BYLAWS OF THE DSA-LA ELECTORAL POLITICS COMMITTEE – UPDATED DECEMBER 2020

SECTION 1. COMPOSITION AND DUTIES

The Electoral Politics Committee shall be led by a five member Standing Committee elected by the Local. Chairs of the Electoral Politics Committee [Committee Chairs] may not be employed by campaigns seeking Local endorsement, nor be candidates or elected members of any public office, member of a political club, political action campaign, non-governmental organization or hold a position of authority, elected or otherwise, in a community group. Committee Chairs will be elected along with the leadership of the other Local Subgroups. They will serve terms of the same length. Committee Chairs may nominate members in good standing to serve and coordinate functions of the committee.

The responsibilities of the Committee Chairs shall be:

  1. Advancing the Local’s electoral strategy
  2. Advising and supporting the Steering Committee in maintaining relationships with Local member-electeds
  3. Facilitating Local Endorsements, including coordinating votes to ensure that the Local is not overburdened
  4. Establishing and coordinating open non-deliberative bodies or subcommittees to expand and implement the chapter’s electoral work and strategy, including supporting any working groups established in support of Local Endorsement
  5. Maintaining a data subcommittee tasked with keeping track of updates and changes within the local political landscape, track legislation and the activity of politicians, and to keep the committee and chapter informed on these updates

SECTION 2: PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS

Proposals for projects that fall under the jurisdiction of the Electoral Politics Committee can be proposed by DSA-LA members in good standing who have been active within the chapter by attending meetings, or actions directed by the Local, its Branches, Committees or Working Groups during the preceding 105 days. Proposals must be signed by at least 25 other DSA-LA members in good standing that meet the same attendance requirements before being introduced. If passed, proposal signees are obligated to make material contributions in carrying out the proposal.

Votes require a quorum of at least 25 members in good standing. For a motion to approve a proposal to succeed, fifty percent plus one of the present members in good standing must participate in the vote (i.e. if a majority abstains from voting, the motion does not pass), and at least 60 percent of the members in good standing who choose to vote on the question of endorsing must vote in favor of the proposal.
All proposals for a committee meeting must be sent to the Committee Chairs at least ten days prior to the next meeting date. Proposals should be written on a Google Doc and editing permissions should allow viewers to comment. The Committee Chairs will make proposals available to membership for a 4 day amendment period.

  1. Once the amendment period ends, proposal writers have 1 day to accept or decline amendments
  2. Finalized proposals will be emailed out 2 days prior to meeting for final review by the committee

SECTION 3. ELECTORAL ENDORSEMENTS

Candidate endorsement processes can only be started by formal proposals signed by 50 members in good standing. The endorsement process must involve, at a minimum, one (1) question and answer session for each candidate under consideration, and one (1) member debate on the candidates being considered. Procedures regarding proposal submission time period, proposal submission process, and voting on approved endorsement proposals will be decided by the Committee Chairs (described in Article X. Section 1). A proposal may be submitted outside of the established submission timeline if it has been signed by 100 members in good standing.

The Committee Chairs may reject a proposal to start an endorsement process given that the meeting in which the Committee Chairs make this decision is open to DSA-LA membership, DSA-LA members are able to provide public comment on the proposal at this meeting, and the Committee Chairs provide written documentation as to why it has rejected a proposal to start a candidate endorsement process. A decision by the Committee Chairs to reject a proposal to start an endorsement process can be overturned by a written appeal signed by 100 members in good standing.

The power to endorse a candidate for elected public office or a ballot measure (“Local Endorsements”) will only belong to a majority of members voting at a Chapter Meeting. The Committee Chairs may establish additional requirements to consider Local Endorsements. Any appeal against a decision by the Committee Chairs may be agendized for a Chapter Meeting by a petition of 100 members in good standing and overturned by a ⅔ supermajority vote of the Local.

Elections on candidate endorsements shall be conducted by the Electoral Politics Committee. The Electoral Politics Committee is responsible for ensuring voting members are in good standing. Quorum for candidate endorsements will be 10% of chapter membership in good standing. Voting periods must be at least one (1) week, and no longer than three (3) weeks.

SECTION 4. INITIATING ENDORSEMENT PROCESSES

The power to initiate a Local Endorsement will only belong to 50 members who have signed onto a written proposal to start the endorsement process for the candidate or ballot measure. The member or members from which the proposal originates must request a candidate questionnaire form from the Electoral Politics Committee to be completed by the candidates and then sent with the written proposal and petition for 50 members to volunteer to work on the campaign as outlined in the proposal, if passed.

Candidates, staff of candidate’s or political action campaigns, and individuals with personal relationships to candidates (ex: parents, partners, children) or members of political clubs, [Externally Affiliated Actors] may not write or submit proposals to start an endorsement process or write appeals for that candidate or against other candidates for consideration in the same endorsement period. Similarly, Externally Affiliated Actors may not participate in chapter discussions or debates on that candidate unless approved by the Committee Chairs. Externally Affiliated Actors must identify themselves as such at meetings related to candidate endorsements (including endorsements for other candidates) to make sure all conflicts of interest are apparent. Former staff of candidate’s or political action campaigns are held to a revolving door policy in which they must wait 6 months after leaving a campaign before they can write and submit proposals to start an endorsement process or written appeals for that candidate, or before they can participate in chapter discussions or debates on that candidate (unless approved by the Committee Chairs).

