Bylaws

The bylaws of the Ohio Young Democrats were approved by a vote of the general membership at the 2003 State Convention.  The bylaws are a set of formal rules that govern the membership of the organization and operate as a "practices and procedures" document for the group.

 To download a PDF copy of the bylaws, click here.


BYLAWS OF THE OHIO YOUNG DEMOCRATS OF AMERICA

ARTICLE I
MEMBERSHIP

Section 1.   The required dues and application for Regular membership in the Ohio Young Democrats shall be as follows:

A) The applicant must meet live, work, or go to school in the state of Ohio and have not yet attained the age of thirty-six (36).

B) The applicant must submit an application with his/her full name, full address including street, city, state, and zip, phone number, email, and date of birth in month/day/year format to the state office or to his/her local chapter.

C) If not a member of a local chapter, the applicant must present a personal check or cash instrument in an amount equal or greater to twenty dollars ($20.00) to the Treasurer.

Section 2.   The President may bestow the status of Honorary Member to individuals at his/her discretion.

Section 3.   The President may authorize and promote a Sustaining Membership for fundraising purposes, so long as the privileges bestowed on this class of membership are in conflict with the Constitution or Bylaws.

Section 4.   Any person who elects to become a member of this organization shall be deemed to have accepted the Constitution and Bylaws of this organization, and shall be bound by them in all respects as if the person had been a member at the time of their adoption.  

ARTICLE II
CHARTERED MEMBERSHIP

Section 1.   Applications for chartered membership in the Ohio Young Democrats must contain the following:

A) A membership list containing the full name, full address including street, city, state, and zip, and date of birth in month/day/year format for each member, and, if available, a phone number and email address.

B) A copy of the chapter’s constitution, charter, bylaws, or other prevailing organizational document.

C) A current list of officers and the dates on which they were elected.

D) Payment of one dollar ($1.00) per member dues to the Ohio Young Democrats.

Section 2.   Membership lists must be submitted electronically, either on disc, by email, or via an online mechanism provided by the state organization. When submitted on disc or via email, the list must be in Microsoft Excel file format.

Section 3.   Accepted forms of payment for charter application dues are cash, check, or money order. Dues may not be paid by a check drawn on an account belonging to a corporation, college or university whether public or private, or any other institution for which receipt of funds is a violation of state and/or federal election law, including club accounts which have not registered with appropriate federal, state, or local authorities to become a political action committee.

Section 4.   Any chapter who elects to become a chartered member of this organization shall be deemed to have accepted the Constitution and Bylaws of this organization, and shall be bound by them in all respects as if the chapter had been a member at the time of their adoption.  

ARTICLE III
VOTING

Section 1.   For all votes other than those to elect officers or amend the Constitution, including but not limited to the confirmation of officer appointments and approval of committee reports and resolutions, the following will apply:

A) Each voting member of the Executive Committee, as defined in Article V, Section 3 of the Constitution, shall have one vote.

B) Votes may be cast by voice, show of hands, or any other method employed by the meeting’s chair, unless a roll call vote is requested.

C) In the event that the president of a chapter is not present, then the next highest-ranking officer shall cast the president’s vote. In the event that no officer is present, the members present from that chapter may caucus to select their chapter’s representative.

D) There will be no proxies and no member will be allowed to cast a vote for a chapter with which he/she is not affiliated.

ARTICLE IV
OFFICERS

Section 1.   As provided by Article V, Section 2 of the Constitution, the President shall appoint all appointed officers. Appointed officers serve at the pleasure of the President.
Section 2.   The President may appoint chapter and/or regional coordinators as needed, to coordinate activity with and between standing committees and chartered chapters.

Section 3.   The President may appoint a Communications Director to assist with communication between the organization, chapters, and their publics. Duties of a Communications Director may include maintaining the organization’s website, maintaining a list of press contacts, writing and distributing press releases, and acting as spokesperson for the organization.

Section 4.   The duties of the elected officers are as provided for in Article V, Section 7 of the Constitution.   

Section 5.  The duties of appointed officers not listed here are as provided for in Article V, Section 8 of the Constitution.  

ARTICLE V
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Section 1.  The Ohio Young Democrats of America Executive Committee shall formulate, propose, and implement projects that supervise the activities of this organization; fill vacancies of officers and standing committee members; propose and execute recommendations to, of, and for this organization; refrain from actions that would create a conflict with the Constitution or Bylaws of this organization; approve the annual budget and means to obtain necessary funding; establish a site for the Annual State Convention and prepare the agenda; and take action all only when a quorum present.  

Section 2.  The Executive Committee of this organization shall be composed as provided in Article V, Section 3 of the Constitution.

Section 3.  An officer of this organization’s Executive Committee shall give previous notice to the President when he or she is unable to attend a meeting of the Executive Committee.  Any officer who has recorded three (3) unexcused absences and consecutive absences or four (4) unexcused absences in any one calendar year of this organization’s Executive Committee meetings shall automatically relinquish all rights to continue to be an officer for this organization.

ARTICLE VI
COMMITTEES

Section 1.  The standing committees of this organization shall be as follows:  Executive, Campaign, Finance, Membership and Rules and Charter.  

