Bylaws

CLATSOP COUNTY DEMOCRATIC CENTRAL COMMITTEE – BY-LAWS

ARTICLE I – NAME

The name of this organization shall be the Clatsop County Democratic Central Committee.

ARTICLE II – OBJECTIVE

Section 1. It shall be the objective of the Clatsop County Democratic Central Committee to further the aims of the Democratic Party, particularly to assist in the election of all Democratic candidates.

Section 2. The Clatsop County Democratic Central Committee shall ensure the widest and fairest representation of its members in its organization and activities. Rules shall be adopted by procedures that assure the fair and open participation of all interested Party members.

Section 3. Discrimination in conduct of Clatsop County Democratic Central Committee affairs on the basis of sex, race, age, religion, economic status or ethnic origins is prohibited. All Clatsop County Democratic Central Committee meetings shall be open to the public. All available media shall be used to publicize all meetings and functions in advance.

ARTICLE III – MEMBERS

Section 1. The Clatsop County Democratic Central Committee shall be composed of the Democratic precinct committee persons of Clatsop County.

Section 2. Precinct committee persons shall be elected in accordance with Oregon law. In those cases where no person is elected or vacancies occur after election, the Central Committee may fill vacancies by appointment. Appointment shall be made by majority vote of those present at a duly called meeting of the Central Committee.

ARTICLE IV – OFFICERS

Section 1. The Clatsop County Democratic Central Committee shall have a chairperson, vice-chairperson, secretary and treasurer. The chairperson and vice-chairperson shall be of different sexes.

Section 2. Any legally registered Democrat in Clatsop County shall be eligible to hold any office on the Central Committee.

Section 3. The chairperson shall preside at all meetings of the Central Committee and Executive Committee. The chairperson shall appoint, with the approval of the Central Committee, all standing committee members and such special committees as the chairperson or the Executive Committee may deem necessary. The chairperson shall be an ex-officio member of all committees except the nominating committee. The chairperson shall remain neutral in all national, state and local primary elections.

Section 4. The vice-chairperson shall preside in the absence of the chairperson, and as the chairperson when the office is vacated or until a successor is elected. The vice-chairperson shall assume other duties as assigned by the chairperson

Section 5. The secretary shall send out meeting notices and shall keep minutes of the meetings of both the Central Committee and the Executive Committee. Copies of the minutes shall be provided for the chairperson and shall be kept on file. The secretary shall also retain a correct record of the by-laws with changes and shall write appropriate correspondence as directed by the chairperson.

Section 6. The treasurer shall have custody of the funds of the Central Committee and shall keep an account of all receipts and expenditures. The treasurer shall issue checks only upon directions from the Executive Committee and with the co-signatures of the chairperson. The treasurer shall submit a written financial report at each Central Committee and Executive Committee meeting. The treasurer’s books shall be open to inspection on the written request of any member of the Central Committee. The inspection shall be offered no later than one week after the receipt of notice. The treasurer shall have the books ready for audit at the end of the terms of office or at any time upon demand of the Executive Committee. The treasurer shall be a member of the Finance Committee. The treasurer shall also maintain a petty cash fund, upon authorization of the Executive Committee, for incidental expenses.

ARTICLE V – NOMINATIONS AND ELECTIONS

Section 1. A nominating committee of three members shall be elected at the September meeting prior to the organizational meeting. The committee shall report at the October meeting and elections shall be held at the organizational meeting. Nominations from the floor will be accepted at the October and November meeting. Consent of any nominee must be obtained before placing his or her name in nomination.

Section 2. All officers shall be elected at the organizational meeting. The officers shall be elected for two years or until their successors are elected. Any vacancies for the offices of chairperson, vice—chairperson, secretary or treasurer shall be filled at the next meeting of the Central Committee, which shall be held within thirty days of the vacancy.

ARTICLE VI – MEETINGS

Section 1. The Clatsop County Democratic Central Committee shall meet monthly, except that by majority vote, one subsequent meeting may be canceled. In election year, one meeting shall be an organizational meeting, which shall be held within 45 days after the general election. Meetings may be called by the chairperson and must be called upon the request of the Executive Committee or by written request of ten members the Central Committee. This request for a meeting shall be submitted to the secretary specifying the date of the meeting. At least six days written notice of such a meeting shall be given to each precinct committee member together with an agenda of the principal matter proposed for consideration.

Section 2. A quorum for all meetings of the Central Committee shall consist of five members of the Clatsop County Democratic Central Committee.

Section 3. Each member of the Clatsop County Democratic Central Committee shall have one vote. Voting by proxy shall not be allowed.

Section 4. The Clatsop County Democratic Central Committee shall provide adequate notice in the meeting’s agenda and shall require a two-thirds vote of the members in attendance in order for a ballot measure to be endorsed or opposed. The CCDCC will be officially neutral on any measure that does not receive a two-thirds vote.

ARTICLE VII – EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Section 1. The Executive Committee shall consist of the elected officers and the chairpersons of the standing committees and the immediate past chairperson.

Section 2. Meetings of the Executive Committee shall be held at least once a month, except when the committee may vote to waive a meeting.

Section 3. A quorum shall be a majority of the members of the Executive Committee.

Section 4. The Executive Committee shall conduct all business between meetings of the Central Committee and any other business referred to it by the Central Committee.

Article VIII – Committees

Section 1. The Rules Committee will: review the Bylaws and Standing Rules on a regular basis and draft amendments as needed; review, make recommendations, and report to the Central Committee on proposed amendments to the Bylaws and Standing Rules.