SECTION 5. CAMPAIGN WORKING GROUPS

Campaign working groups must be elected within 30 days of the Local’s vote to endorse and are dissolved upon the end of the election or the candidate or ballot measure having ended their campaign. Campaign working groups are accountable to the Committee Chairs and must meet with the Working Group Coordinator weekly to report back on working group progress. Campaign Working Group Co-Chairs must be voted on by the signers of the endorsement proposal and the Committee Chairs. Campaign Working Group Co-Chairs cannot be currently elected or appointed leadership of any other committee in DSA-LA. Campaign Working Group Co-Chairs are subject to background screening. If the Co-Chairs of a Campaign Working Group are not meeting their obligations, or resign during the course of the campaign, the Committee Chairs are to appoint new Campaign Working Group Co-Chairs. Campaign Working Group leaders must submit their resignation to the Committee Chairs. Campaign Working Groups must consist of the following elected or appointed positions unless the endorsements petition outlines another similar structure that is voted on by the membership in the course of the endorsement process:

  1. 2 Working Group Co-Chairs – to report weekly to the Working Group Coordinator
  2. 2 Canvass Captains per Branch covered by the election district – to report weekly to the Branch Coordinators
  3. A Financial Compliance Officer – to report weekly to the Treasurer
  4. A Communications Coordinator – to report weekly to the Communications Director
  5. The Campaign Working Group co-chairs shall have reasonable autonomy to create new positions or remove positions with the good faith intention of having sufficient and appropriate working group members for the success of the campaign. Committee membership as a rank-and-file member, and all working group meetings, will be open to all members of the chapter.

SECTION 6. RECOMMENDATIONS

Recommendations of candidates or ballot measures will exist only via DSA-LA Electoral Politics Committee Voter Guides. No chapter resources will be used in support of recommendations and it is to be made clear in all written and graphical communication that recommendation does not constitute endorsement. DSA-LA members are able to submit candidates and ballot measures to the Committee Chairs via email to electoralpolitics<at>dsa-la.org for consideration of recommendation in the Voter Guide. Voter Guides shall be researched by and recommendations voted on by the Data Subcommittee and presented to the Committee Chairs for review prior to release.

SECTION 7. DATA SUBCOMMITTEE

The Data Subcommittee shall consist of at least 1 elected chair of the Electoral Politics Committee and one appointed coordinator. All members of the Data Subcommittee are required to sign a confidentiality data agreement with the Local and release all claims and ownership to any research or presentations done in the course of their work in the Data Subcommittee as well as consent to a background screening. The chair and coordinator of the Data Subcommittee are tasked with the security of the Electoral Politics Committee’s database. No candidates, active campaign or political action campaign employees, or members belonging to political clubs are eligible to be members of the data-subcommittee.

SECTION 8. PUBLIC REPRESENTATION

Only elected or appointed members of the Electoral Politics Committee are empowered to speak on behalf of the Electoral Politics Committee or DSA-LA to outside organizations or officials. This includes but is not exclusive to: elected officials, their staff and liaisons, community groups, political clubs, political action committees or journalists. Only elected or appointed members of the Electoral Politics Committee are empowered to produce or distribute any materials or communication to the public representing the Electoral Politics Committee, endorsed candidates, or DSA-LA.

DSA-LA members are free to identify themselves as members while communicating with and engaging with candidates, but they must be clear that they are approaching as individuals and not speaking for the committee or the Local. Members must make it clear to candidates that only communication from DSA-LA Steering Committee and other elected leadership with @dsa-la.org emails can be considered official communication speaking for the committee or Local.

SECTION 9. CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

Externally Affiliated Actors must identify themselves as such at meetings to make sure all conflicts of interest are apparent.

Externally Affiliated Actors cannot write or bring proposals to the committee. Similarly, Externally Affiliated Actors cannot vote on endorsement proposals or participate in discussion around endorsements, including endorsements of different candidates.

Former staff of candidate’s campaigns are held to a revolving door policy in which they must wait 6 months after leaving a campaign before they can bring proposals Former staff of candidates who have terminated or suspended their campaigns are exempt from this revolving door policy.

SECTION 10. PUBLIC ADDRESS

A candidate may at any time request to introduce themselves to the committee to discuss their candidacy and platform. The Committee Chairs have the discretion to accept or deny these requests. No questions from committee members will be allowed. Speaking time will be limited to 5 minutes per speaker, speakers will be limited to two per meeting. There is no requirement that other candidates in the same race be extended an invitation from the committee.

SECTION 11. MEETING FACILITATION

Electoral Politics Committee meetings will be governed by Rusty’s Rules. Agendas and meeting minutes will be made available to the Local at all times via the Electoral Politics Committee Slack channel on the DSA-LA slack account. The meeting Chair can, at their discretion, move to using Robert’s Rules to govern meetings if the Chair determines that a meeting facilitation requires it.