RURAL CAUCUS OF THE MICHIGAN DEMOCRATIC PARTY BYLAWS
Amended and restated on February 22, 2025
ARTICLE I. NAME AND MEMBERSHIP
This organization shall be known as the Rural Caucus of the Michigan Democratic Party (aka the Rural Caucus). To be a member of the Rural Caucus, an individual must file a membership form–available on our website, be a resident of Michigan, and be age 16 or older. Members are encouraged to renew their membership by filing a membership form every year or whenever their contact information changes; except that members need not file membership renewal forms if they make a donation to the Rural Caucus at the annual time of renewal. Caucus members are also encouraged to become members of the Michigan Democratic Party (MDP). When a person first becomes a member, the Secretary or their designee shall email the new member a copy of these Bylaws and the Rural Caucus policies adopted pursuant to Bylaw Art. III, Sec. 13.
In order to vote, make motions, nominate, be nominated, or be elected to an office of the Rural Caucus, a member must be in good standing with and a member of the MDP. Although a financial contribution is not required for membership in the Rural Caucus, an annual voluntary contribution of $25.00 is encouraged to support our purposes.
ARTICLE II. PURPOSE
The purposes of the Rural Caucus are to promote the interests and concerns of rural Michigan within the Democratic Party and to elect Democrats who run for office in Michigan’s rural communities.
ARTICLE III. FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES
Section 1. Open Meetings. All meetings of the Rural Caucus shall be open to interested persons regardless of actual or perceived race, color, creed, sex, age, national origin, economic status, religion, ethnic identity, ancestry, marital status, sexual orientation, physical appearance or disability.
Section 2. No membership tests. No tests for membership in, nor any oaths of loyalty to, the Rural Caucus shall be required or used which has the effect of requiring prospective or current Rural Caucus members to acquiesce in, condone or support discrimination on the grounds of actual or perceived race, color, creed, sex, age, national origin, economic status, religion, ethnic identity, ancestry, marital status, sexual orientation, physical appearance or disability.
Section 3. Notices of meetings and access. The time and place for all meetings of the Rural Caucus shall be publicized fully and in such a manner as to ensure timely notice for all members and other interested persons. Such meetings must be held in places or by methods accessible to all Rural Caucus members and other interested persons.
Section 4. Notice of selection procedures for Officers and representatives. The Rural Caucus has described the procedures for selection of its Officers, Regional Vice Chairs and other representatives in these Bylaws. By posting these Bylaws on the Rural Caucus’ website, the Rural Caucus provides publicity and notice so that prospective and current members of the Rural Caucus will have access to the pertinent procedures in time to participate in each selection procedure of the Rural Caucus. In addition, the Officers shall take additional efforts to expand publicity for these selection procedures including using the normal email distribution of meeting notices to members and other interested persons.
Section 5. Notice of qualification of positions for Officers and representatives. The Rural Caucus has described the qualifications of its Officers, Regional Vice Chairs and other representatives in Bylaw Art. IV, Sec. 2. By posting these Bylaws on the Rural Caucus’ website, the Rural Caucus provides publicity and notice so that prospective candidates or applicants for any elected or appointed position within Rural Caucus will have an opportunity to compete for Rural Caucus offices. In addition, the Officers shall take additional efforts to expand publicity for these selection procedures including using the normal email distribution of meeting notices to members and other interested persons.
Section 6. Voting rules. All Officers and Regional Vice Chairs shall be elected by simple majority vote cast by the membership of the Rural Caucus at a meeting except when a vacancy is filled by the Chair. See Bylaw Art. V, Sec 3.
When an election of Officers and Regional Vice Chairs is conducted in a zoom meeting, votes shall be counted according to the following rules.
• If there is more than one candidate, a roll call of individual votes will be taken by members raising hands in the appropriate zoom box and counted by the secretary or the parliamentarian appointed at the meeting.
• If there is only one candidate, a roll call voting will not be used; rather the Chair will ask members to show their support by raising their hands physically on the computer screen.
Proportionate share voting shall not be used since it is expressly counter to the stated goal of the Rural Caucus regarding diversity of representation for areas with population sparsity.
