The Clallam County Democratic Central Committee is dedicated to increasing the interest of the citizens in their government; to informing the people of Clallam County of the goals and ideals of the Democratic Party and its candidates; and to extending opportunities for participation in the activities of the Democratic Party to all residents of Clallam County.
Index
Click on title to go to specific section.Policy Membership Precinct Committee Officers
Biennial Organizational Meeting Regular & Special Meetings
Elections Officers & Duties Removal of Officers
Terms of Office Executive Board Committees
Resolutions Endorsements Financial Procedures Amendments
Parliamentary Authority Publication Form of Proxy
ARTICLE I – NAME
The name of this organization shall be the "Clallam County Democratic Central Committee."
Section 1. This organization shall function continuously and shall operate under the applicable portions of the Charter and By-Laws of the Democratic Party of the State of Washington and of state and federal laws.
Section 2. It shall be the policy of this organization to contribute to the growth, development and influence of the Democratic Party and to increase Party responsibility by guaranteeing maximum participation, equal representation, and equal treatment of all.
Section 3. This organization shall support the platform of the Clallam County Democratic Party and those candidates who, by their records and reputations, are in general agreement with the platform and who have been endorsed by this organization.
ARTICLE III – MEMBERSHIP Return to Index
Section 1. All Clallam County Democratic precinct committee officers, whether elected, appointed, or acting shall be members of this organization. (2005)
Section 2. Any elected public official who resides in Clallam County and declares to be a Democrat and who agrees to have his or her name published as a Democrat shall be eligible for membership in this organization.
Section 3. The duly elected officers and trustees of this organization shall be eligible for membership in this organization. (1991)
ARTICLE IV – PRECINCT COMMITTEE OFFICERS Return to Index
Section 1. APPOINTED PRECINCT COMMITTEE OFFICER: Where no precinct committee officer is elected to serve, or a vacancy otherwise occurs, the Chair shall have the authority to fill such vacancy by appointment. The appointee must be a registered voter in the precinct as specified in RCW 29A.28.071. Appointed PCOs have the same rights and responsibilities as an Elected PCO. (2005)
Section 2. ACTING PRECINCT COMMITTEE OFFICER: An Acting PCO means an individual appointed by the County Chair to serve in a precinct (a) that does not have an Elected PCO or an Appointed PCO and (b) in which the individual does not reside. An individual ceases to be an Acting PCO upon the election of an Elected PCO or the appointment of an Appointed PCO for that precinct. (2005)
Section 3. Appointments must be approved by a majority vote of the Executive Board of the organization.
ARTICLE V - BIENNIAL ORGANIZATION MEETING Return to Index
Section 1. A biennial organization meeting shall be called not later than the second Saturday in January following the election of precinct committee officers. The Chair of the previous biennium shall call meeting in the same manner in which general meetings are called. (1991)
Section 2. An officer of the organization, described in Article VIII herein, shall convene the meeting and a Chair Pro-Tem shall be elected to preside until the election of the Chair.
Section 3. The main purpose of the organization meeting shall be to elect officers and to adopt By-Laws. The members may develop new By-Laws, amend the By-Laws in effect prior to the meeting, or confirm those By-Laws without amendment. Proxies will not be allowed at this meeting.
Section 4. Only elected precinct committee officers may vote for the executive board at the organizational meeting. (1991)
ARTICLE VI - REGULAR AND SPECIAL MEETINGS Return to Index
Section 1. The organization shall meet at least once every quarter at a time and place within the county determined by the Chair. Regular meetings shall be open to the public.
Section 2. Notice of each general meeting shall be given by the Chair not more than ten or fewer than five days prior to the meeting date. The notice shall adequately describe the date, time and place of the meeting, and include a copy of the minutes of the preceding meeting and other items as required by these bylaws. Notice shall be given by email sent to the member's email address on file with the organization, or mailed to the member's mailing address if the member has no email address on file with the organization.
Section 3. A quorum shall be necessary for the conduct of business at a general meeting. A quorum shall be reached where twenty-five percent (25%) of the members are present. A person submitting a proxy shall be considered to be "present" for the limited purpose of determining a quorum.
Section 4. Where a general meeting has been called and a quorum is not reached and a majority of the members of the Executive Board are present, the meeting may be considered an Executive Board meeting.
