January Meeting & Executive Committee Elections

Join us on Monday, January 10th at 7:00pm for our virtual monthly meeting and HCDC Executive Committee Elections. 

The Call to Caucus and Election Rules are copied below. A few things to keep in mind: 

• You must be a Member to vote in the Executive Committee Elections. 
• To participate, Members must be in the virtual meeting room before roll is taken at 7:30pm on Monday, January 10th.
• Members who wish to run for a position on the Executive Committee must notify Marques Jones electronically at marquesjones@gmail.com before 5:00pm on Friday, January 7th. (Filing form available here.)
• You must be a Member in good standing to run for an Executive Committee position. 

Meeting details available here: https://fb.me/e/1x4SUZrcA 

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Henrico County Democratic Committee Call to Caucus
For the purpose of
Electing a new Executive Committee for 2022-2023

Whereas it is the duty of the Henrico County Democratic Committee (hereinafter HCDC)  to issue the Call to Caucus for the purpose of electing a new Executive Committee for the 2022-2023 term. Now, therefore, be it resolved that the  Henrico County Democratic Committee hereby issues the Call to Caucus for the 2022 – 2023 term to convene at 7:30pm virtually, with the zoom linked meeting opening at 7p at

for the purpose of electing the new executive committee, and the following provisions shall govern the caucus, to wit:

1. Notice Requirements
The Henrico County Democratic Committee shall cause to be published the time, date and zoom of the Caucus at least 7 days prior, but not more than 2 weeks before said caucus. All notices shall be published on the HCDC and DPVA websites.

2. The caucus shall be held at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89660389430?pwd=WXhLM1V6eEt0OWJxajdTOFZvanBmQT09
The link will be live at 7p. Any member in good standing checked in by 7:30p will be eligible to vote. The secretary of the HCDC will take roll at 7:30. Member in good standing is defined as an individual who is a registered voter in Henrico, who has submitted a membership form by the December meeting, has been voted on by the HCDC and has either paid dues or received a waiver.  After the secretary has concluded the role, voting eligibility shall close and only those individuals who responded to the secretary and are HCDC members in good standing may vote.

3. After the secretary has called the roll and determined who are eligible voters, properly prefiled candidates for the executive committee will be allowed to address the committee. Each candidate will be given three minutes to speak and up to 7 minutes to respond to questions from the assemblage for a maximum of ten minutes. 

Voting will then ensue at 8p or as soon after as the candidate presentations have concluded. 

The candidates with the most votes at the close of the vote tallies  shall be declared the executive board.

4. Conduct of the Caucus
The computer clock of the acting chair of the Henrico County Democratic committee, Marques Jones, shall be the official clock of the caucus. The acting chair of the Henrico County Democratic Committee, Marques Jones shall oversee the caucus and the election. He will publicly announce the opening of the caucus at 7:00p and appoint a caucus secretary to read the roll at 7:30p to determine who is eligible to vote. At the close of the roll, the chair shall announce that the caucus has begun and no one else is eligible to vote. 

Prior to the start of the caucus, the county committee chair shall appoint a Tellers’ Committee to count the ballots, if necessary.

5. Candidate Requirements
All candidates for the 2022 – 2023 Henrico County Democratic Committee Executive Committee shall file a declaration of candidacy for election to office by January 7th, 2022.  Only those candidates properly prefiled may have their names on the ballot at the assembled caucus. No nominations will be accepted in any other fashion.

6. Filings for Executive Committee must be submitted electronically to Marques Jones at marquesjones@gmail.com by 5p on January 7th, 2022. 

7. Mr. Jones will inform the committee, after the filing deadline, of all eligible candidates. The HCDC will send out one biographical/qualifications piece to HCDC members prior to the election, if the candidates so desire and provide materials. Candidates must have materials to Mr. Jones by January  7th for them to be assured to be sent to the HCDC membership before the Caucus.

8. The election will be the first order of business at the January 10th, 2022 meeting. If Democrats wish to join the committee to participate in the election, they will need to have joined by the December 2021 meeting and to be members in good standing (see above). 

9. If only one eligible individual properly prefiles for either position, he or she shall be declared the winner and the election shall be canceled. If only one eligible properly prefiled individual files for each position, those individuals shall be declared the winners and the caucus shall be canceled.

9. Affirmative Action
It shall be the duty of each committee officer and committee member to take all feasible steps to encourage broad participation in the caucuses. Discrimination on the basis of race, sex, age, color, national origin, religion, ethnic identity or economic status in the delegate selection process is prohibited. 