Section 7. Rules of MDP apply. All rules and bylaws of the Rural Caucus shall be consistent with the Rules of the Michigan Democratic Party and shall be available on request in writing to any member of the Rural Caucus.
Section 8. Unit rule. The unit rule is prohibited in the Rural Caucus.
Section 9. No forced voting. No rule shall be adopted at any level of the Rural Caucus which would require a member to cast a vote or be recorded as voting contrary to that person’s judgment.
Section 10. Robert’s Rules of Order. On all questions of procedure not resolved by the Rules of the Michigan Democratic Party or these Bylaws, the latest edition of Robert’s Rules of Order shall be used.
Section 11. No secret ballots. Votes shall not be taken by secret ballot at any meeting of the Rural Caucus at any level.
Section 12. Endorsement of Candidates. The Rural Caucus may endorse candidates for office in general elections and nonpartisan elections if they are members of the Michigan Democratic Party.
As to primary elections for partisan offices, the Rural Caucus may only endorse a Democratic candidate if that candidate has no opposition.
As to elections for internal elected offices of the Michigan Democratic Party, the Rural Caucus may only endorse a Democratic candidate if that candidate has no opposition.
Section 13. Adoption of Policies Authorized. The Executive Committee is authorized to adopt policies that are necessary and proper for the implementation of these Bylaws or help to guide the Rural Caucus to achieve its goals. The Secretary or their designee shall maintain records of such policies, shall post them on the Rural Caucus website, and provide a copy to new members. See Bylaw Art. I and Bylaw Art. IV, Sec. 7.
Section 14. Conflicts of Interest. During the meetings of the Rural Caucus or its Committees, members at the meeting shall disclose any personal conflict of interest in a proposed action being considered and shall recuse themselves from voting but may participate in the discussion. The definition of what a conflict of interest is and how a conflict of interest is determined may be addressed in a Rural Caucus’ policy as adopted according to the above Section.
ARTICLE IV. OFFICERS AND EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Section 1. Officers defined and term of office. The Officers of the Rural Caucus shall be a Chairperson, a First Vice Chairperson, a Second Vice Chairperson, a Secretary, a Treasurer, and a Youth Vice Chairperson.
The term of office for an Officer shall be two (2) years unless the Officer resigns or becomes unavailable. The Officers shall be elected at the Annual Meeting of Membership held in January of odd-numbered years.
If an Officer position is either not filled at the Annual Meeting of Membership or becomes vacant due to a resignation or other unavailability, the Chair shall appoint a member to fill the office subject to the approval of the Executive Committee; the newly appointed Officer shall serve for the remainder of the term. See Bylaw Art. V, Sec. 3.
The word “Chair” may be used to mean “Chairperson” and may be used interchangeably in these Bylaws and in practice. The phrase “Leadership Team” may be used to refer to the Officers in practice.
Section 2. Qualifications of Officers and other representatives.
• To be eligible to be an Officer, a person must be a current member of the Rural Caucus and have attended at least 3 Membership meetings within the past 12 months.
• To be eligible to be a Regional Vice Chair, a person must be a current member of the Rural Caucus and have attended at least 2 Membership meetings within the past 12 months.
• To be eligible to serve on a Committee of the Rural Caucus, a person must be a current member of the Rural Caucus and have attended at least 1 Membership meeting within the past 12 months.
Notification of these qualifications is described in Bylaw Art. III, Sec. 5.
Section 3. Executive Committee: Officers and Regional Vice Chairpersons. The Executive Committee shall consist of the Officers and the Regional Vice Chairpersons whose number is determined by the Officers with the approval of the Executive Committee. The Regional Vice Chairs shall represent the geographical diversity of rural Michigan and the population density within rural counties in accordance with Bylaw Art. VI Sec. 1. The term of office for a Regional Vice Chair shall be two (2) years. The Regional Vice Chairs shall be elected at the Annual Meeting of Membership held in January of even-numbered years.
If a Regional Vice Chair position is either not filled at the Annual Meeting of Membership or becomes vacant due to a resignation or other unavailability, the Chair shall appoint a member to fill the office subject to the approval of the Executive Committee; the newly appointed Regional Vice Chair shall serve for the remainder of the term.
