Libertarian Party of Montana
This article does not contain the most recently published data on this subject. If you would like to help our coverage grow, consider donating to Ballotpedia.
| Libertarian Party of Montana | |
 | |
| Basic facts | |
| Location: | Missoula, Mont. |
| Type: | Political party |
| Affiliation: | Libertarian |
| Top official: | Elinor Swanson, Chair |
| Website: | Official website |
The Libertarian Party of Montana is the Montana political party affiliate of the national Libertarian Party. The group is headquartered in Missoula, Montana.
Background
The Libertarian Party of Montana aims to promote Libertarian policies and support Libertarian candidates across the state. During the 2012 elections, the party supported 10 Libertarian candidates in state legislative races and two Libertarian candidates in U.S. Senate races. Mike Fellows, former chair of the state party, became the first Libertarian in Montana history to earn more than 40% of the vote during his 2012 race for clerk of the Montana Supreme Court. According to a 2010 study by the Cato Institute, Montana was the state with the highest "Libertarian constituency" in the nation.[1][2][3]
Platform
The Libertarian Party's current platform is composed of the following issues:[4]
I. Personal liberty
"Individuals are inherently free to make choices for themselves and must accept responsibility for the consequences of the choices they make. Our support of an individual’s right to make choices in life does not mean that we necessarily approve or disapprove of those choices. No individual, group, or government may initiate force against any other individual, group, or government."
- Self-Ownership
- Expression and Communication
- Privacy
- Personal Relationships
- Parental Rights
- Crime and Justice
- Death Penalty
- Self-Defense
II. Economic liberty
"Libertarians want all members of society to have abundant opportunities to achieve economic success. A free and competitive market allocates resources in the most efficient manner. Each person has the right to offer goods and services to others on the free market. The only proper role of government in the economic realm is to protect property rights, adjudicate disputes, and provide a legal framework in which voluntary trade is protected. All efforts by government to redistribute wealth, or to control or manage trade, are improper in a free society."
- Aggression, Property, and Contract
- Environment
- Energy and Resources
- Government Finance and Spending
- Government Debt
- Government Employees
- Money and Financial Markets
- Marketplace Freedom
- Licensing
- Sex Work
- Labor Markets
- Education
- Health Care
- Retirement and Income Security
III. Securing liberty
"In the United States, constitutional limits on government were intended to prevent the infringement of individual rights by those in power. The only proper purpose of government, should it exist, is the protection of individual rights. The principle of non-initiation of force should guide relationships between governments."
- National Defense
- Internal Security and Individual Rights
- International Affairs
- Free Trade and Migration
- Rights and Discrimination
- Representative Government
- Self-Determination
Rules and bylaws
|
|
 |
| Ballot access for major and minor party candidates |
|---|
| Ballot access for presidential candidates |
| Select a state below to learn more about ballot access requirements for candidates in that state. |
|
|
| Ballot access requirements for political parties in the United States |
| List of political parties in the United States |
| Ballotpedia's Election Administration Legislation Tracker |
Note: This article is not intended to serve as a guide to running for public office. Individuals should contact their state election agencies for further information.
|
The state party is governed by a set of rules and bylaws. Typically, these give structure to the different levels of organization—local, county, and state committees—and establish protocol for electing committee members. The bylaws also typically give details on the party's process for nominating and sending delegates to the national party convention during presidential elections.
As of July 2016, the website for the Libertarian Party of Montana did not provide access to the party's bylaws.[5]
Convention
As of July 2016, no information was available regarding the date of the 2016 state convention for the Montana Libertarian Party.[5]
Leadership
The website for the Montana Libertarian Party listed the following individuals as the party's state leadership as of July 2017:[6]
- Elinor Swanson, Chair
- Rick Breckenridge, Vice chair
- Joe Leavengood, Second vice chair
- Michael Fucci, Treasurer
- Francis Wendt, Assistant treasurer
- Conor Burns, Secretary
- Cindy Dyson, Assistant secretary
Elections
2016 elections
- See also: Gary Johnson presidential campaign, 2016
In addition to 2016 Libertarian presidential nominee Gary Johnson, the Montana Libertarian Party supported Mike Fellows as a candidate for Montana's At-Large Congressional District. Fellows died in September 2016, prior to the election.[7][8]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Montana Libertarian Party'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Billings Gazette, "Libertarian Party gaining strength in Ravalli County," April 9, 2012
- ↑ Cato Institute, "Where are the Libertarians?" June 22, 2010
- ↑ Libertarian Party, "Mike Fellows sets national LP record in MT, mulls another run for office," January 22, 2013
- ↑ Libertarian Party, "Platform," May 29, 2022
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Libertarian Party of Montana, "Home," accessed July 11, 2016
- ↑ Libertarian Party of Montana, "Leadership," accessed July 6, 2017
- ↑ Facebook, "Montana Libertarian Party," accessed July 11, 2016
- ↑ Reason, "Montana Libertarian Party Chair and Congressional Candidate Mike Fellows Dies in a Car Crash at Age 59 (UPDATED)," September 20, 2016
| |||||||
