Bylaws

Board Meeting Attendance:
It is the duty of members of the Board of Directors to attend at least one-half of all Board Meetings, to attend at least one meeting within any three-month period, and to attend all conventions, or they shall be subject to removal from the Board of Directors.

Any officer or director who arrives at a meeting of the Board of Directors more than 30 minutes after the announced starting time without prior notification of the Chairperson shall be considered to have been absent from the meeting. This consideration shall be appealable to the Board.

Endorsements:
The criteria that MDF/YDM uses for endorsing a candidate in a general election will be applicable during a primary election. These criteria are as follows:

1. The candidate's views must be consistent, but not exact, with the MDF/YDM Platform;
2. The candidacy must be a viable one, meaning the candidate must have the ability and resources to win;
3. The candidate must receive a two-thirds vote of the MDF/YDM Board of Directors to receive an endorsement.

MDF/YDM may endorse a Democratic candidate (or any candidate in a municipal election) before the primary if the Board of Directors believes there is a candidate worthy of endorsement. That is, there is a candidate whose views are consistent with the MDF/YDM Platform and whose candidacy is a viable one.

Reimbursements:
Reasonable expenses shall be reimbursable to officers and members of the Board of Directors, and others with Board approval. The following items shall not be reimbursable without prior Board approval:

1. Parking;
2. Mileage or gasoline costs;
3. Tolls;
4. Telephone costs;
5. Parking tickets or moving violations.

Other expenses will be reimbursed at the discretion of the treasurer and shall be appealable to the Board. Receipts must be presented in order for reimbursement to take place.

Affirmative Action Directors:
Any member of the Board of Directors may nominate a candidate to fill one of the Affirmative Action seats on the Board of Directors if a case can be made that the candidate will bring something new and underrepresented to MDF/YDM.

Holding MDF/YDM Offices Simultaneously:
No member of MDF/YDM may hold more than one of the following positions simultaneously:

• Chair
• Vice-Chair
• Secretary
• Treasurer
• Chair of Standing Committee

Consideration of Documents at Monthly Meetings:
Any item that an individual or committee wants to discuss at an MDF/YDM Monthly Meeting, where said item's wording is substantial in length (over two pages), must be mailed to the MDF/YDM Board of Directors one week prior to said Monthly Meeting.

Steering Committee:
The Steering Committee of the Massachusetts Coalition for a Democratic Future shall be composed of the following members:

1. The Executive Officers (Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson, Secretary, and Treasurer);
2. Chairpersons of the Public Policy, Political, and Membership & Outreach Committees;
3. Any other individuals selected by the Chair, with the approval of the Board of Directors.

Fundraising:
Any individual fundraising efforts must be pre-approved by the Treasurer. Those designated fundraisers will be part of a formal fundraising committee chaired by the Fundraising Director, or if that position is unfilled, the Treasurer. The inclusion of MDF/YDM merchandise as a fundraising tool must be approved by the Treasurer. Individual fundraisers may receive a commission of not more than 10% of the money raised. Such a commission can only be awarded by a 2/3 vote of the Board of Directors.

Democratic State Committee Youth Services Subcommittee:
There may be a position referred to as the "MDF/YDM Liaison to the Democratic State Committee Youth Services Subcommittee." This position shall be filled for a one-year term by vote of the Board of Directors at the first Monthly Meeting following the MDF/YDM annual convention, or upon vacancy to fill the remainder of a term. The individual who holds this position shall be responsible for attending all MDF/YDM Monthly Meetings and meetings of the Democratic State Committee Youth Services Subcommittee. In addition, he or she shall be responsible for communication between the MDF/YDM and the Youth Services Subcommittee.

Annual Conventions and Organizational Meetings: MDF/YDM Annual Conventions and Organizational Meetings shall be permitted to be held on the same day.

Wording of Official Documents:
The Secretary shall be empowered to make grammatical and technical changes to the wording of the Action Agenda, Platform, and Charter.