Section 4. Duties of Chairperson. The Chairperson shall have the following duties and authorities:
• Call the meetings of the Executive Committee and Membership and the Informal Meeting of Officers.
• Preside over the meetings of the Executive Committee and Membership and the Informal Meeting of Officers and determine the agenda for these meetings with the input of the other Officers.
• Act as the chief executive officer of the Rural Caucus.
• Exercise the general power of supervision and management of the Rural Caucus’ affairs, subject to the direction of the Executive Committee.
• Appoint, with the approval of the Executive Committee, Officers, Regional Vice Chairs, the Vice Secretary and Vice Treasurer, when those positions are vacant as further described in these Bylaws.
• Appoint, with the approval of the Executive Committee, the Chairpersons of all committees and shall be an ex-officio member of each committee.
• Serve as the spokesperson for the Rural Caucus or delegate this role to another member.
Section 5. Duties of the Vice Chairpersons. The First Vice Chairperson will temporarily assume the Chairperson’s duties and responsibilities in the Chairperson’s absence. The First Vice Chairperson will assist the Chairperson as needed and oversee the activities of the Second Vice Chairperson. The Second Vice Chairperson will temporarily assume the duties and responsibilities of the Chairperson in the absence of the First Vice Chairperson and the Chairperson. The Second Vice Chairperson will assist the First Vice Chairperson as needed.
Section 6. Duties of the Youth Vice Chairperson. The Youth Vice Chairperson shall be between the ages of 16 and 35. The Youth Vice Chairperson shall serve as a liaison between the Young Democrats of Michigan, High School Democrats, and the Michigan College Democrats and develop and implement a strategic plan to promote the participation of rural Michigan youth in the political process in general and within the Rural Caucus, MDP and local county Democratic parties. An example is to create a high school scholarship program sponsored by one or more Democratic organizations.
Section 7. Duties of Secretary. The Secretary shall handle the primary administrative tasks of the organization.
The Chair shall appoint a Vice Secretary subject to the approval of the Executive Committee soon after the Officers are elected in January of odd years; the Vice Secretary shall serve during the same period as the Secretary.
If the Vice Secretary resigns or becomes unavailable, the Chair shall appoint a member to fill the office of the Vice Secretary subject to the approval of the Executive Committee; the newly appointed Vice Secretary shall serve for the remainder of the Secretary’s term. The Vice Secretary acts as the Secretary's primary assistant, taking on assigned duties as the Secretary shall decide and stepping in to cover responsibilities when the Secretary is unavailable.
The Secretary or a designee shall provide notices of Caucus meetings and the forthcoming elections of Officers and the Regional Vice Chairs. The Secretary shall keep an accurate record and minutes of the proceedings of all meetings. The Secretary or a designee shall take attendance and determine whether a quorum is attained at the start of meetings which require a quorum.
The Secretary, Vice Secretary or a designee shall post these Bylaws on the Rural Caucus’ website and send any adopted Bylaws or amendments thereto to the Secretary of the MDP and the memberships via email. See Bylaw Art. I.
The Secretary, Vice Secretary or a designee shall post the Policies on the website and send them to the membership. Bylaw Art. III, Sec. 13.
The Secretary, Vice Secretary or a designee shall provide assistance to the Nominating Committee as described in Bylaw Art. IV, Sec. 11.
The Secretary shall comply with any transparency policy that may be adopted by the Rural Caucus and shall keep and preserve all the books, documents, correspondence, records, and minutes in a secure digital storage space; the Secretary shall make them available to members upon reasonable request. When a new Secretary is elected, the past Secretary shall forthwith deliver to the newly elected Secretary all the aforesaid items kept and preserved during their tenure of office.
Section 8. Duties of Treasurer. The Treasurer shall be responsible for the financial receipts and disbursements of this organization, subject to the approval of the Executive Committee. The funds of this organization shall be deposited in one or more banks. All cash deposits shall be made within five business days. The Treasurer shall pay all bills by check, draft or debit card. The Treasurer may pay expenditures without Executive Committee approval, if they are regular ongoing monthly expenditures or are approved by the Chairperson when the amount is $500 or less.
