Community Event

Adopted by the membership on March 9, 2022 at the monthly membership meeting.

 34th District Democrats 2022 Caucus Rules

Section 1 – General Rules

1. Purpose of Rules – The following rules are intended to ensure that all residents of the 34th Legislative District in the State of Washington, who consider themselves Democrats and are willing to so state publicly may participate in all the activities connected with the 2022 caucus and convention cycle. All persons considering themselves to be Democrats are urged to attend meetings and to participate in discussions on the issues of the day.
2. Application of Rules – These rules shall govern all meetings discussed in these rules. In order to protect the rights of the 34th Legislative District to retain its delegates, in whole or in part, seated at the 2022 Democratic State Convention, the district shall abide by these rules.
3. Fees or Costs Prohibited – At no stage of the delegate selection process shall any person be required, directly or indirectly, to pay a cost or fee as a condition of participating in the delegate selection process. Requests for voluntary contributions to the Party may be made, but under no circumstances shall a contribution be requisite for participation. 
4. Meeting Times, Locations, and Accessibility – All meetings shall be scheduled at times and dates set forth by the state Democratic Central Committee. Individuals requiring accommodations at a meeting should file requests with the entity issuing the Call at least ten (10) days prior to the meeting.
5. Safety During the Ongoing State of Emergency – The 34th Legislative District Democratic Caucus will be held virtually. Instructions and accommodations shall be provided to facilitate full participation by any eligible 34th District resident. 
6. Equitable Deliberation – In order to accommodate virtual delegates, motions and business will be pre-structured and noticed a minimum of seven (7) days in advance so as to allow for objections to be raised in a timely manner.
7. Meeting Notices – Notice of any meeting shall be emailed at least ten (10) days prior to the date of the scheduled meeting to all delegates and alternates concerned. The meeting notice shall include, at least, the following information:
   1. The authority giving notice;
   2. Who is eligible to participate;
   3. Starting time, place, and address of the meeting;
   4. Proposed agenda;
   5. Proposed operating rules;
   6. Any fee, cost, etc. involved in the meeting (see Section I.3);
   7. Other pertinent, concise information to prepare the delegate for the work to be accomplished.
   8. Virtual participation information. Accommodation should be made to provide access to all of the above in alternative language format and for people with disabilities, upon request.
8. Open Party – The 34th Legislative District Democrats recognizes and adopts the  Democratic Party of the State of Washington commitment to being an open party by incorporating the five basic elements listed below. These provisions demonstrate the intention of the Democratic Party to ensure a full opportunity for all affected group members to participate in the delegate selection process.
   1. All public meetings, at all levels of the Democratic Party, should be open to all members of the Democratic Party, regardless of status.
   2. No test for membership in, nor any oaths of loyalty to, the Democratic Party should be required or used which has the effect of requiring prospective or current members of the Democratic Party to acquiesce in, condone, or support discrimination based on status.
   3. The time and place for all public meetings of the Democratic Party, at all levels, should be publicized fully and in such a manner to assure timely notice to all interested persons. Such meetings must be held in places accessible to all party members, including people with disabilities, and large enough to accommodate all interested persons expected to attend.
   4. The Democratic Party, on all levels, should support the broadest possible registration without discrimination based on status.
   5. The Democratic Party should publicize fully and, in such a manner as to ensure notice to all interested parties, a full description of the legal and practical procedures for selection of Democratic Party officers, nominees, delegates, and representatives on all levels. Publications of these procedures should be done in such a fashion that all prospective and current members of the Democratic Party will be fully and adequately informed of the pertinent procedures in time to participate in each selection procedure, at all levels of the Democratic Party organization, and that all prospective candidates or applicants for any elected or appointed position within the State Democratic Party will have full and adequate opportunity to compete for office.

