The Rulesof theTexas

DemocraticParty

State Democratic Executive Committee1106 Lavaca • Austin, TX 78701P.O. Box 116 • Austin, TX 78767

512-478-9800

www.txdemocrats.org

2017-2018adopted June 19, 2016

Paid for by the Texas Democratic Party • www.txdemocrats.org • This communication not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.

— ii —

RULES OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF TEXAS

I. STATEMENT OF PRINCIPLES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1A. Beliefs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1B. Declarations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

II. NAME, MEMBERSHIP AND OFFICERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1A. Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1B. Membership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1C. Party Officers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

III. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2A. Duties of Executive Committees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2B. General Rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2C. Election Matters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

1. Certification of Candidates2. Referendum Issues

D. State Democratic Executive Committee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31. Officers2. SDEC Members3. Removal4. Advisory Committee

E. County Executive Committee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51. Members2. Officers3. Qualifications4. Election Procedure5. Vacancies6. Duties and Responsibilities7. Meetings8. Expenditure of Funds9. County Executive Committee Quorum

10. Meeting of the County Executive CommitteeF. District Executive Committee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

1. Members2. Officers3. Duties4. Other “District Committees”5. Meetings

G. Precinct Executive Committee for the Purpose of Filling a Commissioneror Justice or Constable Precinct Candidate Vacancy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

H. Removal From Office for Endorsing Opposing Party or Candidate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9I. Duties of District Committees in Special Elections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

IV. PARTY CONVENTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10A. General Rules Governing Party Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

1. Compliance with Rules2. Publicizing Meetings3. Rules4. Voting5. Media6. Minority Reports7. Resolutions8. Rules

Table of Contents

— iii —

9. Petition Requirements10. Presidential Preference11. Balancing Delegations12. Ex-Officio Delegates13. Public Officials14. Nominations15. Non-Attendance at Prior Convention16. Appearing at Committees17. Establishment of Districts18. Succession of Delegates at National Conventions19. Actions Recommended at the Statutory Meeting of the County Executive Committee in

December of odd years and Required to be completed by January 31 of even numbered yearsB. County and Senatorial Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

1. Time and Place2. Conditions for Holding Senatorial District Convention3. Qualifications and Eligibility to Participate4. Temporary Roll5. Committees6. Resolutions7. Rules8. Convention Officers9. Order of Business

10. Election of Delegates and Alternates from County and Senate District to the State Convention11. Election Procedure in Non-Presidential Years12. Determination of At-Large Delegates and Alternates13. Delegation Chair

C. State Convention . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161. Time and Place2. Notice3. Eligibility to Participate4. Purpose5. Officers and Committees6. Order of Business7. Presidential Preference Poll in Presidential Years8. Election of National Delegates/Alternates9. Election of National Committee Members

10. Election of Presidential Elector Candidates

V. CHALLENGES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

VI. ADOPTION, STATUS, AMENDMENT, PUBLICIZING OF RULESAND PARLIAMENTARY PROCEDURE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22A. Adoption and Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22B. Amendment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22C. Publicizing of Rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22D. Parliamentary Authority . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

VII. NATIONAL DELEGATE SELECTION RULES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23A. Delegates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23B. Alternates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24C. Succession of Alternates to Delegate Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24D. Guidelines for Representation of the Delegation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Appendix 1. Affiliation Form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Appendix 2. Resolution Form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

PARLIAMENTARY PROCEDURE AT A GLANCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

— 1 —

RULES OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF TEXASARTICLE I

STATEMENT OF PRINCIPLESThe Texas Democratic Party hereby adopts the following Statementof Principles as the foundation for Party activities at all levels:

A. Beliefs

We believe that the Democratic Party, with its great diversity, its flex-ibility of organization, its historic adaptability to fruitful change, andits instinctive responsiveness to human needs and aspirations, can pro-vide the leadership required in these challenging times. We furtherbelieve:

1. That we must join together with a renewed faith in our coun-try, in our state, and in our Party to provide our people withresponsive, responsible government;

2. That government functions best when it is closest to thepeople;

3. That our government is and should be of laws and not offavoritism or of arbitrary caprice, and therefore we condemnany resolution of conflicts, save through legal processes;

4. That the Texas Democratic Party stands for law and order,for total and unceasing war against crime, for strengtheninglaw enforcement agencies, and for justice under law;

5. That all citizens, no matter what their religion or race or howhumble or exalted their origin or station, have the duty toparticipate fully at every level of government and are en-titled to an equal voice and to equal treatment at its hands;

6. That all Democrats are bound to defend, to protect, and tohonor our nation, our state, and our Party, and that when theyare right, it is our privilege to sustain them, but when theyerr, it is our duty to correct them; and

7. That, as Democrats, we are proud and upright citizens of theUnited States, that we are determined not only to serve ourcountry, but also to stand shoulder to shoulder with citizensof other states in providing meaningful, responsible, andconstructive leadership for our great nation.

B. Declarations

To achieve these principles, we hereby make these declarations andadopt the following Rules to govern Party activities at all levels:

1. No test of membership in, nor oaths of loyalty to, the TexasDemocratic Party shall be required or used if it has the ef-fect of requiring prospective or current members of theDemocratic Party to acquiesce in, condone, or support dis-crimination on the grounds of race, sex, sexual orientation,gender identity, age, color, creed, national origin, religion,ethnic identity, economic status or disability. Further, dis-crimination on the grounds of race, sex, sexual orientation,gender identity, age, color, creed, national origin, religion,ethnic identity, economic status or disability in the conductof the Democratic Party affairs is prohibited.

2. The Democratic Party at all levels shall support the broadestpossible voter registration and participation without discrimi-nation on the grounds of race, sex, sexual orientation, gen-der identity, age, color, creed, national origin, religion, eth-nic identity, economic status or disability.

3. It shall be the duty of the State Chair and Party Officers atall levels to take affirmative steps to encourage youngpeople, women and minorities to seek selection as Delegates

to Party Conventions and as members of Party Committeesso that they shall be represented in reasonable relationshipto their presence in the state.

4. Every person who accepts a Party office at any level (includ-ing the position of Convention Delegate) must agree to sup-port all of the Party’s nominees or shall be removed.

5. Public meetings at all levels of the Texas Democratic Partyshall be open to all members of the Party, regardless of race,sex, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, color, creed,national origin, religion, ethnic identity, economic status,philosophical persuasion or disability.

6. The time and place of all meetings of the Texas DemocraticParty at all levels shall be publicized fully and in such manneras to assure timely notice to all interested persons. Such meet-ings shall be held in places accessible to all Party membersand large enough to accommodate all interested persons.

7. The Texas Democratic Party shall publicize fully and in suchmanner as to assure notice to all interested parties a com-plete description of the legal and practical qualifications andprocedures for selecting Democratic Party Officers and Rep-resentatives at all levels. Publication of these proceduresshall be done timely and in such a fashion that all prospec-tive and current members of the Democratic Party and allprospective candidates or applicants will be fully and ad-equately informed of the pertinent procedures in time to par-ticipate in each selection procedure at each level of theDemocratic Party organization and to compete for anyelected or appointed position.

8. The Texas Democratic Party requires that all headquarters,conventions, events, and meetings of the Democratic Partyat all levels meet the provisions of the 2010 Americans withDisabilities Act, as amended.

ARTICLE IINAME, MEMBERSHIP AND OFFICERS

A. Name

The name of this Party shall be the “Texas Democratic Party” or sim-ply the “Democratic Party” or just the “Party.”

B. Membership

1. Any qualified Texas voter 18 years of age or older unlessotherwise spelled out in these rules who supports the fore-going “Statement of Principles” of the Democratic Party mayparticipate fully in any Party meetings and may be electedto any Party Office, except where specifically prohibited bylaw or by Party Rules.

2. Any other persons who support the foregoing “Statement ofPrinciples” of the Democratic Party are encouraged to par-ticipate in Party activities but may not vote.

C. Party Officers

1. All Party Officers shall be residents of the precinct, districtor other political subdivision which they represent, and mov-ing residence outside the precinct, district or other politicalsubdivision shall constitute an automatic vacancy.

2. The Party Officers covered by this provision include precinctchair, county chair, SDEC representative, State Chair, con-vention delegates, and any other officer elected by a Partycommittee or convention.

— 2 —

8. No action of a subcommittee or any standing committee shallreplace or supersede the actions or authority of the Commit-tee as a whole, and any actions by subcommittees shall besubject to review and revision by the superior authority ofthe full Committee at its subsequent meetings.

9. Upon the vote of 20% of the members of any Party Com-mittee, a minority report can be prepared and presented. Aminority report may be submitted for consideration either byway of amendment or as a substitute for a majority report.

10. All Party Executive Committees and Sub-committees arepermitted to conduct non-public sessions to consider finan-cial, legal or strategic matters or to review information pro-prietary to other groups or individuals. However, no votesor formal action may be taken except in public meetings.

C. Election Matters

1. Certification of Candidates. The SDEC shall certify thename of each candidate to appear on the primary ballot ordelegate such certification to the State Chair. At the close ofthe filing period for candidates to be on the primary ballot,the State Chair shall certify to each County the listing on theSecretary of State website of the name of each candidate cer-tified to appear on the primary ballot in that county. ( Re-quired in Texas Election Code §172.028)

2. Referendum Issues.

a. Qualified voters may by petition require a referendumissue to be placed on the primary election ballot. Suchpetitions must be filed with the State Chair during thesame filing period applicable to candidates for federal,state, and county office. In addition to the requirementsmandated by state law (Required by Texas ElectionCode §172.088), all petitions must contain the follow-ing wording and information:

An oath or affiliation to the Party as part of the petitionstatement to read as follows:

“If I sign this petition, I hereby affiliate myself with theTexas Democratic Party, and I swear or affirm that dur-ing [insert election year] I will support the nominees ofthe Democratic Party and that I will not vote in a pri-mary election or participate in a convention of anotherpolitical party during [insert election year].

I further acknowledge that the purpose of this petitionis to require the Texas Democratic Party to place theproposal described below on the ballot for the [electiondate] Democratic Primary Election.”

[signatures]

“Sworn to (or affirmed) and signed before me theundersigned authority on this the _____ day of_________________.

________________________________Signature of person administering oath

________________________________Printed name of person administering oath

________________________________Address of person administering oath

________________________________Telephone # of person administering oath

________________________________Title of office and county of residence of personadministering oath.”

3. Acceptance by any person of a Party Office and participa-tion in that capacity constitutes an agreement to the provi-sion in the Statement of Principles that “every person whoaccepts a Party Office at any level (including the positionsof Convention Delegate) must agree to support all of theParty’s nominees or shall be subject to removal.”

ARTICLE IIIEXECUTIVE COMMITTEES

It is a basic and fundamental precept of the Texas Democratic Partythat always, and at all levels, there shall be no secret ballots, thereshall be no fees charged for voting, and the meetings shall be open.

A. Duties of Executive Committees

1. The State Democratic Executive Committee (the “SDEC”)shall carry on the activities of the Party between State Con-ventions in compliance with the law and with the directivesof the Convention.

2. Other executive committees acting at the County level, theDistrict level or any other level shall discharge their dutiesin compliance with the law and with the Party Rules.

B. General Rules

1. At all times and at all levels of the Democratic Party, no se-cret ballots shall be used, no fees shall be charged for vot-ing, and the meetings shall be open.

2. Committee meetings shall be held as required by law or bythese Rules and called by the Committee Chair or by a pe-tition in writing signed by at least 51% of the Committeemembership.

3. At all Party Committee meetings other than Conventions,County Executive Committees and Convention Caucuses,40% of the Committee membership shall constitute a quo-rum. If the meeting is to fill a vacancy in the office of pre-cinct chair, the quorum shall be 25% of the committee mem-bership. A majority participation of the Committee member-ship shall be required for a quorum to fill a vacancy in theoffice of county chair, as specified in State law.

4. Unless otherwise required by statute or by these Rules, thecurrent edition of Robert’s Rules of Order, Newly Revised,shall be the parliamentary authority governing all PartyCommittee meetings and procedures.

5. The method of voting at all Party Committee meetings maybe by voice vote, by (standing) division of the house, bysigned written ballot, or by roll call vote. The method usedshall be left to the discretion of the Chair, except that on re-quest of any member (who need not be recognized by theChair to voice such request), a standing division must beheld, and the request of 10% of the members present shallrequire a roll call vote. Any vote that results in a tie shall bedecided by a coin toss.

6. Minutes of each meeting shall be furnished to each Com-mittee member at or prior to the next Committee meeting.

7. Proxy voting shall be permitted at SDEC meetings; provided,however, no person may hold or vote more than one proxy.Proxy holders for senatorial district representatives on theSDEC must reside in the same district as the member assign-ing the proxy. Proxy holders for representatives of organiza-tions must be members of the organization. No proxy votingshall be permitted at meetings of any County, District or Pre-cinct Committee (Allowed by Texas Election Code §171.026).

— 3 —

b. The person administering the oath may be either: ajudge, clerk or commissioner of any court of record; anotary public; a justice of the peace; the Secretary ofState of Texas; any member of the SDEC; any memberof the County Executive Committee for the county inwhich the person signing the petition resides; or a per-son expressly authorized in writing to administer theoath by the State Chair or a County Chair for the countyin which the person signing the petition resides. TheState Chair and any such County Chair shall keep as apermanent part of party records a true copy of any suchauthorization. Each person administering the oath mustsign in the place shown, and print his or her name, ad-dress, office and county of residence.

c. The form of the petition, including a description of theproposal that is to be submitted, the spacing and type-sizeand instructions to comply with this Rule must be ap-proved by the State Chair. The oath of the petition signerand the description of the proposal shall be in bold type.

d. The State Chair is hereby delegated all other authoritynecessary to effectuate this Rule.

e. The SDEC shall prescribe the wording of the proposi-tion submitting a proposal. ( Required by Texas Elec-tion Code §172.088(g)).

f. The petition shall be in both English and Spanish.

D. State Democratic Executive Committee

1. Officers.

a. Election. The State Convention in gubernatorial yearsshall elect a State Chair. The Convention also shall electa First Vice Chair of the opposite sex from the StateChair, a Vice Chair for Finance, a Secretary, and a Trea-surer. These shall be the officers of the SDEC, and theyshall be elected for a four-year term at the state conven-tion held in gubernatorial election years or until theirsuccessors are elected. (Required by Texas ElectionCode §171.002(c) )

(1) In order to be qualified for any Texas DemocraticParty office enumerated in Article III, D.1 (a) a can-didate must file a Declaration of Candidacy for thespecific office no later than 62 days prior to the Callto Order of that year’s Texas Democratic Conven-tion.

(2) The filing must be physically received in the TexasDemocratic Party office no later than 6 PM on the62nd day. Should the 62nd day fall on a weekendor holiday the filing period shall be extended to 6PM on the next regular business day.

(3) There shall be no filing fee or petitions associatedwith a Declaration of Candidacy for any office sub-ject to this section.

(4) Should there be only one candidate appropriatelyfiled for any office subject to this section and thatcandidate withdraws, becomes incapacitated or isdisqualified prior to the State Convention the dec-laration period shall be reopened for 30 days, fromthe date of official notice of the change in status orthrough the State Convention whichever comesfirst.

b. Voting. On statutory matters, only the State Chair andFirst Vice Chair may vote; otherwise, on all other mat-ters all officers may vote.

c. State Chair. The State Chair shall be the principal and pre-siding officer of the SDEC, shall have all of the authorityand duties implied by such title and expressed or impliedby these Rules, and shall have the authority to establishand to appoint committees with the advice and consent ofthe SDEC and deal with the affairs of the Party.

d. First Vice Chair. The First Vice Chair shall assist theState Chair and shall have the duties and authority im-plied by such title or assigned by the Chair or by theSDEC. The First Vice Chair shall preside over meetingsof the SDEC in the absence of the State Chair and shallfill any ex-officio position created for Party Vice Chairs,including membership on the National Committee.

e. Vice Chair for Finance. The Vice Chair for Financeshall have responsibilities for fundraising under the di-rection of the State Chair and shall have other duties andresponsibilities assigned by the Chair or by the SDEC.

f. Secretary. The Secretary shall have the duties and au-thority implied by such title.

g. Treasurer. The Treasurer’s duties shall be to present afinancial report at each SDEC meeting and to performduties assigned by the State Chair. The disbursement offunds shall be the responsibility of the State Chair or ofthe Chair’s designee(s), provided that the designee(s) beapproved by the SDEC.

h. Standing SDEC Committee Membership. Membersof standing SDEC committees will be appointed by theState Chair with the advice and consent of the SDEC.The State Chair will appoint one chair and one vice co-chair who will be gender balanced, and the members ofeach of the committees will elect a second vice co-chair.

i. Operating Budget. The State Chair shall submit an an-nual operating budget to the SDEC Finance Committeefor approval by the full SDEC at the first SDEC meet-ing following January 1st of each year. In no event shallany TDP staff or officer, other than the State Chair, in-cur any debt on behalf of the Texas Democratic Partynot authorized by the operating budget. In addition, anyexpenditure, proposal or project which would exceed aline item in the submitted annual operating budget by$10,000, including but not limited to additional staff orpay raises, requires a majority vote of the State Chair,First Vice Chair, Vice Chair for Finance, Secretary,Treasurer, SDEC Finance Committee Chair, and SDECFinance Committee Co- Chair before the funds may beexpended or the obligation incurred.

j. Audit. The State Chair shall cause an audit of the fi-nancial records of the SDEC to be made by a certifiedpublic accountant at least once each calendar year. Acopy of the report of such audit shall be furnished toeach member and officer of the SDEC.

k. Officer Vacancies. When a vacancy occurs in any ofthese offices between State Conventions, a majority ofthe members of the SDEC shall elect a successor, whoneed not be a current member of the SDEC. Membersshall receive written notice issued by the State Chair, orif that office be vacant, by the First Vice Chair, at leasttwo weeks prior to the meeting at which an election willbe held. Any member of the SDEC may nominate a can-didate for the vacant office. When an interim vacancyin the office of the State Chair is filled by the SDEC,the term of office for the interim Chair shall be for theduration of the unexpired term.