The Chair shall appoint a Vice Treasurer subject to the approval of the Executive Committee soon after the Officers are elected in January of odd years; the Vice Treasurer shall serve during the same period as the Treasurer.
If the Vice Treasurer resigns or becomes unavailable, the Chair shall appoint a member to fill the office of the Vice Treasurer, subject to the approval of the Executive Committee; the newly appointed Vice Treasurer shall serve for the remainder of the Treasurer’s term.
The Treasurer shall keep an account of all receipts and disbursements and present a monthly report to the Executive Committee and the Membership. The Treasurer, Vice Treasurer, and Chair shall be authorized to deposit or withdraw funds. The Chair and the Treasurer will receive a debit card for Rural Caucus transactions. A copy of each monthly bank statement, excel sheet of receipts/disbursements, and NGP8 VAN Summary Sheet will be sent to the Rural Caucus Finance Committee for review and verification.
The Treasurer shall be responsible for filing required State returns for the Rural Caucus. It is the Treasurer’s duty to inform themselves of the filing deadlines. The Treasurer will oversee any consultant, paid or unpaid, who assists with financial and reporting responsibilities.
When a new Treasurer is elected, the past Treasurer shall forthwith deliver to the new Treasurer the funds and all the books and records kept during his/her tenure in office.
Section 9. Summary of Officer duties in an Addendum. To assist the Officers in understanding their duties, a summary of their duties with references to specific Bylaw provisions shall be included as an Addendum to these Bylaws.
Section 10. Duties of the Membership Chair. In December of each year--not later than December 7th, the Membership Chair shall send a reminder to all Rural Caucus members to renew their membership for the next year by filling out the online form so that they may be able to vote at the upcoming Annual Membership Meeting in January of the next year.
During the year, the Membership Chair shall also keep track of who has satisfied the Rural Caucus membership criteria and report the number of qualified members at the Rural Caucus meetings. The Membership Chair shall also encourage past members who have not renewed their membership to renew their membership.
Section 11. Nomination process and notice of upcoming elections. On or about October 15th of each year, the Officers shall appoint a Nominating Committee composed of 3 members who include members of the Executive Committee of Democratic County Parties and/or members of the Rural Caucus who have attended at least 3 Membership meetings. Currently serving Officers and Regional Vice Chairs of the Rural Caucus may not serve on the Nominating Committee.
For nominating new Officers, the Nominating Committee shall be appointed in even years whose task is to nominate the Officers to be elected in January of odd years. For nominating new Regional Vice Chairs, the Nominating Committee shall be appointed in odd years whose task is to nominate the Regional Vice Chairs to be elected in January of even years.
A standard form for candidates for all positions of Officers and Regional Vice Chairs shall be prepared by the Secretary or the Nominating Committee and used in the nomination process. Notification of these elections by either the Secretary and/or the Nominating Committee shall be provided along with the standard candidate form on or about November 1stof the year before the election. Notification shall minimally include posting on the website, emails to members, use of social media, and correspondence to rural County Democratic Parties. The deadline for submission of the candidate forms shall be December 31st of the year before the election.
Other duties of the Nominating Committee include evaluating the forms submitted by candidates, nominating the two most qualified candidates if two are available, summarizing their qualifications, and making their report in a timely manner to the Executive Committee prior to its January meeting. If no candidates apply for consideration, the Nominating Committee should attempt to recruit candidates. Nominations from the floor at the January meetings are permitted.
Section 12. Personnel Matters. When a conflict of interest, a complaint or other personnel matter comes to the attention of the Chair or a Vice Chair, the Chair or Vice Chair may call an Informal meeting provided for in Bylaw Art. V, Sec. 5 to discuss the matter in a confidential manner and take such action to resolve the matter in the discretion of the Officers.
