1996 Libertarian National Convention

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 Libertarian National Convention
1996 presidential election
Nominees
Browne and Jorgensen
Convention
Date(s)July 5–8, 1996
CityWashington, DC
Candidates
Presidential nomineeHarry Browne of Tennessee
Vice presidential nomineeJo 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

Some 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%[lower-alpha 1]
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%[lower-alpha 2]
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%[lower-alpha 3]
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

First ballot

Harry Browne was nominated on the first ballot, gathering a majority of the voting delegates and defeating Rick Tompkins, Irwin Schiff and Doug Ohmen.[6]

1996 Libertarian Party National Convention total vote count: Round 1
Candidate Total votes cast Percent of votes cast
Harry Browne41669.1%
Rick Tompkins7412.3%
None of the Above6010.0%
Irwin Schiff325.3%
Doug Ohmen203.3%
Color key: 1st place 2nd place 3rd place 4th place 5th place

Voting for vice presidential nomination

The 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
1996 Libertarian vice presidential nomination
Candidate Total votes cast Percent of votes cast
Jo Jorgensen45992.7%
None of the Above367.3%
Color key: 1st place 2nd place

See also

Notes
  1. 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)
  2. Includes:
    • 237 votes (27.2%) for Uncommitted
    • 70 votes (8%) reported as "scatter"
  3. 115 write-ins for Ralph Nader

References
  1. Libertarian Party Bylaws Archived 2008-06-05 at the Wayback Machine
  2. Winger, Richard (6 March 1996). "Ballot Access News -- March 6, 1996". Ballot Access News. Vol. 11, no. 13. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
  3. "1996 President Libertarian Primary". state.ma.us. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
  4. Winger, Richard (3 April 1996). "Ballot Access News -- April 3, 1996". Ballot Access News. Vol. 12, no. 1. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
  5. Winger, Richard (28 May 1996). "Ballot Access News -- May 28, 1996". Ballot Access News. Vol. 12, no. 3. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
  6. "Libertarian Convention Nomination Speeches". C-SPAN Video Library. July 6, 1996. Retrieved May 27, 2012.
  7. "Libertarian Convention Acceptance Speeches". C-SPAN Video Library. July 6, 1996. Retrieved May 27, 2012.
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