BYLAWS OF THE FAIRFAX COUNTY DEMOCRATIC COMMITTEE
as amended January 5, 2010

ARTICLE I – NAME, AUTHORITY, PURPOSE AND RESPONSIBILITIES

1. This committee shall be known as the “Fairfax County Democratic Committee”, referred to in these Bylaws as the “County Committee”.
2. These Bylaws are adopted by the County Committee under the auspices of the Democratic voters of Fairfax County and the authority of the Virginia Democratic Party Plan and shall continue in effect subject to amendment as elsewhere provided. The County Committee shall have full charge of the affairs of the Democratic Party in Fairfax County, including the nominating process for, and support of, Democratic candidates. If any provision of these Bylaws conflicts with a provision of the Virginia Democratic Party Plan, the Party Plan shall control.
3. It shall be the duty of the County Committee, as well as each officer and member thereof, to actively seek the registration of voters, to perfect the Democratic organization within the County, to encourage the expression of positions to elected officials on policy issues, and to do all within their power to aid in the victory of the Democratic Party’s nominees in all elections, except as otherwise provided in the Virginia Democratic Party Plan as it deals with nominees who support candidates opposed to a Democratic nominee.

ARTICLE II – BIENNIAL REORGANIZATION BY
PRECINCT, DISTRICT AND COUNTY COMMITTEE

1. As provided in the State Party Plan and Article III of these Bylaws, the membership of the County Committee shall expire and new members shall be elected at caucuses to be held on or between the first and second Saturday in December of each odd numbered year at one venue within each magisterial district.
2. As provided in Article V of these bylaws, immediately following the election of precinct and At-Large representatives to the County Committee, those newly elected members shall organize the District Committee, including the election of District officers.
3. As provided in the State Party Plan and Article IV of these Bylaws, the newly elected members of the County Committee shall meet within 40 days of the precinct caucuses to reorganize and elect officers of the County Committee.
4. For the purpose of transition, exceptions to the foregoing Sections of this Article are provided in Article IV.

ARTICLE III – MEMBERSHIP

1.  
   1. The County Committee shall consist of those members elected by the Democratic voters of Fairfax County and those members elected by the County Committee itself to fill vacancies which occur subsequent to such election by voters.
   2. Those Democratic elected officials, including officials in non-partisan office who are endorsed by the Democratic Party, holding office in, or from, Virginia who reside in Fairfax County shall be voting ex officio members of the County Committee upon signing a filing form and payment of the filing fee.
   3. Elected members of the Democratic National Committee who reside in Fairfax County shall be voting ex officio members of the County Committee upon payment of the filing fee.
   4. Members of the Virginia State Central Committee who are not otherwise members of the County Committee and who reside in Fairfax County shall be voting ex officio members of the County Committee upon payment of the filing fee.
   5. Democratic members of the Electoral Board, and the County Registrar of Voters, if a Democrat, shall be voting ex officio members of the County Committee upon signing a filing form and payment of the filing fee.
   6. Immediate past County Chair and chairs of each District Committee who reside in Fairfax County shall be voting ex officio members of that District Committee and the County Committee upon payment of the filing fee.
   7. Any former Virginia Governor who is a Democrat and resides in Fairfax County shall be life time honorary member of the County Committee and shall be a voting member upon signing a filing form and payment of the filing fee.
   8. Any former Democratic member of the Virginia General Assembly and any former Democratic Supervisor or Democratic Constitutional Officer elected in the Commonwealth of Virginia who resides in Fairfax County and is currently a Democrat shall be a voting ex officio member of the County Committee upon signing a filing form and payment of the filing fee.
   9. Elected Democratic officials who represent districts which include precincts in Fairfax County, but who do not reside in Fairfax County, shall be nonvoting ex officio members of the County Committee upon signing a filing form.
   10. Persons who have given long-term, exceptional service to the County Committee may be elected at the January reorganization meeting as honorary lifetime voting members; these shall be known as the Mary Anne and Jack Hurt Memberships; there shall be no filing fee for lifetime memberships.
   11. Up to four persons who have been members of the County Committee for at least 20 years or elected officials who have represented Fairfax County for at least 10 years may be elected at the District reorganization caucuses as Emeritus members; payment of the filing fees for Emeritus memberships shall be optional.
2. When the County Committee is to be reconstituted by the Democratic voters of Fairfax County, the existing County Committee shall determine, by resolution at its September meeting, the time, place and manner of such election, the basis of representation of each precinct and district, and the time, place and manner of filing declarations of candidacy for election to the County Committee. As provided in the State Party Plan, the precinct and district meetings for this purpose shall be held on or between the first and second Saturday in December of each odd numbered year. The County Chair shall cause ample public notice of all these actions to encourage maximum participation of Democratic voters.
3. Each precinct shall be represented by the number of members apportioned in accordance with Article II, Section 2. One of the seats apportioned to each precinct shall be reserved for a member who is a resident of that precinct at the time of his or her election. If no such resident seeks election to the County Committee, one seat shall remain vacant until such a person is available.
4. Declarations of candidacy for election to the County Committee shall be accompanied by a filing fee in an amount fixed by the County Committee; fees shall be waived for any Democrat who signs a statement of inability to pay.