— 4 —

2. SDEC Members.

a. Membership.

(1) The SDEC shall be composed of two statutorymembers elected from every senatorial district andthe following additional members:

two from the Texas Democratic County ChairsAssociation,

two from the Texas Young Democrats,

one from the Senatorial Democratic Caucus (non-voting),

one from the House Democratic Caucus (non-vot-ing),

two from the Texas Democratic Women,

two from the Texas Coalition of Black Democrats,

two from the Hispanic Caucus,

two from the Non-Urban/Agriculture Caucus,

two from the Texas Stonewall Democrats,

two from the Texas Environmental Democrats,

two from the Democrats with Disabilities,

two from the Asian American Democrats of Texas,and

two from the Texas Veterans Organization.

(2) The autonomous, independent caucuses/organiza-tions listed in subsection (1) exist under the um-brella of the Texas Democratic Party. Each caucus/organization is governed by their individual bylawswhich have been approved by vote of their mem-bership. Within said bylaws are articles which per-tain to the election of officers (when officers areelected) and the procedure for any election of of-ficers, as well as the duties of the officers.

(3) To maintain their membership on the SDEC, thesecaucuses and groups must hold or sponsor a cau-cus at the State Convention. If the group is an inde-pendent membership organization, the organizationshall:

(a) post its current bylaws on the Texas Demo-cratic Party website;

(b) allow for at-large memberships if the groupconsists of chapters and allow all members tovote in officer elections;

(c) invite all convention delegates of the most cur-rent or the most recent state convention whomeet the qualifications of the group to join andgive notice of elections in a timely manner be-fore elections are held; and

(d) if elections are not held at the time listed in thebylaws, the SDEC representative shall be in-eligible to serve on the committee and shall beremoved until new elections are held and theState Chair is given notice of the new officers.

b. Election from Senatorial Districts. The two membersfrom every senatorial district shall be elected by theState Convention held in even-numbered years. Oneman and one woman from each senatorial district shallbe recommended by the Delegates from the counties

composing the respective senatorial districts. Eachcounty shall vote its full Convention strength dividedproportionately among its Delegates present. In a multi-county senatorial district, the Delegates should strive toprovide geographical representation by recommendingtheir committeeman and committeewoman to be fromdifferent counties; this is not a mandate.

c. Organization Representatives. The chair or presidentand the next highest ranking officer of the opposite gen-der of the organizations (excepting Texas DemocraticWomen) providing additional members on the SDECshall serve as the representative members of the SDEC;provided that, for the Hispanic Caucus, the representa-tive members shall be two representatives elected at theState Convention. In the event that any such person al-ready is a member of the SDEC, the next highest rank-ing officer of the same sex shall be the additional mem-ber. They shall participate in the proceedings of theSDEC insofar as the Texas Election Code will permit.

d. Caucus Representatives. The members representingthe Senatorial Democratic Caucus and the House Demo-cratic Caucus shall be non-voting, ex-officio membersselected by their respective caucuses.

e. Terms. SDEC members shall serve until their succes-sors take office, which shall be on adjournment of theState Convention at which the new members are elected.

f. SDEC Vacancies. When a vacancy occurs on theSDEC, the vacancy shall be filled by the majority voteof the members of the SDEC. The new member shall bean eligible person of the same sex and from the samesenatorial district as the vacating member. The Senato-rial District Committee of the affected district shall meetto nominate a person for such position. The State Chairshall mail written notice of the meeting to consider suchnomination to the members of the Senatorial DistrictCommittee and, if known, the Chair of the affecteddistrict’s Senatorial District Caucus at the last State Con-vention, at least two weeks prior to the meeting. TheCommittee shall report its nominee to the SDEC. A va-cancy shall be filled no later than the next meeting ofthe SDEC following written notice of the vacancy by atleast five weeks.

g. Caucus/Organization Representative Vacancy. When aCaucus/Organization Representative vacancy occurs, then:

(1) If representing an organization, the organizationcan name a replacement with the same gender ofthe person removed subject to ratification by theSDEC; or

(2) If representing a caucus that only meets at StateConvention, that seat will remain vacant until thenext scheduled convention, at which time the cau-cus shall elect its representatives.

3. Removal.

a. In addition to the procedures under Article III.H., anyState Party Officer, including a member of the SDEC,may be removed for good cause by a two-thirds vote ofthe SDEC membership. All members must receive writ-ten notice from the State Chair at least 30 days beforeany meeting at which a removal will be considered. Bal-loting may not be done by mail.

b. For removal of an SDEC member, one-third of themembers of the SDEC or one-third of either the Sena-

— 5 —

torial District Committee or the Delegates to the StateConvention from the Senatorial District at which themember was last elected must petition for removal ofthe SDEC member before proceedings shall be broughtbefore the SDEC.

c. A member of the SDEC who misses two SDEC meet-ings, without sending a proxy, shall be removed and avacancy shall occur.

d. For removal of other State Party Officers, either one-thirdof the members of the SDEC or one third of the CountyChairs, or one-third of the Delegates to the State Con-vention at which the Officer was last elected must peti-tion for the removal of the State Party Officer before re-moval proceedings shall be brought before the SDEC.

e. In the event that the State Chair is subject to petition forremoval under this section, then the First Vice Chairshall give notice of said petition to the SDEC and giveproper notice by mail of said meeting.

4. Advisory Committee. The Texas Democratic Party Advi-sory Committee is created to provide an issues forum andan advisory group to the SDEC.

a. It shall consist of the following:

(1) the elected officers of the SDEC;

(2) a Co-Chair to preside over this Committee with theState Chair. The Co-Chair shall be nominated bythe State Chair and shall be approved by a majorityvote of the SDEC;

(3) the participating groups, loyal to the principles ofthe Democratic Party and approved by the SDEC,shall be statewide caucuses and organizations of theTexas Democratic Party or the State Convention.Each participating group will elect two delegatesand two alternates, balanced by gender where ap-propriate, at the State Convention.

b. The Advisory Committee will meet twice a year at thecall of the State Chair and the Co-Chair or a majority ofthe committee members.

c. The SDEC shall govern any fundraising activities andexpenditures. Contributions and disbursements shall bemade through the Texas Democratic Party for properaccounting and reporting under Party Rules and relatedstate and federal laws.

d. The SDEC, as necessary, may provide additional rulesand guidelines. The Rules of the Texas DemocraticParty shall apply to the Advisory Committee. Proxy vot-ing shall not be permitted.

e. All members shall serve terms of two years commenc-ing after each State Convention.

E. County Executive Committee

1. Members.

a. Each county shall have a County Executive Committeecomposed of a County Chair and of one Precinct Chairfrom each election precinct in the county. (Required byTexas Election Code §171.022)

b. These members shall be elected by majority vote in theParty Primary Election held in even-numbered years.The County Chair shall be elected by the qualified vot-ers of the county, and the Precinct Chairs by the quali-fied voters of their respective precincts.

c. The term of office for members of the County Execu-tive Committee shall begin on the twentieth day follow-ing the Runoff Primary and shall continue for two yearsor until their successors are elected and certified. (Re-quired by Texas Election Code §171.022(c))

d. Acting Precinct Chair Appointment Upon Failure of theElected Chair to Perform Duties.

(1) If an incumbent Precinct Chair has failed to per-form his or her duties for an extended period oftime or missed three consecutive county executivecommittee meetings, the County Chair may appointan Acting Precinct Chair. The County Chair maydetermine if such lack of performance of the incum-bent Precinct Chair’s duties or the incumbent Pre-cinct Chair’s three consecutive absences rise to alevel to give written notice to the incumbent Pre-cinct Chair to start the process of appointing an Act-ing Precinct Chair.

(2) The incumbent Precinct Chair must be given writ-ten notice by registered mail that an Acting PrecinctChair will assume the duties of the Precinct Chairfor the remainder of the Precinct Chair’s term. Thewritten notice must include the specific perfor-mance of duty for an extended period of time thatthe incumbent Precinct Chair is alleged to have ne-glected or failed to perform or the specific threeconsecutive county executive committee meetingsthe incumbent Precinct Chair has missed. The no-tice must include an outline of how the CountyChair came to his or her determination that it war-ranted an Acting Precinct Chair’s appointment andthat if an Acting Precinct Chair were to be ap-pointed the incumbent Precinct Chair would stillmaintain his or her statutory responsibilities. Thewritten notice must specifically include the mailingaddress where a response to the written notice maybe made. The written notice must also specificallynote that the incumbent Precinct Chair has ten busi-ness days to respond and that the incumbent Pre-cinct Chair may at any time notify the County Chairthat the incumbent Precinct Chair will resume per-forming any of the duties of the Precinct Chair. Thewritten notice must include a copy of the PartyRule’s Article III, Section E (1)(d). A defect in thewritten notice would invalidate the process and re-quire the County Chair to reissue correct writtennotice and restart the ten business days responsetime in order to cure such defects.

(3) If the incumbent Precinct Chair does not respondin writing within ten business days of the writtennotice, the Acting Precinct Chair may be appointedby the County Chair and shall assume the non-statu-tory responsibilities of the incumbent PrecinctChair, including participation in executive commit-tee meetings and votes. These duties, however,shall not include participating in any votes or ac-tions required by state statute. A County Chair canonly appoint an Acting Precinct Chair if the incum-bent Precinct Chair does not respond to the writtennotice within ten business days. An Acting PrecinctChair must meet all the qualifications by statute ofa Precinct Chair.

(4) If the incumbent Precinct Chair notifies the CountyChair within ten business days of the written no-

— 6 —

tice, then the County Chair cannot appoint an Act-ing Precinct Chair and the incumbent Precinct Chairstill retains all duties and responsibilities of a pre-cinct chair. Any written response, short of the in-cumbent Precinct Chair’s resignation would be asufficient response to the written notice.

(5) The incumbent Precinct Chair shall always havevoting authority over the Acting Precinct Chair.If the incumbent Precinct Chair notifies theCounty Chair any time after the ten business daysof the written notice, even after the appointmentof an Acting Precinct Chair, that that incumbentPrecinct Chair will resume performing his or herduties, then the Acting Chair shall defer to theelected incumbent Precinct Chair in all duties andresponsibilities and the position of Acting PrecinctChair shall be vacated. The County Chair shallnotify the Acting Precinct Chair in writing that thePrecinct Chair is resuming his/her duties. TheCounty Chair shall encourage the volunteer for-merly serving as Acting Precinct Chair to continueany activity related to voter education, registra-tion, voter identification, and get-out-the-vote ef-fort in the precinct and make available to the vol-unteer any material, data system, or similar infor-mation or material.

e. A County Chair or Precinct Chair who has been electedby the voters or has been appointed to fill a vacancymust be posted to the website of the Secretary of State.The County Chair, County Executive Committee Sec-retary, or their designee shall add any Chair who is ap-pointed and remove any Chair who resigns, dies or isremoved from office during the term of their office. Thelist as posted on the Texas Secretary of State websiteshall be the official members of the County ExecutiveCommittee for all purposes outlined under these Rulesand Texas statutory requirements.

Eligibility to Vote on Replacements of County Chairor Candidate on the Ballot

(1) When due to the death, resignation, withdrawal,declaration of ineligibility, creation of a new office,or any other reason, a vacancy occurs in the officeof County Chair or for the nomination of any of-fice on the ballot and a county, district, or precinctexecutive committee is permitted or required by lawto elect a new County Chair or nominate a replace-ment candidate for the ballot for the other office,the precinct chairs eligible to vote in the executivecommittee meeting to fill the vacancy are onlythose precinct chairs who are posted on the Secre-tary of State website on the date the vacancy oc-curred or on the twenty-fourth day after the last pre-ceding runoff primary election day, whichever dateis later.

(2) Any precinct chairs appointed after the date of thevacancy and before the vote to fill the vacancy mayparticipate in any discussion or debate but are in-eligible to vote in the replacement election.

(3) When an executive committee meets to appoint aperson to fill a vacancy, the meeting to select thenew County Chair or candidate on the ballot mustbe at least ten days after the date of the vacancy tothe extent possible in relation to the final deadlinesfor appointment.

2. Officers.

a. The County Executive Committee shall elect a Secre-tary. If the County Executive Committee has not doneso, the County Chair may appoint a Secretary until thecommittee acts. The Secretary need not be a member ofthe committee.

b. The term of office of the Secretary, if one is elected orappointed, shall run concurrently with the term of of-fice of the County Executive Committee.

c. The combined amount of any compensation paid fromthe Primary fund to the Secretary and the Chair for theirservices shall in no case exceed the lesser of $8,000.00or 5% of the amount actually spent for necessary ex-penses in holding the Primary Election for that year, ex-clusive of the compensation paid to the Chair and Sec-retary. (Required by Texas Election Code §173.004)

d. The Secretary shall be responsible for taking minutesof any County Executive Committee meeting.

e. The Secretary legally is authorized to receive applica-tions for a place on the Primary ballot, and an applica-tion received by the Secretary shall be filed officially.

f. The County Executive Committee may, by majorityvote, adopt continuing rules for the conduct of its busi-ness, so long as they are not prohibited by law or arenot inconsistent with these Party Rules. Such rules shallbe filed with the State Chair.

3. Qualifications. Democrats 18 years of age or older are eli-gible for the offices of Precinct Chair or County Chair, pro-vided they meet the following criteria:

a. They are qualified voters (Required by Texas ElectionCode §161.005 (a)(1)) and voted in the most recentDemocratic Primary, not including runoffs, or signed anoath of affiliation:

Oath of Affiliation:“I swear that I have not voted in a primary election orparticipated in a convention of another party during thisvoting year. I hereby affiliate myself with the ________Party.”; and

b. They are not candidates for, nor holders of, an electiveoffice of the federal, state, or county government (Re-quired by Texas Election Code §161.005(a)(2)); and

c. They are residents of the precinct or county from whichthey seek election (Required by Texas Election Code§171.023(a) and §161.005(a)(1)).

4. Election Procedure.

a. A qualified Party member may become a candidate forCounty or Precinct Chair by filing a written applicationin the county using a form which shall be provided bythe County Chair upon request.

b. In addition, qualified Party members filing for the of-fice of County Chair in a county with a population of 1million or more shall include a petition containing thesignatures of 10 percent of the current, incumbent Pre-cinct Chairs serving on the County Executive Commit-tee in the county using a form which shall be providedby the State Party. The petition shall contain thecandidate’s sworn oath that the signatures thereon arevalid and that each was signed in the presence of thecandidate or candidate’s representative. (Required byTexas Election Code §172.021(f)).

— 7 —

c. The application, and petition, if applicable, shall besigned and duly acknowledged by the candidate andthen filed with the County Chair or with the Secretaryof the County Executive Committee if there is one. (Re-quired by Texas Election Code §§171.022(a) (2),172.021 and 172.023). A copy of the petition (if appli-cable) also shall be filed with the State Chair.

d. The application shall state the candidate’s occupation,county of residence, post office address, date of birth,and the office sought. The petition (if applicable) shallinclude the Precinct Chair’s signature, name, post of-fice address and precinct number. A Precinct Chair maynot sign the petition of more than one candidate for thesame office in the same election. (Required by TexasElection Code 141.066) By signing the petition, the Pre-cinct Chair is supporting the County Chair candidate’sappearance on the primary ballot, not the actual candi-date.

e. Applications, and petitions, if applicable, shall be filedno later than 6 p.m. on the deadline for candidate filingfor the Primary Election. This deadline shall be extendeduntil the next working day if it falls on a weekend or aholiday.

f. An application mailed but not received by this deadlineshall not be accepted. (Required by Texas Election Code§172.021(c) and 172.023)

g. No later than the day before the filing deadline, theCounty Chair shall post on the county or state party’sInternet website, a notice of the address at which theCounty Chair or the Secretary will be available to re-ceive applications on the last day of the filing period.(Required by Texas Election Code §172.022)

h. Write-in votes for Precinct and County Chair are per-mitted by law in the First Primary election, whether ornot there are other candidates for these offices on theballot. Only those votes cast for a County Chair or Pre-cinct Chair candidate who has filed an application forwrite-in candidacy may be counted. (Required by TexasElection Code §171.0231). Write-in votes, however, arenot allowed in the Second or “Runoff” Primary election.(Required by Texas Election Code §172.112)

i. No later than 20 days after the local canvass, the CountyChair shall post on the Texas Secretary of State website,the name, address, and precinct number of each Precinctand County Chair elected. (Texas Election Code§172.118

5. Vacancies.

a. When a vacancy occurs in the office of County Chair,the outgoing County Chair or the Secretary of theCounty Executive Committee may call a meeting to fillthe vacancy at any time after it occurs. Upon the writ-ten request of any Committee member, however, theSecretary shall call one for a date not more than 20 daysafter receiving the request, giving each member noticeof the time, place, and purpose. Should a CommitteeSecretary fail to act after being requested in writing todo so, the State Chair shall call the meeting in like man-ner. The officer calling the meeting shall designate aTemporary Chair to preside until the new PermanentChair is elected. (Texas Election Code §171.025)

b. A County Chair may appoint a person to fill a precinctvacancy at any time. A County Chair shall delete from

the Secretary of State website the name of any CountyExecutive Committee Member who resigns, dies, or va-cates the position. The appointed chair shall assume theposition upon appointment. The County ExecutiveCommittee shall confirm those appointed at the nextbusiness meeting of the committee. Any appointment bythe County Chair to fill a precinct chair vacancy shallbe ratified by majority vote of the County ExecutiveCommittee at a meeting at which a 25% of the mem-bership shall constitute a quorum; or the ExecutiveCommittee, when a business quorum is present may callfor a vote by mail, listing the precinct chairs to be ap-pointed on a published ballot sent to all of its member-ship, to be signed and returned by a stated deadline (inkeeping with the requirement that the Texas DemocraticParty does not permit secret ballots) and provided thatthe vote will not be valid unless 25% of the member-ship have returned their signed ballots. The results ofthe votes shall be published within 7 days after the stateddeadline. [Optional by Texas Election Code §171.024]If there is an additional candidate at the time of a ratifi-cation vote, then the County Executive Committee shalldefault to conducting a precinct chair election per itsrules, and not conduct a ratification vote of the CountyChair’s appointment. Notice of the replacement chair’sname and address shall be promptly posted on the Sec-retary of State website after ratification by the execu-tive committee if one exists. Until confirmed by theCounty Executive Committee, the appointed precinctchair has only the non-statutory responsibilities of a pre-cinct chair.

c. When the precinct boundaries are changed between pri-mary elections and only one Precinct Chair resides withinthe new precinct, that Chair shall continue to serve in thenew precinct until the end of the term of office. If no chairresides within the new precinct, the office automaticallyshall become vacant and shall be filled as provided herein.(Required by Texas Election Code §171.023) If a newprecinct contains the residence of two or more incumbentprecinct chairs in office within the new boundaries, theCounty Chair shall ask the incumbent chairs to make adecision by consensus by a date certain as to who shallcomplete the term as the precinct chair. For those pre-cincts where the incumbent precinct chairs cannot or donot decide by that date, the County Chair shall appoint acommittee to make recommendation(s) to the full countyexecutive committee of the chairs to complete the termin the same manner as the county uses to fill a vacancy ina precinct chair office.

d. Changes in precinct boundaries made by the Commis-sioners Court shall not become effective to alter mem-bership of the County Executive Committee until Feb-ruary 1 after the changes are ordered. (Required byTexas Election Code §171.023)

e. Removal of precinct chair or county chair for abandon-ment of office.

