Libertarian Party of Maryland

Libertarian Party of Maryland
Libertarian Party of Maryland
Chairman	Robert S. Johnston III
Founded	1971
Ideology	Libertarianism
National affiliation	Libertarian Party (United States)
Colors	a shade of Blue; Yellow
Website
	LPMaryland.org

The Libertarian Party of Maryland is the Maryland affiliate of the Libertarian Party. The state chair is Robert S. Johnston III. The party, also known as "LPMaryland," is Maryland’s third-largest political party, with 13,549 registered voters across the state as of March 31, 2014. According to its website, the party advocates "a smaller government that costs less and leaves individuals with more economic opportunity and more personal freedom," and "work[s] to advance that view by supporting Libertarian candidates for local, state, and federal office." LPMaryland also forms coalitions with other civic organizations who share at least some common ground with libertarians, including groups that concern themselves primarily with civil liberties, world peace, fiscal restraint, and government reform. The official views of the party on state-level policy issues are set forth in the Libertarian Party of Maryland Program.

Governance

The Libertarian Party of Maryland is governed primarily by its Constitution and Bylaws. The Constitution and By-laws entrust all party decision-making to the State Central Committee. Currently, any Maryland resident who is an official party member may become a voting member of the Central Committee as long as he or she is a registered Libertarian and certifies that he or she agrees with the principle that no person (or group of persons) has the right to seek to attain values by initiating the use of force or fraud against any other person (or group of persons). This is one version of the “non-aggression principle,” a fundamental principle of liberty and limited government.

Operational management of the Party is entrusted to an Executive Board of the State Central Committee. The Board is composed of a Chair, Vice-Chair, Treasurer, and Secretary, as well as three At-Large members. The current membership of the Executive Board (elected to serve through the 2016 Convention) is as follows:

Chair: Robert S. Johnston III

Vice-Chair: Eric Blitz

Treasurer: Michael Linder

Secretary: Robert E. Glaser

At-Large Members: Mark Grannis, Stuart Simms, and Tim Sutton

The Libertarian Party of Maryland is one of only four political parties that currently enjoy official recognition by the Maryland State Board of Elections. Its ability to continue nominating candidates for office without qualifying each candidate separately (“ballot access” for short) depends on its ability to demonstrate sufficient popular support for the party every four years in gubernatorial elections.