YDMA 2017 Convention Elections

The Young Democrats of Massachusetts invite you to take part in the organization’s annual elections at the 2017 Annual Convention on Saturday, May 13th, 2017. The Convention will take place on the MIT campus at 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA.

Elections for organizational leadership will occur at this session and will be administered as dictated by the Charter and Bylaws. The proceeding information shall dictate how the electoral process will be governed.
Those who are permitted to vote in the 2017 elections are individuals who:

• Have attended at least one YDMA event in the last calendar year.
• Are registered democrats.
• Reside within the Confines of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

The following positions will be up for election at the 2017 Convention:

• President (formerly titled Chair)
• Vice President (formerly titled Vice Chair for Programming and Policy)
• Secretary
• Treasurer
• Membership and Outreach Director
• Communications Director
• Diversity and Inclusion Director
• Political Director
• Public Policy Director
• YDA Committeeman and Woman
• Four (4) At-Large Directors
• Public Service Director
• Events Director

Descriptions of the roles and responsibilities for each position up for election may be found in the following Google Doc: 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Z8kmbuU8K4_Q93TtvqaMKVxNvKHSabMiK--YN0D5X0w/

The following positions are not up for election at the 2017 election:

• Vice Chair for Admin & Finance (role eliminated at recent Charter Convention)
• DSC Committeeman and Woman
• Chapter and Caucus Chairs

Candidates who wish to run for any office up for election must:

• Submit a statement of no more than 250 words to the YDMA secretary (Zachary Agush) no later than May 3, 2017, 10 days before the convention, which will be shared with the Membership-At-Large. Those who do not submit a statement will not be denied the ability for office to run from the floor of the convention.
• Be nominated and seconded. Only those individuals deemed eligible to vote in the convention have the right to nominate a candidate for office. The nominee must accept the nomination, either verbally in person, or in writing if not present.

Proceedings of the Election segment of the 2017 Convention:

• 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 ballot, and uncontested nominees may be elected by acclamation. 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.

Note: During the Elections segment of the Convention, the Secretary of the YDMA shall be deemed the presiding officer.

An agenda of the Convention is being finalized and will be distributed to the Membership-at-Large in the coming weeks. Copies of the Charter, as revised on April 11th, 2017 will be available for review by the Membership.

All attendees are encouraged to pay their Membership Dues ($35) or Membership Dues Plus ($35 + $10 cover for lunch at Convention) as soon as possible. You may pay here: https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/ydamconv17

If you have any questions, please contact Zachary Agush, YDMA Secretary, at zachary.agush@gmail.com.


We look forward to seeing you at the 2017 Annual YDMA Convention!