(1) A Precinct or County Chair who has failed to per-form statutory duties provided by this code or failedto attend four or more consecutive meetings of theCounty Executive Committee may be removed forabandonment of office as provided by this section.

(2) If authorized by a resolution passed by the CountyExecutive Committee, a County Chair may send anotice to a Precinct Chair that states that the Pre-

— 8 —

cinct Chair is considered to have abandoned the of-fice of Precinct Chair and the duties of the office.The notice must:

(a) state the reasons the County Executive Com-mittee believes the Precinct Chair has aban-doned the office;

(b) be sent by certified mail; and

(c) request a response from the Precinct Chair notlater than the seventh day after the date the Pre-cinct Chair receives the notice.

(3) If authorized by a resolution passed by the Demo-cratic State Executive Committee, the State Chairmay send a notice to a County Chair that states thatthe County Chair is considered to have abandonedthe office of County Chair and the duties of the of-fice. The notice must:

(a) state the reasons the state executive committeebelieves the County Chair has abandoned theoffice;

(b) be sent by certified mail; and

(c) request a response from the county chair notlater than the seventh day after the date thecounty chair receives the notice.

(4) A Precinct or County Chair must respond to a no-tice under Subsection (2) or (3) on or before theseventh day after the date the chair receives the no-tice and state whether the Chair wishes to continuein office. A Chair’s failure to respond and affirma-tively state that the Chair wishes to remain in of-fice results in a vacancy in the office of Precinct orCounty Chair, as applicable. The vacancy shall befilled as provided by these Rules.

6. Duties and Responsibilities.

a. Statutory duties of the County Executive Committee in-clude collecting filing fees (Required by Texas ElectionCode §172.021 and §172.022); appointing watchers(Required by Texas Election Code §33.03); determin-ing the order of names on the ballot (Required by TexasElection Code §172.082 and §172.084); canvassing pri-mary results (Required by Texas Election Code§172.116); and setting and publicizing times and placesfor Precinct and County and Senatorial District and StateConventions (Required by Election Code §174.022 and§174.063). Additional required responsibilities are out-lined in the Texas Election Code in Chapters 171, 172,173, and 174 as well as Sections 31.032, 32.006, 32.034,32.093, 32.111, 34.007, 42.009, 43.003, 51.002, 51.003,51.035, 52.002, 123.001, 123.033, 124.065, 125.031,143.033, and 145.036.

b. In addition to its statutory duties, the County ExecutiveCommittee shall have primary responsibility for planningand for coordinating the General Election campaigns ofthe Democratic Party’s nominees within the county. Inthe case of nominees running for office in districts whichinclude areas outside of the county, the County Execu-tive Committee shall work with the Senatorial DistrictCommittee (as described in Article III.F. below). Thisresponsibility shall include raising funds for conductinglocal campaigns, supporting the statewide effort for theentire ticket, producing materials and coordinating localservices for all Democratic campaigns.

c. The County Executive Committee may establish suchcommittees as it deems appropriate to carry out its non-statutory duties and may elect or appoint committeemembers who are not members of the County Execu-tive Committee. Unless the County ExecutiveCommittee’s continuing rules provide for such commit-tees to elect their own Chair, the Chair of such commit-tees may be elected or appointed by the County Execu-tive Committee. The term of office of the Chair of suchcommittees shall run concurrently with the term of of-fice of the County Executive Committee.

7. Meetings.

a. A statutory meeting of the County Executive Commit-tee shall be held in December of odd numbered yearsfor the purposes of drawing for ballot order of candi-dates and other actions required for conduct of the pri-mary and organizational matters for conducting countyand senatorial conventions.

b. Precinct Chairs shall be notified by written or electronicmail notice at least five days in advance of all meetings,excluding emergency situations.

8. Expenditure of Funds. Expenditure of funds by the CountyExecutive Committee, unless otherwise specified by law,shall require the approval of at least 51% of its memberspresent.

9. County Executive Committee Quorum. Non-StatutoryBusiness – At County Executive Committee (CEC) meet-ings, the quorum for conducting non-statutory business shallconsist of not less than 25% of the membership, excludingvacancies.

10. Meeting of the County Executive Committee. The CountyExecutive Committee (CEC) shall meet at least quarterlythroughout the two year term between elections. Statutorymeetings called for by the Texas Election Code may becounted toward the quarterly meeting requirement of theCEC. The County Executive Committee (CEC) meetingsshall not be scheduled during the week of the biennial stateconvention and county/Senatorial district convention, exceptto a) fill a ballot vacancy, b) endorse a candidate in a specialelection or c) if the nature of the business is such that it can-not wait until the adjournment of that convention. If a countychair fails to issue a written call for a County ExecutiveCommittee meeting within six months of the previousCounty Executive Committee meeting, 25% of the membersof the CEC may call a CEC meeting by written demand.Notice of such meeting, including an agenda of the businessto be considered, shall be mailed or sent by electronic mailto all members of the county executive committee at leastfourteen (14) days prior to the date of the meeting and shallstate the time, date and place and the names of the personsissuing the call. The County Executive Committee meetingsshall be chaired by the County Chair. If the County Chair isnot present, then the Secretary or any qualified Democratmay conduct the meeting.

F. District Executive Committee

1. Members. Each senatorial district shall have a SenatorialDistrict Executive Committee, sometimes referred to as the“District Committee,” to be formed as follows:

a. In a senatorial district composed of only a part of onecounty, the Precinct Chairs within the district shall con-stitute the District Committee. No later than the statu-tory meeting of the County Executive Committee in

— 9 —

December of odd years, such Precinct Chairs shall electone of their numbers to serve as Chair of their DistrictCommittee. (Texas Election Code §171.053)

b. For a senatorial district composed entirely of one wholecounty, the County Executive Committee shall consti-tute the District Committee, and the County Chair shallbe the District Chair. (Texas Election Code§171.052)

c. For a senatorial district made up of more than onecounty or parts of more than one county, the DistrictCommittee’s membership shall be composed of themembers of each county executive committee who re-side in the district.

d. The state chair shall call a meeting of the district execu-tive committee to convene either as a whole in one lo-cation or separately in each county in the district at anytime after the precinct chairs take office to fill a vacancyin a nomination or to transact any other business by thecommittee . The state chair shall notify the members ofthe district executive committee in advance of the meet-ing of the time, place, and purpose of any meeting ormeetings.

e. If a vacancy exists in the office of senatorial district chairfor a county immediately before the date for conductingthe regular drawing for a place on the general primaryballot, the appropriate county executive committee mem-bers shall convene on that date at the hour and placespecified by the county chair to elect that officer.

f. If the district executive committee is meeting as a wholein one location, the members of the committee shallelect a chair at the committee’s first meeting fromamong the committee membership. If the district execu-tive committee is meeting separately in each county, themembers meeting in each county shall elect a chair atthe committee’s first meeting from among the commit-tee membership in that county.

g. For the purposes of filling a vacancy in a nomination,the state chair shall canvass the votes of the district ex-ecutive committee when meeting separately in eachcounty and make the certification required by Section145.037 of the Texas Election Code.

h. A quorum of any executive committee shall be 25% ofthe number of chairs posted on the secretary of statewebsite at the time of the meeting.

2. Officers.

a. A District Committee may elect officers in order to ac-complish its business. Any Democrat qualified to holdParty office may hold any District Committee officeother than that of Chair. Chairs must be either a Pre-cinct or County Chair.

b. Within 3 days after the meeting of each County Execu-tive Committee at which District Committee membersare elected, each County Chair shall forward to the StateChair the names and addresses of the District Commit-tee members and of the District Chair selected at themeeting. (Required by Texas Election Code §171.053(a)and §171.054(b))

3. Duties. District Committees shall have those responsibilitiesassigned by Texas statutes, such as filling certain vacanciesin nominations for District officials. (Required by TexasElection Code, Chapter 145) They also shall be responsiblefor any duties in connection with Party activities which may

be assigned by the SDEC. They may and should, on theirown initiative, undertake such efforts on behalf of the Partyand its candidates which are appropriate on the district level.

4. Other “District Committees.” Certain statutory provisionsoccasionally may require specific action by a “District Com-mittee,” other than those based on state senatorial districts.The membership of such District Committees shall be deter-mined by the same general rules applying to the formationof Senatorial District Committees, except that the geographi-cal boundaries used shall be those pertaining to the relevantdistrict.

5. Meetings. When a District Committee composed of morethan one county or of parts of more than one county mustmeet and organize before it has a permanent District Chairas provided in these Rules, the State Chair shall designateone member of the District Committee to serve as Tempo-rary Chair to call the meeting to order and to preside untilthe Committee elects its own Chair. The permanent DistrictChair so elected shall serve for the remainder of the term ofoffice and shall call any subsequent meetings held duringthat time. (Required by Texas Election Code §171.054(1)(e))

G. Precinct Executive Committee For the Purpose of Filling aCommissioner or Justice or Constable Precinct CandidateVacancy

At a meeting called by the County Chair to fill a CommissionerPrecinct or Justice Precinct vacancy, the Precinct Chairs in eachCommissioner precinct and each Justice precinct shall select oneof their number to serve as Chair of a Precinct Executive Commit-tee for each respective Commissioner precinct and Justice precinct.The Precinct Chairs of the election precincts within the Commis-sioner precinct or Justice precinct shall constitute the Precinct Ex-ecutive Committee. However, if any such precinct contains fewerthan three county election precincts, the County Executive Com-mittee shall be the Precinct Executive Committee and the CountyChair shall serve as Chair of the Committee. (Required by TexasElection Code §§ 171.071, 171.072, and 171.073)

H. Removal From Office For Endorsing Opposing Party or Can-didate

1. A Party Officer shall be removed from office if during thecurrent term of office such officer publicly supports or en-dorses an opposing party or nominee of an opposing party,a person seeking the nomination of an opposing party, or anon-Democratic candidate seeking an office in an electionin which candidates may file by party affiliation and a Demo-crat is seeking the office in question.

2. The terms “publicly supports” and “endorses” shall include,but not be limited to, serving on a campaign committee; giv-ing financial support, including contributing money or itsequivalent such as equipment loans, services or supplies;willingly and knowingly allowing the officer’s name to beused in any kind of letter, public endorsement, news release,or advertisement; or actively soliciting votes by making apublic appearance or a door-to-door solicitation of votes.

3. The following procedure shall be used for removal of a PartyOfficer:

a. A complaint may be filed only by a qualified voter whomust be a Democrat and who resides in the political sub-division represented by the subject officer.

b. Complaints concerning a State Party Officer or SDECmember, a National Committee member, or a Senato-rial District Chair or a County Chair shall be filed withthe State Chair. Complaints concerning other Party Of-

— 10 —

ficers (except convention delegates) shall be filed withthe County Chair.

c. Immediately upon receiving a written complaint, to-gether with specific evidence that a Party Officer hasviolated this rule, the appropriate Chair shall notify thesubject Party Officer by certified mail, return receipt re-quested, deliver to addressee only, stating the nature ofthe complaint and the evidence submitted and provid-ing a copy of these rules. The subject Party Officer shallbe advised that unless he or she delivers to the appro-priate Chair within ten (10) days after receiving the no-tice a written denial signed by the Party Officer specifi-cally denying the claims, the appropriate Chair shall de-clare the office held by such Party Officer vacant.

d. If the Party Officer fails to deliver the written responseas required above, the Chair immediately shall declarethe office held by such Party Officer to be vacant.

e. If the Party Officer delivers a written denial to the ap-propriate Chair within the time prescribed above, theChair within five days thereafter shall determinewhether the denial fairly and specifically denies the al-legations in the complaint.

f. A Chair who determines that the denial does not fairlyand specifically deny the allegation shall declare the of-fice held by such Party Officer to be vacant, and theChair immediately shall mail written notice of such de-cision to the Party Officer and the complaining person.

4. Either party may seek review of the decision or action takenby a County Chair by filing a written request with the StateChair within 10 days after receiving notice of the CountyChair’s decision. If the County Chair fails to mail a noticeof the decision required above within 21 days from the datethe notification of the complaint was mailed to the Party Of-ficer, the complaining party may seek review by the StateChair by filing a written request within 10 days after the 21-day period.

5. No vacancy shall be filled during the time allowed to requestreview or while a review is under consideration.

6. Within 10 days after receiving a request for review, the StateChair shall determine whether the action or inaction of theCounty Chair shall be sustained or reversed. The onlygrounds for review shall be:

a. Whether the complaint against the Party Officer fairlyand specifically states an allegation of conduct violat-ing these Rules;

b. Whether the response filed by the Party Officer fairlyand specifically denies the allegations in the complaint;and

c. Whether there are procedural deficiencies, includingfailure to follow the notice requirements, involving han-dling the complaint.

7. The State Chair immediately shall mail written notice of thedecision regarding the review to the County Chair, to theParty Officer, and to the complaining person. If the StateChair’s decision declares a vacancy, the County Chair shallinitiate the steps necessary to fill it.

8. If a County Chair fails to send the original notice required bysection 3(c) above within three days after receiving a com-plaint, the complaining person may present the complaint tothe State Chair, who, upon receiving the complaint, shall as-sume the duties of the County Chair prescribed above.

9. Any Party Officer so removed shall be ineligible to serve asa Party Officer for the remainder of that term.

I. Duties of District Committees in Special Elections

1. When for any reason a vacancy occurs in an office requir-ing a special election, the appropriate District Committeeshall meet at the call of the State Chair for the purpose ofconsidering the endorsement of a candidate for the open of-fice. A District Committee may endorse a candidate in a spe-cial election, even if more than one Democrat is seekingelection.

2. The District Committee shall be composed of the same mem-bers who would convene to fill a statutory ballot vacancyfor the open office. The State Chair or the State Chair’s des-ignee shall preside over the meeting, and a Secretary shallbe elected by the Committee to keep and prepare minutes.

3. The Chair shall provide at least 72 hours notice of the meet-ing after learning a vacancy has occurred or shall occur. Inno case shall a meeting be called later than 14 days after theactual occurrence of the vacancy.

4. As the first order of business, balloting for or against an en-dorsement shall be conducted by recorded roll call vote orsigned paper ballot. If an endorsement is approved, the sameprocedure shall be utilized in voting on candidates for theendorsement.

5. A candidate receiving a two-thirds vote of those present shallbecome the endorsed Democratic Party candidate in the spe-cial election. If no candidate receives a two-thirds vote on thefirst ballot, balloting shall continue until one candidate re-ceives a two-thirds vote. If no candidate has received a two-thirds vote after the fifth ballot, the low vote getter will beremoved from the list of eligible candidates before the sixthballot is taken and this procedure will continue with every suc-ceeding ballot until one candidate receives a two-thirds vote.If a tie shall occur between the bottom two vote-getters on orafter the fifth ballot, there will be a coin flip with the loserbeing removed from the eligible list before the next ballot. Inthe event that five ballots between only two candidates doesnot result in one candidate receiving a two-thirds vote, the can-didate receiving the majority vote shall be endorsed. If anunresolvable tie occurs (one lasting through five ballots) be-tween the top two vote-getters, then the meeting shall be ad-journed and there shall be no formally endorsed DemocraticParty candidate. A majority of the District Committee can pe-tition the State Chair to re-convene the Committee at any timeup to ten days prior to the election.

6. The District Committee’s endorsed candidate will receive thehelp and support of the Democratic Party as if he or she werethe Democratic nominee in the General Election. The provi-sions of the Party Rules allowing for removal of Party Of-ficers for failure to support the Democratic nominee shallnot apply to an officer supporting a Democrat other than theone endorsed through this process.

