Green Party of the United States 2008 Presidential Nomination Convention
Delegate Credential Application
Green Party of Michigan
1.) Please provide information for each delegate and/or alternate:
Please answer question #2 below yes or no
2.) Is your state party seeking credentialed delegates an accredited member state Green Party of the Green Party of the United States (GPUS)? If not, has your party submitted an application to the Accreditation Committee, which demonstrates its eligibility for membership? Is your caucus seeking credentialed delegates already been accredited as eligible for representation on the National Committee of the GPUS? If not, is it planning on doing so before the Presidential Nominating Convention?
Yes, we are an accredited member state Green Party of the Green Party of the United States (GPUS).
For questions #3-#5 please attach either an .rtf or .pdf document and/or a web link to the appropriate document in your email response, and a hard copy in your postal mail response
3). Please provide copies of all portions of your state’s election law, which are relevant to the selection of delegates to a national convention, whether by primary, caucus, or petitions for national candidates.
The relevant sections of state election law, and some which were only of potential or speculative relevance, were
submitted to GPUS for the 2004 convention. To our knowledge, they have not been amended since — except for
provisions regarding Presidential primaries, for which GPMI was not eligible in 2004 or in 2008.
If you cannot find the material submitted previously, please let us now. If you insist on a new copy, please state whether
you are content to get only sections which could actually apply to GPMI and GPUS this year.
4). Please list the policy of your state party/caucus regarding:
(a) support of the Presidential Slate nominated by the Presidential Nominating Convention through the provision of its presidential ballot line where it exists; or, through the qualification of such nominated candidates as write-in candidates, if such is possible under the election laws of their state; and/or
(b) support of the Presidential Slate nominated by the Presidential Nominating Convention by its Presidential Nominating Convention delegates and/or its Presidential electors; and/or,
(c) any prohibition to the opposition of the Presidential Slate nominated by the Presidential Nominating Convention by its Presidential Nominating Convention delegates and/or its Presidential electors and/or Presidential Nominating Convention delegates;
(d) any other policy of the state party regarding its post-convention relationship to the Presidential Slate nominated by the Presidential Nominating Convention.;
(e) If there is no current policy on these subjects, the application shall state that the state Green Party has not adopted a policy on these subjects.”
GPMI has not adopted specific policies on these points. However, GPMI has been in the forefront of efforts to nominate
a Green Party Presidential ticket in 2000 and 2004 — and to run a serious and all-out campaign each of these times. We have
made the same commitment to running a Green Party Presidential campaign this cycle.
At the same time, GPMI believes in decentralization and personal responsibility — and sees no need to require loyalty
oaths of those who will be nominated at its state convention July 26-27 as Presidential electors.
In case your actual concern is with what GPUS and GPMI must do to make sure the Green Presidential ticket is on the
ballot in Michigan, attached is a copy of an explanation from the state Bureau of Elections. It is also visible on line at:
http://www.michigan.gov/documents/sos/ Ballot_Pres_20081_208311_7.pdf
The key passage is as follows:
PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES AFFILIATED WITH A MINOR PARTY:
The names and addresses of the party’s candidates for the offices of president and vice-president must be certified
by the chairperson and secretary of the party’s state central committee to the Secretary of State within one business day
after the conclusion of the party’s state convention or national convention (whichever is later). In addition, the chairperson
and secretary of the party’s state central committee must forward to the Secretary of State a certificate which bears the
names and addresses of the party’s presidential electors. The certificate must be sent to the Secretary of State by
certified or registered mail within one business day after the conclusion of the party’s state convention. (MCL 168.42;
168.686 as amended under PA 284 of 2003) GPMI will hold its state convention July 26-27. This is two weeks after the GPUS convention, so GPMI will have those two
weeks to certify to the Secretary of State the two names and addresses of the Green Presidential ticket.
5). Please include a copy of the approved minutes of your state convention, or other body authorized to name the delegation, which documents the delegates’ selection. If approved minutes are not available, the Application shall include other documentation of the delegates’ selection.
Attached is a copy (in PDF file format) of the “raw notes” minutes of GPMI’s April 19, 2008 State Membership Meeting
(SMM), taken by GPMI’s secretary John Anthony La Pietra. The minutes show the initial selection of nineteen (19) members of
GPMI’s statewide delegation to the GPUS convention, as well as the authorization of five GPMI locals to select one delegate each
(and one alternate each, if they desired) of their own.
Since the SMM, some initial members of the statewide delegation have had to drop out. As the SMM authorized,
GPMI’s State Central Committee (SCC) has filled vacancies in the statewide delegation.
GPMI does not have minutes available of the meetings of its locals. If absolutely necessary, GPMI could provide copies of
e-mails from SCC representatives of the appointing locals to document locals’ selection of delegates (and alternates).
4-2.5 Delegate Credential Applications shall include copies of all portions of state election law which are relevant to the selection of
delegates to a national convention, whether by primary, caucus, or petitions for national candidates.
GPMI does not generally make formal approval of SMM minutes. These are the best minutes available for the April 19
meeting. And as noted above, GPMI does not have minutes of meetings by its locals
GPMI has been tracking the membership of its delegation at a party Wikipage: http://migreens.wetpaint.com/page/GPUS+convention
If you so desire, you can see the history of that page at that site. It is the best condensed documentation of the history of the
overall Michigan delegation.
For question #6 please attach a scanned copy of your signed document (if possible) in your email response, and a signed hard copy in your postal mail response. If you can not provide a scanned copy in your email response, please provide am .rtf or .pdf of document that includes the names of the signers, even if it does not have their signatures.
6.) Please submit a letter bearing the signature of your state party or caucus officers certifying the authenticity of the minutes.
By signing this application, your state or caucus officers certify that the delegates included in the minutes are the duly chosen delegates to the convention as provided for in the rules of the caucus or state Green Party (or grouping of Greens where there is no state party.)
Neither an electronic nor hard copy signed document has yet been received.