Cyber National Convention
1. Membership in the convention must be finite. Allowing participants to come and go as they please is a recipe for chaos and will likely lead to a very inconsistent platform. The platform must be insulated from the whim of the moment and membership in the convention should not be allowed to momentarily swell just to vote controversial planks up or down. The membership should also try to maintain a federal structure whereby states are represented since the election will be based on states.
2. The Phorum message board software may be the best option. Phorum can be set up so that the threads that have the most recent post are placed at the top of the directory page. This would allow the convention to easily judge the relative importance of the issues being discussed. Phorum also places replies directly under the post they are made to. This allows sub-threads to develop which helps reduce confusion as to whom is responding to whom in the conversation.
3. All business for the convention must be introduced as formal resolutions that are submitted in a standard format. These resolutions should be submitted to a spell/grammar check prior to submission.
4. Each resolution must be submitted to a new thread. Then prior to formal action a majority of the delegates must either post a message in the thread saying they have read the resolution or send an email to that effect to the convention’s chairman. The chairman will then call for a second. If a second is given the resolution can be considered. If a second is not given the delegate who offered it must either withdraw it or he may place it in another thread where it can be discussed by less than quorum of the convention. The resolution can then be re-submitted to the convention later.
5. If a second is given the chair will open the resolution for formal consideration. No delegate should be allowed to post more than 2 messages on any given resolution or motion that arises out of a resolution and no delegate should be allowed his second post before all other delegates have been allowed to make their first posts.
6. In the course of the debate on any resolution the delegates may offer the normal parliamentary motions- amend, divide, lay on the table, commit to committee et cetera. When normal parliamentary procedure permits these motions should be debated and processed as if they were resolutions- including the procedure for a quorum call.
7. After every delegate has exhausted his debate posts, or whenever a motion to move the previous question is approved, the convention will vote by having the delegates either post their vote in a message or submit their vote to the chairman via email.
8. Once the formal resolutions are adopted the convention should commit them to a committee on style that will draft the formal platform. This formal platform should then be sent to the convention for final debate and approval.
Delegate selection:
1. The convention should have at least 100 delegates that are apportioned among the states (and Washington, D.C.) in accordance with their respective proportion of the Electoral College.
2. A Unity website should be set up for each state and D.C. Persons wishing to serve as delegates should announce their candidacy on their respective state’s website.
3. To insure that the Unity websites are not infiltrated by fringe groups or operatives for established political parties would be voters and convention delegates should snail mail their name, address and phone number to Unity HQ along with a bland 3x5 card and a self-addressed stamped envelope. HQ would then snail mail them a password so they can log onto their state’s website.
4. The voters in each state would then elect their state’s convention delegates.
