Libertarian Party of Colorado's Affiliate Guide
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
- What is an affiliate, and why form one?
- Organizing
- Paperwork
- Bank information
- Events
- Candidates
- The State Party
- Resources/Contacts
1. WHAT IS AN AFFILIATE, AND WHY FORM ONE?
All political parties have “levels of affiliation”. The local county political party (affiliate) is the most important of the affiliates in the Libertarian Party, as this is where the real action happens! The State Party (whom the county parties are affiliated with) exists to serve the county affiliates. The National Party exists to serve the state affiliates.
County affiliates (called county political parties) can certify candidates for office and election judges, and do not need to petition onto the ballot. Libertarians who have official county political parties (affiliates) will find that they are much more easily invited into various political processes (such as task force committees and other community committees that effect the lives, money, and liberty of citizens). Getting organized with other Libertarians is also rewarding in many other ways….you are not “alone in the wilderness” fighting tyranny by yourself. You will meet like minded people, who can and will make a difference in your county. Your letters to the editor carry more weight, you can host debates between candidates, you can protect rights more efficiently and effectively, and raise awareness of Libertarianism in your area. Your affiliate will be treated more officially, because it WILL be official. You will leave a legacy of Libertarianism in your county.
And mostly, to effect local politics that impact you, your family, friends, and neighbors!
2. ORGANIZING
The first step in organizing your potential affiliate is, of course, contacting other Libertarians. You may already know other Libertarians, but you can ask your county clerk and recorders office for a list of the registered Libertarians in your county any time. Be advised this will cost money, and the amount varies from county to county. Each time you request this list it will cost money. You can also get a list of registered Libertarians from the Colorado Libertarian Party for free. But this list is updated only once a year, as it costs the state party money as well to get this list of registered Libertarians for the whole state.
You will want to have some kind of event in mind to invite Libertarians to. Maybe just a meeting at your house or a restaurant or park, or maybe a “meet the candidates” type forum you are hosting, or maybe a booth at a festival or even just a BBQ. Once you have the list of registered Libertarian voters, which includes addresses and phone numbers, you can invite them to your meeting or event.
While it may be intimidating to call a bunch of people you don’t know, don’t forget; these people are more like you than not, and have registered Libertarian for a reason! Some may not be interested in attending, but some will. And after your affiliate is formed, some of those people who were not interested at first may become more interested. Ask them if they would like to be contacted in the future with more information. Write down their responses.
The State Party requires a minimum of 5 people to form an affiliate. Obviously more would be helpful to delegate tasks etc. But 5 will get you started. If you do not have 5 registered Libertarian voters in your county (or less than 5 are willing to participate) you may want to have a voter registration drive to get some activists signed up. Once you’ve got your minimum 5 people, you are ready for the next step.
3. PAPERWORK
The county clerk and recorders office will give you a “political committee packet”. Many times, the clerks office staff will be unfamiliar with the process, as the other county political party affiliates will already have been long established before the current clerk and recorder staff worked there. However, it is their duty to provide you with the required paperwork, and if they are unsure how to proceed, they can learn their end from the Secretary of State’s office.
You may want to call ahead to the clerks office and notify them of your intentions, so they can have the paperwork ready when you come in to get it.
In this packet, you will find various forms that will need to be filled out. You will need to decide on your affiliate name and stick with exactly that name, as variations on it will not be allowed within the paperwork. One simple suggestion is:
Libertarian Party of _________ County. You may have whatever “nicknames” for your party you would like, but not in the official paperwork. For example, you cannot call your affiliate “Libertarian Party of _________ County” and then fill out financial reports under the name “__________ County Libertarian Party”.
Not all of the forms in this packet will need to be filled out right away, and in fact, it is recommended that you take the whole packet home with you and look at all of it carefully, and even make copies of them.
After you hold your first elections, you will need to notify the clerks office (via one of the provided forms) of who your treasurer is. You will need, to start, a minimum of chairperson and treasurer, though it is recommended that as soon as possible, you fill in other board positions, such as outreach director (a person who organizes booths and/or other voter registration drives), a webmaster, a vice-chairperson, a secretary, a legislative director (someone who keeps an eye on local legislation and reports to the rest of the group, and communicates with the State Legislative Director about state legislative matters that could effect your county), and any other positions you may want or need.
The treasurer will be responsible for filling out the financial reports and delivering them to the clerks office. Failure to do so on time (a timetable will be provided in the packet, and the clerk will be able to give you exact information) will result in daily fines!
**IMPORTANT** when you register your affiliation with the county clerk, you must NOT register with the Secretary of State! This will make you a state party, which will not be recognized by the National Libertarian Party. Register ONLY with the county clerks office.
You will also need to give a copy of your bylaws to the clerk and recorder once you have them in place. There is no deadline for this. It is suggested that you start simple, because you can always change them as you go along. Your by-laws are going to outline your goals as a county political party, the board positions and the duties of those positions, your dues (if any), requirements for voting membership, and any other requirements or “rules” that become necessary. Samples of other affiliates by laws are available from the outreach directors of the state party. You will also want to send your by laws and contact info for your board members to the state party.
4. BANKING INFORMATION
You will want to get a bank account for your affiliate. The “rules” will vary from bank to bank, and the bank you choose should be able to explain their requirements to you. Keep in mind that a political party is NOT a “non-profit” organization, and you cannot get a non-profit account. You will likely need a TIN number from the IRS. Your treasurer can apply for this number (it’s free), and your treasurer will be the signatory for your account. Anyone with the account number may be able to deposit money into the account, but only the “registered agent” (treasurer) can write checks or withdraw money. If you change treasurers, you will need to notify the bank.
OK, now you are up and going! What comes next?
5. EVENTS
Here are some ideas you may want to try to raise awareness of your affiliate locally, to learn more about your county officials and processes, and to help enlarge your numbers. This list is by no means definitive, and you will want to try things that best suit your county.
- Booths at festivals
- BBQ or lunch/dinner events
- Parades
- Protests
- Attend county commissioner and/or city council meetings
- Music events/concerts
- Fairs/rodeos
- letters to the editor
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