Dpva Party Plan 1
Dpva Party Plan 1
Dpva Party Plan 1
DEMOCRATIC
PARTY OF VIRGINIA
PARTY PLAN
March 7, 2015
Revised December 4, 2021
Table of Contents
Preamble
Article 7. Democratic Constitutional Officer and General ASSEMBLY DISTRICT Nominating Committees
Section 7.1 Definition of Committees
Section 7.2 General Assembly Nominating Process
Section 7.3 Constitutional Officers Nomination Process
Section 7.4 Composition of Nominating Committees
Section 7.5 Voting
Section 7.6 Officers and Organization
Section 7.7 Appeals
In addition, those members of the General Assembly and those chairs of county and city committees who are
elected as provided in Section 6.2 of this Plan will be voting members. All members of the Central Committee shall
be members of their respective congressional district committees.
congressional district and county and city democratic committees regarding statewide coordinated campaign
activities.
The vice-chair for rules (second vice-chair) shall preside over meetings in the absence of the State chair and
first vice- chair, shall be responsible for preparing the Party Plan and other rules, and shall be responsible for
drafting amendments to the Plan, delegate selection plans and calls to convention and advising the State chair and
other appropriate entities as to their implementation. The vice-chair for rules shall also serve as the chair of the
standing committee on resolutions (or, in conjunction with the State chair, appoint such a chair for the committee) as
provided in Section 4.17.
The vice-chair for technology and communications shall be responsible for, and shall assist congressional
district, county and city committees with, implementation of technologies for identifying and mobilizing voters,
maintaining records, and communications within party organizations and to the public.
The vice-chair for finance shall be responsible for raising those funds necessary for meeting the annual
budget needs of the Party, and, in conjunction with the treasurer, shall work with the finance director to implement a
fundraising plan. The vice-chair for finance shall also work with congressional district, county and city committees
to assist in their fundraising efforts.
The vice-chair for outreach shall serve as chair of the standing outreach committee, as provided in Section
4.21, shall work with the congressional district, county and city committees to develop outreach plans and strategies
for their jurisdictions, shall be responsible for outreach to the various constituencies of the Democratic Party and
shall serve as liaison with statewide organizations supportive of the Democratic Party. The vice-chair for outreach
shall also be responsible for overseeing the Party’s voter registration activities.
All vice chairs may be assigned duties and projects by the State chair.
Regular reports of the activities of the vice chairs shall be made to the Steering and Central Committees.
The committee’s membership shall be fifteen (15), including its chair who shall be the vice-chair for rules (or
the designee of the State chair and the vice-chair for rules) of the Central Committee as a part of the duties set forth
in Section 4.12; eleven (11) members with one (1) elected by each congressional district committee; three (3) at-
large members nominated by the Central Committee chair, and elected by the Committee, one of whom shall be a
county or city chair, and one (1) of whom shall be a Steering Committee member. At-large members shall serve one-
year terms.
The resolutions committee shall establish rules and procedures that clearly define its operations, including the
regular conduct of any needed meetings or hearings to receive information on any subject or resolution. The
committee’s chair shall plan and coordinate its work. Any member of the Central Committee may offer a resolution.
All resolutions, except those of strictly memorial or commendatory nature, shall be presented to the committee at
least thirty (30) days prior to a scheduled meeting of the Central Committee. Resolutions approved for the Central
Committee shall be mailed to all its members at least ten (10) days before such scheduled meeting. The Resolutions
Committee shall submit its report, including identification of all resolutions considered, for consideration by the
Central Committee.
The Resolutions, Central and Steering Committees may approve resolutions by a majority of those members
present and voting. Only the Steering Committee may send any resolution to the Central Committee for
consideration without prior approval by the Resolutions Committee.
Section 4.18 State Central Committee Elections in the Absence of a State Convention
In year following a gubernatorial election in which a State Convention will not be held, the provisions of this
Section shall supersede any conflicting provisions in the Party Plan pertaining to the reorganization of the Central
Committee.
In a gubernatorial election year in which the Democratic Party of Virginia chooses nominees for statewide
offices in a primary election, the State Central Committee may decide not to conduct a state convention. Whenever
the State Central Committee decides not to conduct such a convention, the twenty (20) members of the State Central
Committee representing each congressional district shall be elected in congressional district conventions.
The State Central Committee, at its fourth meeting in the gubernatorial year, shall adopt a method of allocation for
delegates to congressional district conventions, as set forth in Section 15.2 of this Plan.
