The Libertarian Party 2012 presidential convention will be in Las Vegas, May 4-6, 2012. This is the earliest the Libertarian presidential convention has been since the 1992 presidential election, when the national convention was in September 1991. The latest Libertarian presidential convention was in 1996, and was in early July.
The 2012 date and location were chosen by the Libertarian national committee on November 21.
The two major parties recently have been holding their presidential conventions in early September of the election year.
No political party has previously held its presidential convention in Las Vegas. Other cities that bid for the 2012 convention were San Francisco and Dallas, with a last-minute proposal for Ontario, California.
Is this date much help with regard to ballot access drives in view of non-substitution rules?
I love Las Vesas but this seems like an obvious set up to me to give Wayne Root an edge in capturing the LP’s presidential nomination. I sure hope that some better candidates emerge before the convention.
The Nevada Libertarian Party always fills its delegate quote to presidential conventions, no matter where they are held. I don’t see what difference it makes to Wayne Allyn Root’s chances that the convention is held in his home turf.
As to comment #1, the only states that won’t allow substitution, and in which it would help if they did allow it, are Maine, Massachusetts (where the ban is very unclear and is not always a ban), New Hampshire, and Alabama. The Massachusetts legal fight is not over yet. But even if that fight is lost, obviously having the convention in early May makes it somewhat easier to comply with the bad state laws, than if it were in late May.
i don’t know if Root would have a chance at getting the nomination I read that the Florida Libertarian Party doesn’t want him to be the Presidential Candidate.
It would not matter where the convention was held. Candidates would still have to convince delegates to vote. I think with the current rules it’s hard to completely stack the deck.
It will make it easier to turn people out. Lots of cities offer reasonably priced direct flights to Las Vegas.
Probably a smart move.