OFFICIAL BYLAWS
Warren County Democratic Committee
Democratic Party of Virginia
Article I: Name
This Committee shall be known as the Warren County Democratic Committee (WCDC).
Article II: Authority
1.The WCDC is created under the authority of and in accordance with the Democratic Party of Virginia State Party Plan. The State Party Plan of September 13, 2008
specifies that the Democratic Committee in each county or city shall prepare bylaws to govern its activities.
2. These Bylaws are adopted by the Committee under the authority of the Plan of Organization and the Plan of the Democratic Party of Virginia and shall continue in effect subject to amendment as provided for in Article XIII of these Bylaws. Where these Bylaws are, in any way, not as all encompassing as the State Party Plan or, if they are in conflict with such plan, the instructions given in the Party plan shall guide the actions of the WCDC.
Article III: Statement of Principles
The principles for which the WCDC stands are:
1. To work toward a government at federal, state and local levels which will fairly represent the interests of all persons within Warren County.
2. To support and foster public institutions, including the public schools that improve the quality of life in Warren County.
3.To protect our environment and our natural resources.
4.To encourage the political participation of all who share our Democratic perspective.
Article IV: Purposes and Objectives
The WCDC shall:
1. Have full charge of the affairs of the Democratic Party within Warren County;
2. Support candidates once they have become official nominees of the Democratic Party;
3. Have full control of the Party’s interests in all primary, general, and special elections in Warren County and shall do all within its power to aid in the victory of Party candidates and positions in elections.
4. Actively organize efforts to increase voter registration and voting in Warren County, work to perfect the Democratic organization in Warren County, and promote and engage in those activities in furtherance of the goals of the WCDC and the Democratic Party of Virginia, or the candidates they have endorsed.
Article V: Membership
1.The WCDC shall consist of those members elected by the Democratic Voters of Warren County and those members, elected by the Committee itself subsequent to election by the Democratic voters of Warren County.
2. There shall be no limit on the number of members who actively serve on the WCDC. Every effort shall be made to insure that each of the five Magisterial Districts is well represented, as well as each of the precincts within those Districts.
3.When the WCDC is to be reconstituted by the Democratic voters of Warren County, the WCDC chair shall implement the Rules for the Committee Reorganization Caucus adopted for such reorganization. These Rules shall be adopted by two-thirds (2/3) vote of voting members present at a regular or special meeting conducted prior to such reorganization. The Rules shall indicate the time, place, and manner of election, the basis of representation, filing fees, if any, and the time, place and manner of filing declarations of candidacy for election to the WCDC if such is required. The Chair of the WCDC shall cause ample public notice of all these matters to be made in order that maximum participation of the Democratic Voters of Warren County may be encouraged.
4. Membership applications will be accepted from persons who declare themselves Democrats, pledge to support Democratic candidates and who reside in and are registered to vote in Warren County.
5. The WCDC shall assess regular annual dues of $20.00, which shall be paid on a voluntary basis by members of the WCDC.
6. The WCDC shall have the right to remove anyone from membership for failure to uphold the rules and principles of the Democratic Party of Virginia (particularly as set forth in the State Party Plan).
Article VI: Officers
1. Elected Officers: Within forty (40) days of the biennial organizational meeting, the WCDC shall elect the following officers: Chair, Vice-chair, Secretary, and Treasurer. Such elections shall be by secret ballot, except when a candidate or slate of candidates is unopposed.
2. Standing Committee Chairs: The Chair of the WCDC shall nominate chairs to head the following standing committees. These nominees will assume leadership of their respective committees after election by the WCDC.
a. Finance
b. Information Technology/Communications
c. Activities & Fundraising
d. District Operations
3. Magisterial District Captains:
a. Within forty (40) days of the biennial organization meeting, the District Operations Chair shall nominate the Magisterial District Captains, one (1) for each of the five (5) Magisterial Districts in Warren County. Such nominees shall assume leadership of their respective Magisterial Districts after election by the WCDC.
b. Magisterial District captains shall call meetings of their respective magisterial district committee members at least annually, and additionally as directed by the WCDC Chair or the Chair of the District Operations Committee.
