Pine County Republican Party

- Page 1 - REPUBLICAN PARTY OF THE EIGHTH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT CONSTITUTION Revised 2007   Preamble The Republicans of Minnesota welcome the participation of all Minnesotans who are concerned with the implementation of honest, efficient, responsive government. The party believes in the equality of all, as stated in the Declaration of Independence. It, therefore, is the party committed to equal representation and opportunity for all and the preservation of the rights of each individual. It is the purpose of this Constitution to ensure that the party provides for full participation with equal opportunity for all Minnesotans regardless of age, race, sex, religion, or social or economic status.     ARTICLE I Name and Objectives Section 1: The name of this organization shall be the REPUBLICAN PARTY OF THE EIGHTH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT OF MINNESOTA. Section 2: The objectives ofthe organization shall be the maintenance of government of, by and for the people according to the Constitution and laws of the United States and the State of Minnesota, and the furtherance of such principles as may, from time to time, be adopted by the party conventions; to facilitate the election of a Republican Congressman to represent the people of the Eighth District; and to manage the affairs of the party within the District, remembering always that in order to govern, the Republican candidates must first win elections. To accomplish these objectives, the District organization shall: a. Coordinate and assist in the conduct of campaigns for the adoption of responsive governance and the election of Republican candidates for public office as have been endorsed by the Republican party at the appropriate political unit level; and b. Cooperate with to coordinate, stimulate, and support the activities of the BPOU organizations within the District and maintain liaison between them and the state organizations.   Page 2   ARTICLE II District Membership Section 1: The membership of the organization shall be composed of all voters of the Eighth Congressional District of the State of Minnesota who desire to support the objectives of the party. Section 2: Nothing in this Constitution shall be construed to deny or abridge the rights of any voter to participate in any party caucus, primary, or convention in which he/she is entitled, by law, to participate.   ARTICLE III District Full Committee Section 1: The management ofthe affairs ofthe party within the Eighth Congressional District shall be vested in the District Full Committee subject to the objectives of the Constitution and the direction of the District Convention. The District shall be organized into basic political organizational units (BPOU's) which shall be responsible for the party operation within a particular defined area of the District, subject to the direction of the District and State authorities. All officers and members of the District Full Committee shall reside within the District and be qualified voters.   Section 2: The District Full Committee shall be composed of the following members: a. The elected District officers. b. The two highest ranking officers of each basic political organizational unit located wholly within the District, or in their absence, ranked BPOD officers. Each BPOD shall provide the District Executive Committee a ranked list of officers. c. In the case of BPOU's partially within the District, they shall be represented on the District Full Committee as follows:   1. Those portions of a BPOD which are under the jurisdiction of the Eighth Congressional District and whose voters constitute less than ten (10) percent of their entire BPOD vote total, as determined by the vote in the previous general election, shall be represented by the BPOD chair and deputy chair of the adjoining BPOD with which it shares the longest coterminous border. 2. In the case of that portion of a BPOD located partially within the Eighth Congressional District whose voters constitute more than ten (10) percent of the total vote count oftheir BPOD, that portion of BPOD located within the Eighth Congressional District shall elect one (1) representative and two (2) ranked alternates to sit on the District Full Committee.   Page 3   d. Any Republican United States Constitutional officer, or any State Republican elected official residing within the District, for whom there shall be no alternate. e. A nonvoting representative selected by each affiliate organization approved by the state party and listed in Appendix A of this Constitution with an active chapter in the Eighth District. f. An Affiliate Chairperson appointed by the District chairpersons to represent all the affiliates on the Full Committee. g. Four (4) Members-at-Large, two appointed by the District Chair and two appointed by the District Deputy Chair. Such appointees may be removed at the discretion of the appointing officers. h. The finance chair for the District, who shall be appointed by the District Chairpersons in consultation with the State Finance Committee (if possible, one of the vice chairpersons). The appointment shall be subject to confirmation by majority vote of the District Full Committee. Section 3: No person shall at the same time be an officer of the District Full Committee and an officer ofthe state party organization.   ARTICLE IV District Officers and Executive Committee Section 1: The elected District Officers shall be: Chair, Deputy Chair, First Vice-Chairman and First Vice-Chairwoman, Second Vice-Chairman and Second Vice-Chairwoman, Third Vice-Chairman and Third Vice-Chairwoman, Secretary, Treasurer, the State Vice-Chair, and such other officers as may be determined by the by-laws of this Constitution. Section 2: The Executive Committee shall consist of the District officers, the District finance chairperson and the four (4) members-at-large. The Executive Committee shall administer and manage the party affairs within the District between meetings of the District Full Committee and shall make recommendations to the District Full Committee on questions or policy, appointments, and other matters. Section 3: The officers of the District Executive Committee shall be elected from any members of the party residing in the District by the District Conventions held in odd numbered years. These officers and representatives shall hold office for a term of two (2) years, or until their successors are duly elected.   