The 1996 Libertarian National Convention was held in at the Hyatt Regency-Capitol Hill Hotel in Washington, DC, during the first weekend in July. Harry Browne was chosen as the party's nominee for president in the 1996 election.
| 1996 presidential election | |
  Nominees Browne and Jorgensen | |
| Convention | |
|---|---|
| Date(s) | July 5–8, 1996 |
| City | Washington, DC |
| Candidates | |
| Presidential nominee | Harry Browne of Tennessee |
| Vice-presidential nominee | Jo Jorgensen of South Carolina |
"Declare your Independence" was the theme of the convention.
Libertarians hold a national convention, every two years to vote on party bylaws, platform and resolutions and elect national party officers and a judicial committee. Every four years it nominates presidential and vice presidential candidates.[1]
Primaries
editSome non-binding primary contests were held in some states:
| Legend: | 1st place (popular vote) |
2nd place (popular vote) |
3rd place (popular vote) |
Candidate unable to appear on ballot |
|---|
| Date | Contest | Candidates and results | Total votes cast | Ref | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harry Browne |
RT Rick Tompkins |
IS Irwin Schiff |
DO Doug Ohmen |
 Other/Uncommitted | ||||
| February 20 | New Hampshire | 40.1% 653 votes |
Unknown Reported as "scatter" |
20.7% 336 votes |
Unknown Reported as "scatter" |
39.2%[a] 638 votes |
1,627 votes | [2] |
| February 27 | North Dakota | 100% 145 votes |
Not on ballot | 145 votes | ||||
| South Dakota | 63.1% 334 votes |
Not on ballot | 36.9% 195 votes |
Not on ballot | 529 votes | |||
| March 5 | Massachusetts | 44.4% 386 votes |
12.8% 111 votes |
7.6% 66 votes |
Unknown Reported as "scatter" |
35.3%[b] 307 votes |
935 votes | [3] |
| March 19 | Illinois | 73.9% 1,249 votes |
Not on ballot | 26.1% 441 votes |
Not on ballot | 1,690 votes | [4][5] | |
| March 26 | California | 49.8% 6,730 votes |
23.6% 3,189 votes |
15.3% 2,064 votes |
10.5% 1,421 votes |
0.9%[c] 115 votes |
13,519 votes | |
| May 14 | Nebraska | 100% 28 votes |
Not on ballot | 28 votes | ||||
| Totals votes earned | 51.7% 9,525 votes |
17.9% 3,300 votes |
16.9% 3,102 votes |
7.7% 1,421 votes |
5.8% 1,060 votes |
18,408 votes | ||
| Convention ballot | 69.1% 416 delegates |
12.3% 74 delegates |
5.3% 32 delegates |
3.3% 20 delegates |
10.0% 60 delegates |
602 delegates | ||
Voting for presidential nomination
editFirst ballot
editHarry Browne was nominated on the first ballot, gathering a majority of the voting delegates and defeating Rick Tompkins, Irwin Schiff and Doug Ohmen.[6]
| Candidate | Total votes cast | Percent of votes cast | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harry Browne | 416 | 69.1% | ||||||||||
| Rick Tompkins | 74 | 12.3% | ||||||||||
| None of the Above | 60 | 10.0% | ||||||||||
| Irwin Schiff | 32 | 5.3% | ||||||||||
| Doug Ohmen | 20 | 3.3% | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
Voting for vice presidential nomination
editThe convention voted to suspend the rules and allow a voice vote for the vice presidential nomination. After an initial voice vote led to a roll-call vote, Jo Jorgensen easily prevailed against no opposition, with 36 votes going to None of the Above.[7]
Voice vote
edit| Candidate | Total votes cast | Percent of votes cast | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jo Jorgensen | 459 | 92.7% | |||||||
| None of the Above | 36 | 7.3% | |||||||
| |||||||||
See also
editNotes
edit- ^ Includes:
- 10.8% write-ins for Pat Buchanan (176 votes)
- 6.3% write-ins for Forbes (103 votes)
- 22.1% for other write-ins (359 votes)
- ^ Includes:
- 237 votes (27.2%) for Uncommitted
- 70 votes (8%) reported as "scatter"
- ^ 115 write-ins for Ralph Nader
References
edit- ^ Libertarian Party Bylaws Archived 2008-06-05 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Winger, Richard (March 6, 1996). "Ballot Access News -- March 6, 1996". Ballot Access News. Vol. 11, no. 13. Retrieved February 8, 2024.
- ^ "1996 President Libertarian Primary". state.ma.us. Retrieved February 8, 2024.
- ^ Winger, Richard (April 3, 1996). "Ballot Access News -- April 3, 1996". Ballot Access News. Vol. 12, no. 1. Retrieved February 8, 2024.
- ^ Winger, Richard (May 28, 1996). "Ballot Access News -- May 28, 1996". Ballot Access News. Vol. 12, no. 3. Retrieved February 8, 2024.
- ^ "Libertarian Convention Nomination Speeches". C-SPAN Video Library. July 6, 1996. Retrieved May 27, 2012.
- ^ "Libertarian Convention Acceptance Speeches". C-SPAN Video Library. July 6, 1996. Retrieved May 27, 2012.