section 4;
WHEREAS, the National Committee’s own most recently applied procedural standards for affiliate discipline — as demonstrated in the 2021 New Hampshire matter and the 2022 New Mexico matter — included advance notice to the affiliate, articulation of specific alleged conduct, opportunity to be heard, and in the 2021 matter the convening of an investigatory committee to develop the record before any sanction;
WHEREAS, departure from those standards in any future affiliate-discipline matter would expose every state affiliate to discipline without procedural safeguards;
WHEREAS, the Executive Committee of the Libertarian Party of Oregon takes no position in this Resolution on the merits of any specific affiliate’s conduct or any pending appellate proceeding, but addresses only the institutional principles governing affiliate autonomy and procedural fairness;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED:
- Libertarian Party of Oregon affirms the autonomy of state affiliates as guaranteed by Article 5, Section 5 of the Bylaws, and the right of state affiliates to determine their own messaging and communications consistent with the Bylaws and the Statement of Principles.
- Libertarian Party of Oregon expresses concern about any assertion of National Committee authority to police state affiliate communications absent express bylaws authorization, and calls for the National Committee to articulate, with clarity and in writing, the textual bylaws basis for any such assertion of authority.
- Libertarian Party of Oregon urges that any disciplinary action by the National Committee against any affiliate be conducted with: (a) advance written notice to the affiliate; (b) particularized articulation of the specific conduct alleged and the specific bylaws provision alleged to have been violated; (c) a meaningful opportunity for the affiliate to respond before any vote; and (d) the convening of an investigatory committee to develop the factual record where the alleged conduct is material or contested — consistent with the National Committee’s own most recent applied precedent.
- Libertarian Party of Oregon calls upon the National Committee to adopt and publish, through the appropriate bylaws or policy-manual process, written standards governing affiliate-discipline procedure, so that affiliates and their members may understand in advance the procedures by which their status may be reviewed.
- Libertarian Party of Oregon directs its Chair to transmit a copy of this Resolution to the Chair and Secretary of the Libertarian National Committee.
Vote
Adopted by the Executive Committee of Libertarian Party of Oregon on June 6th 2026 by a recorded vote and Passed without objection
Sonja Feintech, Chair Libertarian Party of Oregon
Joe Christman , Secretary Libertarian Party of Oregon
[https://lporegon.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/LPO-Resolution-for-State-Speech-Autonomy.signed.pdf]
