BY-LAWS OF:

Eastern Connecticut Young Democrats ADOPTED: February 15, 2014

Eastern Connecticut Young Democrats By-laws

Table of Contents Article I: Name and Affiliation Article II: Membership Article III: Officers and Elections Article IV: Voting Article V: Meetings Article VI: Meeting Minutes and Reports Article VII: Structure of ECYD Article VIII: Endorsement of a Candidate Article IX: Amending the By-laws Article X: Conflict in By Laws Article XI: Effective Date

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Eastern Connecticut Young Democrats By-laws

Preamble: Whereas, persons interested in becoming involved in the Democratic Party in Eastern Connecticut, who wish to stimulate the interest of young people in government affairs, promote the involvement of young people in the political process, educate young voters, advocate for policies and practices consistent with the highest principles of the Democratic Party, to support candidates for office who articulate such principles and perpetuate the ideals of justice and social welfare, such persons do hereby associate themselves together to form the Eastern Connecticut Young Democrats and establish the hereafter stated By-Laws. Article I: Name and Affiliation Section 1: Name A. This organization shall be known as the Eastern Connecticut Young Democrats (ECYD). Section 2: Affiliation A. This organization will actively seek to involve persons between the ages of fourteen (14) and thirty-six (36) in the political process. This includes candidate development, elections and campaigns, advocacy, and fundraising. B. This organization shall affiliate as a Chapter of the Connecticut Young Democrats. Article II: Membership Section 1: Membership Restrictions A. Regular memberships in ECYD shall be open to persons who are at least fourteen (14) years of age and not more than thirty-six (36) years of age. B. Persons over the age of thirty-six (36) shall, at the discretion of the Executive Board, be deemed honorary members of ECYD. C. No person shall be excluded from membership because of sex, race, creed, religion, disability, national origin, sexual orientation, or economic status. D. No member may be a member of more than one Chapter, with the exception of sub-chapters. The most recent date of Chapter membership shall be binding unless the member in question expresses a choice to have

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Eastern Connecticut Young Democrats By-laws

another Chapter make a claim for his or her membership. If over eighteen (18) years of age old, members must be a registered Democratic voter. Section 2: Eligibility for Office A. Every regular member of the ECYD chapter shall be eligible for any elected or appointed office in this organization. B. A regular member shall be defined as persons who attend 2 of the previous 3 meetings, or have an attendance of 66.66% overall. Section 3: Chapter Representatives A. The ECYD chapter must select two (2) members, one (1) male, and one (1) female as Representatives to the State Caucus. This cannot include the President, Vice President, or any other officer in the local Chapter. A President, Vice President or any other officer in the chapter may serve as a temporary Representative. Article III: Officers & Elections Section 1: Definition of Officers A. Officers shall include one (1) President, (1) Vice President, and (1) Secretary. B. The President shall preside over meetings and represent ECYD as needed.
C.

The Vice President shall preside over meetings in the President's absence and shall represent ECYD as needed.

D. The Secretary shall take minutes of each meeting and shall distribute them per Article III of these By-laws. The secretary shall maintain the membership list and take attendance at each meeting. E. Additional officers may be added as needed by a majority vote of the members present at any regular meeting. Section 2: Requirements of Elected and Appointed Officers A. Always act in the best interest of ECYD in carrying out the duties of his/her office. B. Deliver oral reports at each State Caucus meeting if requested.

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C. Attend all meetings and special activities necessary for the effective operation of the chapter. D. Ensure all committees and subcommittees, standing and ad-hoc, submit minutes to the Secretary within ten (10) days of said meeting. Section 3: Elections
A.

The chapter President, Vice President, Secretary, and the two (2) Chapter Representatives (as defined in Article II Section 3) shall be elected annually at the January meeting by the membership.

Section 4: Candidates for Officer Positions A. All candidates for the chapters offices shall file their "intent to run" with the Chapter Secretary at least thirty (30) days prior to Election. Section 5: Terms of Office A. Officers elected shall take office on February 1 following the January meeting defined in Section 3 of this Article.
B.

Terms of office shall last one (1) year and shall end on January 31 of the following year.

C. A vacancy created from an state officer who aged out (over the age of 36 years old), shall be treated as a vacancy outlined in Section 6 of this Article. Section 6: Vacancies A. Vacancy in any of the five (5) Executive offices shall be filled by a majority vote at a meeting of the membership, which shall be called with at least two (2) weeks notice from the Secretary.
B.

Candidates for vacancy must submit in writing, to the Secretary, their intent to run 15 days prior to the next Chapter meeting. The Secretary shall provide a list of voting members to the candidates.

