Professional Documents
Culture Documents
In order to promote a better America – with equality, opportunity, and freedom – within a just
and strong society, we dedicate ourselves to organizing the participation of Democratic college
students in the State of New York. Our mission as a student organization is to help elect
Democrats from the grassroots level up, train and engage new generations of democratic student
activists, shape the Democratic Party with voices from America's youth, and to become a potent
political voice on the issues that impact the student population. In this mission, we call for full
participation of all New York students, regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, national origin,
religion, physical handicap, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation or gender identity.
Understanding the importance of participation in the Democratic Party to the preservation of our
values and principles, we, Democratic college students, do hereby associate ourselves and adopt
this Constitution as the College Democrats of New York. The College Democrats of New York is
the official student outreach arm of the New York State Democratic Committee and is part of the
College Democrats of America, the official student outreach arm of the Democratic National
Committee.
B. The State Council shall be the official voice of chapters within CDNY and shall advise
the Executive Board on the direction and goals of CDNY
C. The chartered Campus Chapters shall be the most basic and fundamental unit within
CDNY.
D. The membership at large shall be composed of all the members of the chartered chapters
as well as and college students wishing to be known as College Democrats at institutions
in New York that lack a chartered chapter. These individuals must who have the best
interests of the Democratic Party, College Democrats of America, and CDNY at heart,
regardless of sex, race, ethnic origin, religion, physical handicap, socioeconomic status,
or sexual orientation.
A. Attend Executive Board meetings, assist in determining the directions and goals of
CDNY and provide monthly reports to the Chair on the first Sunday of every month;
B. Along with the President and Development Director, be responsible for the
implementation of the financial goals of the CDNY as set by the Executive Board;
C. Along with the Development Director, report to the President on the financial
outlook of the organization;
D. Maintain CDNY's financial records;
E. Have the power to approve all expenditures up to $50. Any expenditure in excess of
$50 must be approved by a majority Executive Board vote;
F. Set fundraising goals for CDNY and work with the President and Development
Director to reach those goals;
G. Maintain organizational compliancy with the Federal Election Commission (FEC);
and
H. Perform such duties as the President may assign and take on projects of his or
her choosing with consent of the President.
Section XIII. Meetings: The Executive Board shall meet on a regular basis determined by the
President or the majority of the Executive Board. Three (3) days notice of said meeting must be
given no later than five (5) complete days prior to the scheduled meeting to all Executive Board
members.
Section XIV. Annual Strategic Plan: No later than one month following the State Convention,
the Executive Board shall establish a set of goals for the year in which every officer will be
assigned official duties. All officers will be required to submit bi-monthly written reports on the
first Sunday of every month to the President Executive Board detailing their pursuit of these
objectives.
Section XV. Quorum: A quorum of the Executive Board shall be a majority of the elected
officers of the Executive Board members present, in person, by conference calls, or by electronic
communication.
Section XVI. Vacancies: A vacancy shall be declared when a member of the Executive Board
dies, resigns, or is removed from office. If the vacancy is in any position other than the President,
the President shall nominate appoint a successor who shall take office upon confirmation by a
with the majority vote consent of the remaining Executive Board and the majority consent of the
State Council. If the Chair of any particular region is vacant, then the Vice-President shall decide
what Regional Chair shall be Chair of the Region lacking a Chair until a successor is
nominated and confirmed, with the majority consent of the incoming Executive Board and the
majority consent of the State Council. The President's decision should be primarily based on the
geographic location of the vacant region.
If position of the President becomes vacant, the CDNY Executive Board shall refer to the line of
succession listed in Article 2, Section XVII, Part C.
Section XVII. Removal: Executive Board members may be removed in the following manner:
A. Cause for Removal: Cause for removal shall be defined as malfeasance, misfeasance,
or nonfeasance of constitutionally-assigned duties, being convicted of a felony, or
upon other grounds found by all of the other members of the Executive Board to
constitute good and sufficient cause;
B. Process for Removal: To begin the process for removal, a member of the Executive
Board must make a motion for removal. After the motion is seconded, it will
automatically be layed on the table with no vote. The officer being removed must be
contacted that a motion for removal has been made and that it will be voted on at the
next meeting. Motion will come to a vote at the next schedule meeting. The motion
for removal needs two-thirds majority of the Executive Board.
C. Line of Succession: In case of the removal of the President from office or of his death
or resignation, the line of succession is as follows: the Vice President, the Political
Director, the Secretary, the Communications Director, the Finance Director, the
Development Director, the seven regions chairs in order of length of service to
CDNY.
Article 8: Amendments
Section I. Procedures: This constitution can be amended by:
A. The Constitutional Committee shall advise the membership on revisions and amendments
to the CDNY Constitution annually at the State Convention. A two-thirds (2/3) vote at the
State Convention of those chartered Chapters present. For these purposes, each chartered
Chapter shall have one vote;
B. Unanimous vote in favor in two consecutive Executive Board meetings, provided that the
chartered chapters later vote by a majority in favor of the Amendment.
Amendment I
All members of the executive board and of all chapters of CDNY are expected to act in a moral
and ethical manner at all times when acting in their official capacity as members of CDNY.
Acting in a blatantly unethical manner can result in removal from office under the rules provided
in Article 2 Section VII.
Amendment II
An executive board member acting in an official capacity must share any and all information
received from national candidates with the chapters of CDNY, regardless of individual or other
preferences without expressing any bias or the exertion of undue influence. Any executive board
member found to have purposely withheld information on any candidates to aid one candidate
over another, can be removed from office under the rules provided in Article 2 Section VII
Amendment III
As of the 2009 CDNY Convention, the positions of Vice-President, Development Director,
and Membership Director, shall become elected positions. The duties of these offices are
listed in Article 2, Sections IV, VIII, and IX respectively.