J. In any election to replace a county chair (or other party office) orfor the nomination of the Party for any vacant office on the ballot,a majority vote of the applicable county, district, or precinct ex-ecutive committee is required for election to the Party office orreceive the Party’s nomination for a place on the general electionballot. If no candidate for such Party office or Party nomination(as the case maybe) receives a majority vote in the first vote of theapplicable executive committee, a runoff vote shall be conductedimmediately and the procedures described in Texas Election Code§ 2.023 shall be employed to govern the runoff vote and deter-mine the Party officer or Party nominee, as the case may be.

— 11 —

K. No meeting of any executive committee at any level (county, dis-trict, or precinct) shall be conducted on a date when any Demo-cratic Party Convention (including the Democratic National Con-vention) is being held and if such convention is in a county otherthan the county where the executive committee meeting is to oc-cur, the executive committee meeting shall not occur on the daybefore or the day after the convention. Nothing in this Rule shallprohibit the holding of senatorial district caucuses held in con-nection with and as a part of a State convention, or meetings ofthe State Democratic Executive Committee at any time suchmeetings shall be called and scheduled.

ARTICLE IVPARTY CONVENTIONS

It is a basic and fundamental precept of the Texas Democratic Partythat always, and at all levels, there shall be no secret ballots, thereshall be no fees charged for voting, and the meetings shall be open.

A. General Rules Governing Party Conventions

1. Compliance with Rules. Delegates to all Party Conventionsshall be selected in accordance with state law and with theseParty Rules and in compliance with the rules, regulations,and official directives of the previous National Conventionand of the Democratic National Committee, as such direc-tives pertain to the next National Convention.

2. Publicizing Meetings. The State Party, in conjunction withCounty Parties, shall develop a plan to publicize the Countyand Senatorial District Conventions prior to the Primary andon the day of the Primary Election. The notice shall beposted at the polling place on election day and include thetime, place and purpose of the convention. Such notice shallalso contain the URL of the State Party website for preregis-tering to attend the precinct convention at the county or sena-torial convention.

3. Rules.

a. It shall be the duty of the presiding officer at the open-ing of each convention to explain the rules governingthat convention and the ways in which convention ac-tions will influence important Party actions and deci-sions at subsequent convention levels.

b. The current edition of Robert’s Rules of Order, NewlyRevised, shall govern parliamentary procedure in allconventions, caucuses, and convention committees, ex-cept where contrary rules or procedures are specified inthese Party Rules or by state law.

c. A copy of all standing Party Rules which pertain to theconduct of the State Convention shall be printed in theofficial program of such Convention to be distributedto each Delegate during registration and shall be postedon the State Party website.

d. The specific time and place for each State ConventionCommittee to meet shall be established in advance ofthe Convention. This information shall be printed in theappropriate place in the official Convention programdistributed to delegates prior to the opening of the Con-vention and shall be posted on the State Party website.

e. The State Chair, any Permanent Standing Committees,or any duly-elected Party Officer shall be empoweredto charge a nominal fee, which is to be no greater thanthe unit cost of printing and postage, for any materialsrequired by these Rules to be provided to interested per-sons on request.

f. In any precinct in which a ballot is required by law tobe printed in English and any language other than En-glish, any precinct convention in a presidential electionyear may be conducted in English and in each suchother language. If needed, an attendee may bring atten-dants or interpreters (language or sign language) of theirchoice, and the attendants and interpreters need notcomply with the requirements of Article 4, Section B4or be a delegate to the convention.

g. In any County or Senatorial District that contains oneor more precincts subject to Subsection (f), the countyor Senatorial district convention may be conducted inEnglish and each such other language required by Sub-section (f). If needed, an attendee may bring attendantsor interpreters (language or sign language) of theirchoice, and the attendants and interpreters need notcomply with the requirements of Article 4, Section B4or be a delegate or alternate to the convention.

4. Voting.

a. Methods of Voting. The following methods of votingmay be used in all conventions, caucuses, and conven-tion committees: voice vote, (standing) division of thehouse, roll call vote, teller vote or signed written ballot.Unless otherwise specified in these Rules, the presidingofficer may determine the voting method to be used oneach particular question, except that on request of anyqualified participant (who need not be recognized by thechair to voice such request), a standing division votemust be held, and the request of one-fifth of the quali-fied participants shall require a roll call vote. Any votethat results in a tie shall be decided by a coin toss.

b. Secret ballots are specifically prohibited.

c. Roll Call Votes. The Rules on roll call votes shall be asfollows: In a Precinct Convention, the roll shall be thelist of all qualified Party members present; in a Countyor Senatorial District Convention, the list of all precinctswithin that county or senatorial district; and in the StateConvention, the list of senatorial districts within thestate. A motion to require a roll call vote shall take pre-cedence over any other item of business.

d. Voting For Officers. Voting for the following Party Of-ficers, if there be more than one nominee, shall be byroll call or by written ballot. A written ballot shall recordeach delegate’s name, county, Senatorial district anddelegate’s choice of candidate. Each Officer shall bevoted on separately and not as a slate: Permanent Chairof the State Convention, (if the State Chair is absent ordeclines the position), Chair of the SDEC (“State PartyChair” in these Rules), and National Committeemen andCommitteewomen.

e. Unit Rule. The use of the unit rule or the practice ofinstructing delegations shall not be permitted at anylevel of the convention process.

f. Proxy Voting. Proxy voting may only be used in thecase of absence of all delegates from a county at a stateconvention. In any case, a county delegation must haveheld and filed minutes from their county convention tobe eligible to be represented by proxy. No proxies fromany county shall be recognized at any convention orcaucus, so long as there is a Delegate present to cast thevote of the county. No person shall be permitted to holdor to vote a proxy for more than one county. A proxy

— 12 —

for an absent county delegation must be filed in writingor by electronic means with the State Chair before thestate convention is called to order at the meeting of thestate executive committee. A proxy may also be filedwith the State Chair or Delegation Chair by the last re-maining delegate from a county at the State Conventionbefore said delegate leaves the Convention. (Optionalby Texas Election Code §174.096)

g. Voting Full Delegate Strength.

(1) Each multi-county Senatorial district shall vote thefull Delegate strength to which it is entitled, dividedproportionately among the counties in attendanceaccording to each county’s voting strength withinthe district. (Optional by Texas Election Code§174.096)

(2) Each unit at each Convention shall vote the fullDelegate strength to which it is entitled, dividedproportionately to the vote of its Delegates in at-tendance. (Optional by Texas Election Code§174.068 and §174.096) The voting strength ofeach county in the Senatorial District or CountyCaucus shall be the same as the vote of that countyon the floor of the Convention.

(3) For any county which has no Delegates present inperson or by proxy, those votes shall be apportionedbased upon the vote of the Senatorial District so thatthe Senatorial District can vote its full Delegatestrength.

5. Media. Representatives of the news media shall have theright to attend all conventions for purposes of reporting theproceedings. (Required by Texas Election Code §174.002)

6. Minority Reports. Upon the vote of 20% of the Delegatesto any convention or the members of any convention com-mittee, a minority report shall be prepared and presented tothe convention as a whole. Such minority report may be sub-mitted to the convention for consideration either by way ofamendment or as a substitute for a majority report; provided,however, that additional nominations for any Party office al-ways may be made from the floor of the convention by anyDelegate, except where Delegates or Party Officers areelected by smaller units or are subject to different require-ments as provided in these Rules.

7. Resolutions. A resolution is a formal expression of opinionor intention which, if adopted, becomes the official positionof the Party. Resolutions are vehicles for expressing a requestfor action on a matter of concern, for sending a message to aperson or organization regarding policy or actions, or for rec-ognizing contributions of an individual or group to the pur-poses the Party’s serves. In order to be considered at StateConvention, a written resolution must either have passed at acounty or senatorial district convention or have been referredfavorably to the Convention through the petition process.

8. Rules. In order to be considered at State Convention, a pro-posed rule change must either have passed at a county orsenatorial district convention or have been referred favor-ably to the Convention through the petition process.

9. Petition Requirements. A petition signed by 20% of theDelegates attending any convention, other than the StateConvention, shall automatically place a specified item ofbusiness on that Convention’s agenda.

10. Presidential Preference. In presidential years, all personsnominated for Delegate or for any Party Committee dealing

with the Delegate selection process shall make known theirpresidential preference or uncommitted status to the relevantassembly prior to their election.

11. Balancing Delegations.

a. In selecting Delegates and Alternates at all levels, theNominations Committee and the Convention itself shallmake every effort to select persons in the district or stateso that the delegation as a whole shall reasonably re-flect the presidential preferences (in presidential years),include young people and people with disabilities, andreflect diversity in race, sex, gender identity, ethnicity,and sexual orientation.

b. At least one-third of the Delegates of any delegationelected at any level shall be of the gender opposite tothat of the rest of the delegation.

12. Ex-Officio Delegates.

a. There shall be no automatic ex-officio Delegates in-cluded in convention delegations at any level, exceptthat members of the Democratic National Committee,Officers and members of the SDEC, Democratic CountyChairs and former Texas State Democratic Party Chairsshall serve as ex-officio voting Delegates to all conven-tions held by the Texas Democratic Party. Any countychair who is retiring at the end of their term shall beeligible for automatic delegate status to the state con-vention immediately following their term. These ex-of-ficio Delegates shall be added on as a part of theirCounty or Senatorial District delegation. In years whenredistricting has changed district boundaries and num-bers, SDEC members shall have the option of havingtheir automatic delegate position be to either the districtin which they were elected or to their new geographicdistrict. In redistricting years, automatic delegates willinform the State Chair of their Senatorial District choiceby no later than the SDEC meeting immediately preced-ing the State Convention.

b. Any Democratic officeholder of any state or federal of-fice may attend any Democratic Convention governedby these Rules, at any level, without being a Delegate,and may exercise all floor privileges except voting.These floor privileges shall include speaking on anyquestion and serving as a Convention Officer. (Requiredby Texas Election Code §174.097)

13. Public Officials. No person shall be ineligible to run for theposition of Delegate by reason of holding any public office.

14. Nominations.

a. From the Floor. In case there are floor nominations tofill an office that is to be held by more than one person(such as National Committeeman or Committeewomanor At-Large Delegate to a higher Convention), a personmaking a floor nomination shall identify both the floornominee and nominee of the Nominations Committeeagainst whom the floor nominee will be running. Propor-tional representation mandated by other Rules shall not beviolated by the nomination or election of floor nominees.

b. Closing Nominations. Unless otherwise stated in theseRules, nominations may not be closed until either nofurther nominations are forthcoming from the floor or amotion to close nominations has passed by a two-thirdsvote. Such a motion, however, shall not be in order un-til a “reasonable time” has elapsed.

— 13 —

15. Non-Attendance at Prior Convention. No one shall bebarred from election as a Delegate to any convention becauseof nonattendance at that or any preceding convention, if suchnominee otherwise qualifies for the post.

16. Appearing at Committees. Any Delegate attending anyconvention shall have the right to appear before any Con-vention Committee to make recommendations, either orallyor in writing, before the Committee takes final action on itsreport. The Committee may establish by majority vote rea-sonable time limits for such presentations and shall allotequal time to all wishing to appear.

17. Establishment of Districts. The respective districts fromwhich the members of Party Committees and ConventionDelegates at all levels are elected in any given voting year—whether Delegates be elected by popular vote in the Prima-ries or by Party Convention —shall be the same as the cor-responding districts used in the Primary and General Elec-tion of that voting year.

18. Succession of Delegates at National Conventions. The suc-cession of Alternate to Delegate status at National Conven-tions shall be governed by the following rules:

a. A vacant Alternate position shall be filled by the TexasDelegation. The replacement shall be of the same presi-dential preference, shall be from Texas, and otherwiseshall be eligible to serve as a Delegate.

b. A Delegate who is to be absent or resigns may selectfrom among the Alternates elected by the State Conven-tion from which the Delegate was elected that particu-lar Alternate of the same presidential preference, if pos-sible, who shall assume Delegate status.

c. When the Alternate is selected by the Delegate, the datefor determining that the Delegate and the Alternate havethe same preference shall be their preferences as of thedate when the Delegate selects an Alternate.

19. Actions Recommended at the Statutory Meeting of theCounty Executive Committee in December of odd yearsand required to be completed by January 31 of evennumbered years.

A County Executive Committee (or Precinct Chairs withindistricts), pursuant to statute and these Rules shall:

a. Determine and announce the time and location of theCounty Convention or Senatorial District Convention.

b. Group precincts within the county or Senatorial districtwhich did not contain sufficient votes for Governor inthe preceding gubernatorial election to qualify for a del-egate to the state convention.

c. In counties with multiple Senatorial districts, elect a Sena-torial District Chair and Secretary if not previously done.

d. In counties with multiple Senatorial districts, decidewhether there will be a Senatorial District Conventionheld in each Senatorial district, or whether two or moredistricts will meet at the same location.

B. County and Senatorial District Conventions

1. Time and Place. Each County and Senatorial District Con-vention shall be held on the third Saturday after the First Pri-mary; however, if that date occurs during Passover or on theday following Good Friday, the Convention shall be held onthe next Saturday that does not occur during Passover or onthe day following Good Friday. The Convention shall beheld in a place easily accessible to the public and large

enough to accommodate all participants. (Optional in TexasElection Code §174.063)

a. County Conventions. A County Convention shall beheld at a time of day and place set by the County Ex-ecutive Committee pursuant to the timeframe in Art. IV(A) (19) and be posted on the State Party website calen-dar and local party websites where available.

b. Senatorial District Conventions. Pursuant to thetimeframe in Art. IV (A) (19), the Precinct Chairs forthe election precincts which will select Delegates toeach Senatorial District Convention, or on their failureto act, the Senatorial District Chair shall determine theexact time and place where each respective SenatorialDistrict Convention shall be held. Each Chair shall postsuch order electronically on the county and state party’sinternet website at least 10 days before the Convention.Should any Chair fail to post the order and to file thenotice, any member of the County Executive Commit-tee entitled to participate in the decision may post andfile such notice. Should more than one do so, the firstposting and filing in point of time shall prevail. (Re-quired by Texas Election Code §174.064)

2. Conditions for Holding Senatorial District Convention.

a. When parts of one county belong to more than oneSenatorial district, there shall be held, in lieu of aCounty Convention, a District Convention for each partof the county falling into a different Senatorial district.

b. Any county containing portions of two or more Senato-rial districts may elect to combine the Senatorial Dis-trict Conventions of two or more adjoining Senatorialdistricts into a single County or sub-county “Regional”Convention. The Precinct Chairs in each Senatorial dis-trict involved must, by majority vote, adopt a resolutionto hold such Convention at a meeting for which 30 daysprior notice has been mailed or sent by electronic mailto all members of the County Executive Committee.

c. Any such Convention [referred to in foregoing para-graph (b) above] shall:

(1) Elect Convention Committees proportionately rep-resentative of each Senatorial district in attendance;

(2) Group precincts solely within Senatorial districts;

(3) Elect At-Large Delegates from each Senatorial dis-trict in such manner as to insure that each Senato-rial district receives its proportionate number ofDelegates and that such Delegates reflect the po-litical preference if any (in non-presidential years)or the presidential preference (in presidential years)of that Senatorial district;

(4) Allow only members of a Senatorial district tomake nominations and vote on the election of At-Large Delegates from that senatorial district on thefloor of the Convention.

3. Qualifications and Eligibility to Participate.

Any qualified Democratic voter who will be 18 years of ageor older on the date in November of the of the General Elec-tion in November who resides in the county or senatorial dis-trict (as applicable) where the convention will be held andwho has voted in the Democratic Primary, whether early, bymail, or in person, or who signs an oath affiliation to theDemocratic Party and has not voted in another party’s pri-mary, convention, or supported a candidate of another party,

— 14 —

shall be eligible to attend, to participate in, and to be a can-didate for any Party Office or for any Delegate or Alternateposition to be filled at that convention, including the posi-tions of delegate or alternate to the Democratic NationalConvention. (Texas Election Code §174.021)

4. Temporary Roll.

a. To attend a Precinct, County or Senatorial District Con-vention a person may preregister for the convention byelectronic means though an online registration systemmaintained on the state party website. Precinct, Countyand Senatorial District Chairs shall advertise and makethe registration site accessible through local websites.

b. The online registration shall require the person’s name, vot-ing address, city, and zip code. The system shall requirethe county and voting precinct of each registrant and thevoter’s unique identification number (VUID) as assignedon their voter registration. However, failure to fill in oneof these data items does not disqualify a participant fromparticipating. It shall be the responsibility of the County orSenatorial District Chair or their designee to complete theregistration form by adding missing data that is availablethrough the Voter Action Network (VAN).

c. In a presidential election year, the registrant will makea declaration of support for presidential candidates or astatement of uncommitted status. A person may changetheir presidential status until the Chair of the County orSenatorial District Convention has announced that reg-istration for precinct conventions has closed.

d. The online and in-person registration must include thestatement described by Texas Election Code Section162.004(a) and require a preregistering attendee to af-filiate with the party by taking the oath described in Sec-tion 162.007(b). By preregistering online, the registrantshall affirm that they have read and attest to both oaths.

e. The preregistration shall open on the first day of filingfor office for the general primary and close 48 hoursprior to the county or senatorial convention.

f. A person who does not preregister to attend a conven-tion under this section may register in person at the con-vention and must have voting rights identical to thoseof a person who preregistered.

g. Any person without access to the electronic registrationmay register in writing with the County Chair. Such reg-istration shall contain all the data elements required inthis section and shall include the statements required bysubsection (d) and an affirmation to the oaths. Upon re-ceipt of written registration, the Chair or their designeeshall enter the registration into the online system.

h. Each county chair or their designees shall have accessto download the list of preregistered convention attend-ees for their county or Senatorial district convention.

i. Each attendee at a county convention who has preregis-tered shall write their original signature on the list asthey arrive at the convention. All eligible persons whodid not preregister online shall have the right to registerat their convention and provide all the required data insubsection (b) and an affirmation to the oaths.

j. The list of persons who preregistered or registered onsite shall become the temporary roll of the convention.Only those listed thereon may vote on the temporaryorganization of the Convention.

k. If for any reason, the preregistration roll is not avail-able or in a case of technology failure, the Chair shallallow on-site registration in writing for all attendees aslong as all data elements to the extent possible from sub-section (b) and the oaths in subsection (e) are maintainedalong with an original signature for each registrant.

