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 presidential election | |
.jpg) .jpg) Nominees Browne and Jorgensen | |
| Convention | |
|---|---|
| Date(s) | July 5–8, 1996 |
| City | Washington, DC |
| Candidates | |
| Presidential nominee | Harry Browne of Tennessee |
| Vice presidential nominee | Jo 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%[a] 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%[b] 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%[c] 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]
| Candidate | Total votes cast | Percent of votes cast | ||||||||||
| Harry Browne | 416 | 69.1% | ||||||||||
| Rick Tompkins | 74 | 12.3% | ||||||||||
| None of the Above | 60 | 10.0% | ||||||||||
| Irwin Schiff | 32 | 5.3% | ||||||||||
| Doug Ohmen | 20 | 3.3% | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
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
| Candidate | Total votes cast | Percent of votes cast | |||||||
| Jo Jorgensen | 459 | 92.7% | |||||||
| None of the Above | 36 | 7.3% | |||||||
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