ARTICLE IX – PARLIAMENTARY AUTHORITY

The rules contained in the current edition of Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised shall govern the Clatsop County Democratic Central Committee in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with these bylaws and any special rules of order that the Clatsop County Democratic Central Committee may adopt.

ARTICLE X – AMENDMENTS

These bylaws may be amended by two-thirds vote at any regular meeting provided previous written notice has been given at least one week in advance to each Clatsop County Democratic Central Committee member.

STANDING RULES

  1. Any member of the Executive Committee or a standing committee who has missed more than three consecutive meetings without adequate excuse shall be replaced with the appropriate action taken by the Clatsop County Democratic Central Committee.
  2. The Budget and Finance Standing Committee shall be responsible for preparing the budget in cooperation with the treasurer, for fund raising activities, and for the planning and implementation of a headquarters for the Clatsop County Democratic Central Committee.
  3. The standing rules may be amended or suspended at any meeting by a majority vote.

Rules Regarding CCDCC Elections for Officers and Delegates

  1. The CCDCC has no automatic delegates either to the State Central Committee or to the 1st District Congressional District Committee.
  2. There will be separate delegate and alternate delegate voting.  The ballots for the delegate and alternate delegate votes should list all candidates, regardless of gender.
  3. Over-votes are defined as invalid ballots.
  4. The order of delegates and alternate delegates will be the order of the number of votes received, subject to the following: delegate spots should be awarded in a manner that alternates between women and men based on the vote totals, and awarding a position to a non-binary candidate should that candidate have a vote threshold that would win them a delegate spot in the rotation. The final list should reflect that neither binary (male and female) nor non-binary gender categories shall have greater representation than 50 percent or, in the case of an odd number, 50 percent plus one.
  5. Runoff votes will be held in case of a tie.
  6. Results will be made public as they are available.  In the instance where there are not enough filed candidates to achieve gender balance as in Standing Rule 7, the CCDCC shall report this to the Democratic Party of Oregon when filing their election report/roster.
  7. Results will be final at the end of the elections meeting.
  8. Challenges must be made before the results are final.
  9. Vacant slots may be filled by special election by the Precinct Committeepersons according to the rules of the CCDCC’s by-laws (which require 6 days’ notice of an election to each Precinct Committeeperson).
  10. The Elections Committee must abide by the rules approved by the membership. No rules changes may be made from the floor during voting.
  11. The Chair may appoint an alternate to the State Central Committee and/or the 1st CD on a meeting-by-meeting basis.
  12. Officers, delegates and alternate delegates take possession of their office at the end of the meeting at which they are elected.

Rules for Resolutions from the CCDCC

  1. Letters and resolutions must go through the Resolutions Committee and brought back to the membership for action at the next regularly scheduled meeting.
  2. Any Clatsop County Democrat may speak at meetings of the Clatsop County Democratic Central Committee, following the same rules governing speaking by precinct committeepersons.

Rules Regarding the Appointment of PCPs

  1. To be eligible for appointment, prospective precinct committeepersons:
    1. Will have attended two of the last three meetings, and three meetings in the past twelve months
    2. Submit to the Secretary in person or by email the application form indicating their intention to apply for appointment, which will include the length of time they have been a registered Democrat
    3. Must attend the meeting when the appointment will be brought before the central committee
  2. The Secretary will give prior notice of appointments that will occur at the subsequent meeting and will include the appointment in the call of the meeting
  3. The Secretary will file the PCP Appointment form with the Clatsop County Elections Office within 7 days of appointment.

Rules for Electronic Meetings

  1. Electronic meetings shall be conducted using ZOOM, with registration required, meeting password turned off, enable waiting room turned off, “enable join before host” turned on, audio turned on for both computer and telephone, enable waiting room turned off, and only authenticated members turned off.
  2. Members will be credentialed by verification of identity after calling in by the Secretary.
  3. The list of credentialed members will be made available to all members and alternates in the meeting before the agenda is adopted.
  4. At the beginning of each meeting the Chair will instruct members and alternates present at the meeting methods of raising hands and casting votes and keeping themselves self-muted as a courtesy.
  5. The electronic meeting will allow for bidirectional aural communication while the meeting is in session.
  6. Members will self-mute, except when speaking or making a motion which is in order when another has the floor.
  7. Other than motions referenced in #6, the Chair will recognize members by electronic “raised hands” or other appropriate method in the order raised, to the best of the Chair’s ability.
  8. Voting conducted during electronic meetings will be roll call votes, unless the vote is by unanimous consent.
  9. The language of all motions will be displayed so members and alternates in the meeting can view the words, whenever possible.

Rules for Officer Elections

  1. Officers shall be elected by ballot, except in the case of one candidate for an office, then the vote may be by voice.

Certification

I certify that the foregoing is a true and correct copy of the bylaws of the Clatsop County Democratic Central Committee, duly amended on September 26, 2022.

Mary Hunter, Chair
Rebecca Read, Secretary
Revision History
DateRevisionNotes
9/26/2022Revised articles III, IV, and VRevised gender balance language to be inclusive of nonbinary gender, move officer election method from Bylaws to Standing Rules
7/27/2020Adopted rules for Electronic Meetings 
2/25/2019Adopted Article VIII, added standing rules for PCP appointment 
11/26/2018Adopted Rule 15 – timing of transition of officers 
10/22/2018Revised articles VIII & IXCleaned up wording.
4/23/2018Adopted Standing Rule 16Allows non-members to speak
3/28/2011Adopted rules for elections, Resolutions (rules 4-15)