ARTICLE V. MEETINGS
Section 1. Regular meetings of the Executive Committee. The regular meetings of the Executive Committee shall usually be held on the first Monday of each month as determined by the Officers. At least five (5) days’ notice shall be given by the Secretary, Vice Secretary or a designee of the date, time and place of the meeting that includes a proposed agenda and the minutes of the previous meeting and the treasurer’s report if available. Notice may be given by mail, social media, text or email. Decisions by the Executive Committee shall be made by majority vote or by consensus at the Chair’s discretion. A quorum is required to conduct business under Bylaw Art. V, Sec. 6. See Bylaw III, Sec. 6 for the rules of voting.
Section 2. Regular meetings of Membership. The regular meetings of the Membership shall usually be held on the second Monday of each month as determined by the Officers. At least five (5) days’ notice shall be given by the Secretary, Vice Secretary or a designee of the date, time and place of the meeting that includes a proposed agenda. Notice may be given by mail, social media, text, or email. Decisions by the Membership shall be made by majority vote or by consensus at the Chair’s discretion. A quorum is required to conduct business under Bylaw Art. V, Sec. 6. See Bylaw III, Sec. 6 for the rules of voting.
Section 3. Annual Meetings of Membership. The Annual Meeting of Membership shall be held in January of every year on a date determined by the Officers.
In odd years, the Annual Meeting of Membership shall elect the Officers, and in even years the Annual Meeting of Membership shall elect the Regional Vice Chairs.
If an Officer position or a Regional Vice Chair position is not filled during an Annual Meeting of Membership or the position becomes vacant, the Chair shall appoint a member of the Rural Caucus to fill the office subject to the approval of the Executive Committee; the newly appointed Officer or Regional Vice Chair shall serve for the remainder of the term. See Bylaw Art IV, Sec. 1.
At least five (5) days’ notice shall be given by the Secretary, Vice Secretary, or a designee as of the date, place and time of the meeting that includes a proposed meeting agenda. Notice may be given by mail, social media, text, or email. Decisions by the Membership shall be made by majority vote. A quorum is required to conduct business under Bylaw Art. V, Sec. 6. See Bylaw III, Sec. 6 for the rules of voting.
Section 4. Special meetings. Special meetings of the Executive Committee or the Membership may be called by the Officers by majority vote. At least five (5) days’ notice shall be given by the Secretary, Vice Secretary, or a designee of the date, place, time, and purpose of the special meeting that includes a proposed meeting agenda. Notice may be given by mail, social media, text, or email. Decisions shall be made by majority vote or by consensus at the Chair’s discretion. A quorum is required to conduct business under Bylaw Art. V, Sec. 6. See Bylaw III, Sec. 6 for the rules of voting.
Section 5. Informal meetings of the Officers. The Chairperson or a Vice Chairperson may call informal meetings of the Officers to discuss meeting agendas, speaker invitations, outreach ideas, personnel matters, or any other matters of importance. Such a meeting may be held by phone, zoom, in person, or other electronic means. See Bylaw Art. IV, Sec. 12.
Section 6. Quorum at Meetings. A quorum at the regular and special meetings of the Executive Committee and the Annual, regular and special meetings of the Membership shall exist when the number of members of the Executive Committee in attendance is equal to or greater than 25% of the currently serving members of the Executive Committee.
If a quorum is present, official business may be taken. If a quorum is not present, the meeting can proceed without taking official business. A quorum at meetings is determined by the Secretary, Vice Secretary or a designee as further described in the Bylaw Art. IV, Sec. 7.
Section 7. Meeting Attendance Policy. It is expected that all members of the Executive Committee should regularly attend meetings. Every year there are potentially 24 regularly scheduled monthly meetings of the Executive Committee and the Membership.
The attendance policy for Officers is as follows: if an Officer misses 13 or more of the 24 regularly scheduled monthly meetings without being excused within one (1) calendar year, that Officer will be considered to have abandoned their position and may be suspended by action of the Executive Committee so that a replacement Officer may be appointed, provided however their position may be reinstated by the Chair for good cause.
The attendance policy for Regional Vice Chairs is as follows: if a Regional Vice Chairs misses 7 or more of the regularly scheduled monthly meetings of the Executive Committee without being excused within one (1) calendar year, that Regional Vice Chair will be considered to have abandoned their position and may be suspended by action of the Executive Committee so that a replacement Regional Vice Chair may be appointed, provided however their position may be reinstated by the Chair or a Vice Chair for good cause.