Media Director:
There may be a Media Director appointed by the Chair and subject to majority approval by the Board of Directors. The Media Director shall serve as a resource to the officers and Directors by assisting them with media relations efforts, with the stipulation that press releases and other official communications shall only be issued with the prior consent of the Chair.

Fundraising Director:
There may be a Fundraising Director appointed by the Chair and subject to two-thirds (2/3) approval by the Board of Directors. The Fundraising Director shall serve as a resource to the Chair, Treasurer, and other designated fundraisers by assisting them with fundraising efforts.

Young Democrats of America:
MDF/YDM will register as the Massachusetts Chapter of the Young Democrats of America before each YDA National Convention. At MDF/YDM's annual organizational meeting, the membership will elect a YDA National Committeeman and a YDA National Committeewoman. They will be responsible, jointly, for ensuring that MDF/YDM is represented at YDA National Committee meetings as well as YDA National Conventions. At YDA regional and national conventions, each member of the Board of Directors will have an equal share of MDF/YDM's total allotment of votes. Other members of MDF/YDM may be granted full or partial shares by a vote of the Board of Directors.

Convention and Organizational Meeting Pre-Registration:
The Board of Directors shall be authorized to require that any person who is eligible to be a member of MDF/YDM as provided in Article 2-1 of the MDF/YDM Charter register as a member prior to conventions and organizational meetings in order to participate in a voting capacity at said events. Any registration deadline for conventions and organizational meetings shall be set by the Board of Directors in accordance with Article 2-4 of the MDF/YDM Charter.

MDF/YDM Candidate Publicity:
Candidates for positions defined in the MDF/YDM Charter or Bylaws and elected at the Annual Organizational Meeting may publicize their candidacy through campaign mailings to the MDF/YDM membership provided that all costs directly associated with the mailing are covered by the candidate and that address labels are affixed to the mailing by a third party agreed upon by the candidate and the MDF/YDM Steering Committee. Requests for mailing labels must be made by the candidate to the MDF/YDM Secretary no earlier than 60 days before the Annual Organizational Meeting and no later than 15 days before the Organizational Meeting.

Dues:
Basic membership dues shall be set at $35.00 per year running from Convention to Convention. Comprehensive membership dues, which shall include free admission to all MDF/YDM events for which a fee is charged, shall be set at $125.00 per the same year. While all members shall be encouraged to pay dues, inability to pay shall not be grounds for denial of membership or participation in MDF/YDM.

Standing Committee:
MDF/YDM shall organize three standing committees: a Political Committee, for the purpose of co-ordinating MDF/YDM electoral activities, a Public Policy Committee, for the purpose of advocating for the policies set forth in the Platform, and a Membership and Outreach Committee, for the purpose of increasing MDF/YDM active membership and reaching out to new constituent groups. Each committee shall elect a chair within six weeks of the annual Convention. Each chair must be a member of the Board of Directors in good standing and must be approved by a majority vote of the Board of Directors. Chairs of the standing committees shall also serve on the Steering Committee.

Jenkins Amendment
Section 1: (Notice)

      The time, date, and place of the annual convention shall be determined by the Board, and this decision shall be publicized not later than thirty days prior to the date set for said convention.  Official notice shall be given in the form of an Initial Call to Convention drafted and attested by the MDF Secretary to be posted on the website, distributed to members, and published in any other forum as determined by the Board.  This Call shall state the deadline for early statements of candidacy, proposals for amendments to the charter, bylaws, and platform of MDF, as well as any resolutions to be considered at the convention, along with the submission requirements thereof, all to be submitted to the Secretary in a manner stated in the Call.  Such deadline shall not be more than twenty days prior to the date fixed for convention.  This Call shall also state the requirements necessary to vote and seek office relative to age, residency/matriculation, party affiliation, and attendance.  The Secretary shall notify any declared candidate for MDF office of his or her ineligibility if such applies.

