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Bylaws of the United States Open Source Party
(Passed November 14, 2015)
We come together in common purpose: To revitalize American democracy.
We intend to keep our Republic. We intend to fortify our capacities to govern our governments. We intend to run our local, state and federal jurisdictions in a manner that advances the liberty and well-being of all the people.
Our instrument is the United States Open Source Party, an association predicated on engendering civic transformation through free expression, collaborative endeavor, and constructive political action. We embrace the techniques of Open Source innovation as a model for transparent, accountable governance.
The United States of America emerged from a revolution that established participatory democracy as a sacred principle of rule. The rights and obligations of participation were extended over time, each extension representing a hard won revolution of its own. This generation of Americans faces exceptional challenges to participatory democracy, an effective reversal of all that was gained, as secretive elites exploit increasingly complex and opaque institutional processes to stifle effective public engagement. Those elites have concentrated more and more power among themselves, engineering political outcomes that benefit the few at the expense of the many.
Open Source techniques will equip us to overcome these exceptional challenges, using the principle of open participation to reinforce and advance its domain.
We, the members of the Open Source Party, declare our association in the spirit of intelligent, inclusive, and resourceful problem-solving. We intend to animate a democracy that is truly and undeniably worthy of the name. In response to the crisis that threatens our Republic, we are dedicated to a strategy of means that justify ends.
We vigorously and officially supports Net Neutrality as defined by the Electronic Frontier Foundation. (Passed November 9, 2015)
(Passed October 30, 2015)
1.1 The name of the Party shall be the “United States Open Source Party” and is referred to in this Constitution as “the Party”.
1.2 The objectives of the Party shall be:
1.2.1. To provide a forum for all citizens to have their say and influence the policies and platform of the Party.
1.2.2. To achieve the objectives set forth in the Preamble to this Constitution.
1.3. To achieve such objects, we seek to elect the party’s candidates to local, state and federal public authorities, to fuse with other parties, and to endorse existing candidates and legislation.
(Passed on September 30, 2015)
0.1. The Party leadership shall initially consist of the following officers:
Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary, Treasurer, Two Executive Committee Members.
0.2. Officers shall constitute an executive committee of the Party. This committee shall:
0.3. Communicate with recognized state parties.
0.4. Retain legal counsel on behalf of the Party.
0.5. Allocate funds to the federal party, state and local candidates.
0.6. Terms of these officers stand until there are 100 members, when a new election of all officers shall be called.
0.7 Every committee member gets one vote, the Chair is non-voting except in case of a tie vote.
1.1 Duties of Chair
1.2 Preside over executive committee meetings. Preside over online conventions.
1.3 Party spokesperson.
1.4 Communicate with any contractors or vendors.
1.5 Communicate with legal counsel.
1.6 Provide members a monthly report regarding affairs of executive committee and state of the Party.
1.7 Call for meetings of the Executive Committee
Duties of Vice Chair
2.1 Fill the Chair position in absence of the Chair.
2.2 If the Chair’s office becomes vacant, the Vice Chair shall become chair to serve out the term.
3 Duties of Secretary
3.1 Keep a record of all party leadership proceedings.
3.2 Oversee party elections.
3.3 Maintain membership roster
3.4 Publish and update a tally of standing membership along with the majority and 2/3 majority threshold for voting.
4 Duties of Treasurer
4.1 Audit accounts of party staff.
4.2 Manage party funds and disclose campaign expenditures required by federal law.
4.3 The detailed finances of the party, including all donations, will be posted on the website and updated monthly in a format that makes it transparent for review. Any donations received over $250 will be tweeted by the official party Twitter account using the hashtag #osparty within 3 days of receipt and will include the donor name and donation amount.
5 Duties of Executive Committee
5.1 Vote on matters concerning the Executive Committee and party.
Party officers may be financially compensated.