California College Democrats Constitution Last Amended February 28, 2009 at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Preamble In order to promote a better California, with equality, opportunity, and freedom for all, we dedicate ourselves to organizing the participation of Democratic college students on campuses throughout California. Our continuing mission is to organize new clubs and maintain existing ones, to open and expand our communications, to increase activism and decrease apathy on college campuses, and to promote Democratic values statewide. In short, we are dedicated to providing College Democrats clubs with the tools they need to be strong voices for progressive change.

Article I. Name & Affiliation Section A. Name. The name of this organization shall be the California College Democrats, hereinafter referred to as CCD. Section B. Affiliation. CCD shall be affiliated with the California Young Democrats (CYD), the College Democrats of America (CDA), and the Young Democrats of America (YDA). CCD is recognized as a standing caucus of CYD.

Article II. Membership Section A. Qualification. Any College Democrats chapter located in the state of California which has properly chartered with California Young Democrats, College Democrats of America, or Young Democrats of America shall be a chapter of CCD. Any student who is a member of a CCD chapter shall be considered a member of CCD. Section B. Dual Chartering. CCD shall provide complete chartering information for all of its chapters to both CYD and CDA for purposes of chartering said chapters in these organizations.

Section C. Regional Division. Chapters located in San Luis Obispo, Kern, Santa Barbara, Ventura, Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, Riverside, San Diego, and Imperial Counties shall be considered members of the Southern Region. All other chapters shall be considered members of the Northern Region. Section D. Regular Meetings. Regular meetings of the general membership shall be held at least three times per year and shall coincide with the CYD seasonal meetings. Each chapter shall be given notice by mail, email, or fax at least thirty (30) days prior to a general meeting. A quorum of no less than 25% of the organization's chapters shall be required before any official action can be taken. Section E. Voting. At General Meetings each chapter shall have one vote in meetings of the general membership, including elections. The current president, or proxy, of each chapter shall have the sole responsibility for casting his or her chapter's vote. Members of the CCD Executive Board (as defined in Article III, Section B) shall each have one vote in all meetings of the general membership. Section F. Proxies Chapter presidents may proxy their vote to a designee, so long as a written, signed, and dated authorization letter is presented prior to the general meeting in question. Chapter presidents may only proxy their vote to an official member of their chapter along with a written, signed, and dated authorization letter presented prior to the general meeting in question. Section G. Responsibilities Each chapter shall be required to provide the Executive Board with an accurate and upto-date roster of its leadership, including complete contact information. Chapters which fail to provide such information shall have their voting rights revoked until the Executive Board receives their roster.

Article III. Executive Board Section A. Composition. The Executive Board shall be composed of the President, Vice President of Membership, Vice President of Finance, Northern Regional Director, Southern Regional Director, Communications Director, and Political Director. The current President of CYD and any elected national officers in College Democrats of America who are also members of CCD shall be considered ex officio members of this Executive Board. All appointed members of the Executive Board shall be nonvoting members. Section B. Regular Meetings.

Regular meetings of the Executive Board shall be convened at the call of the president or upon petition of four members of the Executive Board. Meetings may be held in-person, via teleconference, over the Internet, or by any other electronic means. Each Executive Board member shall be given notice in any form at least five (5) days prior to an official Executive Board meeting. A quorum of more than 50% of the Executive Board shall be required before any official action can be taken, and participation via speakerphone at inperson meetings shall be counted toward that quorum. When the Executive Board is in recess, the President shall have the authority to make decisions on behalf of CCD as long as those decisions do not conflict with executive board policies or the bylaws. Section C. Voting. Executive Board action shall be constituted by a simple majority vote. Each member of the Executive Board (as defined in Section B of this article) shall have one vote in official meetings of the Executive Board. Section D. Terms of Office. All elected officers' terms shall take effect immediately upon the adjournment of the general membership meeting at which they are elected. No CCD officer may be removed for graduating or transferring to another school during his or her term. Section E. Removal. 1. Cause for removal shall be defined as malfeasance, misfeasance, or nonfeasance of assigned duties, being convicted of a felony, or upon other grounds found by the Executive Board to constitute sufficient cause. 2. To begin the process of removal, any member of the Executive Board may charge the officer with the reasons for his or her removal during a meeting of the Executive Board. The officer in question must be offered an opportunity to defend his/her self. If the charge stands, after a period of two weeks, the issue will be put to a vote of the Executive Board. If a two-thirds (2/3) supermajority of the Executive Board votes for removal, said officer shall be removed, and the office will be declared vacant. Section F. Vacancies. A vacancy shall be declared when a member of the Executive Board dies, resigns, or is removed from office. If there is a vacancy of any other position than President, the President shall appoint a successor with the majority consent of the Executive Board. If the vacancy is the President, then the Vice President of Membership shall become President. Section G. Elections. 1. When: Elections for CCD Executive Board offices shall be conducted at a meeting of the general membership at the annual convention of the California Democratic Party, unless otherwise designated by the Executive Board. 2. Eligibility: Only members of CCD may run for or be appointed to a position in CCD. Candidates for any office must file their intent-to-run in writing at least