An Officer’s or a Regional Vice Chair’s attendance at meetings shall be taken by the Secretary, Vice Secretary or a designee. An Officer’s or a Regional Vice Chair’s absence may be excused if they notify an Officer before a meeting that they will be unable to attend.
Section 8. State Convention. Meetings of the Executive Committee and/or the Membership of the Rural Caucus shall be held in conjunction with State Conventions at the date, time and place established by the Officers or the Convention.
Section 9. MDP Rules. Subject to the Rules of the Michigan Democratic Party and these Bylaws, all meetings shall be conducted according to Robert’s Rules of Order (latest edition).
ARTICLE VI. DUTIES AND STRUCTURE OF REGIONAL VICE CHAIRS AND COUNTY PARTY REPRESENTATIVES
Section 1. Geographical assignment. The geographic assignment of rural Counties into regions and the decision as to which Michigan counties are classified as rural for said geographical assignment shall be established by the Officers with the approval of the Executive Committee. In making this geographical assignment, the Officers shall consider the population density of the various rural counties so that there would be more counties having low density in a region and less counties having high density in a region.
Section 2. Duties of Regional Vice Chairs. The Regional Vice Chairs are encouraged to accomplish the following tasks:
• Serve as a liaison between the Rural Caucus and the County Parties assigned to a region.
• Make short verbal or written reports of local Party events or issues to the Rural Caucus.
• Suggest agenda items to the Officers for meetings of the Rural Caucus.
• Attend County Party meetings within assigned regions.
• Report on the activities of the Rural Caucus and its PAC to each County Party within assigned regions.
• Invite Democrats within the assigned region to join and participate in Rural Caucus events and run for Precinct Delegate.
• Assist each County Party within assigned region to grow and recruit candidates for office at all levels.
• Coordinate these tasks with the local Project 83 MDP official.
• Recruit a representative from each County Democratic Party within assigned region to serve as a Rural Caucus County Party Representative to assist in the above-described tasks.
ARTICLE VII. COMMITTEES
Section 1. Appointment of Committee Chairs. The Officers, subject to the approval of the Executive Committee, shall appoint the Committees and Committee chairpersons necessary for the work of the organization. The Chair and/or a Vice Chair shall be ex-officio members of the Committees.
Section 2. Standing Committees. The standing Committees shall include the following:
- Rules and Bylaws Committee
- Finance Committee
- Fundraising Committee
- Candidate Recruitment and Development Committee
- Political Organizing Committee
- Communications Committee
- Policy and Resolutions Committee
- Campaign Committee
- Membership Committee
- Legislative Committee
These committees may include appropriate subcommittees.
ARTICLE VIII. ORDER OF BUSINESS FOR EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETINGS
- Indigenous Land Acknowledgement
- Roll Call of Officers and Regional Vice Chairs
- Approval of Agenda and minutes of previous meeting
- Review of Treasurer’s report
- Reports of Chair and Vice Chairs
- Secretary’s Report (Correspondence)
- Legislative Report
- Reports of Regional Vice Chairs (limited to 2 minutes)
- Committee Reports
- Unfinished Business
- New Business
- Good & Welfare
- Adjournment
ARTICLE IX. ORDER OF BUSINESS FOR MEMBERSHIP MEETINGS
At meetings of the Membership, business shall proceed in the following order:
- Indigenous Land Acknowledgement
- Roll Call of Officers
- Report of Chair and announcement of agenda
- Treasurer’s Report (Financial Report)
- Legislative Report
- Selective Committee Reports
- Good & Welfare
- Adjournment
ARTICLE X. AMENDMENTS
Section 1. Referral of amendments. Proposals for changes or amendments to these bylaws shall first be referred to the Rules and Bylaws Committee which shall report its recommendations to the next regular Caucus meeting or special meeting called for that purpose.
