Clinton County Young Democrats

Constitution of the Young Democrats of Clinton County, Ohio

We, the Young Democrats of Clinton County seek for our Nation, we hope for all people: individual freedom in the framework of a just society, political freedom in the framework of meaningful participation by all citizens. We will pursue these ideas through platform and credo of National Democratic party engaging it's ideas and supporting it's candidates. With these pledges we establish this constitution.

Article I - Name

The name of the organization shall be the Clinton County Young Democrats

Section 1: Clinton County Young Democrats will be charted with and affiliated with the Ohio Young Democrats, and will be affiliated with the Young Democrats of America.
Section 2: Clinton County Young Democrats will be charter with the Clinton County Democratic and will work with them when requested through out the Democratic Party.

Article II - Membership

Section 1: Any individual who is registered to vote in Clinton County regardless, of race, creed, gender, sexual orientation, or national origin who professes and demonstrates allegiances to the philosophy and principles, shall be eligible to become a member of the Clinton County Young Democrats.
Section 2: There shall be two (2) classes of membership in this organization:
A) Regular - Any young adult who has not attained his or her thirty 36-sixth(36th) birthday shall be eligible for full rights and privileges as a regular member upon receipt of the prescribed application and dues.
B) Honorary - Any person who has attained his or her thirty-sixth(36th) birthday shall be eligible for an honorary membership upon receipt of the prescribed application and dues.
Section 3: The dues and applications for the two classes of membership described in Section 2 shall be provided in the Bylaw of the organization.
Section 4: High School Chapters are encouraged to charter with Clinton County Young Democrats, only one charter per school. In order to charter five (5) regular members, as defined in Section 2, shall apply to the Executive Committee.  The application for a charter shall be made on the forms prescribed by the bylaws of this organization. The application shall include a membership list of at least five (5) regular members containing the following information for each member: full name, current complete address, date of birth in month/day/year format, phone number, curent e-mail address and any additional information required by the bylaws. Additionally, the application shall include a copy of the high school chapter's constitution and bylaws, a list of current officers with the dates they were elected, and payment of dues to this organization of (1) dollar per regular member.

Article III -Officers

The Clinton County Young Democrats will consist an Executive Committee, which steers the organization and the remaining members who vote by majority on the undertaking of large projects and direction and policies of the organization.
Section 1: The four (4) voting officers will be: President, Vice- President, Secretary & Treasurer.
Section 2: The line of succession shall be President, Vice-President, Secretary & Treasurer.
Section 3: A non-voting Meeting Chair, if appointed, may attend Executive Committee meetings. Rules for appoint shall be provided in the Bylaws?

Article IV -Officer Duties

Section 1: The President shall be the chief executive officer of the organization. He or she shall preside over all chapter meeting unless a Meeting Chair has been has been appointed. The President has the following power, but are not limited to:
    A. Establishing administrative procedures.
    B. Act on behalf of the organization when not in session.
    C. Attend all meeting of Ohio Young Democrats or appoint replacement.
    D. Approve agenda for general & executive committee meetings
    E. Appoint delegation chair to the Ohio Young Democrat State Convention
    F. Have a twenty dollar transaction limit without approval of Executive Committee
    G. Has power to form committees, set its size and select its chair. Bylaw detail filling posts.
Section 2: The Vice-President shall have the following duties:
    A. Chair the Recruiting Committee.
    B. Appoint the co-chair of the Recruiting Committee.
    C. Act as Pro-Tempore in absence of President. If vacancy occurs assumes Presidency. Appoints Vice President with approval of general body.
    D. Assists the President.
Section 3: The Secretary shall have the following duties and powers:
    A. Keep accurate minutes of all chapter meetings, general & executive.
    B. Assure publicity for all upcoming events and meetings.
    C. Keep an accurate mailing list and phone directory of all members.
    D. See to all correspondence of the organization.

    E. Carried Motions and Resolutions, and approved Expenditures will be numbered sequentially in the minutes.

    F. Secretary will assign all expenses a number in the series as the motions

    G. In the absence of Secretary and last number is not known the the number will take the format (DD/MM/YY/Motion#) until the Sect can assign.

Section 4: The Treasurer shall be the chief financial officer of the organization and shall have the following duties:
    A. Chair the Fund-raising committee.
    B. Appoint a Director of Fund-raising
    C. Be responsible for fund-raising ideas and soliciting donations.
    D. Maintain accurate financial records for the organization
    E. Coordinate all financial activities, including any tax responsibilities, i.e. IRS.
    F. Advise Executive Board on financial conditional of the chapter
    G. File Required Reports in a timely manner.
    H. Write checks and make deposits as directed by Executive Committee.

    I. All expenditures over $20 will be approved by General Body and will have a Reference number. In the absence of the Secretary the Treasurer will assign Expenditure numbers using greek letters sequentially.

Article V -Executive Board

The Clinton County Young Democrats Executive Committee will be the chief policy making body of the chapter.
Section 1: The Executive Board will have all the powers necessary for the proper and legal execution of the duties of Clinton County Young Democrats.

