Image Clipped from the National Convention signup website. This image features the Late Marc Feldman (That Libertarian) with former Michigan Chair Bill Gelineau in the background.

The 2020 election season will be especially hectic for Libertarians. With a pair of state conventions and a national presidential nominating convention, those wishing to take part in the process need to start making plans. This article explains how to become a delegate to our upcoming conventions and provides the latest on our convention plans.

Libertarian National Convention, May 21-25, 2020, Austin, Texas

Libertarians from across the country will meet in Austin, Texas over Memorial Day weekend to select the Libertarian Party candidate for President of the United States. In order to be a voting delegate or alternate to the national convention, you must be selected at our state convention on March 14, 2020 in Grand Rapids.

Delegates in attendance at the state convention will select the delegates to the national convention. Anyone wishing to be a national delegate can send their name to LPM Secretary Wendi Parker secretary@michiganlp.org to have your name placed into nomination. You do not need to be present at the convention to be nominated or selected.

LPM Spring / National Delegate Selection Convention, Eberhard Center, Grand Rapids, March 14, 2020

Libertarians from across Michigan will meet in Grand Rapids on March 14 to select our delegation to the national convention, among other items of business and festivities. Michigan is expected to be allocated 34 delegates and alternates. The LPM will issue a formal call to convention at the start of 2020 since our bylaws dictate that the number of delegates to a state convention is based on state party membership as of December 31.

In addition to selecting our delegates to the National Convention, the other business items on the agenda will be: Congressional district caucuses, endorsement of candidate(s) for Michigan Supreme Court, and open floor time for potential platform changes and resolutions. A morning session is planned to allow an opportunity for Presidential candidates to speak and later a presentation will be given by state party officials about running for public office in 2020. The business session will take place in the afternoon and in the evening, we will be holding our annual Defender of Liberty Awards Banquet.

Affiliate Conventions Select Delegates

In order to be a voting delegate to the state convention, you must be selected as a delegate or alternate by one of our affiliates or unaffiliated regions. The affiliate conventions will be held at various times between the start of the year and the first week in March. These will be scheduled by the affiliates themselves or in the case of the unaffiliated regions, overseen by the Libertarian Executive Committee (LEC).

Additionally, delegates must also be members of the LPM at least 30 days before the convention. If you are a lapsed LPM member or current national LP member, you can join the LPM on convention day. Affiliate and unaffiliated region convention information will be posted on our website and Facebook page as they get scheduled.

Anyone can register for and attend the state convention but only those selected as described can be voting delegates. The registration page will be available when we issue the formal call to convention. In the meantime, we have set up an event page on Facebook.

Candidate Nominations in July at a second State Convention

Libertarian candidates for public office in 2020 will be nominated at a second state convention to be held in mid to late July likely in Grayling. Offices on the ballot in 2020 that Libertarians may nominate candidates for include US Senate, Congress, State House (but not State Senate), Justice of the Supreme Court, the various statewide education boards, and many county and township races.

To summarize:

• You must be selected (in person or in absentia) at the March state convention to become a delegate to the May national convention.
• You must be selected (in person or in absentia) at your affiliate convention to become a delegate to the March state convention.
• Refer to our state website (MichiganLP.org) for information regarding affiliate convention dates, times and locations.

The Rights of Vapers who Vote

By Susan E. Oser, Guest Contributor

Vape flavors behind the counter at Wild Wild West Tobacco in Boyne City, MI. Photo by Robin TaChoir.

The views in the article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Libertarian Party of Michigan, but the LEC has passed a resolution on this topic. Susan E. Oser is a vaping advocate and former writer of Vape News Magazine and former hostess of vapenet and VapeTVLive. She is currently teaching online and contributing to various publications. She hopes to contribute more educational content and information on The Rights of Vapers and other free-choice issues if she is able to.

Along with the Americans For Tax Reform Party, The Libertarian Party is the only other political party that understands the voice of the traditional e-cigarette user ("vaper").

On November 9, vapers from Michigan and around the country travelled to Washington D.C. to tell Donald Trump and our federal legislation that "We Vape. We Vote." It was a well-attended protest. Here is one of many examples of where you can find coverage of some of the rally:

"We Vape. We Vote" is not just another slogan that can be found on a T-shirt, a sign, or a chant. It's a lot more than that. It has become a movement with real people, not paid actors or activists. That is what various leaders, the mainstream media, or others would like you to believe. It is about the lives of a community that is sadly being used as a political, as well as a major media PR, football.

An "easy issue" to rally around

Politically, the issue of vape flavor bans and e-cigarettes are an "easy issue" to rally around, as a way to show constituents that at least something productive is happening in our government. So, banning a product to get votes, and money from Big Pharma and Big Tobacco lobbyists is the modus operandi while the small vape shops are either losing business, downsizing or closing their doors.