Section 5. Special meetings may be called upon notice to the membership mailed not more than ten or fewer than five days prior to the meeting date and signed by at least twenty (20) members of the organization. The meeting notice shall adequately describe the date, time and place of the special meeting, and the purpose for which the meeting has been called. Business conducted at a special meeting shall be limited to that described in the notice.
Section 6. A member is limited to one vote regardless of whether he or she holds more than one office in the organization.
Section 7. Proxy voting during regular and special meetings shall be allowed. Proxies should be provided to the chair and shall be substantially in the form shown in Appendix A to these By-Laws. A proxy may be given to only one person, and such person must reside in the same county commissioner district as the member issuing the proxy. A member may cast only his own vote and one proxy and proxies may not be used for election of officers and trustees.
Section 8. Except for the election of the executive board at the biennial reorganization meeting, there shall be no secret ballot. Each ballot shall be signed by the precinct officer or proxy holder, along with the name or number of the voter's precinct. (1991)
Section 9. Upon request of thirty percent (30%) of those eligible to vote, a roll call vote shall be made.
Section 10. The Chair shall provide written notice of all regular and special meetings to the press for publication. (1991)
Section 11. Meetings of the Executive Board and other committees may be conducted by means of remote communication through which all of the Executive Board or committee members have an opportunity to participate in such meeting if notice is hereby given of the meeting pursuant to these Bylaws, and the number of committee members participating in the meeting constitutes a quorum. Participation in a meeting by remote communication constitutes presence at the meeting. PCOs shall be notified by e-mail of the results of any such electronic meetings held by means of remote communication. As used in this section, the term "remote communication" means communication via e-mail, conference telephone, video conference, the Internet, or such other means by which persons not physically present in the same location may communicate with each other. (2007)
ARTICLE VII - ELECTIONS Return to Index
Section 1. Any member of this organization in good standing may vote on any item of business under consideration, with the exception that only precinct committee officers may vote on the following:
a. Election or removal of the Chair, Vice-Chair, members of the Executive Board and State Committee Officer.
b. Adoption of or amendment to these By-Laws; and
c. Filling vacancies in the legislature or county government.
d. Only elected precinct committee officers may elect officers and executive board at the biennial reorganization meeting. (1991)
Section 2. Formal nominations shall be made from the floor. Candidates may accept nominations either in person or in writing.
Section 3. Nominations and elections for each office shall be held one at a time in the order listed in Article VIII. Section 1. Three trustees shall be elected by the precinct committee officers of each county commissioner district. (1991) Each nomination may take up to five minutes, to include the candidate's speech and/or statement on his or her behalf.
Section 4. All officers shall be elected by a majority of those voting, including proxies. In the event that no person receives a majority on the first ballot, the person receiving the fewest votes and any candidate(s) receiving no votes shall be eliminated. On each successive vote, the same rule shall apply until one person receives a majority of the votes cast.
Section 5. Three trustees shall be elected by the precinct committee officers residing in the same County Commissioner District as the trustee.
ARTICLE VIII - OFFICERS AND DUTIES Return to Index
Section 1. The officers and trustees of this organization shall be the following: (1991)
a. Chair
b. Vice-Chair
c. Recording Secretary
d. Corresponding Secretary
e. Treasurer
f. State Committeewoman
g. State Committeeman
h. Nine (9) Trustees
i. President of the Clallam County Democratic Club (2003)
Section 2. The Chair and Vice-Chair shall be of opposite sexes.
Section 3. Any registered voter of Clallam County declaring to be a Democrat may serve as an officer or trustee. (1991)
Section 4. The duties of the officers shall be those normally associated with those offices, as well as any additional duties as the Chair may designate. (1991)
ARTICLE IX - REMOVAL OF OFFICERS Return to Index
Section 1. Any member of the executive board may be removed from office by a vote of two-thirds (2/3) of those members eligible to vote for the office and who are present. A vote to remove a member of the executive board may be taken at any regular or special meeting, subject to the notice requirements applicable only to special meetings.
