Contents
How do I know if my county is affiliated?
What is a County Chair?
Who is eligible to serve as County Chair?
How do I become a County Chair if my county is already affiliated?
How do I become a County Chair in an unaffiliated county?
What does it mean to be an appointed County Chair?
What is a “Provisional” County Affiliate?
If I have questions along the way, who do I ask?
How Do I Know If My County Is Affiliated?
Visit our County Affiliates page and review the mapped list of organized counties. When you click on your county on the interactive map or scrollable list, you will either be shown a message indicating that your county is unaffiliated, or you will be directed to a page with the contact information for your local County Chair for you to contact and get involved locally!
What Is A County Chair?
A County Chair is the person who facilitates the business of a county party. This includes filing and maintaining necessary paperwork prescribed by Texas Election Code, mostly centering around the organization of Precinct and County Conventions held in election years and documentation of candidates seeking to obtain the Libertarian Party&rsquos nomination at those conventions. Other duties include holding meetings of the county party to conduct necessary business such as voting on expenditures, making plans for events the county party would like to host or be a part of, and electing other members of party leadership. The County Chair also serves as the point person for communication between the state party and their county party.
Who Is Eligible To Serve As County Chair?
Anyone is eligible to serve as County Chair if they are a registered voter in that county and they affiliate with LPTexas. A person is ineligible if they have already affiliated with any other political party during that calendar year, such as by voting in another party’s primary, participating in their convention, or taking an Oath of Affiliation with them.
How Do I Become A County Chair If My County Is Already Affiliated?
County Chairs serve a term that lasts until the next biannual county convention. At that convention, anyone eligible to serve as County Chair can be nominated to fill the role for the next term. Whichever person seeking the position that wins the election at the convention will be the new County Chair.
If the County Chair position becomes vacant before the county convention, the county party’s bylaws should specify a procedure to call a meeting to elect a new Chair to fill that or other vacancies.
How Do I Become A County Chair In An Unaffiliated County?
In unaffiliated counties, anyone eligible to serve as a County Chair may submit a County Chair application: Here
Once their eligibility is confirmed, applicants are interviewed by at least three members of LPTexas leadership. Based on the interviewers’ input and other collected information about the applicant the State Chair then decides whether or not to appoint the applicant as County Chair to form a new county affiliate.
What Does It Mean To Be An Appointed County Chair?
An appointed County Chair is the person who LPTexas empowers with the responsibility of starting a new “provisional” county affiliate. They share all the authority and responsibility as an elected County Chair, but are often held to higher expectations as they are starting a brand new organization from scratch. Working from a set of provided county bylaws, this involves recruiting local members, facilitating the election of a County Executive Committee, and organizing the first meetings and conventions of the county party. Their main goal is outreach to build a core group of local Libertarians and preparing that group to fulfill various roles needed to sustain a successful county party.
What Is A “Provisional” County Affiliate?
A provisional county affiliate is a new county party that has not yet held its first biannual conventions. Led by a County Chair who was appointed by the state party, a provisional county affiliate performs all the same functions as a fully-established county affiliate, with an added focus on initial membership recruitment and establishment of functional tools for the county party. It may be said that appointed County Chairs are subject to additional oversight by SLEC, while elected County Chairs are primarily accountable to local members of their county party. However, both must fulfill duties specified in Texas Election Code and LPTexas State Bylaws, and an elected County Chair is likely subject to more unique responsibilities described in the bylaws or other documents of their county party, which operates as a self-sufficient organization affiliated with LPTexas.
If I Have Questions Along The Way, Who Do I Ask?
Our Affiliate Coordinator ([email protected]) and Affiliate Liaisons ([email protected]) will be happy to answer any questions you have before, during, and after the process of becoming a County Chair. In fact, their whole job is to help with the formation of new affiliates, liaison between the county and state level organization, and provide guidance in navigating the duties of County Chair as prescribed by Texas Election Code and LPTexas State Bylaws. You can also reach out to the State Libertarian Executive Committee Member that represents your State Senate District, or any of the State Officers.
Related Articles
County Leadership Guidebook County Business Minutes County Chair Application
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