Libertarian Party (United States) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Libertarian Party
Chairperson	Angela McArdle (TX)
Governing body	Libertarian National Committee
Presidential nominee	Chase Oliver (GA)
Vice Presidential nominee	Mike ter Maat (FL)
Founder	David Nolan
Founded	December 11, 1971; 52 years ago (1971-12-11)
Headquarters	1444 Duke St. Alexandria, Virginia 22314
Membership (2023)	741,930
Ideology	Majority: Libertarianism (American) Deontological libertarianism Neoclassical liberalism Fiscal conservatism Social liberalism Factions: Anarcho-capitalism Paleolibertarianism Nozickian minarchism
International affiliation	International Alliance of Libertarian Parties
Colors	Gold-yellow
Slogan	"The Party of Principle"
Seats in the Senate	0 / 100
Seats in the House of Representatives	0 / 435
State governorships	0 / 50
Seats in state upper chambers	0 / 1,972
Seats in state lower chambers	1 / 5,411
Territorial governorships	0 / 5
Seats in territorial upper chambers	0 / 97
Seats in territorial lower chambers	0 / 91
Other elected officials	177 (May 2024)[update]
Election symbol
Politics of the United States Political parties

The Libertarian Party (LP) is a libertarian or classical liberal political party in the United States. As of May 2024^[update] it is the third-largest political party in the United States by voter registration.

Formed on December 11, 1971, in Colorado Springs, it was the world's first explicitly libertarian party. The party promotes civil liberties, non-interventionism, laissez-faire capitalism, and limiting the size and scope of government. Its fiscal policy positions include lowering taxes and abolishing the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), decreasing the national debt, allowing people to opt out of Social Security, and eliminating the welfare state, in part by utilizing private charities. Its social policy positions include advocating criminal justice reform, supporting same-sex marriage, ending capital punishment, and supporting the right to keep and bear arms.

History

David Nolan, founder of the Libertarian Party, with the Nolan Chart

Former Governor Gary Johnson during the 2012 presidential election

The first Libertarian National Convention was held in June 1972. In 1978, Dick Randolph of Alaska became the first elected Libertarian state legislator. Following the 1980 federal elections, the Libertarian Party assumed the title of being the third-largest party for the first time after the American Independent Party and the Conservative Party of New York (the other largest minor parties at the time) continued to decline. In 1994, over 40 Libertarians were elected or appointed which was a record for the party at that time. 1995 saw a soaring membership and voter registration for the party. In 1996, the Libertarian Party became the first third party to earn ballot status in all 50 states two presidential elections in a row. By the end of 2009, 146 Libertarians were holding elected offices.

Tonie Nathan, running as the Libertarian Party's vice presidential candidate in the 1972 presidential election with John Hospers as the presidential candidate, was the first female candidate in the United States to receive an electoral vote.

The 2012 election Libertarian Party presidential candidate, former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson and his running mate, former judge Jim Gray, received the highest number of votes—more than 1.2 million—of any Libertarian presidential candidate at the time. He was renominated for president in 2016, this time choosing former Massachusetts Governor William Weld as his running mate. Johnson/Weld shattered the Libertarian record for a presidential ticket, earning over 4.4 million votes. Both Johnson and Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein received significantly more news coverage in 2016 than third-party candidates usually get, with polls showing both candidates potentially increasing their support over the last election, especially among younger voters.

The Libertarian Party has had significant electoral success in the context of state legislatures and other local offices. Libertarians won four elections to the Alaska House of Representatives between 1978 and 1984 and another four to the New Hampshire General Court in 1992. Neil Randall, a Libertarian, won the election to the Vermont House of Representatives in 1998 running on both the Libertarian and Republican lines. In 2000, Steve Vaillancourt won election to the New Hampshire General Court running on the Libertarian ballot line. Rhode Island State Representative Daniel P. Gordon was expelled from the Republicans and joined the Libertarian Party in 2011. In July 2016 and June 2017, the Libertarians tied their 1992 peak of four legislators when four state legislators from four different states left the Republican Party to join the Libertarian Party: Nevada Assemblyman John Moore in January, Nebraska Senator Laura Ebke (although the Nebraska Legislature is officially non-partisan) and New Hampshire Representative Max Abramson in May and Utah Senator Mark B. Madsen in July. In the 2016 election cycle, Madsen and Abramson did not run for re-election to their respective offices while Moore lost his race after the Libertarian Party officially censured him over his support of taxpayer stadium funding. Ebke was not up for re-election in 2016. New Hampshire Representative Caleb Q. Dyer changed party affiliation to the Libertarian Party from the Republican Party in February 2017. New Hampshire Representative Joseph Stallcop changed party affiliation to the Libertarian Party from the Democratic Party in May 2017. New Hampshire State Legislator Brandon Phinney joined with the Libertarian Party from the Republican Party in June 2017, the third to do so in 2017 and matching their 1992 and 2016 peaks of sitting Libertarian state legislators.