5. Committees. Convention Committees shall be the Commit-tees on Credentials, Nominations, Platform and Resolutions,and Rules and Procedures. Each committee shall be com-posed of between 5 and 15 members. These committees shallbe appointed from among persons who have preregisteredto attend the Convention by the County Chair or the Senato-rial District Chair and ratified by the Precinct Chairs withinthe respective conventions at the statutory meeting after theFirst Primary.

6. Resolutions.

a. Any person qualified or eligible to participate in the Pre-cinct, County or Senatorial District Convention maysubmit to the County or Senatorial District ConventionChair or a designee a proposed resolution for consider-ation by the Convention. Resolutions may be submittedto the Chair for referral to the Resolutions Committeebeginning on the date of the canvass of the vote of theFirst Primary.

b. Resolutions shall be printed on the form available onthe TDP website, in Appendix A of these rules, or fromthe County Chair/ Senatorial District Chair. Instructionsfor preparing resolutions are available from the samesources. The Chair shall announce at the beginning ofthe convention where and with whom resolutions shallbe filed. The period for filing resolutions shall be openfor at least one hour from the time of said announce-ment. The Convention may waive this one hour periodif there is no objection from any attendee.

c. The Committee on Resolutions may meet prior to theCall to Order of the County or Senatorial District Con-vention to organize their work and make preliminaryrecommendations of submitted resolutions.

7. Rules.

a. Any person qualified or eligible to participate in the Pre-cinct, County or Senatorial District Convention maysubmit to the County or Senatorial District ConventionChair or a designee a proposed change to the TexasDemocratic Party Rules for consideration by the Con-vention. Proposed rules may be submitted to the Chairfor referral to the Rules Committee beginning on thedate of the canvass of the vote of the First Primary.

b. The County or Senatorial District Convention Chairshall announce at the beginning of the convention whereand with whom rules shall be filed. The period for fil-ing proposed changes to the rules shall be open for atleast one hour from the time of said announcement. TheConvention may waive this one hour period if there isno objection from any attendee.

c. The Committee on Rules may meet prior to the Call toOrder of the County or Senatorial District Conventionto organize their work and make preliminary recommen-dations of proposed changes to the rules.

8. Convention Officers.

a. The County or Senatorial District Convention Chairshall submit the names and information about Delegates

— 15 —

to the State Convention and all resolutions to the StateChair within five days after the Convention.

b. The County Chair shall be the chair of the County Con-vention unless the County Chair is absent or declinesthe position. In such case, the delegates shall elect fromamong themselves a chair by majority vote.

c. Chair at Senatorial District Convention. The Chair ofthe Senatorial District Committee shall be the Chair in aSenatorial District Convention composed of only part ofone county. The Senatorial District Committee member(not to be confused with the SDEC member for the sena-torial district) shall be the Chair of the Senatorial DistrictConvention for a part of a county which is joined withanother territory in a senatorial district. In the case thatthe Chair of the Senatorial District Committee is absentor declines the position, the delegates shall elect fromamong themselves a chair by majority vote.

d. Submission of Delegate. The County or Senatorial Dis-trict Chair or their designee shall submit the minutes ofthe convention and the list of Delegates to the State Con-vention through an online electronic system on thewebsite of the state party. The Chair shall retain a writ-ten copy of the minutes which shall contain signaturesof the County or Senatorial District Chair and the Sec-retary of the Convention. The Chair or Secretary shouldbring this original copy to the State Convention in theevent a challenge to the delegation occurs.

9. Order of Business. The order of business at County andSenatorial District Conventions shall be as follows:

a. Call to Order.

b. Establishment of Temporary Roll of Delegates. (Art. IVB 4.)

c. Report of Credentials Committee. The credentials reportshall include recommendations regarding challenges ofattendees and shall be considered according to the Rulesin Article V, and shall be acted upon before other busi-ness is considered.

d. Report of the Rules and Procedures Committee and ac-tion on its report.

e. Election from among those present of a ConventionChair if the County Chair or Senatorial District Chair isabsent or declines the position, a Permanent Secretary,and other officers necessary to conduct Conventionbusiness. (Texas Election Code §174.065)

f. In presidential years, completion of the presidentialpreference or uncommitted status poll. (Art.IV(B)(10)(g)).

g. Election of Delegates to the State Convention by eachPrecinct or Grouped Precinct Conventions as set forthin Art. IV (B) (10) or (11).

h. Other Business: Committee reports, resolutions, etc.

i. Adjournment.

10. Election of Delegates from County and Senate District tothe State Convention.

a. Apportionment. The ratio for the selection of Delegatesto the State Convention shall be one Delegate for each175 votes or major fraction thereof cast in the countyfor the Party’s candidate for Governor in the last Gen-eral Election. Each County or Senatorial District Con-

vention, however, shall elect at least two Delegates tothe State Convention.

b. The County or Senatorial District Chair shall provideall required registration rolls and reporting forms to thePrecinct Conventions. The Precinct Chair shall be re-sponsible for all documentation prior to the call to or-der and election of the Precinct Convention officers. Inthe case of Grouped Precincts, the Precinct Chair of thelargest precinct by population shall have this responsi-bility. In the absence of that Precinct Chair, the attend-ees that are grouped in that precinct shall elect amongthemselves a Precinct Chair to represent their GroupedPrecincts. In the event that no Precinct Chair is elected,then the County or Senatorial District Chair shall ap-point the Precinct Convention Chair. If no appointmentis made, any participant may assume this duty.

c. Duties of Precinct Officers. The Precinct Chair shall pre-side over the precinct convention. The Secretary shallcomplete precinct convention reports and return them ina timely manner to the County Chair or Senatorial Dis-trict Chair or Convention Committees as designated bythem. The Chair and Secretary shall jointly be respon-sible for and shall affix their signature to all reports andminutes to ensure that an accurate written record of con-vention proceedings is kept, including the list of personspresent and a list of Delegates elected to the State Con-vention. The lists shall include residence addresses andcities or towns and any other information as directed bythese Rules. (Texas Election Code §174.027)

d. Participants in Precinct Convention. All persons pre-registering for the convention or registering in person atthe who reside in the precinct (or grouped precincts) areeligible to participate. Persons arriving late who are oth-erwise qualified to participate may participate in proceed-ings subsequent to their arrival. Such persons, however,may not vote on matters previously voted upon or onwhich a vote has been called for by the Chair. The Pre-cinct Chair, if present, shall chair the precinct conventionand call the convention to order. If the precinct conven-tion consists of grouped precincts, the participants shallselect a Chair by majority vote from among the variousPrecinct Chairs to lead the meeting. If no Precinct Chairis present, or the elected Precinct Chair(s) declines theposition, the County or Senatorial District Chair may ap-point any participant to preside over the election of theConvention Chair. If no appointment has been made, anyparticipant may lead this election process. The attendeesshall elect a person by majority vote to be Chair. If onlyone nomination is made, that nominee is elected auto-matically upon closing of nominations.

e. The convention shall elect a secretary to take notes andcomplete all required reporting forms. The Chair and thesecretary shall jointly be responsible for timely sub-mission of reporting forms or minutes to the Chair ofthe Convention or their designee.

f. A person otherwise qualified need not be present at theconvention to be elected a Delegate. Although a precinctor grouped precincts might be allocated delegates, if noperson is in attendance to participate in that convention,or if a precinct does not wish to elect delegates to fillany of their allocation, those delegate seats become au-tomatically assigned to the Nominations Committee tofill as At-Large delegates.

— 16 —

g. Election Procedure In Precinct Conventions in Presi-dential Years. In presidential years, delegates areelected proportionately to the number of supporters fora presidential candidate or uncommitted status. Allqualified participants shall have entered their names,residence addresses, and cities or towns on the onlinepreregistration or in person as they entered the Conven-tion. In a presidential year, they shall also indicate theirpresidential preference or uncommitted status when theypreregistered or signed in at the Convention. Any per-son who preregistered may change his or her presiden-tial preference or uncommitted status at any point untilthe Chair of the County or Senatorial District Conven-tion has announced that registration for precinct conven-tions has closed. This announcement must not occur ear-lier than the time the final person in line at the time theCounty or Senatorial Convention was called to order hascompleted their registration. When it is time in the Or-der of Business to elect Delegates to the State Conven-tion, the procedure shall be as follows:

(1) The Precinct Convention Chair shall announce thenumber of eligible voting members in attendanceand the number of Delegates the Convention is en-titled to elect to the State Convention.

(2) Participants may nominate themselves or any quali-fied voter (Article IV.B.3) who resides in the pre-cinct for the position of Delegate. Nominationsshall be open from the floor until a motion is made,seconded, and passed by a two- thirds vote to closenominations. Each nominee for delegate must dis-close his/her presidential preference. The PrecinctChair will confirm the preference from the roll.

(3) Each participant may cast a number of votes equalto the number of Delegates allocated to such Pre-cinct. For example, if there are three positions tobe filled, each participant may cast three full votesin any of the following manners:

(a) one vote for each of three candidates;

(b) two votes for one candidate and one vote forone other candidate: or

(c) three votes for a single candidate.

Persons receiving the highest number of votesshall be the Delegates elected by the PrecinctConvention. In the case of a tie vote for Del-egate, the Delegate shall be determined by lotor chance.

(d) If the number of persons wishing to be electeddelegate is equal to or less than the number ofdelegates the precinct is entitled to elect, thevoting requirement in subsection (a) shall besuspended, and the slate of nominees may beelected by acclamation. If the attendees by con-sensus discussion develop a list of delegates tofill the precinct allocation, then said slate maybe elected by unanimous consent without tak-ing formal nominations and votes.

(e) Only a full vote may be cast; fractions of a voteare prohibited.

(f) Adjournment of convention.

11. Election Procedure in Non-Presidential Years. In Non-Presidential years the procedure shall be as follows:

a. The Precinct Convention Chair shall announce the num-ber of eligible voting members in attendance and thenumber of Delegates the Convention is entitled to electto the State Convention.

b. Participants may nominate themselves or any qualifiedvoter who resides in the precinct for the position of Del-egate. Nominations shall be open from the floor until amotion is made, seconded, and passed by a two- thirdsvote to close nominations.

c. Each participant may cast a number of votes equal tothe number of Delegates allocated to such Precinct (orgrouped Precinct) Convention. For example, if there arethree positions to be filled, each participant may castthree full votes in the following manner:

(1) one vote for each of three candidates;

(2) two votes for one candidate and one vote for oneother candidate: or

(3) three votes for a single candidate.

Persons receiving the highest number of votes shallbe the Delegates elected by the Group. In the caseof a tie vote for either Delegate, the shall be deter-mined by lot or chance.

d. If the number of persons wishing to be elected delegateis equal to or less than the number of delegates the pre-cinct is entitled to elect, the voting requirement in sub-section (a) shall be suspended, and the slate of nomi-nees may be elected by acclamation. If the attendees byconsensus discussion develop a list of delegates to fillthe precinct allocation, then said slate may be electedby unanimous consent without taking formal nomina-tions and votes.

e. Only a full vote may be cast; fractions of a vote are pro-hibited.

f. Adjournment of convention.

12. Determination of At-Large Delegates.

a. The delegate nominations made by the precinct conven-tions shall be forwarded immediately to the Nomina-tions Committee and shall be included in the list of Del-egates to the State Convention. The Nominations Com-mittee shall select other nominees for At-Large Del-egates to bring the total to the full number authorizedfor the county or senatorial district. Following any ad-ditional nominations for At- Large Delegates which maybe made from the floor sub- sequent to the NominationsCommittee report, the Convention as a whole shall ratifythe election of Delegates recommended by the precinctsand shall elect the At-Large Delegates needed to com-plete the delegation.

b. Upon the Chair’s announcement of the closing of theperiod for registration for the Convention, results shallbe tabulated by a committee appointed by the Conven-tion Chair and composed of at least one person for eachknown presidential preference or uncommitted status.The Chair then shall announce the tabulation results tothe convention by number and percentages of votes re-ceived by each presidential preference, including un-committed. The tabulation then shall be written into thepermanent records of the Convention and shall be re-ported as part of the minutes. The preregistration andon-site registration documents shall be retained by theCounty or Senatorial District Chair as part of the offi-

— 17 —

cial files of the Convention for at least six months. Suchrecords shall be open to public inspection at reasonablehours upon request.

c. All convention preregistration and on-site registrationshall include all known presidential preferences and un-committed status of registrants in presidential years, butshall not limit the right of any registrants or group ofregistrants to indicate their preference in any mannerwhich they choose.

d. The results of the presidential preference tabulation shallbe used by the Nominations Committee and by the Con-vention as a whole as the basis for nominating and forelecting At- Large Delegates so as to ensure the fairestpossible representation of the Convention participantsas a whole within the total delegation, with- out disturb-ing the Precinct Convention election results. The thresh-old will be the lowest allowed by the National Commit-tee (which at present is 15%).

13. Election of Delegates to State Convention by Acclamation.

(a) When the Chair closes registration, and the CredentialsCommittee has made their report and the convention hasaccepted the roll of the convention, the NominationsCommittee will announce the number of persons whohave indicated upon signing in that they wish to attendthe state convention. If that number is less than or equalto the number of delegates the county is allocated, thena motion may be made to suspend the precinct caucusesand the selection of at-large delegates and to elect allpersons who have indicated a desire to attend the stateconvention by acclamation.

(b) Additional persons may be added for thirty days to com-plete the state delegation after adjournment of the con-vention by the convention chair until the number of al-located persons is reached. In a presidential year, thebalance of presidential preference must be maintainedto the greatest extent possible.

(c) This subsection becomes effective after the 2016 con-vention.

14. Delegation Chair. The County or Senatorial District Con-vention either shall elect a Delegation Chair or shall assignthis responsibility to the delegation, either by action or inac-tion.

C. State Convention

1. Time and Place. The Texas Democratic Party shall hold itsState Convention on a date selected by the State ExecutiveCommittee. The time for convening the State Conventionand the date and place shall be selected by the SDEC at leastthree years in advance so as to maximize participation. (Al-lowed by Texas Election Code §174.092 and §174.093)

2. Notice. The notice of the Convention shall be posted on thestate party website along with a copy of the Party Rules, anysupplemental rules which may apply, and the proposed Con-vention agenda.

3. Eligibility to Participate. The State Convention shall becomposed of Delegates duly-elected from County and Sena-torial District Conventions. Additionally, members of theDemocratic National Committee, officers and members ofthe SDEC, Democratic County Chairs, and former StateChairs shall serve as ex-officio voting Delegates to the StateConvention.

4. Purpose.

a. The purpose of the State Convention shall be to elect aState Chair, First Vice Chair, Vice Chair for Finance,Secretary and Treasurer; to elect the 62 members of theSDEC from their respective senatorial districts; to adopta platform which embodies the basic principles of theDemocratic Party and which sets forth its positions oncurrent issues of statewide significance for the Novem-ber General Election; to announce the nominations forGovernor and other state offices; and to attend to anyother appropriate business.

b. Additionally, in presidential years the Convention shallelect Delegates and Alternates to the Party’s NationalConvention; elect the Party’s official nominees fromTexas for the Democratic National Committee (suchnominees shall be elected formally by the National Con-vention in accordance with National Committee Rules);and select the official slate of Presidential Electors.

5. Officers and Committees.

a. Temporary Officers. The State Chair may designatesuch Temporary Officers and assistants deemed neces-sary to plan, to arrange, and to conduct the necessarywork of the Convention until Permanent Officers areelected. These appointees shall have those duties whichare assigned to them.

b. Permanent Officers.

(1) The State Chair shall serve as the Chair of theState Convention. The Permanent Officers of theConvention shall be a Chair, Vice Chair, Secre-tary and Parliamentarian. The Convention mayelect such additional Permanent Officers as theSDEC may recommend to carry on Conventionbusiness.

(2) The SDEC shall, by majority vote, nominate a Per-manent Chair if the State Chair is absent or has de-clined to Chair the State Convention, a PermanentVice Chair of the opposite sex of the State Chair, aPermanent Secretary and a Parliamentarian at leastone month before the State Convention. Additionalnominations accompanied by a petition signed byat least one percent of the duly-elected Delegatesto the Convention shall be accepted from the floorof the State Convention from any Delegate. No Del-egate may sign more than one nominating petitionfor any given office.

(3) The Permanent Officers of the Convention shall beelected by a majority of the State Convention Del-egates. Each Permanent Officer shall be voted onseparately and not as part of a slate.

c. Temporary Credentials Committee. A TemporaryCredentials Committee composed of 15 members shallbe appointed by the State Chair, who shall also appointthe Committee Chair. Its duties shall be to hold suchpreliminary meetings and hearings as it deems neces-sary to gather facts about challenges to the credentialsof individual Delegates or delegations to the State Con-vention and to report to the SDEC, which shall estab-lish the Temporary Roll of the Convention. This writ-ten report shall also be submitted to the PermanentCredentials Committee of the State Convention to ex-pedite the latter’s work and avoid undue delays in the

— 18 —

orderly progress of the Convention. The State Chairshall ensure that the Temporary Credentials Commit-tee is broadly representative of the state’s populationin terms of geography, age, sex, sexual orientation andgender identity, ethnic identity, race and philosophi-cal persuasion.

d. Temporary Resolutions Committees.

