The 2021 Libertarian National Committee chair special election was held on July 11, 2021 by the

Libertarian National Committee The Libertarian National Committee (LNC) controls and manages the affairs, properties, and funds of the United States Libertarian Party. It is composed of the party officers, five at-large representatives elected every two years at the national c ...

(LNC), the governing body of the

United States Libertarian Party The Libertarian Party (LP) is a political party in the United States that promotes civil liberties, non-interventionism, ''laissez-faire'' capitalism, and limiting the size and scope of government. The party was conceived in August 1971 at m ...

, to elect their next

chairperson The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

, after their previous chair,

Joe Bishop-Henchman The 2020 Libertarian National Convention delegates selected the Libertarian Party nominees for president and vice president in the 2020 United States presidential election. Primaries were held, but were preferential in nature and did not determi ...

, resigned due to a internal party controversy. After five rounds of rank-choice voting by the committee,

Whitney Bilyeu Whitney Bilyeu is an American politician from Texas who was the 21st chair of the Libertarian National Committee, the governing body of the Libertarian Party, from July 2021 to May 2022. She was elected on July 12, 2021, to fill the vacancy creat ...

was elected to serve the rest of Bishop-Henchman's term, defeating 5 other candidates.

Background

New Hampshire controversy and Bishop-Henchman resignation

In June 2021, the Libertarian Party's New Hampshire affiliate wrote Tweets calling for " legalizing child labor", repealing the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and reopening

Gitmo Guantanamo Bay Naval Base ( es, Base Naval de la Bahía de Guantánamo), officially known as Naval Station Guantanamo Bay or NSGB, (also called GTMO, pronounced Gitmo as jargon by members of the U.S. military) is a United States military bas ...

"so that

Anthony Fauci Anthony Stephen Fauci (; born December 24, 1940) is an American physician-scientist and immunologist serving as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and the chief medical advisor to the president. ...

and every governor that locked their state down can be sent there". In response, the Chair of the NH affiliate, Jilletta Jarvis, formed a new state affiliate and took control of the old affiliate's digital assets and Twitter account on June 12. The move was widely condemned by the party, including former

US congressman The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

Justin Amash Justin Amash ( ; born April 18, 1980) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2011 to 2021. Originally a Republican, Amash joined the Libertarian Party in April 2020, becoming the party's first (and, ...

and the party's 2020 VP nominee

Spike Cohen Jeremy "Spike" Cohen (born June 28, 1982) is an American libertarian political activist, entrepreneur, and podcaster. He was the Libertarian Party's nominee for vice president of the United States in 2020, serving as Jo Jorgensen's running mate ...

, and Jarvis was expelled as Chair by the old affiliate A letter surfaced allegedly from LNC chair

, which recognized Jarvis's affiliate. This caused many LNC members to call for the chair to be expelled. Bishop-Henchman however denied ever writing the letter or supporting Jarvis's actions. On June 16, Bishop-Henchman introduced a motion to the LNC to disaffiliate the NH affiliate, which would have paved the way for Jarvis's affiliate to be recognized. Bishop-Henchman officially resigned after the LNC rejected the motion 12-2.

Post-resignation

LNC Vice Chair Ken Moellman from

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

assumed the role of Acting Chair after the resignation, until a new Chair could be elected.

Candidates

, chair of the

Libertarian Party of Texas The Libertarian Party of Texas is the state affiliate of the Libertarian Party in Texas, US. In 1971, Texas was one of the 13 original founding state parties at the first LP convention in Denver, Colorado. Over the next five years, county affili ...

and member of the LNC from the 7th region * Steve Dasbach, former LNC chair (1993-1998), and manager for

Jo Jorgensen Jo Jorgensen (born May 1, 1957) is an American libertarian political activist and academic. Jorgensen was the Libertarian Party's nominee for president of the United States in the 2020 election, in which she finished third in the popular vot ...

's 2020 presidential campaign * Tony D'Orazio, LNC chair candidate in

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

* Chuck Moulton * Joshua Smith, LNC At-large member, and LNC chair candidate in

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

and 2020 * Christopher Thrasher, Chair of the Libertarian Party Ballot Access Committee and Director for

Lincoln Chafee Lincoln Davenport Chafee ( ; born March 26, 1953) is an American politician. He was mayor of Warwick, Rhode Island from 1993 to 1999, a United States Senator from 1999 to 2007, and the 74th Governor of Rhode Island from 2011 to 2015. He was a m ...

's 2020 presidential campaign

Results

No one won a majority of votes in the first round. Steve Dasbach, Tony D'Orazio, and Chuck Moulton were eliminated in the subsequent rounds, and Whitney Bilyeu received all the transfer votes, winning a majority on the fifth round.

References