In January 2018, sitting New Mexico Commissioner of Public Lands Aubrey Dunn Jr. changed party affiliation from Republican to the Libertarian Party, becoming the first Libertarian statewide officeholder in history.

Dallas Accord

The Dallas Accord is an implicit agreement that was made at the 1974 Libertarian National Convention as a compromise between the party's larger minarchist and smaller anarcho-capitalist factions by adopting a platform that explicitly did not say whether it was desirable for the state to exist.

The purpose of this agreement was to make the Libertarian Party a "big tent" that would welcome more ideologically diverse groups of people interested in reducing the size and scope of government. Consequently, the 1974 platform included a "Statement of Principles" which focused on statements arguing for getting government out of various activities, and used phrases such as "where governments exist they must not violate the rights of any individual." The previous version of the Statement of Principles adopted at the party's first convention in 1972, in contrast, affirmatively endorsed the minarchist perspective with statements such as "Since government has only one legitimate function, the protection of individual rights...." It was agreed that the topic of anarchism would not even be on the table for discussion until a limited government was achieved.

During the 2006 Libertarian National Convention delegates deleted a large portion of the very detailed platform. The phrase "Government exists to protect the rights of every individual including life, liberty and property" was added. This development was described as the "Portland Massacre" by its opponents. Some took this as meaning the Dallas Accord was dead.

Whether the Dallas Accord remains in effect, and if so whether it should, or what limits it places on the party's public statements or candidates, all remain disputed within the party.

Mises takeover

At the 2022 Libertarian National Convention, members of the Mises Caucus, a paleolibertarian group affiliated with the beliefs of Ron Paul successfully staged a takeover of the Party, with over two-thirds of delegates becoming members of the Caucus, shifting the party in a right-ward direction. The caucus successfully swept leadership positions, including electing Angela McArdle as chairwomen and Joshua Smith as vice-chairman. The 2022 convention had an unusually high number of delegates, with the last recorded number for an off-election year convention in 2006 being just 300 delegates. The 2022 convention by contrast saw over 1,000 delegates. After the takeover, non-Mises affiliated members walked out. More ardent members of the party started to splinter, with Pennsylvania, that state with the most elected Libertarian officeholders, seeing a hardliner Mises-affiliated member, Rob Cowburn being named chairman, resulting in dissidents splitting to form the Keystone Party of Pennsylvania.

After the Mises-dominated Party adopted a so called "national divorce" as part of the party's official core platform, many of the state-level affiliated parties began to disassociate from the national Party or dissolve themselves altogether. The New Mexico state party also argued that according to LP bylaws, there can never be more than two executive positions overturned in a single convention, making the Mises sweep illegal. The Mises-dominated Party quickly changed the bylaws after their sweep to amend this. After Mises-affiliated libertarians in Virginia reformed their branch of the party, seeking backing from the national party, the dissidents then formed a splinter group, the Virginia Classical Liberal Party. Additionally, the Libertarian Association of Massachusetts disaffiliated, however Mises hardliners formed the Libertarian Party of Massachusetts, which the national party recognized as the official branch party in the state. The Mises Caucus also blocked the disaffiliation of the New Hampshire party.

The Association of Liberty State Parties was officially formed on December 3, 2022 as a national party committee between the Massachusetts and New Mexico parties, and the Virginian splinters. The party's first goal was to organize a national convention for the nomination of candidates for President and Vice President of the United States, and to expand into more states.

Name and symbols

Original TANSTAAFL logo

A recent logo of the Libertarian Party

In 1972, "Libertarian Party" was chosen as the party's name, selected over "New Liberty Party". The first official slogan of the Libertarian Party was "There ain't no such thing as a free lunch" (abbreviated "TANSTAAFL"), a phrase popularized by Robert A. Heinlein in his 1966 novel The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress, sometimes dubbed "a manifesto for a libertarian revolution". The slogan of the party has since become "The Party of Principle".

