Credentials Committee – Rules, Policies & Procedures

Rules, Policies and Procedures (approved February 7, 2021)

Credentials Committee Mission Statement

To facilitate the credentialing process for the Presidential Nominating Conventions of the Green Party of the United States.

Duties and Responsibilities

Credentials Committee Committee Operating Rules

Table of Contents

Section I Committee Membership
Section II Election Procedure – Nominations
Section III Election Procedure – Discussion and Vote
Section IV Vacancies
Section V Officers
Section XI Committee Decision-Making Before the Convention
Section XII. Committee Decision-Making During the Convention Article VIII. Additional Rules and Procedures of the Committee

Section I Committee Membership

1-1 The Credentials Committee shall consist of not more than fifteen members, elected by the National Committee, as described herein. No more than two members of the committee shall be from any one state.

1-2 Eligibility
1-2.1 Any member of the National Committee is automatically eligible to be a member of the Credentials Committee; and

1-2.2 Any other member of an accredited state party of the Green Party of the United States that is participating in theGPUS Presidential nominating convention and is endorsed in writing by their state party is also eligible, except that:

1-2.2(a) In states where party membership is defined by voter registration – and one can legally register Green – one must be a registered Green Party member; or

1-2.2(b) In states where party membership is defined by voter registration – but one cannot legally register Green – one must be a member of the Green Party in that state, according to the state party’s rules, and one cannot also be a registered voter in another party; or

1-2.2(c) In states where party membership is not defined by voter registration, one must be a member of the Green Party in that state, according to the rules used by the state party, and one cannot also be a member of another party.

1-2.3 No member of the Steering Committee may simultaneously serve as a member of the Credentials Committee. Should a member of the Credentials Committee be elected to the Steering Committee, their election shall serve as notice of their resignation from the Credentials Committee. Should a member of the Steering Committee be elected to the Credentials Committee, their election shall serve as notice of their resignation from the Steering Committee.

1-2.4 No person shall be eligible for election to the Credentials Committee unless they have made a written declaration to the National Committee of their intention to attend the Presidential Nominating Convention and to participate in meetings of the Creden- tials Committee, including those meetings of the Credentials Committee held during and at the venue of the Presidential Nominating Convention.

1-3 Term Length

1-3.1 Terms for committee members shall commence from the time of their election and continue until the release of the committee’s post-convention report, or twelve months after the convention, whichever comes sooner.

1-3.2 There are no term limits for committee members.

1-3.3 Once elected, a member of the Credentials Committee who was eligible to run based upon being a National Committee member, may continue to serve until the end of their Credentials Committee term, even if their term as a member of the National Committee has come to an end.

1-4 Active Membership

1-4.1 ‘Active’ shall mean a member of the Credentials Committee who in the last forty- five days has participated in committee activities, either by contributing to discussion of committee or subcommittee business, attending a meeting of the committee, casting a vote on matters before the committee, or serving on a Challenge Panel; and inactive shall mean someone who has not.

1-4.2 Once each month, and immediately preceding the Presidential Nominating Con- vention, the co-chairs shall review the participation of each committee member and publish to the Committee and to the Steering Committe, their findings if any committee members are inactive and not subject to consideration in the tabulation of quorum.

Section II Election Procedure – Nominations

2-1 In the first week of March of the year preceding the Presidential Nominating Convention, the Secretary shall publish a call for nominations for Credentials Committee members to the National Committees Votes List. The call shall contain links to the Credentials Committee Mission Statement, the Credentials Committee Rules and the Convention Rules of the Presidential Nominating Convention.

2-2 Nominations may be made by any National Committee member or alternate, including the candidate. Nominations shall be considered made when posted to the National Committees Votes List. Nominations of non-National Committee members who are endorsed by their state parties must include written documen- tation of that endorsement from an officer of that state party.

2-3 Nominations shall be considered accepted when posted as such to the Na- tional Committees Votes List by the candidate. Self-nominations shall be consid- ered accepted when made. All posts to accept nomination shall contain a written declaration to the National Committee of their intention to attend the Presidential Nominating Convention and to participate in meetings of the Credentials Commit- tee, including those meetings of the Credentials Committee held during and at the venue of the Presidential Nominating Convention.

2-4 The nomination period shall conclude at the end of the last day of March.

Section III Election Procedure – Discussion and Vote

3-1 Elections for committee members shall be held in April of the year preceding the Presidential Nominating Convention.

3-2 The discussion period shall begin on the second Monday of April and run for two weeks.

3-3 Candidates are strongly encouraged to submit a candidate statement to the National Committees Votes List, no later than the commencement of the discus- sion period. The statement should address performance of the position sought, as its duties and responsibilities are defined in the Credentials Committee Mis- sion Statement, and contain a biography of relevant experiences.

