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New York State Young Democrats Biennal Convention May 19-20

Official Call to Convention

Join us in Albany this May 19 and 20 as we meet for training, networking, elections and to help determine the future of the New York State Young Democrats. The following details will explain the upcoming State Convention.

Convention Chair
The Convention Chair will be Michael Gilberg. The Convention Secretary will be Seamus Campbell.

Chartering or Rechartering
Rechartering packets will be distributed and made available over the Internet on or before January 15, 2012 and and due by electronic mail by 11:59 PM on March 1, 2012. Each Chapter must also submit these packets by registered mail postmarked by the due date with a roster listing of all members including: name, voter registration address, date of birth, and optionally phone number and electronic mail address in accordance with Article II Section 1.1 and Article III, Section 5 of the NYSYD Constitution.

Anyone interested in starting a chapter or serving on the credentials committee should contact the Convention Chair, Michael Gilberg at michael.gilberg@gmail.com.

Delegates to Convention
Rechartered and Newly Chartered Chapters must submit their list of Delegates to the NYSYD Secretary, Tedd Collins at tedd.collins@gmail.com by 11:59PM on March 1, 2012. Each chartered or rechartered County Chapter shall receive two (2) delegates for the initial 25 members required for chartering, plus one more delegate per additional 10 registered County Chapter members, in accordance with Article III, Section 6 of our Constitution. The Chartering fee is $65 plus 50 cents per member, so that the minimum fee for the 25 required members is $77.50, in accordance with Article IV, Section 1. The Credentials Committee shall determine the method in which Delegates are counted per chapter. Delegate and Alternate Delegates must be members in good standing of the club they represent, in accordance with Article III, Section 3 of our Constitution. The Delegate lists must include names, gender, date of birth, electronic mail address, voter registration address and their status as Delegate or Alternate. Proxies are permitted, and individuals may be empowered to act as proxies on behalf of delegates, so long as such individual’s names are submitted prior to voting to the Secretary. No one person may hold more than 3 proxies, in accordance with Article III, Section 4 of our Constitution. All delegations are subject to the provisions of Article III, Section 6.1 of our Constitution.

New York State Young Democrats Executive Board Positions
All New York State Young Democrats are invited to consider running for an Officer position on the State Executive board. Applications will be distributed on or before January 15, 2012 by electronic mail as well as on our website, nysyd.org, and are due by 11:59 pm on March 15, 2012 to NYSYD Secretary Tedd Collins at Secretary@nysyd.net.

Positions you may consider running for are:
All Candidates: President, Executive Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary, National Committeeman, National Committeewoman.
Regional Vice Presidents, Elected by a Vote of the Region: Downstate, Capital, Upstate, Central, and Western.
Caucuses, Elected by a Vote of the Caucus: Caucus of Color, Disability, Jewish, Labor, LGBT , Rural, Women
New York Attorneys in Good Standing: Legal Director

Executive Board Election Procedures
The following rules shall be used for the conduct of the New York State Young Democrats Elections. To be eligible to apply all candidates must be registered Democrats of at least 16 years of age who have not yet reached the age of 34. All candidates must submit their applications by 11:59PM on March 15, 2012 to NYSYD Secretary Tedd Collins at Secretary@nysyd.net. All Candidates shall have an opportunity to be heard and debated upon prior to their election. All elections must be conducted by roll call vote by County name in alphabetical order alternating between ascending and descending order. Each candidate may only run for one position. In an election for a position involving one candidate, one must receive a majority of the votes cast otherwise the position will remain vacant. In an election for two candidates one candidate must receive a majority of votes cast, a failure for either candidate to achieve a majority will result, in a further round of debate and voting until a majority is reached. In an election for a position involving more than two candidates, one candidate must receive a majority of the votes cast, and if no candidate received a majority then the candidate with the lowest number of votes shall be dropped from the ballot and the election run again with the remaining candidates until one candidate received a majority of the votes cast.

Write-in votes will not be accepted. Nominations from the floor will not be accepted unless there is an Amendment to the Constitution on that day and only for a position that was newly created or for which the nominee was not previously eligible for candidacy. Following the conclusion of elections, the newly elected officers will assume their positions. In the event of a vacancy after the application due date or following elections, the vacancy shall be filled in accordance with our Constitution and By-laws.

Special Executive Board Election Procedures
Each region elects a Regional Vice President pursuant to the Constitution, Article 3 Section 3. Only individuals who are registered voters in the region shall be eligible to run for a Regional Vice President position. The elections for Regional Vice Presidents will occur in a manner and time identical to all other Executive Board positions, except only votes from the respective region will be counted for each regional election.

Constitutional Amendment Procedures
All amendments to the Constitution must be received by 11:59 pm on March 1, 2012. All amendments shall be submitted to the Convention Rules Committee pursuant to the NYSYD Bylaws Article V. All proponents for a Constitutional Amendment shall be entitled to be heard by the Convention Rules Committee. Proposed amendments to the constitution must both arrticulate the specific provisions amended and the rationale for the amendment. Amendments should be subcommitted to NYSYD Secretary Tedd Collins at Secretary@nysyd.net.

Agenda and Programming
The agenda and program of the Convention will be determined by the Convention Programs committee, pursuant to the NYSYD Bylaws Article V.

Lodging
The State Committee will have a block of rooms at the location of the convention and NYSYD will be organizing hosts for attendees. If you are interested in a hotel room, staying with another Young Democrat or would like to host other Young Democrats who are attending the convention please contact Convention Chair Michael Gilberg at michael.gilberg@gmail.com.

Volunteers
The State Committee and NYSYD will need volunteers throughout the convention, to assist with everything from organizing delegates, troubleshooting, staffing sign-in tables and checking delegate credentials. If you would like to volunteer, please contact Convention Chair Michael Gilberg at michael.gilberg@gmail.com. Registration fees will be waived for non-delegate registrants who volunteer enough hours. Be sure to indicate availability, electronic mail address, and a mobile phone number.

Speaking/Scheduling
If you have ideas for speakers or entertainment or any matter regarding scheduling at the convention or convention related events, please contact Convention Chair Michael Gilberg at michael.gilberg@gmail.com

Registration
The NYSYD convention is open to registered Democrats from all over our State and Country. If you are not a delegate or alternate and wish to attend you may reserve your registration for the convention by contacting Convention Chair Michael Gilberg at michael.gilberg@gmail.com.

Key Dates
All Items Are Due by 11:59PM on the Applicable Date and must be Registered Mail Postmarked or submitted to the relevant individual.

January 15, 2012

  • Recharting packets distributed
  • Executive Board applications distributed

March 1, 2012

  • Rechartering packets due
  • Delegate list due
  • Constitutional amendments due

March 15, 2012

  • Executive Board applications due

We look forward to seeing you in May and ensuring the future of our organization.

The New York State Young Democrats