Page 4   ARTICLE V District Convention Section 1: District conventions shall be held annually at the call of the State Executive Committee, the State Central Committee, or the District Full Committee, and at such other times and for such other purposes as the committee calling the convention may determine. The place of holding the District conventions shall be determined by the District Full Committee. Section 2: District conventions shall be composed of the following: a. Delegates and alternates elected at BPaD conventions in the like manner as delegates and alternates to the state convention. The number of delegates and alternates shall be apportioned on the basis ofthe party vote in the latest election, gubernatorial or presidential, to each BPOD in accordance with a formula established by the State Executive Committee as ratified by the District Full Committee. In no case shall the delegate strength be less than the delegate strength allocated for the state convention. A BPOD may elect twice as many alternates as the number of delegates it is allotted provided that the BPOD convention or constitution specifies a method for the orderly seating of said alternates to fill vacancies in the delegation. b. one delegate or, in the case of absence, one alternate selected by each of the affiliate organizations approved by the state party and listed in Appendix A of this constitution. The affiliate organization must have an active chapter in the Eighth District. The delegate and alternate must be elected for a two-year term, in even numbered years, at a properly called convention held by each of the respective affiliates comprising the chartered clubs within the Eighth District. Delegates and alternates must be residents of the Eighth District. Section 3: The first order of business at the District convention shall be the seating of alternates. The permanent voting roll of the convention shall be composed of delegates of each BPaD who are actually present and registered. In the absence of any delegate to this convention, an alternate shall be seated in his/her stead during his/her absence. When a delegate returns to the floor of the convention he/she will immediately be seated. This section is not intended to affect the right of the entire voting strength ofthe BPOD. Ifno duly elected delegates or alternates are present from any BPaD there shall be no representation for that BPOD. Alternates shall be seated in accordance with the determination made at the BPOD's convention. All disputes concerning the seating of alternates shall be settled by the Chair's of the BPOD from which the alternates were elected.   Page 5   Section 4:   a. The District convention shall transact such business as is specified in the Call of the Convention and may transact such other business as a majority of the convention may determine, subject to the provisions of Article VII, Section 2.   b. The District Convention may endorse candidates for public office, provided this item of business is specifically stated in the official Call to Convention. In the case of a proposal for endorsement of a candidate whose constituency is not coterminous with the territory of the convention, only those delegates residing within such constituency shall vote upon the proposal. Any candidate for public office may be granted pre-primary endorsement if that person receives a sixty (60) percent vote of the convention, and if the 60 is greater than or equal to at least a majority of the registered delegates and seated alternates as established by the last report of the credentials committee preceding such vote. The rules of any such convention may provide that where only one candidate is nominated for endorsement for a particular office, endorsement may be granted if such candidate received sixty (60) percent of the votes cast on the proposal. When more than one candidate is nominated for endorsement, none of them shall be voted upon separately and the candidacy of all shall be submitted on each ballot. Section 5: All District delegates and alternates shall be elected in even numbered years and shall hold office until their successors are duly elected, or upon adoption in their BPOU constitutions. BPOD's may elect delegates and alternates to the District convention annually in the same manner as provided in the general election year, and these delegates and alternates elected upon this option shall hold office for a term ofone (1) year or until their successors are duly elected.   ARTICLE VI Removals and Vacancies Section 1: Any officer of the District Executive Committee may be removed by a two-thirds vote of those present at any meeting of the District Full Committee duly called for such purpose with ten (10) days written notice of the meeting and a detailed statement of the charges given to the individual concerned. No appointee to the District Executive Committee shall be allowed to vote on the removal of officers. Section 2: A vacancy in any party office, whether elected or appointed, occurs upon the death, removal from office, resignation, or removal from the geographical election area of an officer, committee member, delegate or alternate.   Page 6 3: All vacancies of District Officers shall be filled for the unexpired term by the District Full Committee. Unless otherwise expressly provided, all party officers and committee members shall serve until their successors are elected or are properly appointed. Section 4: In the case of vacancies among the District delegates and alternates elected from their respective BPOD's, the BPOD's having such vacancies may elect delegates and alternates to fill such vacancies in the same manner in which the original delegates and alternates are elected. Section 5: It is the duty of all District Full Committee members to support Republican endorsed candidates. Should any member of this body actively and publicly campaign against a Republican endorsed candidate, that member may be removed in accordance with the provisions of Article VI, Section 1. Section 6: Four absences from properly called meetings of the Executive Committee and/or Full Committee is grounds for a notice of possible removal. Should this occur, an official notice will be sent to the committee member by the District secretary at least ten (10) days prior to the fifth meeting stating that the member may be removed from office upon failure to appear at any subsequent meeting. Upon the member's absence at the fifth meeting, the position may be considered vacant and may be filled by the District Full Committee. ARTICLE VII Amendments, Constitution and By-Laws Committee Section 1: Immediately following the District convention, the District Executive Committee shall elect a Constitution and By-Laws Committee, including a Chair thereof, to serve through the next convention. The committee shall have a member from each BPOU within the District. Section 2: This Constitution may be amended by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the delegates present at any District convention provided that any proposed amendment shall be submitted in writing to the Constitution Committee at least ten (10) days prior to the convention, unless the convention unanimously waives this requirement for the proposed amendments made during the convention. Section 3: The By-Laws consistent with this Constitution ofthe Eighth Congressional District Republican Party may be adopted and amended by a majority vote of delegates present at any District convention. Said vote shall not be taken until at least one hour has elapsed after a motion for said By-Law change has been made.   Page 7   ARTICLE VIII Appendices may be changed, without amendment by the conventions, only as may be required to conform to the Constitution of the Republican Party of Minnesota.   APPENDIX A Republican Affiliate Organizations recognized by the state party: Republican Labor Federation of Minnesota Minnesota African American Republican Council Republican Seniors of Minnesota (Republican Seniors) Minnesota College Republicans Minnesota Federation of Republican Women Minnesota Lao American Republicans Minnesota Republican Heritage Council Minnesota Young Republicans Hmong-American Republicans Indian Asian American Republicans Teenage Republicans (TARS) plus any others properly approved by the state Republican party. Back to home page