4. Ad Hoc Committee Chairs:
The Chair may appoint, at his or her discretion, such ad hoc committees, as he or she deems necessary, and appoint their chairs.
5. Removal from Office: Any officer or chair of a standing committee shall be subject to removal from office if the Executive Committee finds that the officer is guilty of misfeasance, malfeasance, or willful neglect of duty required by the office, and reports the finding to the full WCDC. Removal shall be by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the WCDC members present. The vote shall be taken by secret ballot, taken in closed session. The Chair of the WCDC must notify the officer in question in writing of the finding of the Executive Committee no more than twenty (20) or no less than ten (10) days before any regular or special meeting is to take place to consider such an action. The officer in question shall be afforded the right to be heard and to refute any finding made against him or her by the Executive Committee before any vote is taken.
Article VII: Executive Committee
1. The Executive Committee shall consist of the Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary and Treasurer.
2. The Executive Committee shall:
a. develop plans for future WCDC activities;
b. prepare agenda items for WCDC meetings, and
c. act on behalf of the WCDC between regular meetings of the WCDC, as necessary,
3. The Executive Committee is authorized to evaluate the activities, aims, and policies of the WCDC, and submit recommendations, based on such evaluations, to the WCDC.
Article VIII: Duties of the Officers
1. The Chair shall:
a. Preside at all meetings of both the WCDC and the Executive Committee, unless the Vice Chair or other WCDC member has been designated to preside;
b. Nominate all chairs of standing committees;
c. Appoint chairs to ad hoc committees;
d. Act as the chief executive officer of the WCDC;
e. Be an ex-officio member of all committees of the WCDC and may designate a representative to attend meetings of such committees.
f. Be the spokesperson for the WCDC and for the Democratic Party in Warren County.
g. Attend or appoint a representative to attend such State and 10th Congressional District Democratic Party meetings as he or she shall consider appropriate.
h. Appoint members to special positions within the WCDC to undertake ongoing or special projects, such as a Registrar of Voter Records, Sergeant-at-Arms or a Parliamentarian.
2. The Vice Chair shall:
Preside at all meetings of both the WCDC and the Executive Committee in the absence of the Chair, or when designated by the Chair to preside, and perform such other duties as may be assigned by the Chair.
3. The Secretary shall:
a. Keep minutes of all meetings of both the WCDC and Executive Committee;
b. Keep records of attendance at all WCDC meetings
c. Keep faithful records of all correspondence received and sent
d. Keep all records organized in an accurate and orderly way
e. Give all notices in accordance with these by-laws and make copies of minutes and all other records available to all members of the WCDC upon request
f. Perform such other duties as may be assigned by the Chair or the WCDC
g. Appoint an Assistant Secretary at his or her discretion
4. The Treasurer shall:
a. Keep accurate and faithful records of all monies spent and received by the WCDC
b. Provide a financial report at every WCDC meeting, or when otherwise requested by the WCDC;
c. Pay the Expenses incurred by the WCDC as budgeted or when authorized by the Executive Committee
d. Prepare appropriate financial documents required by the County committee.
Article IX: Standing Committees
1. Finance: The Finance Committee shall assist in formulating the annual budget, participate in implementing the finance plan, evaluate the committee’s fundraising activities and advise on ways to improve.
2. Information Technology/Communications: The Information Technology/Communications Committee shall, in cooperation with the other Standing Committees and the Secretary develop and maintain a website and mailing list to involve citizens of Warren County in the Democratic Party. The Information Technology/Communications Committee shall, with the approval of the Chair of the WCDC, furnish press releases to media and make use of such other means of communication as may be available and appropriate.
3. Activities &Fundraising: The Activities &Fundraising Committee shall, in cooperation with the Executive Committee of the WCDC, plan such fundraising events as may be appropriate for supporting the activities of the WCDC.
4. District Operations: The District Operations Committee shall organize each district and consider problems and issues that surface in their respective districts. It shall develop lists of Democratic voters and take appropriate action to get out the vote and staff polling places at election time.
