DeKalb Dems, here’s a message along with related forms from Justin Holsomback, Democratic Party of Georgia Secretary.
Congressional Intent to Run Form
Dear State Committee Members,
Elections for the officers of the DPG and the Congressional District Chairs will occur on Saturday, January 7th, 2023 at the IBEW Auditorium in Atlanta. This letter is to inform you of when and how the election will occur. A few items to remember:
- Officer elections will occur, then Congressional District Chair elections will occur.
- All current State Committee Members may cast a vote in these elections. County Party Chairs do not vote in this election unless the Chair has also been duly elected as a State Committee member or has been appointed as such.
Below is the outline of the process we will undertake to elect officers and then Congressional District Chairs, to the Democratic Party of Georgia.
Chair Congresswoman Nikema Williams has called for the State Committee to convene for officer elections on January 7, 2023.
The meeting will begin promptly at 10:30am. Check-in will be available NO EARLIER than 9:30 am.
Rules of the Election:
- STATE COMMITTEE MEMBERS’ INTENT TO RUN: You must file an “Intent to Run” (Attached to this email) with the State Party office no later than 10 days before the State Committee meeting (BL2.02.01). In other words, your “Intent to Run” form must be filled out completely and correctly and RECEIVED by the DPG headquarters by 11:59 pm on December 28, 2023. “Intent to Run” forms can be emailed or delivered to the Deputy Executive Director and Secretary. Fax will not be accepted. To email your form, please sign and scan a copy of the form, complete the form digitally, or send a picture of the signed form to BOTH Justin Pitts at [email protected] and to Justin Holsomback at [email protected] .
- NON-STATE COMMITTEE MEMBERS INTENT TO RUN: A non-member of the State Committee must submit an “Intent to Run,” a signed affidavit (form attached), and the endorsement of no fewer than thirty (30) State Committee Members. Signatures must be collected from the thirty State Committee Members (electronic submission, if a scanned original, is acceptable.) All forms must be RECEIVED by the DPG headquarters by 11:59 pm on December 28, 2023. “Intent to Run” forms can be emailed or delivered to the Deputy Executive Director and Secretary. Fax will not be accepted. To email your form, please sign and scan a copy of the form, complete the form digitally, or send a picture of the signed form to BOTH Justin Pitts at [email protected] and to Justin Holsomback at [email protected].
- OFFICES UP FOR ELECTION: The State Committee will vote for the following offices and voting will take place in the order stated below:
- State Chair
- First Vice-Chair
- Congressional District/County Liaison Vice-Chair
- Constituency Group Vice-Chair
- Candidate Recruitment Vice-Chair
- State Secretary
- State Treasurer
Furthermore, diversity shall be present in the outcome of the election of Officers. The First-Vice Chair shall be of the opposite gender to the State Chair (C4.01.02). Where a racial group constitutes 20% or more of the registered voters in the state and where the Chair or the First Vice-Chair are not of that race, one of the additional Vice-Chairs shall be of that race (C4.01.03)
All officers will be elected by a majority of State Committee members present, and all officers have terms of 4 years (C4.03.01).
- ELECTION PROTOCOL: All county elected State Committee Members, Ex-Officio, At-Large, and Executive Committee Members will sit with their counties. will be seated by the Congressional District in which they live and are registered to vote. In other words, if you live in a split county, you will sit with the Congressional District in which you as an individual live.
Each Congressional District Chair will have a roster of State Committee Members approved to vote in the election. Each Congressional District Chair will take attendance. NO GUESTS WILL BE ALLOWED TO SIT WITH THE STATE COMMITTEE MEMBERS . Congressional District Chairs will accept ballots only from those approved State Committee Members on their lists.
Candidates will be called by alphabetical order. A brief 3-4 minute nominating speech may be made for each candidate. A 1-minute seconding speech may be made (neither the nominator nor the seconder has to be a State Committee Member). There will be a timekeeper who will provide cues as to how much time is left. In an effort to keep the elections moving, any nominating speech or seconding speech that goes over the allotted time will force the candidate to retract that time from his or her campaign speech, of which he or she has 5 minutes maximum to make (BL4.02.04).
Balloting for a particular office may require more than one round. If in the first round of balloting no one candidate receives 50% + 1, then the lowest vote-getter will be dropped from the ballot and another round of balloting will ensue. This will continue, for as many rounds as it takes, until one candidate reaches 50% +1.
Acceptance Speeches will be limited to 2 minutes.
- CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT CHAIR ELECTIONS: Congressional District Chair Elections will be held immediately following officer elections. These Chairs will be elected by a majority vote of the State Committee members residing in the Congressional District and they will serve for 4 years (C5.02.01, BL5.01). A Congressional District Chair is a member of the Executive Committee of the DPG, member of the State Party Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Committee, and shall coordinate State Party affairs within the Congressional District and has responsibilities that they must fulfill, including but not limited to the Delegate Selection Process for District-Level Delegates to the Democratic National Convention.
INTENT TO RUN: All persons interested in running for the Congressional District Chair position shall file an “Intent to Run” with the State Party office, no later than ten days before the meeting (BL5.01.05). In other words, your “Intent to Run” form must be filled out completely and correctly and RECEIVED by the DPG headquarters by 11:59 pm on December 28, 2023. “Intent to Run” forms can be emailed or delivered to the Deputy Executive Director and Secretary. Fax will not be accepted. To email your form, please sign and scan a copy of the form, complete the form digitally, or send a picture of the signed form to BOTH Justin Pitts at [email protected] and to Justin Holsomback at [email protected] .
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NON-STATE COMMITTEE MEMBERS INTENT TO RUN: A non-member of the State Committee must submit an “Intent to Run,” a signed affidavit (form attached), and the endorsement of no less than thirty (30) State Committee Members. Signatures must be collected from the thirty State Committee Members (electronic submission, if a scanned original, is acceptable.) In other words, your “Intent to Run” form must be filled out completely and correctly and RECEIVED by the DPG headquarters by 11:59 pm on December 28, 2023. “Intent to Run” forms can be emailed or delivered to the Deputy Executive Director and Secretary. Fax will not be accepted. To email your form, please sign and scan a copy of the form, complete the form digitally, or send a picture of the signed form to BOTH Justin Pitts at [email protected] and to Justin Holsomback at [email protected] .
A quorum for the purpose of the Congressional District Chair election shall be a majority of the seated State Committee Members in that particular district (BL5.01.07). Elections are by a majority of those voting. In this case, we will follow DNC election protocol. A majority means that one candidate must receive 50% +1. Subsequent rounds of balloting may be needed, as explained above in the officer election section to reach that threshold.
Once the Congressional District Chair has been elected, such Chair shall appoint a Vice-Chair in accordance with gender guidelines (BL5.01.09).
We are looking forward to robust debate and a good, fair election in the new year. If you should have any questions, please do not hesitate in reaching out.
Sincerely,
Justin Holsomback, DPG Secretary
Justin Pitts, DPG Deputy Executive Director