thirty (30) days prior to the election in a manner prescribed by the Executive Board. No person may hold more than one position on the Executive Board. CCD members must be enrolled at least part time in the school represented by the club they belong to at the time of the election. 3. Procedure: a. Roll call is taken to record clubs present and determine quorum of CCD chapters. b. A nominator will introduce each candidate with a speech lasting no longer than one minute. Nominators exceeding the one minute time limit will be cut off. c. Each candidate will speak for no longer than two minutes. Candidates that exceed the two minute time period will be cut off. d. Voting Process During Elections: 1. Voting will be conducted after all candidate(s) have given their speeches with a recess of two minutes for club caucusing 2. Voting will be conducted in a roll call by the CCD President starting with current CCD Officers then chartered clubs in alphabetical order. The voting clubs must also present a valid student identification card as proof of attendance to the given institution. 3. Regional Directors shall be elected by a majority vote of the chapters within their region in order of succession. 4. A winner will be announced after all voting is finished.

Article IV. Duties of the Officers Section A. The President Shall: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Be the Chief Executive of the California College Democrats. Act as the official representative to the DNC, CDA, YDA, the media, and other organizations. Define the agenda of the organization for his/her tenure. Carry out the mandates and directives of the Executive Board. Appoint non-voting members, such as the Technology Director, to the Executive Board. 7. Preside over all official meetings. Section B. The Vice President of Membership Shall: 1. Propose and implement a membership plan, subject to the approval of the Executive Board, designed to recruit new chapters and members into the organization. 2. Maintain an accurate roster of chapters with up-to-date contact information in conjunction with the Secretary of California Young Democrats. 3. Assume the office of President when there is a vacancy in that office.

4. Serve as the official representative of CCD to the DNC, CDA, YDA, and other 5. national Democratic organizations in absence of the President. 6. Represent CCD at events where the President is unable to attend. 7. Assist the President and Regional Directors as they conduct regional and 8. statewide meetings. 9. Ensure that CCD has an up-to-date roster of all chapter presidents. 10. Perform such duties as the Executive Board or President may assign. Section C. The Vice President of Finance Shall: 1. Draft an official budget, detailing projected revenues and expenditures, to be presented to the Executive Board within one month after taking office. 2. Maintain an official CCD bank account and process all expenditures and reimbursements in a timely manner. 3. Report to the Executive Board the financial status of CCD at least once a month. 4. Perform such duties as the Executive Board or President may assign. Section D. The Regional Directors Shall: 1. Be responsible for working with the Executive Board to ensure that all chapters in their respective regions remain active, involved, and chartered with CCD, CYD, and CDA. 2. Provide an accurate roster of the chapters in the region to the Vice President of Membership. 3. Work with the CYD Regional Directors in their respective regions to ensure cooperation and coordination between both organizations. 4. Represent CCD at events in their respective regions when the President and Vice President of Membership are unable to attend. 5. Preside over official meetings in their respective regions in absence of the President and Vice President of Membership. 6. Hold at least two regional meetings with the chapter presidents of their region. 7. Contact all chapters in the region to notify them about upcoming meetings and events. 8. Perform such duties as the Executive Board or President may assign. Section E. The Communications Director Shall: 1. Propose and implement a communications plan, subject to the approval of the Executive Board, designed to improve and expand internal and external communications. 2. Announce and publicize all official meetings and events. 3. Draft all press releases and create an annual media plan to increase CCD media exposure. 4. Record and maintain minutes and records of all official CCD meetings and activities. 5. Perform such duties as the Executive Board or President may assign.

Section F. The Political Director Shall: 1. Develop a campaign plan in conjunction with the CYD Political Director during election years. 2. Monitor all legislation and candidates relevant to College students on the state and federal level and make regular reports on them. 3. Draft resolutions for consideration at general membership meetings. 4. Research and report on ways College students can participate in the legislative and political process.

Article V. Endorsements Section A. Requirements. The California College Democrats may independently endorse any Democrat for statewide partisan office, United States Congress, United States Senate, and/or United States President, as well as any ballot initiative, measure, advisory petition, or action. CCD may not endorse non-Democrats for any position. CCD may not endorse any candidate for the primaries of a contested partisan office. Section B. Process. After CCD has made a good-faith effort to allow all candidates for a particular office and all sides of a particular issue to present their case before a general meeting, the membership must vote to affirm any endorsement by a two-thirds (2/3) supermajority.

Article VI. Constitutional Amendments These Bylaws may be amended by 2/3 (two-thirds) vote of all the delegates accredited and in attendance at any State Convention, or General Meeting. Any such amendments shall take effect on the first Monday after the adjournment thereof unless a specific exception is stated in the motion to amend. Notice to amend the Bylaws shall be given twenty-one days prior to any General Meeting at which such a change is to be voted upon.

Article VII. Parliamentary Procedure and Preemption Roberts Rules of Order shall govern all issues on which this constitution is silent. CCD Bylaws may not conflict with the bylaws of CYD, the California Democratic Party (CDP), or the Democratic National Committee (DNC). CCD shall ask the CYD Parliamentarian to make rulings or render opinions with regards to the CCD Bylaws, CYD Bylaws, Roberts Rule of Order, or other affiliated national organizations.