(1) The Chair shall convene a Temporary ResolutionsCommittee to consider and recommend to the StateConvention Permanent Resolutions Committee,Permanent Platform Committee and PermanentRules Committee resolutions submitted by Countyand Senatorial District Conventions.

(2) The Temporary Resolutions Committee shall con-sist of one member of the SDEC from each Senato-rial District. The members of each district shall de-cide which member shall serve. If both wish toserve, the State Chair shall conduct a coin toss todetermine the member to serve. If neither are ableto serve, the State Chair shall appoint a replacementfrom that district with the advice and consent of theapplicable SDEC committee members where thevacancy occurred. The State Chair shall appoint theChair of the Committee. The Chair does not haveto be chosen from among those selected as mem-bers of the Committee.

(3) The Temporary Resolutions Committee shall meetat a time and place and as often as necessary as de-termined by the State Chair. A quorum of the Com-mittee shall be 10 members.

(4) All resolutions passed by a County or SenatorialDistrict Convention shall be submitted with theminutes of the Convention to the State Party Chair.The Chair shall refer all such resolutions to theTemporary Resolutions Committee.

(5) The Temporary Resolutions Committee shall deter-mine if any resolutions or substantially similar reso-lutions have passed ten or more County or Senato-rial District Conventions. Any such resolution shallbe referred directly to the Permanent ResolutionsCommittee for consideration. Any other resolutionthat was submitted by a convention shall be con-sidered by the committee and must obtain a 2/3 voteof the quorum present at the meeting to be recom-mended to the Permanent Resolutions Committeeat the State Convention for consideration. The Tem-porary Resolutions Committee shall have the dis-cretion to non-substantively re-write and formatresolutions to make them appropriate for consider-ation. Such changes and formatting shall not requirea vote of the committee for the changes to be made.

(6) All memorial and congratulatory resolutions shallbe referred directly to the Permanent ResolutionsCommittee of the State Convention. The PermanentCommittee may recommend them as one motionfor adoption by the Convention with a direction forthe Party staff to prepare the adopted resolutions forpresentation to the group, person, or their family,as appropriate.

(7) Any resolution that addresses a local issue orpolicy that does not rise to statewide significanceshould not be recommended by the TemporaryResolutions Committee for a State Convention

vote. Such resolutions have served their purposeupon adoption by the local County or SenatorialDistrict Convention.

(8) All resolutions that pertain to the Rules of the TexasDemocratic Party, party procedural matters or otherparty governance issues shall be referred by theTemporary Resolutions Committee to the Perma-nent Rules Committee of the State Convention.

(9) Any resolution that considers an idea or policy thatshould be considered for inclusion in the Party Plat-form shall be referred by the Temporary Resolu-tions Committee to the Permanent Platform Com-mittee of the State Convention.

e. Resolution Recommendation or Adoption by Petition.

(1) Any delegate to the State Convention may submitto the Chair or a designee a proposed resolution forconsideration by the Convention. The resolutionshall be filed between the hours of 9 am and 6 pmon Friday of the State Convention. It shall be as-signed a Resolution Number and given a short title.

(2) Proponents of the resolution will be given a pre-scribed petition form for the purpose of obtainingsignatures. It shall be the responsibility of the pro-ponents of the resolution to reproduce sufficientcopies of the petition.

(3) Each signature must be accompanied with the Sena-torial District number of the signer.

(4) Any resolution for which signatures have been ob-tained from 30% of the number of Delegates to theConvention (as certified by the Credentials Com-mittee as the Permanent Roll) shall be presented tothe Convention for discussion and a vote. A sub-mission of such resolution shall immediately be rec-ognized as being before the Convention as the nextorder of business after completion of any item thenunder consideration. Any resolution for which sig-natures in excess of 50% of the number of Del-egates to the State Convention have been obtainedshall be adopted by the Convention upon submis-sion to the Permanent Chair and shall not require avote of the Convention. The Permanent Chair shallannounce the adoption of such resolution.

f. Temporary Rules Committee.

(1) The State Chair shall convene a Temporary RulesCommittee to consider and recommend to the StateConvention Permanent Rules Committee proposedrule changes submitted by County or Senatorial Dis-trict Convention and shall consist of one member ofthe SDEC from each Senatorial District. The mem-bers of each district shall decide which member shallserve. If both wish to serve, the State Chair shall con-duct a coin toss to determine the member to serve. Ifneither are able to serve, the State Chair shall appointa replacement from that district with the advice andconsent of the applicable SDEC committee memberswhere the vacancy occurred. The State Chair shallappoint the Chair of the Committee. The Chair doesnot have to be chosen from among those selected asmembers of the Committee.

(2) The Temporary Rules Committee shall meet at atime and place and as often as necessary as deter-mined by the State Chair.

— 19 —

(3) All proposed rules passed by a County or Senato-rial District Convention shall be submitted with theminutes of the Convention to the State Party Chair.The Chair shall refer all such proposed rule changesto the Temporary Rules Committee.

(4) The Temporary Rules Committee shall determineif any proposed rule changes or substantially simi-lar proposed rule changes have passed multipleCounty or Senatorial District Conventions. Anysuch proposed rules changes shall be referred di-rectly to the Permanent Rules Committee for con-sideration. Any other proposed rule change that wassubmitted by a convention shall be considered bythe Committee and must obtain 2/3 vote of the quo-rum present at the meeting to be recommended tothe Permanent Rules Committee at the State Con-vention for consideration. The Temporary RulesCommittee shall have the discretion to non-substan-tively re-write and format the proposed rulechanges to make them appropriate for consider-ation. Such changes and formatting shall not requirea vote of the Committee for the changes to be made.

(5) Any proposed rule change that addresses a specificlocal issue or policy that does not rise to statewidesignificance should not be recommended by theTemporary Rules Committee for a State Conven-tion vote.

g. Submission of Proposed Changes to the Rules by Pe-tition.

(1) Any Delegate to the State Convention may submitto the Chair or a designee a proposed change to theRules for consideration by the Permanent RulesCommittee. The proposed rule changes shall befiled between the hours of 9:00 am and 6:00 pm onFriday of the State Convention. It shall be assigneda rule number and given a short title.

(2) Proponents of the proposed rule changes will begiven a prescribed petition form for the purpose ofobtaining signatures. It shall be the responsibilityof the proponents of the proposed rule changes toreproduce sufficient copies of the petition.

(3) Each signature must be accompanied with the Sena-torial District number of the signer.

(4) Any proposed rule changes for which signatureshave been obtained from 30% of the number ofDelegates to the Convention (as certified by theCredentials Committee as the Permanent Roll) shallbe presented to the Permanent Rules Committee fordiscussion and a vote.

h. Selection of permanent convention committee mem-bers, presidential electors, and State DemocraticCommitteeman and Committeewoman.

Any delegate elected to attend the state convention maysubmit an application to the state party chair announc-ing their candidacy for election as a member of a per-manent committee, to be a presidential elector, or forthe office of senate district committee man and senatedistrict committee woman.

(1) This application shall be through an online applica-tion created on the state party website and shall beavailable beginning on the Monday following thecounty or senate district convention and ending no

later than at 5:00 p.m. on the Monday before the open-ing date of the state convention. The state chair shallinsure that all persons filing online will be viewableto the public in real time on the state party website.

(2) A delegate who does not have access to the onlineapplication may submit their information in writ-ing and the state chair will have it entered onlinefor the delegate.

(3) Notice shall be given to all delegates of this appli-cation process by a posting on the state partywebsite and notice to the delegates by the state chairby email if the delegate has provided an email ad-dress. Information about announcing for or filingfor these offices shall also be announced at eachcounty or senate district convention.

(4) The State Chair shall provide lists of all announcedcandidates for each position for distribution to eachsenate caucus before it convenes.

(5) Any delegate may self nominate for any of thesepositions at the senate district caucus of the stateconvention without having previously announcedthrough the online application.

(6) Elections for these offices at the senate caucus shallbe done by a:

(a) show of hands in the senate district caucus and arunoff held if no person wins a majority vote; or

(b) written signed ballot.

(7) The state committeeman and state committee-woman shall decide before the county or senate dis-trict convention and announce at that convention ifthe votes for the offices listed in subsection (1) shallbe by the show of hands or written ballot, includ-ing type of written ballot voting. If the committeepersons do not agree on a method, then the countychairs and delegation chairs of partial countieswithin the district shall be polled and the majorityvote shall prevail. If the senate district conventionis wholly within a senate district, and the commit-tee persons disagree, the senate district chairpersonshall break the tie. If necessary, the convention del-egates shall be called upon to make this decisionby a majority vote at the senate district convention.

(8) Those senate districts which will use a written signedballot shall notify the State Chair. The state party willprovide ballots that are uniformly designed for thesedistricts which state the process for voting and in-structions for instant runoff balloting, if used.

(9) Written ballots may provide for a instant runoff bal-lot ranking of the first three candidates. If no can-didate wins a majority, the person with the lowestvote total shall be removed from the count and theirballot awarded to the candidate who is the nexthighest ranked person. This process shall continueuntil a candidate obtains a majority of the votes.

(10)Use of paper ballots by senate district caucus:

(a) If the statutory senate district executive mem-bers have chosen to use paper ballots, the stateparty shall post that information on theirwebsite. All candidates for any position inthose senate districts should file their candi-dacy online to be listed on a ballot.

— 20 —

(b) A person may also self nominate at the senatedistrict caucus and delegates may write in theperson’s name on their ballot.

(c) A person without computer access may submittheir information by written notice prior to thedeadline to the state chair who will post it online.

(d) A person may run for multiple positionselected at the senate district caucus. If a per-son wins more than one convention committeeposition, the candidate must announce whichcommittee they will serve on, and the personwith the second highest vote total shall assumethe other committee position.

(e) A person may also be a candidate for nationaldelegate in a presidential year.

(11) In all senate districts, whether voting by divisionof the house or paper ballots, the member of thePermanent Credentials Committee shall be electedby a show of hands vote as the first order of busi-ness in order for those members to be able to meetupon the Chair of the Convention calling for theCredentials Committee to meet after the conventionis called to order on Friday.

i. Permanent Committees.

(1) Composition. The Permanent Committees of theState Convention shall be those of Credentials,Nominations, Platform, Resolutions, and Rules. Inpresidential years, there shall also be the Nomina-tions Committee for At-Large Delegates to the Na-tional Convention. Each Permanent Committee ex-cept Credentials shall be composed of 34 members,one member to be elected to each Committee byeach Senatorial District Caucus and three membersto be appointed by the Permanent ConventionChair. The Permanent Credentials Committee shallconsist of 33 members, one elected by each Sena-torial District Caucus, and the Permanent Chair andSecretary appointed by the State Chair. In a multi-county senatorial district, the Delegates shouldstrive to provide geographical representation byrecommending their committee persons to be fromdifferent counties; this is not a mandate.

(2) Temporary Chair. The Permanent ConventionChair shall designate one member of each Perma-nent Committee, except the Credentials Committee,to be Temporary Chair. The Temporary CredentialsCommittee Chair shall serve as an ex-officio mem-ber of the Permanent Credentials Committee, butshall not vote unless that person is one of the mem-bers elected by a Caucus or one of the two officersappointed by the State Chair.

(3) Order of Business. The first order of business ofeach Permanent Committee shall be to elect a Per-manent Chair and a Permanent Secretary fromamong its membership.

j. Duties. The duties of the Permanent Committees shallbe as follows:

(1) The Permanent Credentials Committee shall makerecommendations to the Convention as to the finalresolution of all challenges regarding the creden-tials of Delegates to the State Convention.

(2) The Nominations Committee shall nominate the of-ficers of the SDEC and the SDEC members recom-mended by their respective Senatorial District Cau-cuses, and in presidential years, the DNC represen-tatives. In presidential years, the duties of theNominations Committee for At-Large Delegates tothe National Convention shall be those implied byits title or as assigned by the National Party Rules.

(3) The Platform Committee shall write and recom-mend to the Convention a Party Platform for theNovember General Election.

(4) The Resolutions Committee shall consider and rec-ommend all resolutions submitted to the Conven-tion, other than those within the proper jurisdictionof the Platform Committee.

(5) The Rules Committee shall consider and recom-mend any proposed amendments to the permanentParty Rules and shall assist the Convention Chairand Parliamentarian, at their request, in interpret-ing the applicability of these Rules to questions oforganization and procedure at the Convention.

6. Order of Business. The order of business at the State Con-vention shall be as follows:

a. Call to order by the State Chair following the StateDemocratic Executive Committee on Thursday for thepurpose of announcing the Temporary Roll and conven-tion procedures. This shall occur in the same locationand upon adjournment of the SDEC meeting. No votesof the full Convention shall occur until after the Fridayevening Opening Ceremonies.

b. SDEC Report on the Temporary Roll.

c. State Chair announces the time and place for SenatorialDistrict Caucuses to be held. The Senatorial DistrictCaucus shall elect one member to each of the followingPermanent Committees of the Convention and other po-sitions as listed:

(1) Credentials Committee

(2) Platform Committee

(3) Resolutions Committee

(4) Rules Committee

(5) Nominations Committee for SDEC officers andSDEC members recommended by Senatorial Dis-trict Caucuses, and in presidential years, membersof the Democratic National Committee and Presi-dential Electors

(6) Recommendation for SDEC Committeeman

(7) Recommendation for SDEC Committeewoman

In presidential years:

(8) Nominations Committee for At-Large Delegates tothe National Convention

(9) Recommendation for Presidential Elector(s) as al-lotted to those Caucuses under these Rules

(10) Delegates and Alternates to the National Conven-tion as allocated to them

d. State Chair announces time and location for the Perma-nent Credentials Committee to meet. Chair announcesthe Chair’s appointment of a Permanent Chair and a

— 21 —

Secretary of such Committee. The Permanent Creden-tials Committee shall begin its deliberations at the ap-pointed hour or as soon thereafter as a quorum is estab-lished. Members arriving after the Committee has madea decision on any given challenge may not vote on amotion to reconsider, but may vote and debate on allother motions subsequent to their arrival.

e. State Chair announces a time certain for Opening Cer-emonies.

f. State Chair announces that the convention stands at re-cess until the Opening Ceremonies.

g. Each Senatorial District Caucus is held at the time andplace on Friday assigned by the State Chair. The Cau-cus may be called to order by either the SDEC member,or if absent, by any delegate from said District. The Cau-cus shall elect a Permanent Chair of the Caucus. ThePermanent Chair shall appoint a clerk to fill out all nec-essary forms and reports of caucus results. The electionof the Permanent Credentials Committee member shallprecede any other elections. All Caucuses shall recessone hour before the stated opening ceremony time. Anycaucuses who have not completed their business shallreconvene no sooner than 10 minutes after recess of thefull Convention on Friday night at a place decided bythe Caucus Chair, in consultation with the State Chairor their designee.

h. State Chair calls Convention back to order at previouslyannounced time, followed by presentation of colors, thenational and state anthems and the invocation. (TexasElection Code, Section 174.094).

i. State Chair introduces the Temporary Officers of theState Convention.

j. Remarks by Chair, Welcome Address, etc., andspeeches by invited dignitaries.

k. Report of the Permanent Credentials Committee and ac-tion on report.

l. Report from the SDEC on its nomination for PermanentConvention Chair if the State Chair is absent or declinesto chair the State Convention, followed by nominationsfrom the floor.

m. Election of Permanent Convention Chair, if necessary.

n. Elected Chair assumes duties, if election was required.

o. Convention Chair announces the Chair’s appointmentof Temporary Chairs and two additional members ofeach Permanent Committee and announces where theCommittees will meet the following morning at 8 am.

p. In a presidential year, Convention Chair announces theallocation of At-Large Delegates, Pledged Elected andParty Official Delegates and Pledged Alternates to eachpresidential preference. Convention Chair announcesthe number of presidential electors to be elected by eachsenate district caucus.

q. Convention Chair further announces that the Conven-tion will recess until the following morning so that thePermanent Convention Committees may transact theirbusiness.

r. Senatorial District Caucus Chairs deliver written reporton the results of their Caucuses to the Chair or designeeimmediately upon completion of their caucuses. Any

Senatorial District that did not finish its business duringthe afternoon caucus shall deliver any partial reports tothe Chair or designee before the Opening Ceremoniesand the remainder of the information upon conclusionof the caucus.

s. Chair announces location of any Senatorial District Cau-cuses that did not finish their business during the after-noon.

t. Convention reconvenes on the second day of the Con-vention and the Convention Chair calls the Conventionback to order.

u. Report from the SDEC on its nominations for Perma-nent Officers of the Convention (other than ConventionChair), followed by nominations from the floor.

v. Election of Permanent Officers (other than ConventionChair).

w. Report of Rules Committee and action on report.

x. Report of Nominations Committee and action on report,including the Committee’s nominations for State PartyOfficers and for SDEC members recommended by theirrespective Senatorial District Caucuses, and in presiden-tial years, the Committee’s recommendations for Na-tional Committee members and Presidential Electors.

y. Convention Chair reads list of Senatorial District nomi-nees to SDEC, followed by formal vote of ratificationby Convention.

z. In presidential years, the following shall occur at thispoint in the order of business:

(1) Convention Chair reads list of all National Conven-tion Delegates elected by Senatorial District Cau-cuses.

(2) Report of Nominations Committee for At-LargeDelegates and Alternates and action on report.

aa. Report of Platform Committee and action on report.

bb. Report of Resolutions Committee and action on report.

cc. Announcements and further business.

dd. Adjournment. Because of the uncertainty of the lengthof any particular Permanent Committee meeting, theConvention Chair may take Committee reports out ofthis order. Further, the Reports of any Committee maybe divided and partial reports given and adopted as nec-essary. Specifically, the report of the Committee onResolutions can be made by the Chair of the Resolu-tions Committee forwarding individual resolutions asthey are recommended by the Committee to the Con-vention Chair for action.