The Congressional District Committee shall issue a call to its district convention, as specified in Section 15.2
of this Plan. The notice provisions of Article 9 shall apply.
Delegates to a Congressional District Convention may be elected at caucuses held within a jurisdiction that is
part of the Congressional District or immediately prior to the Congressional District Convention at the same location
as the Congressional District Convention. Each caucus electing delegates to a congressional district convention shall
certify the roll of delegates so elected to the Chair of the Congressional District Committee in the manner provided
in Section 15.4.
The newly elected congressional district committees shall meet to elect officers and additional members (as
provided in Section 6.2) prior to the first meeting of the newly elected State Central Committee.
The newly elected State Central Committee shall meet within the first ninety (90) days of the year following a
gubernatorial election to elect the Party officers enumerated in section 4.4 of the Plan.
Members of the Central Committee may form recognized caucuses that shall:
1. be comprised of Democrats who are registered voters;
2. include Central Committee members who represent a minimum of three percent of the Central Committee
general membership and represent at least four Congressional Districts;
3. adopt bylaws that are consistent with the party plan, and that shall include:
a. a statement of the purpose of the caucus;
b. membership qualifications that include an affirmative act by the Democrat join the caucus;
c. procedure for the regular election of officers;
4. be approved by a majority of Steering and Central Committee membership;
5. represents an historically underrepresented constituency that shares an inherent and/or immutable traits, not a
concern about an issue or a cause;
Notice of a vote to approve a caucus shall be mailed to Central Committee members 10 days prior to the
meeting at which a vote occurs.
Caucuses who do not have a representative on the Steering Committee pursuant to Section 5.1 shall have one
representative on the Central Committee.
The Outreach Committee shall review the caucuses’ applications, subject to final review by the Steering and
Central Committee. Applications must be received at least 30 days prior to a Central Committee meeting to be
reviewed by the Outreach Committee for that meeting.
Every Caucus that has been approved by the Steering and Central Committees shall:
1. maintain and submit to the Democratic Party of Virginia by June 30th of every year, its current bylaws,
membership list, officers list, and an action plan for mobilizing its constituency for elections, which must
include evidence of recent past activity in Democratic organizations or campaigns; and
2. provide to the Democratic Party of Virginia a list of current outreach events, organizations, and events within
Virginia related to its constituency.
Caucuses that have been approved by the Central Committee shall notify the State Party of their intent to
reorganize 30 days prior to reorganizing.
The Virginia Young Democrats, the Association of Democratic Chairs and the Association of Elected
Democratic Officials shall submit to the Democratic Party of Virginia their current bylaws, membership list, and
officers list, and an action plan by June 30th of each even numbered year.
The Outreach Committee’s duties including the following: (1) Develop and implement an outreach plan for
the Democratic Party. After each Central Committee election, the committee shall review and update the plan after
consultation with candidates and local committees. (2) Receive and act on all applications by caucuses for official
recognition by the Democratic Party, and shall present its recommendation for approval or denial to the Steering and
Central Committees. (3) Perform any other outreach activities designated by the Committee.
The Outreach Committee shall establish rules and procedures that clearly define its operations, including the
regular conduct of any needed meetings or hearings to receive information on any subject. The committee's chair
shall plan and coordinate its work and seek to insure that any Democratic Party member has opportunity to present
information or comments.
The officers of the Central Committee shall be the officers of the Steering Committee. All members of the
Steering Committee shall be members of the Central Committee and members of their respective district
committees.
be vested in the Steering Committee at such times as the Central Committee is not in session and its actions shall be
final unless overruled by the Central Committee or a Democratic Convention, with the following exceptions:
Notices of Steering Committee meetings, including specific agenda, shall be mailed to all members of the
State Central Committee at least ten (10) days prior to all Steering Committee meetings, except in cases of
emergency when the Steering Committee has to be notified by telephone. When a meeting of the Steering
Committee is not followed within eight (8) days by a meeting of the Central Committee, the minutes of Steering
Committee meeting, including details of all actions taken, but not necessarily of the discussions, shall be mailed to
all Central Committee members within thirty (30) days after the Steering Committee meeting.
At each State Central Committee meeting, the actions taken by the Steering Committee since the previous
Central Committee meeting shall be reported, questions shall be taken about any such actions, and the chair shall ask
if there are any motions to alter or overrule any action taken by the Steering Committee.