ARTICLE IV – OFFICERS

1. At the reorganization meeting, the members of the County Committee shall elect the following officers: Chair, referred to in these Bylaws as the “County Chair;” Vice Chair South; Vice Chair Central; Vice Chair North; Vice Chair for Outreach; Vice Chair for Precinct Operations; Vice Chair for Technology; Vice Chair for Voter Registration and Get Out the Vote Operations; Vice Chair for Finance; Corresponding Secretary; Recording Secretary; Treasurer; and, Assistant Treasurer. Such elections shall be by secret ballot except when a candidate is unopposed.
2. The Vice Chairs South, Central and North shall be referred to as the “Regional Vice Chairs”. The Vice Chair South shall reside in Lee, Mount Vernon or Springfield District. The Vice Chair Central shall reside in Braddock, Mason or Providence District. The Vice Chair North shall reside in Dranesville, Hunter Mill or Sully District.
3. The Regional Vice Chair who resides in the same region as the County Chair shall be the third ranking Vice Chair; the other two Regional Vice Chairs shall each be the first ranking Vice Chair for one year during the biennium, the three Regional Vice Chairs to determine in which order. The highest regional Vice Chair available shall preside in the absence of the County Chair.
4. The Vice Chair for Technology shall be the Chair of the Voter Records Committee; the Vice Chair for Voter Registration shall be the Chair of the Voter Registration Committee; and, the Vice Chair for Finance shall be the Chair of the Finance Committee.
5. The Vice Chairs, South, Central and North, shall be the County Committee’s representatives to joint campaigns in Fairfax County.
6. Vacancies in any of the above offices shall be filled by election at the next regularly scheduled meeting. When a vacancy in the County Chair occurs in the three-month period prior to a general election, the ranking Vice Chair, North or South, shall assume the duties of the County Chair and the election of the County Chair shall be postponed until the first County Committee meeting subsequent to the general election, except in the year of the County Committee’s reorganization, when it shall be held at the January reorganization meeting.
7. No person may hold office on the County Committee who is not a member of the County Committee or who does not reside within the political boundaries which the County Committee serves. Any officer who ceases to reside in Fairfax County or to be a member of the County Committee shall forfeit office.
8. During the period following the last regular meeting in each biennium, all outgoing officers of the County Committee and district committees, and officers and members of standing committees shall continue to serve until they have been replaced in the manner provided in the Bylaws.
9. The County Chair shall be the chief executive officer of the County Committee. The County Chair shall have the authority to suspend any elected officer or Standing Committee Chair for neglect of duty for a period not to exceed 65 days.
10. The County Committee may remove an elected officer for cause by the following procedure. The County Chair or ranking Vice Chair may offer a motion to remove an elected officer. The motion shall be considered by the Steering Committee. The officer to whom the motion pertains shall be advised in writing at least two weeks in advance of the Steering Committee meeting at which the motion is to be considered. If two-thirds of the Steering Committee members present and voting concur, the motion will be presented to the County Committee.
11. The Steering Committee shall prepare a document describing the authority and responsibilities of the elected officers and standing committees. This document, with such changes as the Steering Committee deems necessary, shall be presented to each subsequent reorganization meeting of the County Committee for consideration as an administrative resolution which may be adopted prior to the election of officers.

ARTICLE V – SERVICE DISTRICT COMMITTEES

1. The members of the County Committee who reside in each service district of Fairfax County shall constitute the District Committee for that district.
2. The members of each district committee shall elect a Chair, a Secretary, and such other officers as they see fit, and may adopt bylaws consistent with these Bylaws and the Party Plan.