Section 2: A power or policy set by the Executive Committee may be voided by a 2/3 majority vote of the regular membership at a regular meeting.
Section 3: The Executive Committee will meet no less than twelve (12) times during the course of one fiscal year.

Article VI -General Body

The Clinton County Young Democrats will meet no less than six (6) times during the course of one year.

Article VII - Election

Section 1: Elections of officers will be held twice a year. The first at the first meeting in March, the second at the first meeting in September. All terms are for one year.
Section 2: The order of the elections will be as follows: March; President and Treasurer. September; Vice President and Secretary.
Section 3: In the event that no one is elected at prescribed meeting, every meeting there after will be considered election meeting until posts are filled.

Article VIII-Amendments

This Constitution and Bylaws my be amended with a motion by any officer or regular member with Executive Committee affirmation folloed by 2/3's affirmative regular members. 

Bylaws

Membership: Regular and Honorary members must submit full name, full address including street, city, state and zip, and date of birth in month/day/year, phone number and email address and payment of one dollar ($1.00)
High School Charters: Refer to Ohio Young Democrats Charter for current requirements and procedures.
Officers: The Vice-President should be the opposite sex of the president.
    A. Inappropriate Behavior, any member may bring a complaint of conduct unbecoming of an officer of the organization. A 2/3 majority vote of regular members can suspend said officer from
their post for a number of months determined by said majority. The majority may or may not chose to appoint a substitute to the post during suspension.  If sufficiently offensive in nature a 3/4 majority may remove a sitting officer from their post and a new election will immediately follow.
    B. Evidence of Fraud or any illegal activity by any officers shall result in immediate termination of their post. They shall be barred membership with the organization. Election to fill post will occur at next regular meeting.
Meeting Chair: Runs the meeting in place of the President giving the opportunity for more people to be involved in the group. The Secretary will start a sign up sheet up sheet, once it
gets longer than ten names long, he or she will draw by lot and generate a list.
Committees: Membership will be filled by volunteers from the regular membership. If more members are interested than spots available the chair will chose the number of the committee.
Once selected, the entire committee, will elect with affirmative vote, the vice-chair. The vice-chair should be opposite sex of the chair.
Expenditures: Two Officers are to be present at the purchase of goods or services authorized by the affirmative vote of the general body and the assignment of an expenditure number by the Secretary or Treasurer.

In the case of Approved expenditures for a committee the Chair and an Officer may make purchases directly related to that committee's project. An Officer or Committee Chair acting alone making a purchase of over $20 and seeking reimbursement, will first need to submit receipt to Treasurer who bring it before General Body which needs an affirmative vote to reimburse even if the group authorized the expenditure previously. 

Parliamentary Procedure: The organization will follow Robert's Rules of order during it's Executive and Regular Meetings. This rule may be suspended with majority affirmative vote at the beginning of every session.
Credo:  We the Clinton County Young Democrats will follow the Credo set forth by the National Democratic Party, meaning that all of our programing and out reach should follow under these tenets: We Democrats are the oldest political party in America and the youngest in spirit. We will remain so, because we enjoy the challenge of government. Time and again, for almost two centuries, the Democratic Party has made government work -- to build and defend a nation, to encourage commerce, to educate our children, to promote equal opportunity, to advance science and industry, to support the arts and humanities, to restore the land, to develop and conserve our human and natural resources, to preserve and enhance our built environment, to relieve poverty, to explore space. We have reached difficult and vital goals.
We recognize that the capacity of government is limited but we regard democratic government as a force for good and a source of hope.
At the heart of our party lies a fundamental conviction, that Americans must not only be free, but they must live in a fair society.
We believe it is the responsibility of government to help us achieve this fair society.
! a society where the elderly and the disabled can lead lives of dignity and where Social Securityremains an unshakable commitment;
! a society where all people can find jobs in a growing full-employment economy;
! a society where all workers are guaranteed without question the legal right to join unions of their own choosing and to bargain collectively for decent wages and conditions of employment;
! a society where taxes are clearly based on ability to pay;
! a society where the equal rights of women are guaranteed in the Constitution;
! a society where the civil rights of minorities are fully secured and where no one is denied theopportunity for a better life;
! a society where both public and private discrimination based upon race, sex, age, color, creed,national origin, religion, ethnic identity, sexual orientation, economic status, philosophical persuasion or physical or mental disability are condemned and where our government moves aggressively to end such discrimination through lawful means;
! a society where we recognize that the strengthening of the family and the protection of children are essential to the health of the nation;
! a society where a sound education, proper nutrition, quality medical care, affordable housing, safe streets and a healthy environment are possible for every citizen;
! a society where the livelihoods of our family farmers are as stable as the values they instill in the American character;
! a society where a strong national defense is a common effort, where promoting human rights is a basic value of our foreign policy, and where we ensure that future by ending the nuclear arms race. This is our purpose and our promise.