Corporate Bylaws 2002-04-06

[History of Bylaws changes]

BYLAWS OF THE FREE STATE PROJECT

1. The Free State Project (FSP) shall not require dues or contributions of any kind for participation.
2. The FSP shall require all prospective participants to sign a Statement of Intent indicating:

a) that they will move to the state designated according to the rules laid out in these Bylaws,

b) that they will be bound by the Bylaws, and

c) that they will work toward a society in which the sole role of civil government is the protection of life, liberty, and property.

The Statement shall become void three years after the time of signing should the designation of the state not have occurred by that time.

3. Once 5,000 people have signed the Statement, voting shall commence on a state where all participants should move and register to vote, if they choose to vote. All sufficiently small states will be considered. The voting shall proceed according to the method of Cumulative Count.* All ballots shall be made public to avoid subterfuge; miscounted ballots shall be corrected before the outcome is officially declared.
4. Once 20,000 people have signed the Statement, participants in the FSP shall move to the state decided upon as expeditiously as possible and absolutely within five years of the crossing of the 20,000-signer threshold. Should the Project never attract 20,000 signers, the move shall be aborted. Participants shall concentrate their electoral efforts in a single political party, whose goal shall be to secure the governorship and majority control of all houses of the state legislature.
5. If these Bylaws are amended, anyone who has signed to an earlier version shall be given an opportunity to withdraw his consent.

*Cumulative Count is a method of voting by which each elector is allotted a certain number of points, say, 10. The elector may then allot these points among eligible candidates as he sees fit: for example, 5.6 to one state, 2.7 to another, 0.8 to another, and so on. The state with the most points after all electors’ ballots have been counted is declared the victor.