The Libertarian National Convention (online segment) begins this evening. Tonight the schedule calls for the superquick task of "Adopting the Agenda". It will take hours.
Since the bylaws require a set agenda, the first motion should be Motion to Amend the Agenda.
This weekend's schedule:
Friday, May 22nd – Check-in opens at noon Eastern Time. Convention opens at 6PM Eastern Time. Credentials report. Adoption of Agenda.
Saturday, May 23rd – Business resumes at 11AM Eastern Time. Nomination process for 2020 Libertarian Presidential Nominee
Sunday, May 24th – Business resumes at 11AM Eastern Time. Nomination process for 2020 Libertarian Vice-Presidential Nominee
Party Business will then continue in Orlando, Florida but the intent of this online portion was to get the nominee for President and Vice President completed now. This allows them to start nationally campaigning and securing ballot access for all 50 states.
Orlando's schedule:
Tuesday, July 7th – Pre-registration, early check-in.
Wednesday, July 8th – Registration, check-in, committee meetings, break-out sessions, exhibitors.
Thursday, July 9th – In-person business opens. Registration, check-in, convention business, break-out sessions, exhibitors.
Friday, July 10th – Business continues. Registration, check-in, convention business, break-out sessions, exhibitors.
Saturday, July 11th – Registration, check-in, convention business, break-out sessions, exhibitors. Ticketed Gala event.
Sunday, July 12th – Business concludes. Break-out sessions, exhibitors. Close with a campaign rally for POTUS/VPOTUS candidates.
We've been testing all week practice conventions using Zoom. There are challenges. The capabilities and limitations of Zoom as the online convention software of choice will slow things down.
- Many raised their hands to speak and didn't get recognized for almost an hour.
- There are limitations on the number of participants allowed in one conference (1000). With 1,045 Libertarian delegates many will have to attend on shared devices. This is inconvenient but manageable. Until the voting begins. Then 1000 votes will need to be tallied along with 45 additional manual votes on top of it.
- The next issue is the fact that when delegates need to leave and alternates need to step into their place. Each state has to manage the credentials of their delegates separately. When Danny Delegate leaves the convention, he let's his State Delegate Captain know. The Captain must alert the LNC Credentialing Committee that Danny has left and alert them that Alex Alternate wishes to be seated. The LNC Credentialing Committee then sends a unique Zoom join link to Alex ALternate where he can finally join the discussion as a seated delegate (until a higher ranked delegate or alternate checks in meaning the whole process has to be completed again). Good thing emails are always 100% responsive...
- The Credentialing Committee will have to verify this activity among 50 State Captains.
- While Alex Alternate is awaiting his call of glory, he'll need to monitor the goings-on of the Business, current motions, and live amendments by viewing the YouTube livestream.
For those delegates needing support, go here.