7. Allocation of National Delegates by Results of StatewidePrimary Vote.

The Nominations Committee shall select all At-Large Del-egates in the same proportion as the results of the statewidepresidential primary votes. However, no candidate that re-ceived less than 15% of the vote shall be allocated any del-egates. The votes for candidates receiving less than 15% ofthe vote shall have their votes disregarded and the percent-age of delegates will be allocated using the remaining votes.

The Chair shall announce the results of the Primary electionas a whole by number and percent of votes received by eachpresidential or uncommitted preference and by the number

— 22 —

of Pledged Party and Elected Official Delegates and num-ber of At-Large Delegates allocated to each presidential oruncommitted preference.

8. Election of National Delegates/Alternates. The election ofDelegates and Alternates to the National Convention shallbe governed by the Texas Delegate Selection Plan adoptedby the SDEC and approved by the National Committee forthat presidential year.

9. Election of National Committee Members. At the StateConvention held in presidential years, the Convention shallelect, by majority vote, the Texas nominees to the Demo-cratic National Committee (DNC). The number of thesemembers shall be set by the DNC, and their election shall besubject to formal ratification by the National Convention, asprovided by the Rules of the National Committee.

a. Qualifications. The qualifications for National Commit-teemen and National Committeewomen shall be thesame as those prescribed for Party membership in Ar-ticle II.B. of these Rules.

b. Pledge of Support. The National Committeemen andCommitteewomen must declare affirmatively in favorof the Party’s nominees for President and Vice Presi-dent within one month after the National Convention orthey shall be subject to removal from office by the Na-tional Committee.

c. Terms. The term of office for National Committeemembers shall begin immediately following the Na-tional Convention which ratifies their selection or fol-lowing ratification by the National Committee if a mem-ber is elected to fill an unexpired term. The regular four-year term shall extend through the first National Con-vention held subsequent to the election of such mem-bers or until their successors are elected and qualified.

d. Nominations. In presidential years, the NominationsCommittee shall consider all recommendations made toit by Convention Delegates and all nominations madeby Committee members for National Committee mem-bers. The Committee’s report to the Convention mayinclude more than one nomination for any position onthe National Committee.

e. Elections. After the Nominations Committee presentsits report to the Convention, minority reports whichcomply with Party Rules shall be presented, followedby additional nominations, if any, from the Conventionfloor. The Convention as a whole then shall elect eachof its National Committee members by majority vote.

f. Vacancies. Any vacancy in these offices which occursafter a National Convention and before the next presi-dential State Convention shall be filled promptly by amajority of the SDEC, provided that members receivewritten notice at least 30 days before the meeting atwhich the election will be held. Any member of theSDEC may nominate a candidate for the vacant office.

10. Election of Presidential Elector Candidates. At its StateConvention, in presidential years, the Party shall nominateas many Presidential Elector candidates as the total numberof U.S. Senators and U.S. Representatives to which the statelegally is entitled at that time.

a. Qualifications. The qualifications for Presidential Elec-tor candidates shall be the same as those prescribed forParty membership in Article II.B of these Rules. Le-gally, however, a Presidential Elector may not be a

member of the United States Congress or anyone who“holds any other federal office of profit or trust.” (TexasElection Code §192.002)

b. Duties. The duties of Presidential Electors shall be tomeet in the Capitol Building at Austin on the first Mon-day after the second Wednesday in December follow-ing their election (or at such other time and place as maybe required by law), and to vote for President and VicePresident of the United States, making such returnthereof as is required by federal law.

c. Election Procedure. Presidential Elector candidatesshall be chosen in the following manner:

(1) Each Senatorial District Caucus shall elect by ma-jority vote one candidate for Presidential Elector.If Texas is entitled to more than 31 Electors, eachsenatorial district shall be entitled to one Electorand the remaining Elector positions shall go to thesenatorial districts with the highest vote for theDemocratic nominee in the preceding presidentialelection in descending order, until all positions areallocated.

(2) The names of all Electors so chosen by the Senato-rial District Caucuses shall be submitted to theConvention’s Permanent Nominations Committeefor SDEC members. The Committee shall compilea list of these Electors to report to the Conventionand shall make any additional nominations or anydeterminations by lot necessary to make the slatenumerically correct. The required number of Presi-dential Elector candidates shall be certified to theSecretary of State by the State Chair and Secretaryat least 70 days before the election. (Texas Elec-tion Code §192.031)

d. Affidavit. After the Party’s National Convention andprior to September 1, each Presidential Elector candi-date shall file with the State Chair a written affidavit at-testing their intention to support the Party’s Presiden-tial and Vice Presidential nominees. Any Elector candi-date chosen at the State Convention who fails to filesuch an affidavit shall be replaced by the SDEC with anElector from the same senatorial district.

e. Vacancies. If for any cause, before the General Elec-tion, a Party’s chosen Elector becomes legally disquali-fied, the State Chair shall certify the replacement nameand address to the Secretary of State. If for any cause,after the General Election, a Party’s chosen Elector failsto attend the meeting of the Electors and vote as requiredby law, or if an Elector becomes legally disqualified, amajority of the qualified Electors present after havingconvened may appoint a successor and shall report suchaction immediately to the Secretary of State. (Requiredby Texas Election Code § 192.004 and § 192.007)

11. Applications for Appointment to National ConventionCommittees. The Texas Democratic Party shall collect appli-cations for persons wanting to be considered for appointmentto the Standing Committees of the National Convention. Thesubmission will be done through the signing and notarizingof a form to be turned into the Texas Democratic Party, simi-lar to filing for National Delegate, utilizing the same cutoffdate. In turn, the forms will be presented to the presidentialcampaigns authorized representative in Texas for their con-sideration in filling the appointments from the state of Texas.The role of the Texas Democratic Party in this process will

— 23 —

only be a ministerial one of passing on the information fromthese potential appointees to the presidential campaigns.

ARTICLE VCHALLENGES

A. Grievance Process. The following rules shall govern any chal-lenges and disputes regarding the rules of the Texas DemocraticParty to the extent permitted by the Texas Election Code:

1. Grievance Review Commission.

a. The Grievance Review Commission shall be composedof seven (7) members selected according to the follow-ing guidelines:

i. four (4) members of the Rules Committee of theState Democratic Executive Committee, and whoare duly appointed by the State Party Chair.

ii. three (3) Democrats who are not members of theState Democratic Executive Committee, and whoare duly appointed by the State Chair, with the ad-vice and consent of the State Democratic ExecutiveCommittee.

b. The Grievance Review Commission shall elect a Chairand Vice Chair from within its membership.

c. A quorum shall be a simple majority. The GrievanceReview Commission may meet by telephone or othermeans of simultaneous electronic communication. Aruling by the Grievance Review Commission is madeby simple majority of the complete membership of theGrievance Review Commission, otherwise no action istaken. Deliberations made by the Grievance ReviewCommission may be exempt under the open meetingsrequirement under the Texas Democratic Party Rules.

2. Complaints. Any Democratic Party Official, as defined bythe Texas Democratic Party Rules, may bring forth a com-plaint before the Grievance Review Commission.

a. All complaints must be commenced by the filing of awritten complaint with the Texas Democratic Party staffno later than fourteen (14) calendar days after the al-leged violation occurred. The Texas Democratic Partystaff shall promptly deliver the complaint to the Griev-ance Review Commissioner Chair. Upon a showing ofgood cause, sustained by unanimous vote, the GrievanceReview Commission may waive the 14 day requirementbut in no event shall a grievance be considered that con-cerns conduct that occurred more than one year beforethe filing of the grievance.

b. The written complaint must contain the following:

i. A statement of the decision, action or failure to actfrom which the complaint is taken;

ii. The points on which the complaint is based;

iii. The individual(s) for whom the complaint is taken;

iv. What provisions of the Party Rules have been vio-lated or disregarded; and

v. What relief, correction or other action is sought bythe appellant.

c. Initial Review: The Committee shall appoint, for a oneyear term, one person to make initial review of all filedgrievances. The initial reviewer may or may not be amember of the Committee. Upon receipt of a grievance,

the initial reviewer shall determine whether a grievancehas stated a non-frivolous complaint. The initial re-viewer must make such a determination no later thanfourteen (14) days after the filing of the complaint. Afinding by the initial reviewer that a complaint in frivo-lous can be appealed no later than twenty-one (21) daysafter notice was given of that ruling. It is in the discre-tion of the Grievance Review Commission as to whetherto take up an appeal of a grievance found to be frivo-lous by the initial reviewer. In the event the Commis-sion does not take up a grievance found to be frivolousby the initial reviewer on or before thirty (30) days fromthe date the appeal was filed, the grievance is deniedand no further appeal is permitted. In the event the ini-tial reviewer determines that a grievance is non-frivo-lous, the Commission shall conduct a hearing on theGrievance upon the consent of three (3) members of theGrievance. In the event the Commission does not takeup a grievance found to be non-frivolous by the initialreviewer on or before thirty (30) days from the date theinitial review decision was made, then the grievance isdenied and an appeal may be taken.

d. Upon the decision to review a complaint by the Griev-ance Review Commission, notice by the shall promptlybe given to any affected parties in a manner deemed rea-sonable by the Committee. These affected parties maysubmit a written response to the Committee no later thantwenty-one (21) days after notice was given. Non -af-fected Democrats may also submit a response to a griev-ance no later than twenty-one (21) days after notice wasgiven.

e. The Grievance Review Commission shall have thepower and authority to take such actions as are neces-sary to provide a fair and just remedy, insofar as suchremedy is permitted by the Rules of the Texas Demo-cratic Party, state law and/or federal law.

f. Any decision or judgment by the Grievance ReviewCommission shall be delivered electronically in writingto the affected parties, as well as to the State Chair andthe full State Democratic Executive Committee, withinseven (7) days of the final hearing.

g. Any final judgment by the Grievance Review Commis-sion may be appealed to the full State Democratic Ex-ecutive Committee, at its next meeting, which may ormay not take action on the appeal. The State Chair and/or the Rules Committee Chair may, suasponte, initiatean appeal of any Grievance Review Commission ruling/judgment, within fourteen (14) days. to the full StateDemocratic Executive Committee. Any final judgmentof the State Democratic Executive Committee may beappealed by any member of the State Democratic Ex-ecutive Committee, or any affected person, to the RulesCommittee of the next State Convention which may ormay not choose to review the matter. The Rules Com-mittee of the next State Convention may not reviewjudgments that were not first decided upon appeal bythe State Democratic Executive Committee.

i. Notice of appeal must be given to the InitialReveiwer within fourteen (14) days of the finaljudgment. If appealed to the State Democratic Ex-ecutive Committee, the Initial Reviewer will notifythe State Party Chair. If appealed to the Rules Com-mittee of the next State Convention, the Initial Re-view will notify the Chair of the Rules Committee

— 24 —

of the next State Convention after such appointmentof the Chair of the Rules Committee of the nextState Convention is made.

ii. All appeals will proceed de novo.

iii. All decisions, rulings, judgments made by theGrievance Review Commission shall be affirmedunless otherwise stated by decision of the StateDemocratic Executive Committee or Rules Com-mittee of the next State Convention.

iv. A judgment is overturned by the State DemocraticExecutive Committee or Rules Committee of thenext State Convention by a simple majority of thosemembers present.

v. If the Grievance Review Commission’s judgmentfalls within fourteen (14) days of an State Demo-cratic Executive Committee meeting or the StateConvention, then the State Democratic ExecutiveCommittee shall review the appeal at the next StateDemocratic Executive Committee meeting after thefourteen (14) day appeal notice period. An appealinitiated the State Chair and/or the Rules Commit-tee Chair may be reviewed by the State DemocraticExecutive Committee meeting within the fourteen(14) day appeal notice period.

vi. If the State Democratic Executive Committee’s’judgment falls within fourteen (14) days of the StateConvention, then the Rules Committee of the nextState Convention shall review the appeal at the nextState Convention meeting after the fourteen (14)day appeal notice period.

h. The Texas Democratic Party shall have no duty to ex-pend money or resources defending in Court, a rulingby the Grievance Review Commission unless requiredby the State Chair or a majority vote of the State Demo-cratic Executive Committee.

i. Nothing herein grants the right of judicial review to anydecision derived from this process including any com-plaint concerning the administration of this process. TheTexas Democratic Party specifically denies that state orfederal courts have subject matter jurisdiction to con-sider a petition of complaint concerning this process.

B. Credentials Committee Challenges.

The following rules shall govern credentials challenges at County,Senatorial District and State Conventions:

1. Any Democrat may challenge any Delegate or any group ofDelegates certified to any Convention, provided the chal-lenger and the challenged parties reside in the same county(or senatorial district) whose Convention elected the chal-lenged Delegate(s). In the case of the County or SenatorialDistrict Convention, the challenger shall deliver the copy ofthe challenge to the County or Senatorial District Chair andto the challenged Delegate(s) at least 3 days before the dateof the Convention. In the case of a State Convention, thechallenger shall deliver a copy of the challenge to the StateChair and to the challenged Delegate(s) within 16 days afterthe date of the County and Senatorial District Conventions.

2. Delegations, Delegates, may be challenged for allegationsof violations of these Party Rules.

3. The challenge shall be in writing and shall include the nameand address of the Delegate(s) challenged and the precisegrounds on which the challenge is based.

4. The State Chair shall send all challenges to the Chair of theTemporary Credentials Committee of the State Conventionand to the Delegates who are challenged. This shall be doneas soon as possible after the challenges are received at theState Party Headquarters.

5. The Chairs of the Permanent Committee on Credentials ofCounty and Senatorial District Conventions and the Chairof the Temporary Credentials Committee of the State Con-vention shall convene their respective Committees at the siteof the Convention in question at least 24 hours before thetime when the Convention is to meet.

6. The Credentials Committee of any Convention shall considerany statements from the challenger, from the Delegates be-ing challenged, and from any other person who wishes totestify on the challenge. In hearing a challenge, the Creden-tials Committee may allot a period of time within which thechallenger and the challenged shall be granted equal time tomake their statements.

7. In the case of a challenge, the Credentials Committee shallreport to the Convention the names of the Delegate(s) whomthe Committee believes are entitled to participate in the Con-vention. A minority of 20% of the Committee may present aminority report on any challenge to the Convention. When anumber of challenges are to be resolved, the CredentialsCommittee shall report on each in alphabetical or numericalorder by county or by precinct in which the Delegate(s) orAlternate(s) being challenged reside.

8. The Convention shall vote separately on each challenge pre-sented as part of the report of the Credentials Committee.The report of the Credentials Committee on each challengemust be approved by a majority vote of the Convention be-fore a Delegate or Alternate being challenged may partici-pate further in the Convention. No challenged Delegate orAlternate may vote on the report of the Credentials Com-mittee which involves the Delegate’s or Alternate’s respec-tive challenge.

ARTICLE VIADOPTION, STATUS, AMENDMENT,

PUBLICIZING OF RULES ANDPARLIAMENTARY PROCEDURE

A. Adoption and Status

1. These Rules shall continue in force until rescinded or per-manently changed by action of the State Convention, or astemporarily amended by the SDEC as provided herein, andare enforceable by mandamus proceedings as provided un-der Texas law.

2. Notwithstanding anything in these Rules to the contrary, thelaws of the State of Texas take precedence over these Rulesin the event of a conflict, so long as application of those lawsdoes not infringe on the Party’s rights of self-governmentunder the Constitutions of the United States and the State ofTexas.

3. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, any statutethat burdens the Delegate selection process in such a way asto create a conflict with National Party Rules relating to Del-egate selection or instruction shall not be given effect if, inthe opinion of the SDEC, such statute would imperil the par-ticipation of the Texas Democratic Party in National Partyaffairs. Such determination shall be made by the SDEC af-ter 30 days notice and by a two-thirds vote of the member-ship.

— 25 —

B. Amendment

1. These Rules may be permanently amended, altered or re-pealed only by a majority vote of the State Convention.

2. Between State Conventions, they may be temporarilychanged for good cause by three-fourths vote of the SDEC;provided, however, that the vote to amend shall constitutethree-fourths of the entire Committee membership and alsoprovided that each member of the SDEC receive written no-tice, including the full text of any proposed amendments, atleast one month in advance of a meeting held for this pur-pose. All such amendments shall be presented to the nextState Convention for approval, although they shall be in ef-fect and binding until such Convention is held.

3. If any amendment attached by the SDEC be rejected by theState Convention, it may not be proposed again until the fol-lowing State Convention.

C. Publicizing of Rules

1. Publicizing of these Rules shall be made by mailing a copyto all County Chairs and members of the SDEC and to inter-ested persons who request copies from the State Headquar-ters. The State Chair, County Chairs and members of theSDEC shall make every effort to publicize the Rules well inadvance of each Convention and to explain them summarilyat the opening of each Convention.

2. A copy of any amendment to these Rules shall be filedpromptly with the Secretary of State and shall be includedin all sets of Rules distributed from the State Headquarters.

D. Parliamentary Authority

The parliamentary authority of the Texas Democratic Party, itsclubs and affiliated organizations shall be the current edition ofRobert’s Rules of Order, Newly Revised. The parliamentary au-thority shall govern all meetings, committees and conventions ex-cept where superseded by federal and state laws and these Rules.

ARTICLE VIINATIONAL DELEGATE SELECTION RULES

A. Delegates

1. In presidential years, the Party shall hold a presidential pref-erence primary election (the “presidential primary”) at thesame time, in the same manner, and using the same ballot asfor the general primary election (the “First Primary”). (TexasElection Code §191.004)

2. To qualify for a place on the presidential primary ballot, acandidate must:

a. Timely file all documents, if any, required by the TexasAffirmative Action Plan or the Texas National DelegateSelection Plan.

b. File an application for a place on the presidential pri-mary ballot in accordance with the same Election Codeprovisions applicable to a candidate for the UnitedStates Senatorial, including submission of an appropri-ate petition subject to the limitations of Section 191.002of the Texas Election Code or payment of the same fil-ing fee. The oath on the application of a presidentialcandidate shall be:

“I, _____________ (name), of ______________ (city),____________ (county/ parish), ____________ (state),being a candidate for the Office of President of the

United States, swear that I will support and defend theConstitution and laws of the United States. I furtherswear that I will fully support the Democratic nomineefor President, whoever that shall be.”

