Livingston County Democratic Committee

Bylaws

RULES OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF THE COUNTY OF LIVINGSTON

The Democratic County Committee of Livingston County does hereby adopt the following rules for the organization and government of the Democratic Party in the County of Livingston:

ARTICLE 1

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Section I. The Democratic Party of the County of Livingston shall consist of voters of each election district within the County of Livingston who have duly enrolled, as required by law, for the purpose of participating in the Primary Elections of the Democratic Party.

Section 2. The representative and governing body of the Democratic Party for the County of Livingston shall be the County Committee. The unit of representation for the election of members to the County Committee shall be the election district and four (4) enrolled voters representing each district shall be elected as members of the County Committee to hold office for a two year period, biennially in the odd years.

Section 3. In addition to the County Committee, there shall be created as hereafter provided the following Sub-Committees:

A. An Executive Committee;
B. A Finance Committee
C. Candidates and Issues Committee

ARTICLE II

THE COUNTY COMMITTEE

Section 1. Pursuant to New York State Election Law Article 2 Section 112, the Democratic County Committee shall hold an organizational meeting within twenty (20) days after the election of its members (the Primary Election date in odd years) and at such meeting there shall be elected a Chair, a Secretary, and a Treasurer. Notice of the organizational meeting shall be mailed to all duly elected members of the County Committee at their last known addresses, not less than five (5) days before the meeting. The officers so chosen shall serve for two (2) years, until new officers are elected at the organizational meeting of the next succeeding County Committee.

Section 2. The Executive Committee shall consist of the Chair of the County Committee, the two Vice-Chairs, the Secretary and the Treasurer, the State Committee members and the Chair of the committees of each of the seventeen towns. In the event the town Chair of any town is not a member of the County Committee, the members of the County Committee for that town shall appoint or designate one of its members to serve on the Executive Committee shall appoint or designate.

Section 3. The Chair shall have the power to appoint two Vice-Chairs and shall appoint members of the Finance and the Candidates and Issues Committee. At least one-third of those appointed to the Budget and Finance Committee shall also be members of the Fund Raising Committee.

Section 4, Any vacancy occurring in the membership of the Democratic County Committee, or of its elected officers, from any cause, may be filled by a majority vote of the members of the County Committee present in person at any meeting, provided a quorum is present. Such members thus elected to fill a membership vacancy shall be presented to the County Committee by the Chair of the town committee in which the vacancy exists and the member must be an enrolled Democratic elector.

If a vacancy in the County Committee membership has not been filled within sixty (60) days by appointment by the Town Committee, or by election of the County Committee, the County Chair may fill such vacancy by the appointment of an enrolled member of the Democratic Party from the town in which the vacancy has occurred. This will be done with the approval of the acting committee members of that town.

Section 5. At least four (4) regular meetings of the Livingston County Democratic Committee shall be held during each calendar year. Special meetings of the County Committee may be called at any time on not less than three (3) day's notice by the Chair or by a majority of the Executive Committee. The Chair, or a majority of the Executive Committee, shall call a special meeting of the County Committee upon the presentation to the Chair or the Executive Committee, of a petition signed by thirty (30) members of the County Committee requesting that such a special meeting be called.

Section 6. Fifteen (15) members of the County Committee shall constitute a quorum at any meeting and a majority vote of such quorum present in person shall be sufficient for the adoption of any resolution or any for any voting, except as otherwise hereinafter provided.

Section 7. Each member of the County Committee shall be entitled to one (1) vote at all meetings, and, in instances in which weighted voting is required as provided in Article 2, Section 104 of the New York State Election Law, the weight of each vote shall be as provided in Section 8 hereof.

Section 8. At the meetings of the County Committee, each Committee member shall have voting powers proportional to the Party vote cast in his election district for Governor in the last preceding gubernatorial election, or as provided in Article 2, Section 104 of the New York State Election Law.