Also in 1972, the "Libersign"—an arrow angling upward through the abbreviation "TANSTAAFL"—was adopted as a party symbol. By the end of the decade, this was replaced with the Lady Liberty until 2015, with the adoption of the "Torch Eagle" logo.

In the 1990s, several state Libertarian parties adopted the Liberty Penguin ("LP") as their official mascot. Another mascot is the Libertarian porcupine, an icon that was originally designed by Kevin Breen in March 2006 and inspired by the logo of the Free State Project (FSP).

Structure and composition

LNC Chair Angela McArdle (2022–present)

The Libertarian Party is democratically governed by its members, with state affiliate parties each holding annual or biennial conventions at which delegates are elected to attend the party's biennial national convention. National convention delegates vote on changes to the party's national platform and bylaws and elect officers and "at-large" representatives to the party's National Committee. The National Committee also has "regional representatives", some of whom are appointed by delegate caucuses at the national convention whereas others are appointed by the chairpersons of LP state affiliate chapters within a region.

National committee

The Libertarian National Committee (LNC) is a 27-member body including alternates, or 17 voting members. Since the 2022 Libertarian National Convention, the chair has been Angela McArdle of Texas (McArdle had been a resident of California at the time of her election).

State chapters

The Libertarian Party is organized in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Each state affiliate has a governing committee, usually consisting of statewide officers elected by state party members and regional representation of one kind or another. Similarly, county, town, city and ward committees, where organized, generally consist of members elected at the local level. State and local committees often coordinate campaign activities within their jurisdiction, oversee local conventions and in some cases primaries or caucuses and may have a role in nominating candidates for elected office under state law.

Membership

Since the Libertarian Party's inception, individuals have been able to join the party as voting members by signing their agreement with the organization's non-aggression pledge, which states that the signer does not advocate the initiation of force to achieve political or social goals. During the mid-1980s and into the early 1990s, this membership category was called an "instant" membership, but these are referred to as "signature members". People joining the party are also asked to pay dues, which are on a sliding scale starting at $25 per year. Lifetime membership is granted with a $1,500 donation in one calendar year. Dues-paying members receive a subscription to the party's national newspaper, LP News. Since 2006, membership in the party's state affiliates has been separate from membership in the national party, with each state chapter maintaining its own membership rolls.

Most rights to participate in the governance of the party are limited to "bylaws-sustaining members" who have either purchased a lifetime membership or donated at least $25 within the past year. Most state parties maintain separate membership, which may be tied to either payment of dues to the state party, or voter registration as a Libertarian, depending on the state's election laws.

Platform

The preamble outlines the party's goals: "As Libertarians, we seek a world of liberty; a world in which all individuals are sovereign over their own lives and no one is forced to sacrifice his or her values for the benefit of others. [...] Our goal is nothing more nor less than a world set free in our lifetime, and it is to this end that we take these stands". Its Statement of Principles begins: "We, the members of the Libertarian Party, challenge the cult of the omnipotent state and defend the rights of the individual". The Statement of Principles is foundational to the ideology of the party and was created specifically to bind the party to certain core principles with a high parliamentary burden for any amendment.

The platform emphasizes individual liberty in personal and economic affairs, avoidance of "foreign entanglements" and military and economic intervention in other nations' affairs, and free trade and migration. The party opposes gun control measures that restrict the rights of civilians to keep and bear arms. It calls for Constitutional limitations on government as well as the elimination of most state functions. It includes a "Self-determination" section which quotes from the Declaration of Independence and reads: "Whenever any form of government becomes destructive of individual liberty, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to agree to such new governance as to them shall seem most likely to protect their liberty". It also includes an "Omissions" section which reads: "Our silence about any other particular government law, regulation, ordinance, directive, edict, control, regulatory agency, activity, or machination should not be construed to imply approval".

The party favors minimally regulated markets, a less powerful federal government, strong civil liberties, separation of church and state, open immigration, non-interventionism and neutrality in diplomatic relations, free trade and free movement to all foreign countries and a more representative republic.

The Statement of Principles was written by John Hospers. The Libertarian Party's bylaws specify that a 7/8ths supermajority of delegates is required to change the Statement of Principles. Any proposed platform plank found by the Judicial Committee to conflict with the Statement requires approval by a three-fourths supermajority of delegates. Early platform debates included at the second convention whether to support tax resistance and at the 1974 convention whether to support anarchism. In both cases, a compromise was reached.