1. Discrimination is Prohibited – Discrimination on any basis in the conduct of all Democratic Party affairs is strictly prohibited.
2. Equal Division – Delegates elected by a Legislative District shall be equally divided, based on gender self-identification, as required by Charter VII.C.2.
3. Quorum – A quorum for the 34th Legislative District Caucus shall match the quorum outlined within the Legislative District’s bylaws (20).  Once a quorum is established for the Legislative District Caucus, it may not be challenged until the election of delegates and alternates has been completed.
4. Minority Reports – Minority reports may be presented, in addition to the majority report of any committee, if supported by the signatures of thirty-five percent (35%) of the members of that committee.
5. No Unit Rule – The unit rule shall not be permitted at any meeting. A “unit rule” is any rule or practice whereby all members of a Party unit or delegation are required to cast their votes in accordance with the will of the majority.
6. No Proxy Voting – Proxy voting shall not be allowed in the delegate selection process.
7. No “Official” Delegate Slate – Any individual or group of Democrats may sponsor or endorse a slate of candidates for delegates at a meeting. However, no slate may, by virtue of such endorsement, receive a preferential place on a delegate selection ballot or be publicly identified on the ballot as the “official” Democratic Party organization slate, and all slates must meet identical qualification requirements for appearing on a ballot, at all levels of the delegate selection process.
8. Forfeiture – Any duly elected delegate or alternate who ceases to be a resident of the 34th Legislative District shall automatically forfeit their seat and an alternate shall be seated in their place.
9. Seating of Delegate by Certificate of Election – If the Chair of the 34th Legislative District  fails to submit the name of any delegate or alternate to the proper authority, the delegate or alternate may be seated at the state convention upon presentation of their certificate of election and proper identification.

Section 2 – Rules for Delegate Election Meetings

1. Application of Rules
   1. These rules for delegate election apply to the election of delegates at  the 34th Legislative District Caucus.
   2. In all instances that these Rules do not apply, Robert’s Rules of Order, newly revised, 12th edition, shall be used.
2. Eligibility to Vote or Participate
   1. To vote in a meeting, the individual must have been a member of the 34th Legislative District Organization  for a minimum of 30 days prior to the meeting, or a PCO in the 34th Legislative District, and sign when they register that they identify as a Democrat.
   2. Those members who are not qualified to vote because of the recency of their membership shall be allowed to participate in the discussion of other business during the meeting, including but not limited to the discussion of Resolutions to be submitted to the State Convention.
3. Procedures for the Nomination and Election of Delegates and Alternates
   1. All candidates for delegate must be resident in the 34th Legislative District.
   2. All candidates must be present — either virtually or physically — at the meeting where they are elected or provide a letter affirming their intention to serve and identifying themselves as a Democrat to the Legislative District Chair. Said letter or email shall be delivered or emailed to the caucus Chair by March 25th, 5pm, and shall be read at the meeting by the Chair and shall constitute a nomination.
4. Voting Procedures
   1. All votes conducted by ballot must have means by which members participating virtually are able to cast said ballots.
   2. All ballots used in elections must:
      1. Have all positions filled, with no duplications, in order to be valid;
      2. Contain a difference of no more than one between male-identifying candidates and female-identifying candidates. Non-binary identifying candidates are eligible for election without limitation.
   3. Ballots cast virtually must be done through a double-blind system in order to protect the secrecy of the ballot. To accomplish this:
      1. 1. Each ballot will be secured by a Unique Voting Identification Number;
         2. The individual providing the Unique Voting Identification Number to members attending virtually may not be permitted to view results;
         3. The ballot may not collect identifying information of the individual submitting the ballot;
         4. If requested by the voter, a member of the Credentials Committee may be allowed to communicate with the individual who issues the Unique Voting Identification Numbers;
         5. After results have been certified, the Credentials Committee will remove all Unique Voting Identification Numbers from the subsequent reports that are stored for audit purposes before making these reports accessible;
         6. All ballots and tabulation must adhere to the standards of balloting used for normal business of the WSDCC.
5. District Authority
   1. The 34th Legislative District Caucus shall be called and Chaired by the Chair of the Democratic Legislative District Organization, as of March 26th, 2022. If no Chair is available, the 1st Vice Chair of the Organization may serve first. If no 1st Vice Chair is available to serve, the Chair of the County Democratic Organization may serve. If no County Chair is available, the Chair of the WSDCC, or their designee, will serve.
   2. The 34th Legislative District Caucus shall be held using the boundaries adopted by the Legislature in 2022 pursuant to RCW 44.05.

