Mr. Martin,
I have reviewed your additional messages and your supplemental argument. The Chair rules as follows:
The Libertarian National Committee operates on the principle of one seat per Region (additional seats in 'super regions'), occupied by one member at a time. The seat belongs to the Region; the member is the individual currently exercising the rights of that
seat. A Regional Representative is the default occupant of the seat. An Alternate does not independently hold the seat and does not independently possess member rights; rather, an Alternate functions only as a substitute occupant of the seat when properly
seated. This distinction is fundamental and runs throughout the Bylaws and Policy Manual.
The Policy Manual provides that “free substitution of Alternates for Regional Representatives at LNC meetings is permitted” (Policy Manual Section 1.01(1)). That provision authorizes substitution when a meeting is convened and the organization can recognize
who is occupying the seat for that meeting. This email notice thread is not a meeting, does not involve roll call, quorum, or recognition, and therefore does not trigger automatic or presumptive substitution. Because email is considered an out-of-meeting activity
per RONR, it defers to the Bylaws and Policy manual as the ruling authority, which does not contain a mechanism for seating an alternate as it concerns this activity.
As such, seating is a condition recognized by the LNC based on the Regional Representative’s substitution and the Secretary’s/Chair’s knowledge of who is occupying the seat for the meeting. In the absence of a meeting or an adopted rule authorizing seating
by email, no presumption of substitution exists.
Policy Manual Section 1.02(1) provides that “An LNC Member may satisfy the requirement of giving previous notice….” That language is not silent; it affirmatively limits who may give notice. Giving previous notice is a procedural right of the individual member
currently occupying the seat, not a generalized regional function that alternates may exercise at will.
The Policy Manual’s email-ballot rules address how a seat’s vote may be cast when the Representative does not vote, and explicitly restrict alternate voting when the Representative expressly abstains. Those provisions govern the mechanics of casting a vote
for a seat; they do not confer broader procedural rights to initiate business, give previous notice, or place items on the agenda outside a meeting.
The Chair’s ruling stands. An unseated alternate may assist, draft, and advise, but formal agenda requests and previous notice under Section 1.02 must be submitted by a seated LNC Member. This interpretation preserves the distinction between the Region’s seat
and the individual member authorized to exercise it at any given time.
Sincerely,
Steven Nekhaila
Chairman, Libertarian National Committee