Size and influence

The Libertarian Party has attracted influential politicians who attempt to sway the party's voting base. In May 2024, Donald Trump spoke at the Libertarian Party's convention in Washington D.C. with his speech focusing on libertarian issues such as his stances on anti-war policies, Bitcoin, and First and Second Amendment rights. This was the first time a current or former U.S. president had spoken at a Libertarian Party convention.

Presidential candidate performance

Presidential election results for all Libertarian Party candidates

The first Libertarian presidential candidate, John Hospers, received one electoral vote in 1972 when Roger MacBride, a Virginia Republican faithless elector pledged to Richard Nixon, cast his ballot for the Libertarian ticket. His vote for Theodora ("Tonie") Nathan as vice president was the first electoral college vote ever to be cast for a woman in a United States presidential election. MacBride became the Libertarian presidential nominee himself in 1976. This was the last time that the Libertarian Party won an electoral vote until 44 years later, in the 2016 presidential election, when Texas Republican faithless elector Bill Greene, who was pledged to cast his vote for Donald Trump, instead cast his vote for Libertarian Party member, 1988 presidential nominee, and former Republican representative Ron Paul for president.

During the 2016 presidential election, Gary Johnson and vice presidential candidate Bill Weld received a record percentage of 3.3% of the popular vote (4,489,233 votes), getting 9.3% in New Mexico, where Johnson had previously been elected governor. In the 2012 presidential election, Johnson and running mate Jim Gray received 1,275,821 votes (1.0%).

Presidential ballot access

The Libertarian Party has placed a presidential candidate on the ballot in all 50 states, as well as D.C., six times: 1980, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2016, and 2020. That level of ballot access has only been achieved by a third-party candidate four other times (John Anderson in 1980, Lenora Fulani in 1988, and Ross Perot in 1992 and 1996.) Although the territory of Guam has no electoral votes, it began holding presidential preference elections in 1980. The Libertarian Party presidential candidate has appeared on the ballot in Guam in every election from 1980 through 2020, except for 2016. Anderson and Fulani were also on the ballot in Guam.

The following is a table comparison of ballot status for the Libertarian Party presidential nominee from 1972 to 2020. In some instances the candidate appeared on the ballot as an independent.

Political positions

Economic

The "poverty and welfare" issues page of the Libertarian Party's website says that it opposes regulation of capitalist economic institutions and advocates dismantling the entirety of the welfare state:

We should eliminate the entire social welfare system. This includes eliminating food stamps, subsidized housing, and all the rest. Individuals who are unable to fully support themselves and their families through the job market must, once again, learn to rely on supportive family, church, community, or private charity to bridge the gap.

According to the party platform: "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" (adopted May 2008).

The Libertarian Party believes government regulations in the form of minimum wage laws drive up the cost of employing additional workers. That is why Libertarians favor loosening minimum wage laws so that overall unemployment rate can be reduced and low-wage workers, unskilled workers, visa immigrants and those with limited education or job experience can find employment.

Education

The party supports ending the public school system. The party's official platform states that education is best provided by the free market, achieving greater quality, accountability and efficiency with more diversity of school choice. Seeing the education of children as a parental responsibility, the party would give authority to parents to determine the education of their children at their expense without interference from government. This includes ending corporal punishment within public schools. Libertarians have expressed that parents should have control of and responsibility for all funds expended for their children's education.

Environment

The Libertarian Party supports a clean and healthy environment and sensible use of natural resources, believing that private landowners and conservation groups have a vested interest in maintaining such natural resources. The party has also expressed that "governments, unlike private businesses, are unaccountable for such damage done to the environment and have a terrible track record when it comes to environmental protection". The party contends that the environment is best protected when individual rights pertaining to natural resources are clearly defined and enforced. The party also contends that free markets and property rights (implicitly without government intervention) will stimulate the technological innovations and behavioral changes required to protect the environment and ecosystem because environmental advocates and social pressure are the most effective means of changing public behavior.