      The Final Call to Convention shall be issued by the Secretary not later than ten days prior to the date fixed for the convention and not before the deadline fixed by the Board for amendments, resolutions, and statements of candidacy as provided for above.  This Call shall restate the time, place, and eligibility requirements and state the requirements for consideration under suspension of the rules.  This Call shall also include the texts of any documents to be considered of which the Secretary is in receipt and a list of declared candidates for the several offices, along with their statements. 

Section 2: (Credentialing)

      Throughout the year attendance shall be recorded at all meetings and events conducted under the auspices of MDF.  For Board meetings, the attendance shall be as recorded in the minutes, and for other events sign-in sheets shall be used as the official record.  Care shall be taken that records accurately reflect actual attendance in cases wherein pre-registration is permitted.  Events co-hosted with other organizations shall be counted toward this attendance requirement at the discretion of the Executive Committee.  As soon as possible following the last scheduled meeting or event prior to the convention the Secretary shall compile attendance data and cross reference the names of those who meet the attendance requirement with the other eligibility criteria.  The Secretary shall transmit to the Chair the list of names of those persons eligible to vote and seek office. 

Section 3: (Quorum)

      Upon calling the convention to order the Chair shall read the list of names provided by the Secretary as being credentialed to vote.  Any ten of those so named shall constitute a quorum for conducting the business of the convention.  If quorum is not achieved the Board shall fix a new time, date, and place for the convention to be held not less than seven nor more than thirty days following the original date.  The Secretary shall reissue the Final Call with the new information regarding time, date, and place, but this shall not be construed to extend any deadlines provided for in the Initial Call.

Section 4: (Amendments and Resolutions)

      Matters before the convention shall be considered in the following order: amendments to the MDF charter, amendments to the MDF bylaws, amendments to the MDF platform, other resolutions.  Per the charter, amendments to the charter not already before the convention require the votes of the three-fourths of the members present and voting to suspend the rules for consideration.  All other documents not already before the convention require the votes of two-thirds of the members present and voting to suspend the rules for consideration.  Documents included with the Final Call take precedence in each category over those which require a suspension of the rules.  Proposers of documents subject to suspension of the rules are responsible for providing copies to the members.  Documents considered under this paragraph shall take effect at the adjournment of the convention unless otherwise provided in the enacting clause thereof, but any amendments affecting the election of officers shall be considered valid when executing section five of this bylaw at the same convention. 

Section 5: (Nominations)

      After all documents are considered nominations for offices are in order.  Nominations may be made from the floor for candidates not previously declared.  Nominations shall be considered in the following order: Chair, Vice-Chair for Programming and Policy, Vice-Chair for Administration and Finance, Secretary, Treasurer, YDA Committeewoman, YDA Committeeman.  These nominations require seconds, and the nominee must accept the nomination, either verbally if present, or in writing if not present.  Only those persons whose names are on the credentialed list are eligible for nomination.  Equitable time for speaking and questions by candidates may be provided by appropriate motion.  The election for each office in sequence shall be conducted before opening the floor to nominations for the next office.  Contested elections shall be determined by secret ballot, and uncontested nominees may be elected by acclamation.  Secret ballots shall include the preprinted names of candidates who declared before the deadline and write-in spaces for names of candidates nominated from the floor.  The terms of those elected shall commence immediately upon the adjournment of convention. 

Section 6: (Procedural Matters)

      All proceedings of the convention shall be conducted in accordance to the most recent revision of Robert’s Rules of Order and the Secretary may act as parliamentarian if the need arises.  Minutes of the convention shall be recorded by the Secretary, and shall include the list of attendees eligible to vote, the names of those moving and seconding any motions or nominations, and the results of any vote taken.  The minutes may also include a summary of any debate.  The Secretary shall distribute the minutes to the Board for their ratification at the first Board meeting following the convention, and once ratified shall be posted on the website as soon as possible.