ARTICLE VI – STEERING COMMITTEE

1. There shall be a Steering Committee of the County Committee to coordinate the work of the district committees and the standing committees.
2. The Steering Committee shall consist of: the elected officers of the County Committee; the chairs of the district committees; the chairs of the standing committees; a representative selected by the Advisory Committee; the highest ranking officer of the Eighth, Tenth and Eleventh Congressional District Democratic Committees who are members of the County Committee; a representative selected by the Young Democrats Council who is a resident of Fairfax County; the immediate past County Chair; and any member of the State Central Committee’s Steering Committee who resides in Fairfax County. If an officer of the County Committee who chairs a standing committee or a district chair is unable to attend a meeting of the Steering Committee, they may designate another officer of their committee to represent that committee with full privileges; if a chair of a standing committee who was elected by the members of the committee is unable to attend a meeting of the Steering Committee, they may designate another member of their committee to represent that committee with full privileges. The County Chair shall be the Chair of the Steering Committee.
3. When situations arise in which a policy decision of the County Committee would normally be required, but cannot be achieved in a timely fashion, powers of the County Committee shall inhere in the Steering Committee. In such situations, all members of the Steering Committee shall have the right to speak but only the elected officers of the County Committee and the chairs of the District Committees may vote.
4. The Steering Committee may not amend the Bylaws; may not authorize expenditures which equal more than 5% of the annual budget of the County Committee; may not elect members to the County Committee; may not elect or remove officers of the County Committee; may not endorse candidates for nonpartisan elections; may not determine the apportionment or procedures for the reorganization of the County Committee; may not nominate candidates for public office or determine the method of nominating candidates for public office except in cases in which a nominated candidate dies, refuses candidacy, withdraws or if the nomination is set aside for any reason; and may not approve resolutions on issues of public policy except by a three-fourths absolute vote of the members eligible to vote.
5. All actions taken by the Steering Committee in lieu of the County Committee shall be published in The Democrat, shall be discussed at the next meeting of the County Committee, and, unless legal requirements preclude it, may be reversed or amended by the County Committee.
6. Meetings of the Steering Committee to take actions described in Sections 4 and 5 shall be convened as needed. Meetings may be called by the County Chair or any three of its members. All members must be notified of any meeting. If necessary, such meetings may occur as soon as possible after they are called.

ARTICLE VII – OTHER COMMITTEES AND APPOINTMENTS

1. There shall be the following standing committees: The Democrat; Finance; Headquarters; Labor; Local Affairs; Diversity; National Affairs; Precinct Operations Northwest; Precinct Operation Central; Precinct Operations Southeast; Senior Citizen Affairs; State Affairs; Voter Records; Voter Registration and Get Out The Vote; Women’s Rights; Youth Affairs, and Election Law and Protection.
2. On each standing committee other than Precinct Operations and Election Law and Protection, each district committee may have more than one member, but shall be entitled to one vote. The vote for each district may be established as a priority among members or as fractional, the determination to be made in order by (a) the relevant district committee, (b) the members on the standing committee from the district, or (c) the other members of the standing committee.
3. The Precinct Operations Committees shall have one member for every thirty County Committee members or major fraction thereof apportioned to each district committee; but no district shall have fewer than two members. The Precinct Operations Committee Northwest shall comprise the members elected from the Hunter Mill, Dranesville and Sully Districts; the Precinct Operations Committee Central shall comprise the members elected from the Braddock, Mason and Providence Districts; the Precinct Operations Committee Southeast shall comprise the members elected from the Lee, Mount Vernon and Springfield Districts. The membership of the Precinct Operations Committees shall be elected in the manner prescribed for all other committees.
4. The Election Law and Protection Committee shall have one member appointed by each of the Magisterial District Chairs, who shall be an attorney, and one member appointed by each of the Regional Vice Chairs. The Chair of the Election Law and Protection Committee shall be appointed by the County Chair and shall be an attorney.
5. A standing committee shall meet at the call of the chair or upon the request of any five of its members.
6. The Treasurer shall be a member of the Finance Committee.
7. A convener of the reorganization meeting of each standing committee shall be designated by the County Chair. The members of each standing committee shall elect a chair from themselves, except as provided elsewhere in these Bylaws.
8. Chairs of standing committees who are not elected officers of the County Committee may be removed from office by the following procedure. The County Chair may offer a motion to remove the chair for cause. The chair to whom the motion pertains shall be advised in writing at least two weeks in advance.
9. The County Chair shall be an ex officio, nonvoting member of all standing committees; but the attendance of the County Chair shall not be considered for purposes of a quorum.
10. The County Committee may establish special committees. The purpose of a special committee and the method of election or appointment of its members and the method of selection of its chair shall be expressed in the resolution of the County Committee by which the special committee is established.
11. The County Chair may establish task forces and appoint their members and chair for a limited purpose to be concluded within 90 days. If the work of a task force cannot be concluded within 90 days, the County Committee may establish a special committee for the purpose.
12. The County Chair may convene a meeting of any standing or special committee.
13. The Democratic elected officials shall constitute an Advisory Committee. The Advisory Committee shall elect a chair and Steering Committee from among themselves.
14. The County Chair shall appoint a parliamentarian, a counsel or co-counsel, and a Communications Advisor, who shall advise the County Chair and the Steering Committee but shall not serve as members of the Steering Committee.

