How Does the Libertarian Party Nominate Its Candidate for President?

Every election year I hear a common complaint amongst libertarians who aren't involved with the Libertarian Party that goes something like this, "If the LP had nominated Candidate X instead of Candidate Y then I'd be excited about this election. Why did they nominate Candidate Y?"

And the answer is extremely simple: Candidate Y was nominated because Candidate Y's supporters showed up as delegates to the National Convention.

I really can't stress this enough. In the Libertarian Party you have to show up to the convention as a delegate in order to have a voice. A candidate can organize 4 billion Steemit followers but that candidate will still lose the nomination if only 40 of those supporters show up to the convention.

For the most part the Libertarian Party does not use primaries to decide its nominees. You actually have to go to your State Convention and vote for the candidates you'd like to see win the nominations for statewide offices; and you actually have to go to the National Convention and vote for the candidates you'd like to see win the nominations for national office.

So, how does one go about becoming a delegate to the National Convention?

1. Contact your most local Libertarian Party affiliate. In well-organized states, like Texas, this will usually mean starting with your County Libertarian Party; whereas in more developing states your State Libertarian Party might be the most locally organized affiliate. You can find this information by using the googlie machine and searching for "Libertarian Party of [insert your county name or your state name here]."

2. Ask your most local Libertarian Party, "How can I become a state and national delegate?" We're about 2/3rds of the way through convention season at this point, which means that most states have already selected their delegates. But DON'T LET THIS DETER YOU. There are a number of work-arounds and loopholes that you may be able to take advantage of to become a 2018 delegate. But, even if you can't be a delegate until 2020 go ahead and get involved with your local Libertarian Party as soon as possible. It is much easier to secure a delegate seat when people know who you are, have seen you before, and have worked with you on LP-related projects.

And that's it!

So, you see, the next time you hear someone say, "Why didn't Candidate X win the nomination?" you can reply by saying, "Because you didn't show up."

In order to change the world - whether you've chosen the activist route, the political route, or both - the most important thing you can do for the movement is to SHOW UP. Show up to events. Show up to meetings. Show up to protests. Show up to conventions. Show up to rallies. Show up to fundraisers. Be helpful, polite, fun, and engaged. If knowing is "half the battle" then showing up is the other half.