This isn't just happening around the state of Michigan, it's happening around the country.

Vapers died from Vitamin E

Recently, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) corrected itself and updated information in light of recent investigations, the at least 29 deaths, reported in the news media, came from Vitamin E Acetate-laced THC black-market cartridges. This Vitamin E Acetate oil is used as a thinner for THC-oil, it is put into the cartridges for mass production on said black market. The cannabis community was way ahead of the curve on this issue and was warning the public a long time ago - before these dates hit the mainstream media.

However (and this is where the media PR campaign comes in), because the general term "vaping" is used as clickbait in the headlines, and the details are in the small print of said article, e-cigarette users have been unfairly lumped in and vilified by the public. Even with the CDC correction, the damage has sadly been done, and psychologically, even if a shocking headline and misinformation is corrected, the general Joe-public will still not believe it and follow the original headline (forward video to 4:30).

In the eyes of vapers (even with the happiness of a factual correction), they still must fight hard educating the public by showing up at meetings and offices to tell their truth, while the anti-vapers still believes in the lies. And doing this at the local, state, and federal level.

The political vaper ban bandwagon

Michigan's vape flavor ban was recently overturned but Governor Whitmer who is planning on going to the Supreme Court to try to get the ruling overturned. With the holidays coming up, only time will tell. As of this writing, it's been quiet in the state of Michigan, but it doesn't mean work isn't being done in our legislature to protect the vaping community.

The state of Massachusetts have taken vaping bans further by going to the extreme and getting the police involved in a 1920s-style searches and seizures prohibition method.

President Trump is now throwing his hat into the ring saying at first there should be a ban on all e-cigarette products (more than likely thanks to the advice of his wife and Vice President Mike Pence who destroyed Indiana with vaping laws when he was governor of that state). Now, because he got a bug in his ear, votes for him might be lost in the 2020 election. This is thanks to vapers, who once voted for him, learning he's flip-flopped on the issue. On Twitter, he has even promised to meet with all sides on the issue. However only time will tell, and sadly, while Trump is a good marketer, he lacks on the management of follow-through.

Thus, we now have the ball in the court of Congress with Senate Bill 1253, which has added a clause which would ban on-line sales e-cigarettes, and the USPS would stop delivering such product. The House Subcommittee on Health has been discussing HR 2339 also known as the Reversal of the Youth Tobacco Epidemic Act of 2019. This seeks to increase the age of purchasing tobacco products from 18-21 as well as ban online sales of (even of cigars), increase user fees and more.

Regulations

On both sides of this argument, regulation is OK, if it is sensible and respects the freedom of choice of the adult user of an e-cigarette. Even the vape community agrees that teens should not have e-cigarettes, because the intent was for adults to quit smoking regular combustible cigarettes; not to get a strong buzz from high nicotine levels that are harmful. Parents need to be involved and have the discussion on the table about vaping and e-cigarettes, and not let the government or school boards do the parenting for them.

Many in the community, especially vape shop owners, have been asking (and almost pleading) for sensible regulation so they can run their businesses - not punishments. Punishments are occurring now (thanks to greed and a lax in honoring the Master Settlement Agreement (MSA), and the FDA dragging their feet on PMTAs (Premarket Tobacco Product Applications). Also their deeming regulations that started back in 2016... Thanks to Big Tobacco and Big Pharma, making deals and losing money on traditional cigarettes and healthier communities have also contributed.

The small vape shops are following the rules and doing all they can to run a business legally. Some have put all their investment and livelihoods into it. Yet, they are the ones that are punished while the convenience store and/or gas station nearby is getting away scott-free not carding kids who buy e-cigarettes (as they would for the purchase of alcohol). If there were already sensible laws on the books (that were implemented on e-cigarettes) before these panic bans were put into place, they needed to be enforced first and not detracted.

What can you do for vapers rights?

So, what can you do as a citizen and especially as a Libertarian member of the community?

1. If you are running for office in the next election, state that you support the vaping community and you understand the issue that's at stake.
2. Visit your local vape shop to educate yourself and hear their story.
3. Support vaping advocacy with joining free on http://CASAA.org and by connecting to a local vape advocacy group.
4. Talk to actual users of e-cigarettes and hear their story. Find out why vaping is so important to them and why even with just a small flavor ban, their lifestyles are affected.

The issue with vaping and e-cigarettes is a freedom of choice issue and the community thanks the Libertarian party for its understanding and support. The more supportive voice there are, the better it is for the movement and justice for vaping community and those who are thinking about trying it in the future.

To contact Susan Oser for more information or to comment, please email her at: angelbpw1719@gmail.com