ARTICLE VIII – MEETINGS

1. As provided in the State Party Plan, after the biennial election of the complete membership of the County Committee in district caucuses, the County Chair of the outgoing County Committee shall within 40 days convene a reorganization meeting, the agenda to include the election of officers.
2. The County Committee shall hold its regular meetings on the fourth Tuesday of January in even numbered years and the fourth Tuesday of each alternate month thereafter. When the date of a meeting of the County Committee falls on the day of an election in Fairfax County, the meeting shall be held on the following day. The regular meeting date of a County Committee meeting may be changed by the County Committee or the Steering Committee, provided that written notice is sent to all members.
3. Special meetings of the County Committee may be held upon the call of the County Chair or upon receipt by the County Chair of a written request signed by at least 10% of the members of the County Committee. At least 10days written notice of the time and place shall be given of any special meeting.
4. The Steering Committee shall meet on the second Tuesday in January of even numbered years and the second Tuesday of each alternate month thereafter. The Steering Committee may meet on the second Tuesday of any other month as called by the County Chair, or as elsewhere provided in these Bylaws. When the date of a meeting of the Steering Committee falls on the day of an election in Fairfax County, or on the date of the January Reorganization meeting of the County committee, the meeting shall be held on the following day.
5. When meetings of the County Committee or Steering Committee cannot be held on the regular dates, the County Chair shall reschedule the meetings and notify the appropriate members.
6. Each district committee and standing committee shall have a regularly scheduled meeting date. Written notice of all district committee meetings shall be sent to all members of the pertinent committee.
7. The presence of 30% of the members of the County Committee and each of its committees shall constitute a quorum for the conduct of business.
8. The use of proxies at any meeting is prohibited.
9. Meetings of the County Committee and its committees shall be open to the public with the exceptions that:
   1. any meeting of the Steering Committee may be closed for discussions of personnel matters regarding paid employees of the County Committee or litigation in which the County Committee is, or is likely to become, a party; and,
   2. the Steering Committee may decide, by a two-thirds vote of all its members, to meet in closed session if the nature or the issues discussed is made public.
10. The right of a member of the County Committee to introduce resolutions at a meeting shall not be abridged. Members shall make every effort to submit proposed resolutions to the Steering Committee prior to consideration by the County Committee.
11. All resolutions calling for the expenditure of money by the County Committee shall be submitted to the Steering Committee before consideration by the County Committee, except in the case of an emergency as determined by a two-thirds vote of those members of the County Committee present and voting.
12. All resolutions published in the Democrat or otherwise transmitted to members seven days prior to consideration at a meeting of the County Committee may be adopted by a majority of the County Committee members present and voting. All resolutions not published in the Democrat or otherwise transmitted to members seven days prior to consideration at a meeting of the County Committee may be adopted by a two-thirds vote of the members of the County Committee present and voting.
13. In addition to consideration of resolutions offered, the County Chair may, at the request of any individual member, make available on the agenda up to ten minutes for general discussion of any policy issue or issues.

ARTICLE IX – BUDGET PROCESS

1. The County Chair shall present a draft budget to the County Committee for review, at its regularly scheduled meeting on the fourth Tuesday of January of each year.
2. The Steering Committee shall review the draft budget at its January, February and March meetings and make amendments as it deems necessary.
3. The amended budget shall be presented to the County Committee for consideration at its regularly scheduled meeting on the fourth Tuesday of March of each year.

ARTICLE X – RULES

1. Where not inconsistent with these Bylaws or with the Virginia Democratic Party Plan, Robert’s Rules of Order, Newly Revised, shall govern the conduct of business of the County Committee and its committees.

ARTICLE XI – NOTICES OF MEETINGS AND EVENTS

1. The distribution of The Democrat or some other means shall comply with the requirement in the State Party Plan for seven-day notice of meetings of the County Committee. Notice of all meetings of the County Committee, including the agenda, shall be sent to all members.
2. Electronic means of communication may serve as prior notice for all meetings, provided that an adequate combination of means shall be used to assure that all members of the pertinent committee receive the notice.
3. In supplement to any requirements of the State Party Plan, the County Chair shall cause to be published in a timely manner, and by paid advertisement if necessary, the filing deadline and all other essential filing requirements for the Democratic nomination for any elective public office below the state level which will appear on the general election ballot in Fairfax County.

ARTICLE XII – AMENDMENTS

1. Each member of the County Committee shall be notified, at the expense of the County Committee, of proposed amendments to, or revisions of, the Bylaws. Such notice shall be published in The Democrat or mailed to arrive at least seven days prior to each meeting at which the amendments are to be considered.
2. The Bylaws may be amended by a two-thirds vote of the members present and voting at the biennial reorganization meeting of the County Committee. Amendments to the Bylaws considered at the reorganization meeting may not be amended from the form mailed to members.
3. The Bylaws may be amended by a majority vote of the members present and voting at two consecutive regular meetings of the County Committee within a biennium. Except to delete provisions which do not alter the effect of other provisions, proposed amendments to the Bylaws may not be amended at the second of the consecutive regular meetings without requiring passage in the amended form at the next regular meeting.