CALIFORNIA DEMOCRATIC PARTY STATE CENTRAL COMMITTEE BY-LAWS

(amended 10/2005, printed 10/2005)
[http://www.cadem.org
BYLAWSANDRULES.PDF]

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ARTICLE VI: ASSEMBLY DISTRICTS AND ASSEMBLY DISTRICT ELECTION MEETINGS

* Previously, the California Democratic Party was organized by Assembly District Committees, which last re-organized in January 2005. At an Executive Board meeting on October 2, 2005, these By-Laws were amended to remove Assembly District Committees and add election of future delegates from Assembly Districts by Assembly District Election Meetings. In passing this amendment, the effective Date for this change is November 15, 2006. Nothing in this section shall prevent chartering of qualified organizations under the Article X (Chartering) amendment which was adopted by the Executive Board on July 30, 2005. The prior By-Laws regarding Assembly District Committees are not printed here, but remain in effect until November 15, 2006, and reference must be had to them for any issues concerning AD Committees until the effective date.

Section 1. ASSEMBLY DISTRICT ELECTION MEETINGS

a. Regular, biennial Assembly District Election Meetings shall be held within each Assembly District in the State:

(1) The Election Meetings shall be held at 2 p.m. on the second Sunday in January in odd-numbered years.

(2) Persons eligible to participate shall be all registered Democrats residing in the Assembly District who were eligible to participate as such in the preceding General Election; provided however, that if a person turned 18, or became a United States citizen by virtue of naturalization, after the last day for registration for said election, execution on the day of the Election Meeting of a legally valid voter registration form showing a residence within the Assembly District shall constitute prima facie evidence of eligibility to participate.

(3) The Convener of the Election Meeting shall be the current Assembly District Representative to the Executive Board or, if none or if more than one resides in the Assembly District due to reapportionment, the designee of the Chair of This Committee.

(4) The Convener of the Election Meeting may request a variance from the date and time of the Election Meeting as set out in Article VI, section 2(a)(1) to another time during the second weekend in January in odd-numbered years, by filing an application with the State Chair by November 1 of the year proceeding the holding of the Election Meeting showing good cause for such a variance. "Good cause" may include the necessity of traveling very long distances or in hazardous weather conditions. The State Chair must reply by November 10.

b. The Convener shall, no later than December 1 of the year preceding the holding of the Election Meeting, notify the Chair of This Committee of the date, time, and place of the Election Meeting. Failure to do so by that date shall empower the Chair of This Committee to designate a new Convener who shall provide such notice no later that December 17 of the year preceding the holding of the Election Meeting. The Chair of This Committee shall post this information on the Party’s website.

c. The Convener shall make every reasonable effort to make known to all registered Democrats in the District of the date, time, place, and purpose of the Election Meeting, the rules for participation in the Election Meeting, and the filing deadlines and rules for candidates for delegate, by transmitting notice of the Election Meeting no later than December 21 of the year preceding the holding of the Election Meeting to the following persons:

(1) All members of This Committee residing in the District (to be obtained from the Secretary of This Committee).

(2) All members of the County Committee residing in the District (if one or more counties lie wholly within the District, then the notice shall be transmitted to all members of those County Committees) (to be obtained from the Chairs of any County Committees which lie wholly or in part within the Assembly District).

(3) All attendees of the previous Assembly District Election Meeting (to be obtained from the Secretary of This Committee).

d. Proof of compliance with the provisions of the preceding subsection shall create a rebuttable presumption of compliance with Article X, sections 3, 5 and 6.

e. The Convener or his or her designee shall preside at the Election Meeting as chair.

f. A registration fee for all voting participants, for the purpose of defraying the cost of the Election Meeting, shall be collected. Such fee shall not exceed five dollars ($5.00). The registration fee shall be waived for those participants who claim economic hardship.

g. A list of names, addresses, e-mail addresses, and phones of all persons attending the Election Meeting as participants shall be forwarded by the Convener to the Chair of This Committee within three days after the Election Meeting is held.

h. Each Election Meeting participant shall be asked, on a form provided by the Secretary of This Committee, to indicate his or her willingness to assume an organizational responsibility for one or more precincts within the district or to assume another specified organizational responsibility for the Party. Copies of a list of the persons so expressing such willingness to assume responsibility and of the responsibility each person is agreed to assume shall be sent by the Convener to the Chair of This Committee and the Chair(s) of the appropriate County Committee(s).

i.. The Rules Committee of This Committee shall promulgate procedures governing the conduct of the Election Meeting, including the election of 12 delegates to This Committee as set forth in Article III, section 5, and one representative to the Executive Board, as set forth in Article VII, section 2(c), which Rules shall include, for candidates for delegate, a filing period 12 days prior to the biennial Assembly District Election Meetings and call for the posting of eligible delegate names on the Party's WEB Page.

j. The Convener shall transmit to the Chair of This Committee the names and titles of those elected pursuant to the previous paragraph.

k. Assembly District Representatives to the State Executive Board.

(1) An Assembly District Representative to the State Executive Board shall be chosen at each Assembly District Election Meeting from among those persons who will be delegates (resident in the respective Assembly District) to the forthcoming biennial convention of This Committee by virtue of being a member of This Committee pursuant to Article II, Section 2b, 2d, 2e; Article II, Section 3; or Article II, Section 5.

(2) In the event that an Assembly District has not been represented at two successive meetings of the Executive Board, the Representative shall be subject to removal from the board upon notification of the Regional Director in whose region the Assembly District is contained.

-- Raymond Lutz - 17 Nov 2006