Rules and procedure for selecting delegates to the 2004 national convention

Definitions:
Presidential position: either support of a particular candidate, support of running no candidate, or "uncommitted".
Delegate: unless otherwise specified, this is meant as a delegate to the national convention.

Each presidential position will have a caucus of interested GPNJ members. They will quickly choose one or two speakers. They will also compile a list of candidates for delegates.

Each caucus' speaker(s) will present a short appeal to the GPNJ membership for support.

A vote is held, with each state convention delegate voting for a single presidential position. After tabulating the votes, each position will be awarded a number of delegates in proportion to its support in this vote.

NOTES ON ROUNDING: The number of delegates is fixed at 17. After dividing the votes for each presidential position by the number of state convention delegates, it is likely that the whole-number portion of the resulting numbers will not add up to 17. It is also possible for "standard" rounding to not add up to 17; therefore, the rounding will be performed thus: If the first apportionment (adding up the whole-number portions only) is less than 17, "Rounding UP" will be done first on those numbers which are 'closest' to the next whole number. (For instance 5.9 delegates will be rounded to 6 before 3.7 is rounded to 4.) If the first apportionment is greater than 17, then "Rounding DOWN" will first be performed on numbers closest to a whole number. Rounding is performed until the sum is 17.

The state convention will then use Approval Voting to choose the actual delegates. Voters can write down the name of any number of delegates of whom they "approve".

NOTE: It is recommended to state convention delegates that they cast votes for delgates from each of the presidental positions that are awarded delegates in order to maximize the effectiveness of their votes. Example: If "no candidate" is awarded 4 delegates and "Uncommitted" is awarded 5 delegates, there is little point to casting 17 votes for "Uncommitted" delegates and none for "No Candidate", since one would then not be influencing the choice of the 4 "No Candidate" delegates that the state convention has already determined will be attending the national convention.

The state convention will apportion the national delegation by choosing the top vote-getters from each caucus list. For instance, if Nader has been apportioned 5 delegates, the top 5 candidates from the Nader caucus will be chosen.