Policies

Libertarian Party of Oregon

Policy on Affiliated Organizations
Adopted January 14th, 2019

Authority to establish policy:
Libertarian Party of Oregon Bylaws, Article 11: “The board of directors may grant charters to groups of LPO voting members wishing to establish an affiliate party or organization. The board of directors must establish a policy for how such charters are granted and maintained. Affiliate organizations do not have any authority to nominate candidates or indenture the LPO in any manner.”

1. Definitions

1. County
   Refers to any of the 36 established political and geographic subdivisions of the State of Oregon.
2. County Party
   County Parties are organized for the purpose of representing the registered Libertarians within a specific county or counties, and:

• are defined in their respective representative jurisdiction by county boundaries, to the exclusion of other county parties.
• consider all registered Libertarians within their jurisdiction to be members.

1. Affiliate
   Affiliates other than county parties. These affiliates may be any type of organization but must be identified by a designation that is not confusingly similar to the LPO or its County Parties and meet at least one of the following criteria:

• be organized for the purpose of promoting the philosophy of libertarianism;
• particularly serve registered Libertarians
• be organized for the purpose of promoting the Libertarian Party of Oregon or its candidates.

2. Autonomy
   All affiliated organizations shall:
   

1. be separate legal and financial entities from the LPO, not subsidiary branches thereof;

1. in accordance with Article 11 of the LPO Bylaws, affiliated organizations do not have any authority to nominate candidates for public office or indenture the LPO in any manner. Reciprocally, the LPO Board may not indenture or bind affiliated organizations.

2. independently comply with all applicable laws;
3. establish their own bylaws and processes for amendment of bylaws;
4. establish their own parliamentary authority, if any;
5. appoint their own officers;
6. arbitrate disputes with other organizations or internally without involvement from the LPO;

1. notwithstanding Section 2.6., individual LPO officers and directors are not precluded from participating in their individual capacities in arbitration of disputes involving an affiliate if they are asked to do so or are otherwise already involved.
2. notwithstanding Section 2.6., the LPO Board of Directors may undertake the termination of an affiliate relationship if they judge a dispute warrants the response. See Section 3.3

3. Method of Affiliation and Disaffiliation
   

1. Affiliation

1. Application requirements in general

1. Organizations seeking affiliation shall submit the appropriate application form provided by the LPO, and provide the following information:

1. How the organization fulfills the definitional requirements of this policy for their affiliation type;
2. The purpose and benefits of affiliation for both organizations;
3. Any specific projects that they want to collaborate on;
4. A description of any expectations regarding the proposed relationship (e.g. information sharing, liaison personnel, etc.) that differ from the standard relationship described in this policy;
5. A copy of the governing document(s), including bylaws, charters, policies, registration with the Secretary of State (if applicable), roll of officers and directors, and any other materials pertaining to the governance of the organization.

1. Information that should reasonably be kept confidential from the public (e.g. credentials for accessing banking accounts, social media accounts, etc.) is exempt from disclosure.

6. Any supplementary conditions or agreements to be considered with the application.

2. The LPO Board may, by a majority vote, establish an affiliate relationship with an organization in conformity with this policy.

2. Suspension

1. The LPO Affiliate Committee shall suspend an affiliate organization for breach of this policy, but shall first notify the organization of the infraction and give it a reasonable opportunity to rectify the breach.
2. The consequences of the suspension are at the discretion of the LPO Affiliate Committee and may include the loss of some or all benefits of affiliation. Penalties may increase over time.
3. The LPO Affiliate Committee shall lift a suspension after the affiliated organization has returned to conformance with this policy.

3. Disaffiliation

1. The LPO Board may, by a two-thirds vote, terminate an affiliate relationship with an Affiliate Organization for any reason they determine to be in the best interest of the LPO and its constituents.
2. An Affiliated Organization may disaffiliate from the Libertarian Party of Oregon.

4. Duties
   The ongoing duties of the LPO and its affiliates shall be:
   

1. To abide by this policy document.
2. To abide by written affiliation agreements.
3. To bring to attention any potential breaches of the Policy on Affiliated Organizations or written affiliation agreements.
4. To provide each other with updated versions of governing documents within 30 days of any changes.
5. To notify each other of any projects of the LPO or its Affiliates that might benefit from cooperation between multiple Affiliate Organizations.