Section 2.  The duties and responsibilities of the standing committees shall be as provided in Article VI of the Constitution.

Section 3.   The voting membership of the standing committees shall be as follows:

A) The Executive Committee:  As described in Article V, Section 3 of the Constitution.

B) The Campaign Committee:  In addition to the Chair and Vice-Chair, there shall be five voting members.

C) Finance Committee:  In addition to the Chair and Vice-Chair, there shall be five voting members.

D) Membership Committee:  In addition to the Chair and Vice-Chair, there shall be eleven voting members, one member from each of this organization’s eleven regions, as established by the Chair of the Membership Committee.

E) Rules and Charter Committee:  In addition to the Chair and Vice-Chair, there shall be five voting members, one of which must be the Legal Counsel/Parliamentarian.

Section 4.   The respective Chairs of the Campaign, Finance, Membership and Rules and Charter committees shall present a written report of their activity to the Secretary in a timely fashion. This may occur after the regular meeting at which the committee meeting took place.

ARTICLE VII
ELECTIONS

Section 1.   The elected officers of this organization shall be duly elected by those members in good standing.  

Section 2.   All officers and candidates for office shall be members in good standing for at least thirty (30) days prior to their nomination and election and remain so throughout their terms in office, as well as meeting any and all requirements set forth in this organization’s Constitution and Bylaws.

ARTICLE VIII
MOTTO

Section 1.  The motto adopted by this organization shall be as follows:  “Building leaders today, for a better tomorrow.”

ARTICLE IX
AWARDS

Section 1.  The following awards shall be presented to selected recipients at the Annual State Convention:

Ohio Young Democrat of the Year:  Presented to a regular member who has made significant contributions and displayed superior leadership, above and beyond the requirements of members, and that has propelled both state and local Democratic organizations to keener heights, awareness and leadership.  

Ohio Young Democrats County Chapter of the Year:  Presented to a chartered county chapter that demonstrates and embodies the ideal characteristics of a model to which other chartered county chapters can aspire.  

Ohio Young Democrats College Chapter of the Year:  Presented to a chartered college chapter that demonstrates and embodies the ideal characteristics of a model to which other chartered college chapters can aspire.  

Ohio Young Democrats High School Chapter of the Year:  Presented to a chartered high school chapter that demonstrates and embodies the ideal characteristics of a model to which other chartered high school chapters can aspire.  

Ohio Young Democrats Distinguished Service Award:  Presented to members, organizations or individuals who have contributed significantly to achieving the purposes of this organization.  

Section 2.   The President may select award recipients or appoint an ad hoc committee for this purpose.

ARTICLE X
AFFILIATION WITH YOUNG DEMOCRATS OF AMERICA

Section 1.   In recognition of the benefits and services available to this organization and its members through its affiliation with the Young Democrats of America, this organization shall exercise its rights and privileges of participation in the government and activities of the Young Democrats of America.  This organization may provide for its proper representation at all meetings and conventions of the Young Democrats of America.  It shall provide for such representation when preparing the budget.  

Section 2.   Any person who elects to become a member of this organization shall be deemed to have accepted the Constitution and Bylaws of this organization, and shall be bound by them in all respects as if he or she had been a member at the time of their adoption.

Section 3.   This organization’s Executive Committee shall provide for the prompt payment of all dues and other obligations to the Young Democrats of America, and shall require the prompt completion and submission of all reports required by the Young Democrats of America.  

ARTICLE XI
MEETINGS

Section 1.   As per Article VII, Section 1 of the Constitution, the President shall call at least three (3) regular meetings of this organization's Executive Committee each year to be held at a time and place approved by a simple majority of the Executive Committee.

Section 2.   In order for a regular meeting to occur, there shall be a majority of the elected officers and at least ten (10) presidents of chartered chapters present, and this number shall constitute a quorum.

Section 3.   Notice of all regular meetings shall be sent by U.S. mail, electronic mail, or any other means provided for in the Bylaws of this organization at least seven (7) days prior to any regular meeting.

Section 4.   Special meetings of this organization may be called if at least five (5) officers have expressed good cause for such a meeting.  Notice of such a meeting shall be sent by U.S. mail, electronic mail, or any other means provided for in the Bylaws of this organization ten (10) days prior to the special meeting.  Those officers requesting a special meeting shall state the need for such a meeting and sign this notice.   At least fifteen (15) members of the Executive Committee shall be present at the special meeting to constitute a quorum.

ARTICLE XII
ANNUAL STATE CONVENTION

Section 1.   The Annual State Convention will be held each year during the period of March 1 to April 30.

Section 2.   The Executive Committee shall approve the location and any selection process for determining the location of the Annual State Convention. The President may appoint an ad hoc committee to assist in this process.

ARTICLE XIII
AMENDMENTS

Section 1.   Amendments to the Bylaws may be submitted at any regular meeting and must be presented in writing to the Secretary.  

Section 2.   Notice of any proposed amendment shall be submitted in writing to the membership at least fifteen (15) days prior to the scheduled date of the next regular meeting or Annual State Convention at which the proposed amendment is to be considered.

Section 3.   The Bylaws may be amended at a regular meeting or Annual State Convention with a quorum present, by a majority vote of all eligible voters as provided in Article III.