Section 9. Any Democrat registered in Livingston County has the right to attend and speak at all meetings of the County Committee. Non-committee members may be seated separately from Committee members in order to facilitate voting.

The Committee may choose, by a majority vote at any time, to go into executive session, at which point visitors will be requested to leave.

Section 10. A member or officer of a party committee may be removed by such committee consistent with Section 2-116 of the New York State Election Law.

Section 11. The present County Committee and the elected officers of the County Committee shall hold office until their successors are chosen, as provided by law.

ARTICLE III

FUNCTION AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF COMMITTEES

Section 1. The Executive Committee shall be the functioning body of the County Committee, and it shall coordinate the activities of the Budget and Finance and the Fund Raising Committees. The Executive Committee shall make decisions on matters affecting the County Committee and on matters recommended by the Finance Committee. The decision of the Executive Committee as to the manner in which funds are to be raised and the manner in which funds are to be expended shall be final unless, at a meeting of the County Committee, at which a quorum is present, two-thirds of the members of the County Committee voting in person determine that the decision of the Executive Committee does not represent the judgment of the County Committee.

Section 2. The Finance Committee shall prepare the budget annually and shall make recommendations as to the amounts of money to be allocated for the administration and other expenses of the County Committee and shall make suggestions as to the amounts to be allocated for campaign and other purposes.

Section 3, It shall be the responsibility of the Finance Committee to plan and develop methods to raise such funds as may be required in order to permit the County Committee to function properly and to meet its responsibilities as a County Committee.

Section 4. It shall be the responsibility of the Candidates and Issues Committee to recruit people to run for county offices on the Democratic Party line and to assist the Chair and assembly and senate candidate search committees in identifying possible candidates. If called upon, the committee will also assist town and village Democratic committees in finding candidates for their campaigns. The committee shall also work to identify issues that should be addressed by the Democratic Party and the Democratic candidates in particular.

Section 5. The Executive Committee, the Finance Committee and the Candidates and Issues Committee shall make and maintain proper records of each Committee meeting.

Section 6. Privileges and responsibilities of the Chair:

a) Represent the Livingston County Democratic Party at all state and regional meetings and functions, especially the Western New York Democratic Chairs Association.

b) Preside over all county committee meetings and functions.

c) Call caucuses in towns in which there are no organized Democratic committees or in the event that the committee fails to call a caucus.

d) Appoint two vice-chairs to assist him/her and to serve on the Executive Committee and appoint members to the Budget and Finance Committee, the Fund Raising Committee and the Candidates and Issues Committee.

e) Represent the Democratic Party and the County Committee in a manner befitting its high integrity.

f) Establish a communication system to allow all committee members to know of events such as visits from dignitaries, political get-togethers, etc.

Section 7. Privileges and responsibilities of a County Committee Member:

a) Circulate his/her petition to be elected to the position as county committee member

b) Circulate all petitions (town, county, state and federal) necessary to earn Democratic positions on the ballots

c) Participate in all fund raisers sponsored by the county committee

d) Attend as many Democratic training sessions or party sponsored enrichment events as possible

e) Assist in the recruitment of Democratic candidates for all positions

f) Attend county committee meetings and keep lines of communication open between the towns and villages and the county committee

g) Represent the Democratic Party ina manner befitting its high integrity

Section 8. Weighted voting is based upon the number of Democratic votes received in the election district for governor in the last gubernatorial election. Each committee member receives ½ of the vote total from the election district he/she represents. (ie. If there were 100 votes for the Democratic candidate for governor in your election district, you would have a weighted vote of 50.) The Chair shall direct the preparation of the weighted vote cards (a card including the specific election district and amount of the vote for that district) in the event that such vote is necessary. The vote shall be decided by a majority of the weighted vote of the county committee.

ARTICLE IV

TOWN AND VILLAGE CAUCUSES

Section 1. The nomination of candidates for town and village offices shall be made as provided by the New York State Election Law.