3-4 Votes shall be cast on the GPUS voting page, but made public only upon the conclusion of the voting period.

3-5 Members of the National Committee, in the election of the Credentials Committee, are urged to give preference to maximizing the number of states participating in the work of the Credentials Committee.

3-6 Each such election of committee members shall be conducted by preference voting, consistent with the process as defined in the Rules and Procedures of the Green Party of the United States, Article 7. Preference Voting Rules for Steering Committee Elections.

3-7 If, during the election process, two members of any state party are elected, then no other member of that state party shall be deemed to be eligible to be elected. At the conclusion of that round of the tabulation, any other candidate from that state shall be deemed to be defeated, and ballots cast for that candidate shall transfer at full value to the next most preferred candidate named on each such ballot.

3-8 If all seats are not filled in the first election, a second election to fill the remaining seats shall be held three months later. If all seats are not filled by the second election, the committee shall proceed to function with as many members as have been elected, except that subsequent elections to fill vacancies may be conducted as herein provided.

Section IV Vacancies

4-1 A vacancy shall be considered to occur when:

4-1-1 A committee member resigns in writing to either the Co-chairs of the Creden- tials Committee, the Credentials Committee as a whole, or the Steering Commit- tee; or

4-1.2 Is no longer a Green Party member as defined under 1-2.2 above; or

4-1.3 If they have communicated in writing to either the Co-chairs of the Creden- tials Committee, the Credentials Committee as a whole, or the Steering Commit- tee, their inability or unwillingness to attend the Presidential Nominating Conven- tion and fulfill their duties as a member at such Convention.

4-2 Notice of a vacancy occurring shall be sent by the Co-chairs to the GPUS Secre- tary, and to the National Committee no later than seven days after the vacancy occurs.

4-3 Vacancies may be filled by a special election, whenever a majority of the active members of the Credentials Committee or a majority of the members of the Steering Committee find that fulfilling the committee’s mission would be substantially aided by filling the committee vacancy.

4-3.1 Once either the Credentials Committee or the Steering Committee vote to call such a special election, the GPUS Secretary shall publish a call for and ac- cept nominations as per 2-2 and 2-3, and hold the period for nominations open for two weeks.

4-3.2 Any special election to fill a vacancy shall be conducted by rules consistent with the process defined in the Rules and Procedures of the Green Party of the United States, Article 7. Preference Voting Rules for Steering Committee Elections

Section V Officers 5-1 Co-Chairs

5-1.1 Once seated, the Committee shall discuss who is interested in serving in which roles; after which the Committee shall elect two Co-chairs at its first meeting. Each shall be elected separately and consecutively. Gender balance among the Co- chairs shall be sought, but is not required.

5-1.2 The responsibility of the Co-chairs shall be to convene meetings of the Commit- tee; publish the agenda, administer the Committee’s decision-making process, represent the Committee to other GPUS Committees, and other duties as assigned by the Committee.

5-1.3 Should five or more committee members find themselves at the convention site and both of the Co-chairs are absent from the site, the committee may, with appropriate notice, convene and hold an election to elect interim Co-chairs to fulfill the duties of an absent Co-chair until their arrival at the convention.

5-2 Secretary
5-1 After electing Co-chairs, the Committee shall elect a Secretary.

5-2 The responsibility of the Secretary shall be to take and publish minutes of the Committee’s meetings.

5-3 Webmaster(s)

5-3.1 After electing Co-chairs, the Committee shall elect one or more Webmaster(s).

5-3.2 The responsibility of the Webmaster(s) shall be to publish on a GPUS web- site, all documentation on behalf of the Credentials Committee, including the cre- dentials status of state parties and caucuses, the number of delegates submitted and given preliminary credentials, relevant state party and caucus bylaws, rules and records of decisions, and relevant elections codes as required by the Rules of the Presidential Nominating Convention.

5-4 Clerk
5-4.1 After electing Co-chairs, the Committee shall elect a Clerk.

5-4.2 The responsibility of the Clerk shall be to (a) serve as the custodian of all Dele- gate Applications, and (b) provide the convention with a complete file of Delegate Applications applications.

5-4.3 Should five or more committee members find themselves at the convention site and the Clerk is absent from the site, the committee may convene and hold an election to elect an interim Clerk to fulfill the duties of an absent Clerk until the Clerk’s arrival at the convention.

Section XI Committee Decision-Making Before the Convention 6-1 Conduct of business

6-1.1 Prior to the Convention, the committee may conduct its business either via tele- conference, on-line vote or at the Annual National Meeting of the National Committee of the Green Party of the United States.

