An open letter to Luke Richards, a.k.a. 'Hypnotic Monkey'

Dear Luke,

Thank you for your comments. Whilst I understand the points that you make, I have to disagree as to their import. Taking your first post;

Assume for a moment:

Gordon Brown called the GE and it is taking place in 2 weeks. Every moment is vital and Liberal Youth own a printer, folder and stuffing machine that works at light speed. It would be a waste of time to open every request for a ballot and return them in dribs and drabs, so the exec decide to just print all the ballots and post them out to every member, for expediency. Rule that unconstitutional, would you?

I don't have to rule it as unconstitutional because it still is. Producing endless variations on the circumstances doesn't actually change what the Constitution says, and the Constitution is as members of Liberal Youth have chosen it to be. However, your example is flawed.

There is a minimum period in which an General Election can take place. It's rather longer than two weeks and the de minimis schedule can be found here. However, in the event that a General Election had been called, would you seriously expect a Liberal Youth election to proceed? As Returning Officer, I would consult senior figures in the Party and, in all likelihood, postpone any election until afterwards. And yes, I understand that such an act would be unconstitutional, which is kind of ironic, isn't it? But you know something, I don't think that anyone would complain, at least nobody with the interests of the Party at heart.

At the end of the day, 9.7 is there to ensure a basic minimum - that those who can't attend conference can still vote.

The 19th Ammendment to the US constitution reads:

"The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex."

This doesn't mean it's unconstitutional for a specific state to pass a law to have universal automatic voter registration, it just provides a basic minimum right.

No, Article 9.7 was designed for an organisation where Officers and General Executive members didn't resign at a rate of one every three weeks (I believe that that is the average period of time between resignations since 1 July 2008 but am happy to stand corrected). And whilst your quotation of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States is entirely accurate, nobody is being denied the right to vote, merely that they will have to take an action to allow them to do so.

In short, your argument implies that members are being denied the right to vote. That argument, carried to its logical conclusion, means that all elections held in this country are invalid, as people have to either apply for a postal vote in advance, or go to a polling station. Indeed, if they have not registered to vote, they don't get to take part at all. If you are suggesting that, you have a campaign to run, because this country is, on that measure, not a democracy.

So, Luke, I'm sorry, but I didn't sit up until three in the morning, making sure that my position is a secure one, only to be dissuaded from it by someone who has a gut feeling that they would rather have things differently but cannot express it in a way that reflects the Constitution of Liberal Youth. Of course, you can always change that Constitution...