Section 2. Caucuses shall be called to order by the Chair of the town or the village committee, or in his absence, by any other member of the committee, and only the Democratic voters who were duly enrolled as such upon the last receding enrollment of the town shall be entitled to participate or vote at the caucus. The caucus shall first be organized by choosing its own chair, secretary and tellers, and in case more than one name is presented as a candidate for one or more elective offices, voting shall be by ballot, for which the polls shall be open for a length of time as the caucus shall determine by a resolution adopted before such balloting shall commence. All contests shall be determined by plurality vote. The caucus shall also choose a town or village committee which shall be the committee to fill vacancies occurring in nominations made by the caucus. Such committee shall also give due notice in the manner herein prescribed of the next caucus in the town or village for the nominations of candidates for the town or village offices. Their term of office shall be for two years. Counterparts of nominations shall be filed both in the office of the Clerk of the town for which nominations are made and also with the Livingston County Board of Elections, within the time prescribed by law. In a village election nominations are filed with the Village Clerk and the Livingston County Board of Elections.

Section 3. The town or the village committee shall perform all other duties as prescribed by the members of the County Committee elected to represent the town.

Section4. The chair, secretary, and tellers for each caucus shall recite the Constitutional Oath before acting.

ARTICLE V

Section 1. Voting shall be by open ballot, except in those rare and special instances in which either the Chair or a majority of those members of the County Committee in attendance at the meeting shall determine that the voting shall be by secret ballot in order that the members of the Committee may best express their own preference as to the issues or circumstances then being voted, or the persons then being elected, appointed or named for appointment.

Section2. The Rules and Regulations of the County Committee may be amended only by a majority vote of the members of the County Committee, after a notice of the proposed amendment and of the meeting at which it shall be presented has been mailed to the post-office address of each member of the committee at least fifteen (15) days before the date of said meeting. Voting may be done by mailed ballot to the post office address of each member of the committee at least twenty-five (25) days before the date of said meeting where the ballots will be tallied. Any ballots not returned to the Secretary by the time that the ballots are tallied will be considered votes in favor of the amendment to the Rules and Regulations of the Committee. The ballots may be returned to the Secretary by mail or by presenting them to the Secretary at the meeting where the ballots are to be tallied.

Section 3. All Rules and Regulations of the Democratic County Committee of the County of Livingston, heretofore made and adopted are hereby rescinded and annulled.

Adopted: March 2, 1977
Amended: 1991, 1994
Amended: 2006
Amended: April 1, 2009
Amended: September 19, 2021

Amendment: September 19, 2021

The proposed amendment to the bylaws of the Livingston County Democratic Committee is an addition to the bylaws and does not change any of the current language. The proposed amendment would create a section 5a of Article II.

Section 5 reads: “At least four (4) regular meetings of the Livingston County Democratic Committee shall be held during each calendar year. Special meetings of the County Committee may be called at any time on not less than three (3) days’ notice by the Chair or a majority of the Executive Committee. The Chair, or a majority of the Executive Committee, shall call a special meeting of the County Committee upon the presentation to the Chair or the Executive Committee, of a petition signed by thirty (30) members of the County Committee requesting that such a special meeting be called.”

Proposed Section 5a would follow: “The Chair or a majority of the Executive Committee can at their discretion decide whether meetings of the County Committee will be held in person or virtually (by videoconferencing). In the event of a virtual meeting, the necessary information for connecting will be distributed by the Chair or their designee to all registered Livingston County Democrats who request it. All votes held virtually will be considered binding votes as defined by New York State Election Law. The Chair or a majority of the Executive Committee may also call for a vote by Committee members on specific questions via email. This is not intended to replace regular meeting business but to deal with issues that must be considered in a time frame that cannot be accommodated by the existing meeting schedule. Such votes will be considered binding.”

Voted upon at reorganization meeting September 19, 2021, Al Lorenz Park, Mt. Morris.