Fiscal policies

Libertarian protester at the 2010 Tea Party tax day, St. Paul, Minnesota

The Libertarian Party opposes all government intervention and regulation on wages, prices, rents, profits, production and interest rates and advocates the repeal of all laws banning or restricting the advertising of prices, products, or services. The party's recent platform calls for the repeal of the income tax, the abolition of the Internal Revenue Service and all federal programs and services, such as the Federal Reserve System. The party supports the passage of a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution which they believe will significantly lower the national debt, provided that the budget is balanced preferably by cutting expenditures and not by raising taxes. Libertarians favor free-market banking, with unrestricted competition among banks and depository institutions of all types. The party also wants a halt to inflationary monetary policies and legal tender laws. While the party defends the right of individuals to form corporations, cooperatives and other types of companies, it opposes government subsidies to business, labor, or any other special interest.

Healthcare

The Libertarian Party favors a free market health care system without government oversight, approval, regulation, or licensing. The party states that it "recognizes the freedom of individuals to determine the level of health insurance they want, the level of health care they want, the care providers they want, the medicines and treatments they will use and all other aspects of their medical care, including end-of-life decisions." They support the repeal of all social insurance policies such as Medicare and Medicaid and favor "consumer-driven health care". The Libertarian Party has been advocating for Americans' ability to purchase health insurance across state lines and medicine across international borders.

Immigration and trade agreements

The Libertarian Party consistently lobbies for the removal of governmental impediments to free trade. This is because their platform states that "political freedom and escape from tyranny demand that individuals not be unreasonably constrained by government in the crossing of political boundaries." To promote economic freedom, they demand the unrestricted movement of humans as well as financial capital across national borders. The party encourages blocking immigration of those with violent backgrounds or violent intents.

Labor

The Libertarian Party supports the repeal of all laws which impede the ability of any person to find employment while opposing government-fostered/forced retirement and heavy interference in the bargaining process. The party supports the right of free persons to associate or not associate in labor unions and believes that employers should have the right to recognize or refuse to recognize a union.

Retirement and Social Security

The party believes that retirement planning is the responsibility of the individual, not the government. Libertarians would phase out the government-sponsored Social Security system and transition to a private voluntary system. The Libertarians feel that the proper and most effective source of help for the poor is the voluntary efforts of private groups and individuals, believing members of society will become more charitable and civil society will be strengthened as government reduces its activity in that realm.

Social

Freedom of speech and censorship

The Libertarian Party supports unrestricted freedom of speech and is opposed to any kind of censorship, as the party has full support for the First Amendment. The party describes the issue in its website: "We defend the rights of individuals to unrestricted freedom of speech, freedom of the press and the right of individuals to dissent from government itself. [...] We oppose any abridgment of the freedom of speech through government censorship, regulation or control of communications media." The party claims it is the only political party in the United States "with an explicit stand against censorship of computer communications in its platform".

Government reform

The Libertarian Party favors election systems that are more representative of the electorate at the federal, state and local levels. The party platform calls for an end to any tax-financed subsidies to candidates or parties and the repeal of all laws which restrict voluntary financing of election campaigns. As a minor party, it opposes laws that effectively exclude alternative candidates and parties, deny ballot access, gerrymander districts, or deny the voters their right to consider all legitimate alternatives. Libertarians also promote the use of direct democracy through the referendum and recall processes.

Second and Fourth Amendment rights

The Libertarian Party affirms an individual's right recognized by the Second Amendment to keep and bear arms and opposes the prosecution of individuals for exercising their rights of self-defense. The party opposes laws at any level of government requiring registration of or restricting the ownership, manufacture, or transfer or sale of firearms or ammunition.

The party also affirms an individual's right to privacy through reforms that would give back rights of the Fourth Amendment of the United States of America's Bill of Rights to the citizens. Often this coincides with a citizen's right against covert surveillance by the government of their privacy.

Foreign policy

Libertarians generally prefer an attitude of mutual respect between all nations. Libertarians believe that free trade engenders positive international relationships. Libertarian candidates have promised to cut foreign aid and withdraw American troops from the Middle East and other areas throughout the world.

The Libertarian Party opposed the 2011 military intervention in Libya and LP Chair Mark Hinkle in a statement described the position of the Libertarian Party: "President Obama's decision to order military attacks on Libya is only surprising to those who actually think he deserved the Nobel Peace Prize. He has now ordered bombing strikes in six different countries, adding Libya to Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Somalia, and Yemen." It has also called for withdrawal from NATO. In a statement on February 7, 2023, the party came out in support of the Rage Against the War Machine rally in Washington, D.C., and denounced American aid to Ukraine.

See also

In Spanish: Partido Libertario (Estados Unidos) para niños