10. Call Distribution
It shall be the duty of the Henrico County Democratic Committee Immediate Past Chair to distribute a copy of the Call to Caucus to any and all individuals who may be interested in joining the Henrico County Democratic Committee. It shall further be the duty of the Henrico Democratic Committee Immediate Past Chair to cause this Call to Caucus to be publicized through the news media of the County as is feasible. The HCDC shall publicize this Call to Caucus on appropriate social media, through an email to their membership. 

Adopted: 1/2/2022

Marques Jones
Immediate Past Chair
Henrico County Democratic Committee

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Procedures for Election of HCDC
Executive Committee January 2022

1. The Immediate Past Chair of the HCDC, assuming he is not running for chair, will serve as chair to run the chair election process. 
2. The temporary chair will appoint a timekeeper, a secretary, and a tellers’ committee at the onset of the meeting.
3. Only those who have properly filed and joined the HCDC by December 2021, and are members in good standing as of January 10th, 2022, the day of the caucus, are eligible to vote and participate in this election.
4. The secretary will read the names of those who are members in good standing and are eligible to vote. Those who are in attendance (respond to the secretary) and are HCDC members in good standing will be eligible to vote.
5. Only members of the HCDC in good standing are eligible to run for executive committee positions. 
6. To be considered nominated and to have the name listed on the ballot, each member who chooses to run for an office must fill out an officer filing form and have submitted it to the Immediate Past Chair Marques Jones by January 7th, 2022, the filing deadline.
7. The officer filing form must be submitted electronically to Marques Jones at marquesjones@gmail.com. 
8. All forms must be received by Mr. Jones by January 7th , 2022 by 5pm as prescribed in the Call to the HCDC elections. 
9. The Immediate Past Chair will prepare the ballots for each office, only listing those who have filed appropriately and in a timely fashion.
10. The zoom meeting of the HCDC will open at 7p on January 10th, 2022. The Chair will announce at 7:30 that the meeting is closed and no further persons may join to participate. In effect, the doors are closed. 
11. The chair will call on the secretary to call the roll. Only those members in good standing who are recorded on the roll at 7:30 will be eligible to vote.
12. The chair will then call the caucus to order and announce the timekeeper and the tellers’ committee. 
13. The Chair will read the names of any individuals properly filed for chair aloud to the meeting.
14. Each candidate for office will be given ten minutes total to speak on their own behalf – 3 minutes to make a statement and 7 minutes for participant questions and candidate responses. There will be no other speeches on behalf of the nominees.
15. The timekeeper will use a sheet of yellow paper to inform the individual that he or she only has 30 seconds left. The timekeeper will then raise a sheet of red paper to inform the individual that his or her time has expired. 
16. HCDC Members in good standing who have signed into the zoom by 7;30p on January 10th will then be eligible to vote. 
17. The Immediate Past Chair Mr. Marques Jones will distribute a list of the eligible candidates and voting instructions. 
18. The list of names will be numbered and individuals will be listed in alphabetical order.
19. Those eligible to vote will be sent an email with a unique identifying number. Members will need to enter that unique identifying number along with their birthday to access the ballot. Voting shall open at 8:30 pm or as soon thereafter as candidates have concluded their presentations and voting will close 1 hour later. The chair will announce that voting is open and that voting has closed.  Any members who are unable to navigate the online platform may call a group of 4th and 7th CD Members who can provide assistance. Those names, emails and phone numbers will be distributed virtually at the caucus.  If an individual has trouble voting and needs to revote, they will need to contact Marques Jones within the one-hour voting window to receive a new ballot.  
20. The teller committee will tally the votes and report the results to the Caucus chair and the Fourth and Seventh CD chairs or their designee. 
21. If only one individual is filed for either office by the filing deadline, that individual will be declared elected and that election cancelled. If only one individual is filed in each office, those individuals will be declared elected and the caucus will be cancelled.
22. The meeting will be in recess until the ballots for these offices are counted and the results announced on the HCDC website.
23. Highest vote getter for each individual office will be declared the winner. 
24. In the case of a tie, the winner will be determined by lots. 
25. No other business or speeches may occur during the election part of the meeting.
26. As is standard DPVA practice, ballots will be retained for 30 days after the election. 
27. After all ballots have been distributed to eligible voters, the caucus will be in recess and the HCDC will return to regular business, including voting on new members.