Section 2. Procedure for amendments. These Bylaws may be amended at a meeting of the Executive Committee with a quorum present by a 60% majority vote, provided that written notice setting forth the proposed amendment has been given to the Executive Committee and the members at least two (2) weeks prior to the date of the meeting of the Executive Committee.
Section 3. Binding effect of Bylaws. These Bylaws shall be in full force and effect upon their adoption and shall supersede all Bylaws, rules, motions and policies of a contrary nature with the exception the Rules of the Michigan Democratic Party. The Bylaws and amendments shall be posted on the website and be sent to the MDP and the membership. See Bylaw Art. IV, Sec. 7.
ADDENDUM
SUMMARY OF THE DUTIES OF THE OFFICERS
1. Chairperson’s duties and authorities are:
• Preside over the meetings of Executive Committee and Membership - Art IV Sec 4
• Preside over the Informal meetings of Officers. - Art IV Sec 4
• Set the agendas for Meetings of Executive Committee - Art IV Sec 4
• Set the agendas for Meetings of Membership - Art IV Sec 4
• Set the agendas for Meetings of Officers - Art IV Sec 4
• Set the dates of Special Meetings of Executive Committee. - Art IV Sec 4
• Set the dates of Annual, Regular & Special Meetings of Membership - Art IV Sec 4
• Set the agenda for meetings with input from other Officers. - Art IV Sec 4
• Act as the chief executive officer. - Art IV Sec 4
• Exercise the general powers of supervision and management of the organization’s affairs. - Art IV Sec 4
• Appoint the Chairpersons of all Committees and be an ex-officio member thereof. - Art IV Sec 4
• Serve as the spokesperson of the Rural Caucus. - Art IV Sec 4
• Call Special meetings and Informal Meetings. - Art IV Sec 4
2. First Vice Chairperson’s duties and authorities are:
• Temporarily assume the chairperson’s duties in the Chair’s absence. - Art IV Sec 5
• Assist the Chairperson as needed. - Art IV Sec 5
• Oversee the activities of the Second Vice-Chairperson - Art IV Sec 5
3. Second Vice Chairperson’s duties and authorities are:
• Temporarily assume the duties of the Chair in the absence of both the Chair and the First Vice Chair. - Art IV Sec 5
• Assist the First Vice Chair as needed. - Art IV Sec 5
4. Youth Vice Chairperson’s duties and authorities are to:
• Serve as a liaison between the Young Democrats of Michigan, the High School Democrats, and the College Democrats of Michigan. - Art IV Sec 6
• Develop and implement a strategy to promote participation of Michigan rural youth in the political process. - Art IV Sec 6
5. Secretary’s duties and authorities are:
• Handle the primary administrative tasks. - Art IV Sec 7
• Provide meeting notices or work with a designee to do so. - Art IV Sec 7
• Keep attendance and determine quorums at meetings. - Art IV Sec 7
• Keep accurate minutes at meetings. - Art IV Sec 7
• Post the Bylaws and amendments on the website and provide a copy of them to the Secretary of MDP and members. - Art IV Sec 7
• Keep the minutes and records in a secure digital space and provide a copy of them to members upon a reasonable request. - Art IV Sec 7
• Post the Policies on the website and provide a copy to members - Art IV Sec 7
• Assist the Nomination Committee with elections - Art IV Sec 7
6. Treasurer’s duties and authorities are:
• Handle the financial receipts and disbursements. - Art IV Sec 8
• Make deposits of checks within 5 days.- Art IV Sec 8
• Write checks without approval for recurring monthly costs.- Art IV Sec 8
• Write checks with approval of Chair for costs of $500 or less. - Art IV Sec 8
• Supervise the Vice Treasurer.- Art IV Sec 8
• Inform theirself of all Michigan election filing deadlines and timely file all Michigan election returns. - Art IV Sec 8
• Timely file all IRS returns. - Art IV Sec 8
• Oversee any consultant who assists the Treasurer. - Art IV Sec 8
Originally adopted July 2017.
The Bylaws Committee composed of Karl Sime, Deirdre Honner, Robert Anderson, Joe Gutowski, and Peggy Raddatz completed these new restated bylaws as proposals on February 6, 2025.