Libertarian Party of Louisiana
The Libertarian Party of Louisiana (LPL) is the Louisiana affiliate of the Libertarian Party. The state chair is Heide Alejandro-Smith. It is the third largest party in Louisiana and one of five officially recognized parties in the state. The LPL has two legislative accomplishments to its credit, one a friendlier ballot access law passed in 2004, and the other, a defeat of a bill which would have redefined any party under 40,000 registered voters as a "minor" party and not deserving of federal primary elections. The party is currently organizing individual parishes with their own party committees and is fielding candidates in state and local elections. Membership Party membership as of 2022 is 16,035 registered Libertarians in the State of Louisiana up from January 2017, which was 14,414 registered voters statewide. Party membership continues to increase since official recognition increased knowledge about libertarianism and by those seeking an alternative to older parties presently in power. To become a member of the Libertarian Party in Louisiana, one simply need register as "Libertarian" on their voter registration form by circling "LBT", or ask their Parish Registrar of Voters to change their party affiliation to "Libertarian." This can now be accomplished online at the Louisiana Secretary of State's website: GeauxVote.com Those registered Libertarians who also pay annual dues, are automatically registered for the State Convention, can seek party office, and can vote at the convention on party business. The party currently offers the following annual memberships: $25 – Sustaining, $50 – Bronze, $100 – Silver, $250 – Gold, $500 – Liberty, $1000 – Pelican. If the party is successful in growing up to 40,000 members, then the State of Louisiana will hold a Presidential Preference primary for the Libertarian Party according to State law. (LA RS 18:1280.21.A) Achieving this goal would also head off future attempts at relegating the LPL to "minor party" status as was attempted in the Spring 2009 legislative session. Party organization The Party is organizing on the parish level as required by state law similar to that used by the larger Democrat and Republican parties. This consists of a Parish Executive Committee (PEC) made up of a number of members that equal those on the parish's governing body. (police jury or parish council) If at-large positions are not already available on the governing body, then each parish can have up to two such positions. From among themselves, the Committee selects a Parish Chair, Secretary, Treasurer, Membership Officer, Elections Officer, and Campus Coordinator. These officers are chosen every four years by caucus of party members in the parish. (state run elections will be used if the party has more than 5% of the registered voters in the state, which is approximately 144,000 voters as of June 2012.) The PEC's are the primary organizational unit of the LPL and are responsible for membership, fund raising, electioneering and public outreach within their parish. They are also responsible for implementing and overseeing the Government Liaison program of the LPL. In addition, only organized