All meetings shall be open unless the Steering Committee specifically votes otherwise.
the complaint, it shall immediately begin an investigation of the complaint in accordance with Article 11. The
subcommittee shall complete its investigation and file a written report within thirty (30) days of the filing of the
complaint. Within (30) days of receiving the subcommittee report, the Steering Committee shall act on the
complaint and provide such remedies, as it deems appropriate.
District committees shall hold periodic meetings at publicized locations and times. Notice of such meetings
shall be provided to all Democratic city and county committees within the Congressional District. Notice shall also
be provided to the Virginia Young Democrats District Chair and the Virginia Democratic Women’s Caucus District
Representative and other Democratic groups within the district. Meetings of the congressional district committee
may be called as follows:
a) By the chair; or
b) By any five (5) members of the congressional district committee, if a signed call is filed with the secretary of
the district committee at least ten (10) days before the proposed meeting date; or
c) By a vote of the district committee as a properly convened meeting of the committee.
Before making a recommendation of removal, however, the district committee shall provide the member with
ten (10) days written notice of the charges and an opportunity for a hearing before the district committee. The
decision of the district committee may be appealed to the Steering Committee.
In the case of a special election, or where a primary is not possible, the appropriate district committee may
decide to nominate their candidate by convention or caucus.
this Plan and applicable Virginia election laws. Whenever such nominations are to be made by convention, the
appropriate nominating committee shall fix the basis of representation for such convention. The nominating
committee shall advise State headquarters in writing of the method of nomination for any office within seven (7)
days of the decision.
County and city committees shall elect their members by caucus. Any candidate for election to the county or
city committee who has duly filed and who is unopposed shall be declared elected. A caucus shall be held to vote on
the candidates in contested elections for the remaining positions on the county or city committee.
Any person aggrieved by any decision, action or failure to act by a county or city committee may appeal to
the district committee for the congressional district in which the county or city is situated, disposition of such appeal
shall follow the procedure outlined in the previous paragraph when the county or city is divided between two or
more districts. The decision of the congressional district committee(s) may be appealed to the Steering Committee.
All meetings of the county or city committee shall be open to the public. Such meetings may be called as
follows:
a) upon call of the chair of the committee; or
b) by at least ten percent (10%) of the members of the county or city committee if the signed call is filed with
the chair at least fifteen (15) days before the proposed meeting date; or
c) by a vote of the county or city committee at a properly convened meeting of the committee.
If the required two-thirds majority is obtained in each of the committees to be combined or in each of the caucuses
for the counties or cities to be combined, upon approval by the State Steering Committee, the functions of such
county and city committees shall be combined in one joint committee. However, the combination of committee
functions shall not include the nominating process for candidates for city, county, and local offices. For such
nominations, only the representatives of the counties or cities served by the office in question shall participate in
setting the method of nomination or in nominating such candidates.
Upon the petition of any ten (10) Democrats from any county or city served by a combined committee, the Steering
Committee, after consideration, may dissolve the combined committee and order separate reorganization of the
committees.
Committees shall post this notification using channels of communication typically used by the committee,
and which shall provide the widest possible dissemination within its jurisdiction. Committees are required to post
this notification on either their own committee web site, congressional district web site, or the DPVA web site and
provide a press release to all relevant newspapers of general circulation.
Committees are encouraged, but not required, to use other opportunities to disseminate this information to all
interested parties, as they are able, including a variety of social media, e-mail databases and distribution to relevant
television and radio outlets.
nominating committee may, by unanimous vote, determine that caucuses need not be held in each county or city, but
may be held in one or more convenient location(s).
Section 12.4 Nominations for City and County Constitutional Officers and Other Local Elected Officials
Democratic party candidates for county or city offices may be nominated by primary, convention or caucus,
as determined by the county or city committee. Except, when an incumbent candidate for an office in a city or
county was nominated by a primary, a primary shall be held for that office unless all incumbents of that party for
that office consent to a different method.
Each nominating committee chair shall receive the required notice of candidacy, petitions and receipts for
filing fees in a timely manner, and shall insure that all Democratic candidates know where such filings shall occur. If
only one candidate for a particular office shall file by the deadline, he or she shall be declared the nominee and no
primary will be conducted.
Nothing herein shall be construed to diminish the Party’s control over the process of selecting candidates of
the Party.