Section 3 – Legislative District Caucuses

1. Business of Caucus
   1. The principal business of the 34th Legislative District Caucus shall be the election of delegates and alternates to the 2022 Democratic State Convention. The elections shall be conducted pursuant to Section 2.
   2. The 34th Legislative District Caucus may also propose Resolutions to the 2022 Convention and may create a Legislative District Platform.
2. Time, Place, Notice, and Participation
   1. The 34th Legislative District Caucus shall be held on Saturday, March 26, 2022, commencing at 10:00 AM. Notice pursuant to Section III.4 shall be given by the Legislative District Chair. Participation at the Legislative District Caucus is governed by Section 1.
   2. The 34th Legislative District Caucus will be held virtually.
      1. The 34th Legislative District Caucus will provide means in the Call to Meeting for a member to register in advance for virtual participation.
         1. Members must have indicated their intention to participate virtually no later than Monday, March 21st, 2022 at 8pm in order to receive a Unique Voting Identification Number.
         2. Members can be considered to have access to the meeting should they be able to hear the proceedings, cast ballots, and take any action permitted by Robert’s to interrupt a speaker who has the floor. See Robert’s 42:18.
         3. Members participating virtually do not need to be provided means with which to participate in debate in order to be considered as having access to the meeting.
         4. Members participating virtually may provide any nominations they wish to make in advance to the Legislative District Chair.
3. Allocation of Delegates
   1. Pursuant to WSDCC rules, delegates and alternates to the State Convention shall be allocated among Legislative Districts in proportion to the votes cast for Joseph R. Biden and Jay Inslee in the 2020 general election. Allocation of delegates and alternates is provided in section VII.4.b of the Washington State Democrats Delegate Selection and Affirmative Action Plan.
4. Credentials Committee
   1. The Legislative District Executive Board shall select a Legislative District Caucus Credentials Chair and Committee not less than thirty (30) days prior to the Caucus.
   2. The final Credentials report, issued by this Committee, shall be adopted prior to the conduct of any other official business on the date of the Legislative District Caucus.
   3. Individuals who arrive and sign in after the final credentials report is delivered may participate and vote, but their presence will not affect a quorum call.
   4. The Credentials Committee should include at least one member from the Legislative  District’s Affirmative Action Committee, if one has been appointed.
   5. If requested to do so, in accordance with the Rules governing challenges, the Credentials Committee may:
      1. Hear and resolve challenges to the eligibility of attendees to participate in the Legislative District Caucus or
      2. Provide other assistance to the WSDCC Rules Committee in connection with resolution of challenges.
5. Plurality Vote, Equal Division
   1. A plurality of those present and voting shall be required to elect a delegate.
   2. The membership of the elected delegation shall differ by no more than one (1) between the number female-identifying and the number of male-identifying individuals, in both the delegate and alternate categories, to the extent practicable. Any number of non-binary identifying individuals may be elected so long as the male/female-identifying individuals differ by no more than one.
6. Rules Committee
   1. The Legislative District organization, or its Executive Board, shall select a Legislative District Caucus Rules Chair and Committee not less than thirty (30) days prior to the Caucus.
   2. The Rules Committee shall meet in advance of the Legislative District Caucus and shall propose rules for the Caucus.
   3. The Rules Committee should have at least one (1) member from the Legislative District Affirmative Action Committee, if one has been appointed.
   4. The rules proposed by the Legislative District Rules Committee and adopted by the Legislative District Caucus may not conflict with the WSDCC rules.
7. Delegate Election Report
8. 1. The Legislative District Chair shall ensure the transmission of the names, mailing addresses, telephone numbers, email addresses, gender identification, and self-identified Affirmative Action categories of delegates and alternates elected at the Legislative District Caucus to the State Democratic Chair within five (5) days of their election.
   2. Delegates and Alternates shall be listed in the order in which they were elected.

The 34th will attend this fun festival in White Center.

Check out the Facebook event for more details.