Section 2. A new person may be elected at the same meeting an office is vacated subject to the notice requirements applicable to regular and special meetings. (1991)
ARTICLE X - TERMS OF OFFICE Return to Index
Section 1. Officers and trustees shall serve until the election of their replacement. (1991)
Section 2. In the event of a vacancy in any elected office of this organization, the executive board may appoint a member pro-tem to fill the vacancy until an election is held. An election shall be held to fill the vacancy at the next meeting of the organization. Notice of the election must be included in the meeting notice.
ARTICLE XI - EXECUTIVE BOARD Return to Index
Section 1. The Executive Board shall consist of all elected officers of the organization as set forth in Article VIII.
Section 2. The Executive Board shall meet at the call of the Chair.(1991) Notice must be provided each member of the Executive Board except where a regular place and date has been designated.
Section 3. A quorum for the conduct of business at a meeting of the Executive Board shall consist of five (5) members.(1991)
ARTICLE XII – COMMITTEES Return to Index
Section 1. The Chair shall establish and appoint members to serve on committees.
ARTICLE XIII – RESOLUTIONS Return to Index
Section 1. Any member of this organization may bring a resolution before any meeting of the organization provided he or she has provided the Chair with a copy of the resolution, in writing, at least fifteen (15) days prior to the meeting. The Chair shall include a copy or synopsis of the proposed resolution in the meeting notice. (1991)
Section 2. The provisions of Section 1 of this Article may be suspended by the membership upon a two-thirds (2/3) vote in favor. (1991)
ARTICLE XIV - ENDORSEMENT OF ISSUES AND CANDIDATES Return to Index
Section 1. This organization may endorse candidates for public office or ballot issues.
Section 2. Notice that the organization will consider endorsement of candidates or issues must be included in the meeting notice described in Article VI.
Section 3. The Executive Board may make recommendations to the membership for endorsements. Any such recommendations shall be considered prior to any other motion to endorse.
Section 4. Endorsement shall require a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the members present and voting. More than one candidate for the same office may be endorsed.
Section 5. Only those candidates with a declared affiliation with the Democratic Party who provide a written statement as to which parts they support of the latest platform of the Clallam County Democratic Convention may be endorsed. (1991)
ARTICLE XV - FINANCIAL PROCEDURES Return to Index
Section 1. No money shall be paid from the funds of this organization unless paid by check bearing the signature of the Treasurer.
Section 2. The Chair may authorize the disbursement of funds for routine expenses associated with hall rental, printing, postage and fundraising expenses of projects approved by the membership or the executive board.
Section 3. All expenditures not provided for by Section 2 must be approved by the membership or the executive board at a meeting of the organization.
Section 4. The books of the organization shall be audited at least every two years by the trustees or their authorized agent.
ARTICLE XVI – AMENDMENT Return to Index
Section 1. These By-Laws shall function continuously and may be amended by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the elected and appointed precinct committee officers at any meeting of this organization. Notice of the proposed amendments shall be provided in the meeting notice.
ARTICLE XVII – PARLIAMENTARY AUTHORITY Return to Index
Section 1. The current edition of Robert's Rules of Order Revised shall be the authority of parliamentary rule.
Adopted this ____________ day of _______________________________, 1989
__________________________________________
ChairAttested by the Secretary _______________________________________
ARTICLE XVIII –PUBLICATION Return to Index
Section 1. Each page of the Bay-Laws shall have the date of printing. (1991)
Section 2. Each amendment shall have the year of acceptance. (1991)
APPENDIX A: Form of Proxy Return to Index
CLALLAM COUNTY DEMOCRATIC CENTRAL COMMITTEE PROXY AUTHORIZATION
TO: The Chair of the Clallam County Democratic Central Committee
DATE:
CERTIFICATE OF ________________________________________________________
Precinct Committee Officer1. I am a member of the Clallam County Democratic Central Committee, and am eligible to vote at the meeting of that organization that has been called to convene on _____________________________.
2. I hereby authorize _________________________________________, a resident of my Commissioner District No. ____, to attend said meeting in my stead and to cast a vote or votes on my behalf on any matter which may arise as limited by the Bay-Laws of the Clallam County Democratic Central Committee. (1991)
3. I hereby hold the Chair, the organization, its officers and membership harmless in the instance that any dispute shall arise through the use of this proxy.
Signature___________________________________________