5. Benefits
   These are expected benefits of affiliation:
   

1. Listing on the LPO’s website as an Affiliate Organization.
2. Other benefits as agreed at the time of affiliation. Possible benefits may be but are not limited to:

1. Sharing or exchange of information, such as email lists, donor lists, volunteer lists, candidate lists, etc.
2. Collaboration on projects with the LPO and its affiliates.
3. Buying advertising space in LPO mailings.
4. Calling upon the LPO Board for assistance and advice regarding legal compliance, projects, fundraising, operations, and other business.

6. Additional Affiliation Requirements for County Parties
   Organizations that apply to be County Parties of the LPO shall:
   

1. If established after January 14th, 2019, establish their founding documents and bylaws at a convention called for that purpose, with the provision for any member of the intended constituency (i.e. registered Libertarians in the corresponding county(ies)) to attend and vote;

1. Quorum for the organizing convention shall be 0.5% of the active registered Libertarians in the county, but no less than 5.  A multi-county organization must meet this quorum requirement separately for each constituent county (i.e. 0.5% of registered Libertarians in County X AND 0.5% of registered Libertarians in County Y, with a minimum of 5 for each)
2. When forming a multi-County Party, a majority of the delegation from each county must affirm that they support their respective county’s participation in forming the multi-County Party.

2. Submit a County Party application supplied by the LPO, and additionally include:

1. A copy of all available minutes from meetings and conventions.

1. Organizations formed after January 14th, 2019 must include a roll of attendees in the official minutes of the organizing convention.

3. Be registered with the State of Oregon as a Political Action Committee “in support of a party;”
4. Include “Libertarian Party” and the name(s) of the constituent county(ies) in the name of their organization.
5. If established in a county or counties already participating in a multi-County Party, shall meet all the same requirements as if there were no previously existing affiliate.

1. In a circumstance of reorganization such as described in 6.5, the remaining county or counties of the previously existing County Party shall have the duty to reorganize at or before their next regularly scheduled convention to exclude the county(ies) that reorganized under 6.5, when applicable. Failure to comply with this section shall be considered an act of disaffiliation.

7. Additional Duties of County Parties
   In addition to the duties listed before, County Parties shall also:
   

1. conduct business of the registered Libertarians in their jurisdiction, as described in their governing documents.
2. provide the LPO with minutes of meetings of the County Party Board of Directors within 30 days of approval.
3. maintain and grow a pool of local volunteers, candidates, and donors.

1. Lists of contact information for these should have ongoing access available to the LPO.

4. formally endorse or oppose ballot measures, legislation, policies, rulings, and other acts of government.
5. assist the LPO in recruiting candidates for partisan office.
6. recruit Libertarian candidates for nonpartisan public office.
7. support Libertarian candidates for public office.
8. support and promote the formation of local libertarian communities.
9. support and promote civic and community engagement by libertarians.
10. host and promote social, political, and community gatherings or events for libertarians.

8. Additional Benefits extended to County Parties
   In addition to those listed before, these benefits will be available for County Parties of the LPO:
   

1. Approved use of “Libertarian Party” in the name of the organization.
2. Listing on the LPO’s website as an official County Party.
3. May use an internet subdomain of the LPO’s domain (e.g. countyname.lporegon.org) for their organizational website at no charge.
4. May have their organizational website hosted through the hosting service account used by the LPO at no charge.
5. May have an announcement of their formation and updates regarding ongoing activities published through the LPO Newsletter.
6. May use the Customer Relationship Management software (CRM) used by the LPO at no charge.
7. May have ongoing access to LPO lists of candidate, donor, volunteer, and voter contact information for their area.
8. May formally endorse candidates in any LPO election, with such endorsements to be printed in the LPO Voters’ Guide (subject to the restrictions of 2.1.1. of this policy)
9. May buy advertising space in LPO mailings.
10. May call upon the LPO Board for assistance and advice regarding legal compliance, projects, fundraising, operations, and other business.
11. May recommend nominees to the LPO for partisan races without a Libertarian nominee after the LPO's primary election.
12. May cultivate the growth of local Libertarians to foster potential leadership for the LPO.