C. At his/her discretion, the President may appoint a member to fill a vacancy in the interim period before the meeting to elect an officer to fill the vacancy, defined in subsections A and B of this section. D. If the President position is vacant, the Vice President shall temporarily fill the vacancy until such time as the Chapter elects a replacement.
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E. Any person elected to fill a vacancy shall serve the remainder of the original term. F. For the office of Chapter Representative, the person filling the vacancy must be of the same gender as the person being replaced. Section 5: Removal A. Any chapter officer or member may be removed by two-thirds (2/3rds) vote of the Chapter. B. Written charges are provided against the officer or member to every member of the chapter at least thirty (30) days in advance of meeting at which the removal shall be moved. C. The officer or member shall be given the opportunity to answer said charges and to know the identity of their accuser(s). Notification by certified mail to all known addresses shall be deemed as an invitation to answer such charges and shall constitute sufficient notice. D. A quorum of the chapter membership must be present for removal. E. A motion for removal, if passed, shall take effect immediately, at which time a vacancy shall be declared. Article IV: Voting Section 1: Eligible voters A. Eligible voters for all elections at the meetings of the ECYD shall be defined as: 1. All Officers 2. Voting members (Non Officers). B. Eligible voters for all business at the meetings of the ECYD shall be defined as: 1. All Members of the ECYD present at the meeting. Section 2: Voting members A. Voting members attend 2 of the previous 3 meetings, or have an attendance of 66.66% overall. Section 3: Quorum A. The definition of a quorum shall be equal to two-fifth (2/5ths) of the voting members of the ECYD.

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Section 4: Proxies A. The Secretary must receive a written proxy authorization from the excused party before the voting portion of the meeting begins. B. Officers may designate any ECYD as their proxy holder. C. Voting members (non officers) are not permitted to designate proxy voters. Section 5: Submittal of Votes A. An approved copy of final Chapter votes shall be e-mailed in an approved format to the State Secretary within 10 days of the meeting. Article V: Meetings Section 1: Holidays A. No meetings or events shall be held on a state or religious holiday. If a scheduled meeting date or event falls on a state holiday, the committee shall determine an alternate date for that meeting or event unless otherwise voted. Section 2: Robert's Rules of Order B. The most recent edition of Robert's Rules of Order shall govern the proceedings of all meetings of the ECYD. Section 3: Meetings A. Annual Meeting Calendars shall be determined for the year each January. The Chapter shall meet at least on a bi-monthly basis. Additional meetings may be called at the discretion of the President. B. The Secretary shall email agendas for each meeting to the membership at least seven (7) days in advance. C. ECYD shall make a reasonable effort to hold meetings in a geographically diverse area. Section 4: Public Meetings

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Eastern Connecticut Young Democrats By-laws

A. All public meetings at all levels of the Connecticut Young Democrats should be open to all members regardless of race, sex, color, creed, national origin, religion, ethnic identity, sexual orientation, economic status, philosophical persuasion, or physical disability (hereinafter collectively referred to as "status"). B. The time and place for all public meetings of the Connecticut Young Democrats on all levels should be publicized fully and in such a manner as to assure timely notice to all interested persons. Such meetings must be held in places accessible to all Party members and large enough to accommodate all interested persons. Article VI: Meeting Minutes and Reports Section 1: Annual Report A. The Chapter shall submit written annual reports to the State Organization and Development Committee. This report shall include information regarding membership, meeting schedules, and noteworthy events. These reports shall be submitted annually on July 15. Section 2: Taking of Meeting Minutes A. The Secretary of the chapter shall maintain minutes of every meeting and distribute them to the members at least seven (7) days before the next meeting. Section 3: Submittal of Meeting Minutes A. ECYD submit an electronic copy of monthly minutes ten (10) days after said Chapter meeting. The State Organization and Development Committee shall receive written notice of any change to the minutes after they are adopted at the Chapter's following meeting. Article VII: Structure of ECYD Section 1: Organizational Structure & Geographic Area B. The five (5) ECYD Officers are to be based out of Eastern Connecticut as a whole and not of one particular municipality.

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Section 2: Committees & Sub-Chapters A. Committees and/or Sub-Chapters may be formed on an ad hoc basis by a majority vote at a regular meeting of the membership. B. Membership of committees and/or sub-chapters shall consist of regular members of ECYD in good standing. C. Officers of each Committee and/or Sub-Chapter shall consist of a Chair and a Secretary, and will be elected by a majority vote of the Committee/Sub-Chapter members at their first meeting. D. The Chair shall be responsible for organizing regular meetings, setting their agendas and administering the meetings as defined in Article VI. The chair shall also make a report of Committee/Sub-Chapter business at each meeting of ECYD. E. The Secretary shall keep minutes of each meeting and provide those minutes to the ECYD Secretary. S/he shall also notify committee/subchapter members of each meeting and distribute agendas via email. F. Committees and/or Sub-Chapters may be disbanded by a majority vote at a regular meeting of the membership. G. Committees and/or Sub-chapters and their officers shall follow all other stipulations of these bylaws. Article VIII: Endorsement of Candidates Section 1: Endorsement of Candidates A. ECYD may endorse and assist any non-statewide candidate for office, elected or appointed, by a majority vote of the voting membership present. Article IX: Amending the By-laws Section 1: Amending the By-laws A. This organization's By-laws may be amended by a majority vote of a quorum. Section 2: Notice

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A. Notice to amend the By-laws shall be given at least thirty (30) days prior to the meeting. Article X: Conflicts in By-laws Section 1: By-laws and Constitution of the Connecticut Young Democrats A. In the case of a conflict between the by-laws of the ECYD and the Bylaws or Constitution of the Connecticut Young Democrats, the official documents of the Connecticut Young Democrats will supersede those of the ECYD. Article XI: Effective Date Section 1: These By-laws will take effect on February 15, 2014.

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