The Central Committee, district committees, nominating committees and county and city committees
established pursuant to this Plan may call a convention or caucus within their respective jurisdiction for any purpose
which is not inconsistent with this Plan. Any such committee calling for nominations or delegate selection by a
caucus may utilize the unassembled caucus.
Delegates to any state Democratic convention may be allocated by one of the following methods:
a) a formula giving equal weight to population and to the average of the Democratic vote in the most recent
elections for Governor, United States Senator, and United States President;
b) a formula giving equal weight to population and to the average of the Democratic vote in the most recent
elections for Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and Attorney General;
c) a formula giving equal weight to the Democratic vote in the most recent elections for Governor, United States
Senator and United States President;
d) a formula giving equal weight to the Democratic vote in the most recent elections for Governor, Lieutenant
Governor, and Attorney General.
However, in a presidential election year a different allocation formula shall be followed if required by the
National Democratic Party. Delegates to any congressional district, General Assembly district (Senate and House of
Delegates) or county or city convention may be allocated by the committee issuing the Call by using the Democratic
vote in the most recent election held for the offices for which the nominating process is being established.
If a delegate is unable to undertake or continue in his or her duties as delegate, he or she shall select an
alternate to succeed to delegate status or may designate the chair to select the alternate; failing either, the delegation
may select the alternate. Whenever the number of alternates is less than the allowable number, the delegation may
elect alternates to fill the vacant positions from persons within the congressional district.
Election of delegates and alternates under this section may occur after reasonable notice to the delegation if a
quorum of forty percent (40%) assembles for the election. If the convention call requires announcement of candidate
preference, new delegates and alternates shall have the same candidate preference as the delegate or alternate they
replace.
Upon the recommendation of the temporary credentials committee, the Steering Committee or any other
committee calling a convention may order a new convention or caucus for election of delegates or alternates to
replace challenged delegates or alternates.
For state conventions, a Resolutions Committee, a Rules Committee, an Arrangements Committee, and
Credentials Committee shall be selected. These committees, Rules, Arrangements, Credentials and Resolutions shall
be named at the 1st quarterly meeting of the year in which the Convention is to be held. Each committee, with the
exception of Arrangements, shall be composed of one member from each Congressional District, with that
individual named by the Congressional District chair, and two members for each committee named by the Party
Chair. The Arrangements Committee, consisting of five individuals, shall have a majority from the Congressional
District where the Convention shall be held, and shall be chosen by the Congressional District chair. The remaining
Committee members shall be chosen from the Central Committee and shall be appointed by the Party Chair.
The chairs of the Rules Committee, the Credentials Committee, the Resolutions Committee, and the
Arrangements Committee shall be appointed by the Party Chair from among the members of the Committees, and
they shall serve as Chair of both the temporary Committees and the permanent Committees.
The State chair may appoint a Drafting Committee composed of the Chair of the Temporary Resolutions
Committee (who shall chair the Drafting Committee), a representative of each statewide campaign, two members at-
large, and the State Chair (as an ex-officio member). The Drafting Committee will be responsible for preparing a
draft majority report to be considered by the full Temporary Resolutions Committee at its meeting prior to the State
Convention. State Party staff shall provide support to the Drafting Committee and the full Committee.
The report of the Temporary Resolutions Committee shall be distributed in advance of the State Convention
to all congressional district chairs, preferably at least 48 hours prior to the Convention but not later than 24 hours
prior to the Convention’s convening.
The report of the committee shall be distributed to all delegates when they register for the convention and
shall be presented to the convention at the time specified in the agenda by the convention rules committee which
shall be no later than 2 p.m. on the second day of any convention. The rules committee shall prescribe the procedure
for consideration of the report on the convention floor, including the consideration of any minority reports.
Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Plan, the temporary resolutions committee shall also serve as the
permanent resolutions committee of any state convention, (regardless) of whether its members are convention
delegates. Adoption of resolutions by the convention shall require a sixty percent (60%) vote of the delegates
present and voting, a quorum being present.
Matters of a procedural nature that arise during a convention shall be governed by the most recent edition of
Roberts’ Rules of Order.
All such persons present at the caucus at the time stated in the notice are entitled to participate in the caucus if
they sign the required certification. The permanent chair of the caucus shall not be elected until all persons entitled
to participate have had a reasonable opportunity to complete their written certification.
in its call to convention for establishment of permanent committees on credentials, rules, and other such committees
as may be required.