3. The names of all candidates qualifying to appear on thepresidential primary ballot shall be certified in accordancewith Article III.C.1. of these Rules, except that the StateChair also shall certify all presidential preferences to the Sec-retary of State. The SDEC shall, at the meeting required inArticle III.C.1., decide by majority vote whether to include“Uncommitted” as an alternative on the presidential primaryballot. (Texas Election Code §191.004)

4. Results of the presidential preference primary election shallbe canvassed at the same time and in the same manner asfor the First Primary, except that the SDEC shall also certifythe results of the presidential preference primary election to-taled by senatorial district.

5. The total number of Delegates and Alternates to the NationalConvention shall be that number allocated by the NationalCommittee in its official Call to the Convention.

6. The process for selection of Delegates and Alternates to theNational Convention shall be governed by the Texas Na-tional Delegate Selection Plan adopted by the SDEC for thepresidential year. If the Plan and these Rules conflict as re-lates to the selection of Delegates and Alternates to the Na-tional Convention, the Plan shall be considered to supersedethese Rules for that purpose alone.

7. Each elected Delegate shall be entitled to cast one vote atthe National Convention, and the total vote permitted theState’s delegation shall not exceed the number of its Del-egates in attendance at the Convention.

8. Apportionment of Delegates

a. At least 75% of the base number of Delegates, not in-cluding designated Party and Elected Official Delegates,shall be elected by Senatorial District Caucuses at theState Convention. The exact number (between 75% and100%) to be so elected shall be determined by majorityvote of the SDEC at its meeting in January of presiden-tial years and shall be included in the official Call to theState Convention of that year.

b. Such Delegates shall be apportioned among the 31 sena-torial districts by a formula giving equal weight to: (a)the Democratic vote in the last gubernatorial election;and (b) the Democratic vote in the last presidential elec-tion. The formula may be stated mathematically as fol-lows:

Let P equal a given district’s percentage of the statewideDemocratic vote in the last gubernatorial election, andlet V equal that district’s percentage of the total state-wide vote for the Democratic nominee in the last presi-dential election (district vote/state vote).

(P + V) divided by 2 = that district’s percentage of thetotal number of Delegates to be elected by the senato-rial districts, as opposed to the number to be elected atlarge.

c. To apply the apportionment formula, multiply the re-sulting percentage times the total number of Delegatesto be elected from all Senatorial District Caucuses. As-sign each Senatorial District Caucus the whole numberof Delegates resulting from this product. Assign remain-ing Delegates to Senatorial District Caucuses in de-

— 26 —

scending order of fractional remainder, until all allo-cated Delegates have been assigned.

9. The remaining Delegates to the National Convention (be-tween 0% and 25%) shall be elected at-large by majorityvote of the State Convention as a whole. Such At-Large Del-egates shall be nominated by the Convention’s PermanentNominations Committee for At-Large Delegates and/or fromthe floor, in accordance with these Rules.

10. The explicit number of National Convention Delegates to beelected by each senatorial district and the explicit number tobe elected at-large by the Convention according to the aboveprocedures shall be announced by the State Chair and certi-fied to the Secretary of State at least 30 days prior to theCounty and Senatorial District Conventions.

11. Process for Electing District Level Delegates

a. The authorized representative of each presidential can-didate eligible to elect delegates will notify the StateChair by thirty days before the state convention of theperson who will be responsible for calling the presiden-tial candidate’s caucus to order in each senate districtand holding an election of a presidential preference cau-cus chair. When filing these persons, the list shall in-clude a cell phone and email that will available duringthe state convention. This Person must be a delegatefrom the senate district caucus.

The elected caucus chair shall conduct the elections ofthat candidate’s delegates that were awarded by the re-sults of the presidential primary in each of the appropri-ate senate districts.

b. Only delegates who register in support of a presidentialcandidate upon receiving their state convention creden-tials shall participate in the election of delegates for thatcandidate within their senate district. Any delegate thatregistered for a presidential candidate or uncommittedstatus that was not allocated delegates by the primarymay not participate in any selection of delegates forother candidates.

c. The state chair will produce a ballot containing thenames of filed candidates for national district level del-egate for each presidential candidate eligible in the dis-trict.

d. The ballot must contain a space for the delegate to signand print their name. Any ballot cast without a signa-ture or with an illegible signature shall be declared void.

e. When a delegate is credentialed for the state conven-tion, the delegate shall sign their name, their senate dis-trict, and list their presidential preference or uncommit-ted on their delegate credential. They will be given theirballot for presidential district delegate(s) if that presi-dential preference is eligible to select national delegates.The delegate shall sign and print their name on the bal-lot at time of credentialing.

f. Ballots shall be collected at the senate district caucusand all ballots must be submitted no later than first ad-journment of the caucus or 5:00 p.m. whichever comesfirst. Ballots may only be submitted to the person ap-pointed by the presidential candidate’s authorized rep-resentative for the senate district caucus. This authorizedperson for each presidential caucus shall supervise thecounting of the ballots for their senate district with atleast three other persons present. Vote counters do nothave to be delegates. Results consisting of the names of

the national delegates, their email and residence addressand phone number shall be turned in to the state chairon reporting forms created by the state chair. The presi-dential candidate’s representative and at least three wit-nesses present during the counting shall sign this reportform. All report forms must be submitted promptly sothat the Nominations Committee for At-Large Delegatesand Alternates may begin their work at 8:00 a.m. Satur-day.

g. Ballots will contain instructions for voting based on thenumber of delegates allocated to the presidential candi-date as certified by the state chair and the gender desig-nation.

h. A delegate shall vote for as many persons as are allo-cated to the presidential candidate in that district.

i. The gender parity within each senate district shall bemaintained to the largest extent possible

j. If a presidential candidate is to elect an even number ofnational delegates, then the ballot shall be arranged sothat the male and female candidates are done in sepa-rate elections, with candidates listed in alphabetical or-der, and with the delegate voting for the same numberof candidates for each gender.

(i) For electing two: “ Instructions: Vote for one can-didate for male delegate and one candidate for fe-male delegate. The highest vote total for the topperson for each gender shall be elected.”

(ii) For electing four: “ Instructions: Vote for two can-didates for male delegates and two candidates forfemale delegates. The highest vote total for the toptwo persons for each gender shall be elected.”

(iii) For electing six: “ Instructions: Vote for three can-didates for male delegates and three candidates forfemale delegates. The highest vote total for the topthree persons for each gender shall be elected.”

(iv) For electing eight: “ Instructions: Vote for four can-didates for male delegates and four candidates forfemale delegates. The highest vote total for the topfour persons for each gender shall be elected.”

(v) For electing ten: “ Instructions: Vote for five can-didates for male delegates and five candidates forfemale delegates. The highest vote total for the topfive persons for each gender shall be elected.”

k. The state executive committee shall conduct a drawingto determine the gender of the odd district delegate inany district with an odd number of delegates. The gen-der assigned to this odd delegate shall be mandated forthe presidential candidate who had the most votes in thepresidential primary for the senate district.

l. If every presidential candidate in the senate district is toelect only one national delegate, the delegates shall beelected in the following manner:

(a) For the candidate with the highest vote total in theprimary, the presidential caucus will elect their del-egate of either gender. In this case, the ballot shalllist all male and female candidates together in al-phabetical order. For electing one national delegatefor the presidential candidate with the next highestvote total: “Instructions: Vote for one candidate fordelegate. The person with the highest vote totalshall be elected.”

— 27 —

(b) For electing one delegate for the presidential can-didate with the next highest vote total in the pri-mary, the delegates for that presidential candidateshall hold an election for both a male and a femaledelegate using a ballot with male and female can-didates listed separately. The winner of the delegateseat shall be the person who is of the opposite gen-der of the national delegate for the presidential can-didate in subsection (1). “Instruction: Vote for oneman and for one woman. The winner of the nationaldelegate seat shall be the man or woman with thehighest vote total that is of the opposite gender ofthe delegate elected in this senate district for thepresidential candidate who had the highest vote to-tal in the Democratic primary.

m. For electing three,five, seven, or nine national delegates,the ballot shall be prepared with male and female del-egates separately listed. The instructions shall denote thegender of the odd delegate to be elected as a result ofthe SDEC drawing. The presidential candidate who re-ceived the highest vote in each senate district elects theirodd delegate of the gender assigned by the SDEC gen-der drawing. Any other presidential candidate who iselecting an odd delegate shall elect the candidate of theopposite gender of the highest vote total presidentialcandidate’s odd delegate, alternating by presidentialpreference till all odd delegate places are set. The statechair shall adapt the ballot instructions to state the gen-der of odd delegate for each presidential preferenceelection.

(a) For three national delegates: “Instructions: Vote forone male and one female delegate. Additionallyvote for a third delegate of either gender. The win-ners shall be the male with the highest vote total,the female with the highest total and the candidateof either gender with the next highest vote not al-ready elected that is (male / female).

(b) For five national delegates: “Instructions: Vote fortwo male and two female delegates. Additionallyvote for a fifth delegate of either gender. The win-ners shall be the two males with the highest votetotal, the two females with the highest vote total andthe candidate of either gender with the next highestvote not already elected that is (male / female)..

(c) For seven national delegates: “Instructions: Votefor three male and three female delegates. Addition-ally vote for a seventh delegate of either gender.The winners shall be the three males with the high-est vote total, the three females with the highestvote total and the candidate of either gender withthe next highest vote not already elected that is(male / female).

(d) For nine national delegates: “Instructions: Vote forfour male and four female delegates. Additionallyvote for a ninth delegate of either gender. The win-ners shall be the four males with the highest vote to-tal, the four females with the highest vote total andthe candidate of either gender with the next highestvote not already elected that is (male / female).

B. Alternates

1. Alternates to the National Convention shall be nominated bythe Committee for Nomination of At-Large Delegates andAlternates. The Alternates shall be allocated to presidentialcandidates based on the presidential primary statewide votefor each presidential preference. A candidate must reach athreshold of 15% of the vote to be allocated any delegates.The Alternates must also reflect the representational goalsin the same percentages for historically underrepresentedgroups as set out for Delegates. The two groups are to beconsidered as distinct groups for these allocations.

2. Following the election of At-Large Delegates by the Con-vention, At-Large Alternates shall be elected in the samemanner.

C. Succession of Alternates to Delegate Status. Alternates shallsucceed to Delegate status according to the procedures outlinedin Article IV.A.18 of these Party Rules

D. Guidelines for Representation of the Delegation

1. The Convention shall make every feasible effort to encour-age representation on the National Convention Delegationof women, ethnic minorities, sexual orientation minorities,and youth in reasonable relationship to their presence in thepopulation of the state.

2. Candidates for Delegate or Alternate shall be required tomake known their presidential preference or uncommittedstatus to the relevant assembly prior to their election.

AFFILIATION WITH THE TEXAS DEMOCRATIC PARTY“I swear that I have not voted in a primary election or participated in a convention of another party during thisvoting year. I hereby affiliate myself with the Democratic Party.”

Signature ____________________________________________________________ Date ________________________________________

Printed Name ________________________________________________________ Phone _______________________________________

Address _____________________________________________________________ Email _______________________________________

City ________________________________________________________________ Zip _________________________________________

Signature of Witness___________________________________________________

This form must be mailed to: Texas Democratic Party, P.O. Box 116, Austin, TX 78767.

Detach here and return portion below to the voter.

AFFILIATION CERTIFICATE – DEMOCRATIC PARTY_____________________________________________ has affiliated with the Democratic Party for all purposes during this election year.

This certificate allows voter to participate in all activities of the Democratic Party as a member of the Party.

Signature of Issuer ____________________________________________________ Date ________________________________________

Pol. Adv. paid for by the Texas Democratic Party • www.txdemocrats.orgThis communication is not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.

AFFILIATION WITH THE TEXAS DEMOCRATIC PARTY“I swear that I have not voted in a primary election or participated in a convention of another party during thisvoting year. I hereby affiliate myself with the Democratic Party.”

Signature ____________________________________________________________ Date ________________________________________

Printed Name ________________________________________________________ Phone _______________________________________

Address _____________________________________________________________ Email _______________________________________

City ________________________________________________________________ Zip _________________________________________

Signature of Witness___________________________________________________

This form must be mailed to: Texas Democratic Party, P.O. Box 116, Austin, TX 78767.

Detach here and return portion below to the voter.

AFFILIATION CERTIFICATE – DEMOCRATIC PARTY_____________________________________________ has affiliated with the Democratic Party for all purposes during this election year.

This certificate allows voter to participate in all activities of the Democratic Party as a member of the Party.

Signature of Issuer ____________________________________________________ Date ________________________________________

Pol. Adv. paid for by the Texas Democratic Party • www.txdemocrats.orgThis communication is not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.

— 29 —

For Resolutions Committee Use Only

❑ Referred to Platform ❑ Referred to Rules ❑ Referred to TRC

❑ Action by TRC _________________________________________________________________________

❑ Adopted (as amended) by SDEC Resolutions ❑ Not adopted

Resolution form for submission to Texas Democratic Party

A Resolution ❑ in support of ❑ in opposition to __________________________________________________________

WHEREAS [type or block print]

AND WHEREAS (if needed)

AND WHEREAS (if needed)

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT

AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED (if needed)

Submitted by____________________________________________ ❑ Approved by _________________County Convention

OR ❑ Approved by _________ Senate District Convention

Name____________________________________________________ Email __________________________________________________

Phone ___________________________________________________ Convention Secretary _____________________________________

For Memorial/Honorary Resolutions only, give name and address of where to send acknowledgment.

Name____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Street Address _____________________________________________ City/State/Zip ___________________________________________

— 30 —

TO DOTHIS1

Adjourn the meeting

Recess the meeting

Complain about noise,room temperature, etc.

Suspend futherconsideration of something

End debate

Postpone considerationof something

Have somethingstudied further

Amend a motion

Introduce business(a primary motion)

Object to procedure orto a personal affront

Request information

Ask for a vote by actualcount to verify a voice vote

Object to consideringsome undiplomatic orimproper matter

Take up a matterpreviously tabled

Reconsider somethingalready disposed of

Consider something out ofits scheduled order

Vote on a rulingby the Chair

YOU SAYTHIS

I move that weadjourn.

I move that werecess until ...

Point of privilege

I move we table it.

I move theprevious question.

I move we postponethis matter until ...

I move we refer thisto a committee.

I move this motionbe amended by ...

I move that ...

Point of order

Point ofinformation

I call for a divisionof the house.

I object toconsideration ofthis question.

I move we takefrom the table ...

I move we now (orlater) reconsider ouraction relative to....

I move we suspendthe rules andconsider ...

I appeal the Chair’sdecision.

MAY YOUINTERRUPTTHE SPEAKER?

May NOT interruptthe speaker

May NOT interruptthe speaker

MAY interruptthe speaker

May NOT interruptthe speaker

May NOT interruptthe speaker

May NOT interruptthe speaker

May NOT interruptthe speaker

May NOT interruptthe speaker

May NOT interruptthe speaker

MAY interruptthe speaker

If urgent, mayinterrupt speaker

May NOT interruptthe speaker3

MAY interrupt thespeaker

May NOT interruptthe speaker

MAY interrupt thespeaker; motion isdebatable

May NOT interruptthe speaker

May NOT interruptthe speaker

MUST BESECONDED?

MUST beseconded

MUST beseconded

NO secondneeded

MUST beseconded

MUST beseconded

MUST beseconded

MUST beseconded

MUST beseconded

MUST beseconded

NO secondneeded

NO secondneeded

NO secondneeded

NO secondneeded

MUST beseconded

MUST beseconded

MUST beseconded

MUST beseconded

IS THE MOTIONDEBATABLE?

NOT debatable

NOT debatable

NOT debatable2

NOT debatable

NOT debatable

DEBATABLE

DEBATABLE

DEBATABLE

DEBATABLE

NOT debatable

NOT debatable

NOT debatable

NOT debatable

NOT debatable

DEBATABLEif original

NOT debatable

DEBATABLE

IS THE MOTIONAMENDABLE?

NOT amendable

AMENDABLE

NOT amendable

NOT amendable

NOT amendable

AMENDABLE

AMENDABLE

AMENDABLE

AMENDABLE

NOT amendable

NOT amendable

NOT amendable

NOT amendable

NOT amendable

NOT amendable

NOT amendable

NOT amendable

WHAT VOTEIS REQUIRED?

MAJORITYvote required

MAJORITYvote required

NO vote required;Chair decides.

MAJORITYvote required

TWO-THIRDSvote required

MAJORITYvote required

MAJORITYvote required

MAJORITYvote required

MAJORITYvote required

NO vote required;Chair decides

NO voterequired

NO vote requiredunless one objects4

TWO-THIRDSvote required

MAJORITYvote required

MAJORITYvote required

TWO-THIRDSvote required

MAJORITYvote required

1 ABOVE thick line: The motions or points above are listed in established order of precedence. When any of them is pending, you may not introduce anotherthat is listed below it, but you may introduce another that is listed above it.

BELOW thick line: The motions, points and proposals listed above have no established order of precedence. Any of them may be introduced at any time –except when the meeting is considering either a motion to adjourn, a motion to recess or a point of privilege.2 In this case, any resulting motion is debatable. 3 But division must be called for before another motion is started. 4 Then majority vote is required.