Article X: Steering Committee
The Steering Committee will assist with the coordination between the District, State and Local Committee. The Steering Committee shall consist of the elected officers of the local committee, the member of the Tenth District State Central Committee and the past Chairperson of the County Committee. The Steering Committee will meet within four weeks but not less than one week before each regularly scheduled meeting of the WCDC and at other times called by the Chairperson of the WCDC who shall be the Chairperson of the Steering Committee. All resolutions must submitted to the Steering Committee prior to being offered to the full committee, except in the case of an emergency, when two thirds of those present and voting may set aside this provision.
Article XI: Budget
1. An annual budget identifying the anticipated revenues and expenditures operation of the WCDC during the ensuing year will be prepared and submitted by the Chair and Executive Committee for consideration by their March meeting. The Executive Committee will present to proposed budget to the WCDC not later than the regularly scheduled meeting in April of each year for consideration. Until such time as the budget is passed, the Chair may spend or commit monies to keep the WCDC functioning not to exceed the cost of an office if WCDC is within the terms of a lease and an additional $250 per month. The subsequent approved budget is to account for all of these initial expenditures.
2. The persons responsible for the various budget categories may incur expenses pursuant to the approved budget. Any proposed expenditure in excess of the total budgeted for the year in any category shall be undertaken only with the prior approval of the Executive Committee, if a proposed excess expenditure is greater than 15% of the budgeted category amount for the year, it must be approved by the full WCDC.
3. An audit will be performed biannually by at least two people chosen by the Chair from among WCDC members who are not part of the Executive Committee. The findings of the Audit Committee will be reported to the WCDC at the next regularly scheduled meeting following the audit.
Article XII: Meetings
1. The WCDC shall meet on the second Tuesday of each month, at a time and place to be specified by the Chair. The WCDC may amend this schedule if it so desires.
2. In addition, meetings of the WCDC may be held:
a. Upon the call of the Chair whenever it is in the interest of the Party, or
b. Within fifteen (15) days following receipt by the Chair of a written request, signed by at least ten percent (10%) of the membership, stating the purpose for which a meeting is requested, or
c. At such times and places as a majority of the membership at a properly convened meeting of the WCDC may determine.
3. Within forty (40) days following the election of members as required in Article V, the new Committee shall meet and organize by electing officers in accordance with the Reorganization Rules as noted in Article V, Section 3. Within thirty (30) days of the election of officers, the outgoing officers are required to turn over to the newly elected officers all records, correspondence, financial records, and other property belonging to the WCDC.
4. All WCDC meetings shall be open to the public and to the press, except that any particular meeting or portion thereof may be held in executive session when requested by a majority of the WCDC then present.
Article XIII: Amendment of Bylaws
These Bylaws may be amended by the WCDC at any regular or special meeting called for that purpose, provided that a quorum is present. A two-thirds (2/3) vote of those present and voting shall be required for the adoption of an amendment. Any proposed amendments to the Bylaws must have been disseminated in writing or electronically to the entire membership at least ten (10) days prior to the meeting at which action on the proposal is taken. Whenever proposed amendments cannot be voted on because of a lack of a quorum, the proposed changes shall be carried forward as a special order of business to the next meeting of the WCDC, and no further notice to the membership of such proposed amendments shall be required.
Article XIV: Parliamentary Authority
1. The rules in Robert’s Rules of Order NEWLY REVISED 10th Edition shall govern the WCDC in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with the Party Plan of the Democratic Party of Virginia, these Bylaws, or any special rules of order the WCDC may adopt.
2. To the extent any meeting or convention is under control or authority of the WCDC, there shall be no vote cast by proxy, and the unit rule is abolished in respect to its activities.
Article XV: Quorum
1. A quorum shall consist of thirty (30) percent of the active members of WCDC.
2. A quorum shall be required before the WCDC conducts any business.
3. Since the WCDC is an open committee, with no limit on the number of its members, as provided in Article V, Section 2, it shall be the duty of the Secretary at each meeting to determine the number of active WCDC members. For this purpose, the unexcused absence of a member for three (3) consecutive meetings shall result in his or her designation as inactive, and therefore not to be included in the total number of members on which the determination of a quorum is based.
Article XVI: Endorsements
The WCDC, as a committee, shall not endorse any candidate in any primary election, caucus, or convention.