6-1.2 After the first election has concluded and Committee members elected, the Steering Committee Liaison shall contact all members and set a first meeting date to maximize attendance.

6-1.3 The committee shall utilize the Credentials Committee email listserve provided by the GPUS to conduct and archive the business, deliberations and decisions of the committee.

6-1.4 The committee shall utilize a website provided by the GPUS for the archival of Delegate Plans and Credentials Applications received and the minutes of its actions decision on each such Application, including whether extensions are grant- ed. Minutes of such decisions shall be made available upon request to the representative of the applicant state party or caucus, any National Committee member, or preliminarily-credentialed Convention Delegate.

6-1.4 For any decision-making conducted online, a proposal shall be published with a subject line that identifies it for committee action, and voting shall be for one week.

6-2 Quorum

Quorum for decision-making shall consist of a majority of active members.

6-3 Approval Threshold

6-3.1 Committee members shall seek to achieve consensus within the committee by at-

tempting to address concerns of other committee members.

6-3.2 If outstanding concerns remain after consensus has been sought, proposals may be taken to a vote.

6-3.3 If a vote is taken, a minimum support of two-thirds of those voting is necessary for approval. Abstentions count toward quorum, but not towards the two-thirds approvals threshold.

6-4 Election of officers

Each officer shall be elected by preference voting, consistent with the process as defined in the Rules and Procedures of the Green Party of the United States, Article 7. Preference Voting Rules for Steering Committee Elections.

6-5 The Committee may use such voting application as may be certified for use, by the Credentials Committee or by the National Committee.

6-6 In addition, the committee shall provide for a distinct listserve or other platform or technology to serve each Hearing Panel convened prior to the Presidential Nominating Convention, for the conduct and archival of its hearings.

Section XII. Committee Decision-Making During the Convention 7-1. Meetings

7-1.1 Each meeting of the committee conducted at the site of the convention shall be convened by one or both Co-chairs; in their absence from the convention site, by an- other committee member designated in writing by the consent of the Co-chairs; or where neither of the Co-chairs nor a member designated in writing by the consent of the Co-chairs is present, by an interim Co-chair named by a majority of the committee members voting where notice has been published by three or more members of their intention to name an interim convener to serve the committee in the absence of its Co- chairs.

7-1.2 An on-site meeting may be called by posting six hours or more in advance, or twelve hours or more in advance for meetings considering a final report of the Commit- tee to the Convention, and in a conspicuous manner the time, place and agenda of the proposed meeting:

7-1.2(a) In a public place designated by the Convention for the posting of such notices;

7-1.2(b) At the regular place of business of the committee;

7-1.2(c) At the door of the committee’s usual meeting place;

7-1.2(d) As appropriate, at the door of the meeting place assigned to the meeting in question.

7-2 Quorum

7-2.1 Except for a meeting considering only preliminary actions, a quorum for the con- duct of business shall consist of a majority of the active committee members who have checked in with the committee at its booth or office as being on site and ready to work, and who have not yet left the convention.

7-2.2 For meetings considering only preliminary actions, business may be conducted when five or more committee members from five or more states are present at the time and place designated in a notice posted at the regular place of business of the commit- tee.

Article VIII. Additional Rules and Procedures of the Committee

8-1 The committee may adopt such additional rules as it may deem appropriate to gov- ern the conduct of its internal business which are not inconsistent with these rules, nor the Rules of the Presidential Nominating Convention, nor of the Bylaws or the Rules and Procedures of the Green Party of the United States.

8-2 All rules so adopted shall be reported to the National Committee of the Green Party of the United States within seven days of their adoption.

8-3 Where it does not conflict with said rules or bylaws, the rules contained in the cur- rent edition of Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised shall govern the committee in all cases to which they are applicable.

8-4 The committee may develop and adopt such forms and other materials as may be consistent with the policies governing its work.

IMPLEMENTATION/TIMELINE/RESOURCES: Proposal effective immediately upon National Committee approval

REFERENCES: (Sources for readily obtainable materials to aid in the decision making process of voting members, including additional background)

Proposal #330 Rules, Policies Procedures for the National Nominating Convention Credentials Committee (https://secure.gpus.org/cgi-bin/vote/propdetail?pid=330)

Proposal #98 Amendment #1 to Credentialing rules for 2004 convention
(https://secure.gpus.org/cgi-bin/vote/propdetail?pid=98)

Proposal #97 Amendment #2 to Credentialing rules for 2004 convention
(green.gpus.org/cgi-bin/vote/propdetail?pid=97)

Proposal #55 Accreditation of Delegates to the 2004 Nominating Convention
(https://secure.gpus.org/cgi-bin/vote/propdetail?pid=55)

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