Perry Township Democratic Club

Constitution and Bylaws

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CONSTITUTION

Article I: PURPOSE

The purpose of the PTDC shall be to promote the Democratic Party and Democratic Party
principles in Perry Township through social functions and proactive initiatives.

Article II: NAME AND AFFILIATION

The name of the Club shall be the Perry Township Democratic Club, hereinafter to be
referred to as PTDC. The PTDC will work independently of but in cooperation with the
Marion County Democratic Party organization and the Indiana State Democratic Party
organization, as prescribed by the Indiana State Democratic Party Rules.

Article III: MEMBERSHIP

Section 1: Membership qualifications shall be that each member must be a Democrat in

good standing. There will be no age limit or geographical restrictions for membership.

Section 2: To be considered a Democrat in good standing, a current or prospective member

must have either a recorded history of voting in primary elections for the Democratic Party,
actively working on behalf of a Democratic candidate or Democratic candidates, financially
supporting a Democratic candidate or Democratic candidates, or actively working for the
Democratic Party or an elected official.

Section 3: Any current or prospective members status as a Democrat in good standing is

subject to review at any time by the PTDC Steering Committee. If a current or prospective
member is deemed not to be a Democrat in good standing, his or her annual dues shall be
immediately refunded in their entirety by the PTDC Treasurer.

Section 4: If any prospective member of the PTDC was once denied membership due to not
being a Democrat in good standing, he or she may petition the Steering Committee for a
review of his or her status following a period of any of the activities outlined in Article III,
Section 2.

Section 5: A member of the PTDC will be considered an active member by having paid his or
her dues for the current year.

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Constitution and Bylaws

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Article IV: OFFICERS

Section 1: The Officers of the PTDC shall consist of a President, a Vice-President, a

Secretary, and a Treasurer.

Section 2: To be eligible to seek election to any of the four offices, a candidate must be a
Democrat in good standing and must reside within the generally accepted boundaries of
Perry Township.

Section 3: The term of office shall be for one (1) year, with the elections held at the February
meeting and new officers taking office at the March meeting.

Article V: BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Section 1: The Board of Directors shall consist of a minimum of three persons elected by the
Club pursuant to Article III of the PTDC Bylaws herein.

Section 2: To be eligible to seek election to an elected Director positions, a candidate must

be a Democrat in good standing and must reside within the generally accepted boundaries of
Perry Township.

Section 3: The elected members of the Board of Directors shall serve for one year from the
date of their election.

Section 4: The Ward Chairpersons of those wards constituting the official Democrat wards
within Perry Township shall be Ex-officio members of the Board of Directors.

Section 5: All surviving Past Presidents of the Perry Township Democratic Club shall be Ex-
officio members of the Board of Directors.

Section 6: The Marion County Democratic Party Chairperson and any person appointed as
Perry Township Chair by the Marion County Democratic Party Chairperson shall be Ex-officio
members of the Board of Directors.

Section 7: The function of the Board of Directors will be to assist and to guide the Club. This
will be accomplished in conjunction with elected officers.

Article VI: STEERING COMMITTEE

Section 1: The Perry Township Democratic Clubs Steering Committee shall include all
current Officers and members of the Board of Directors.

Section 2: All Officers and elected Directors shall have one (1) vote on matters discussed
and voted on by the Steering Committee. The Ex-officio members of the Board of Directors
(defined in Article V) shall serve without vote on the Board, and if they qualify for said

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Constitution and Bylaws

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position.

BYLAWS

Article I: DUES

Section 1: Members of the PTDC shall pay dues on a per annum basis, in an amount
determined by the Steering Committee.

Section 2: Full payment is due the first meeting of each calendar year, or at such time that a
new member joins or renews their membership in the PTDC.

Section 3: Democrats in good standing who have paid the annual dues are active members
of the PTDC.

Article II: MEETINGS

Section 1: Regular meetings shall be held monthly, on a predetermined date at a

predetermined location and time, except in cases of emergency, as determined by the
President. The procedure for regular meetings shall include, but not be limited to, the
following items or topics: social hour; Pledge of Allegiance; minute of silence; speaker(s);
report of the minutes of the prior meeting; Treasurers report; committee reports; discussion
of old business; discussion of new business; and adjournment.

Section 2: Special meetings shall be called at the discretion of the President.

Article III: ELECTIONS

Section 1: Elections shall take place annually at the regular February meeting.

Section 2: Nominations must be accepted from the floor at either the January or February
meeting.

Section 3: All Democrats in good standing who are active members are eligible to run for any
of the Officer positions or the elected Board of Director positions, if the candidate lives within
the generally accepted boundaries of Perry Township.

Section 4: A candidate may be nominated by another member or by himself or herself.

Section 5: All Democrats in good standing who are active members of the PTDC may vote.

Section 6: Elections will be conducted under Robert's Rules of Order.

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Constitution and Bylaws

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Article IV: TERM LIMITS

Section 1: The term of the President will be for one (1) year, and cannot succeed himself or
herself more than three (3) terms.

Section 2: If a President has served for four terms, and no candidates are nominated for the
Office of President during the next PTDC election, the current President may retain the office
for a period of one (1) year, and may do so an unlimited number of times, until another
annual election occurs in which another candidate or multiple candidates are nominated to
run for President.

Section 3: There are no term limits for the other three offices or for the elected Directors.

Article V: DUTIES OF OFFICERS

Section 1: It shall be the duty of the President to preside over meetings of the PTDC; to see
that the Bylaws are enforced; and to appoint all committees, not otherwise specified.

Section 2: It shall be the duty of the Vice-President to assist the President always in his or
her duties and to assume the Presidents duties when the President is absent.

Section 3: It shall be the duty of the Secretary to keep complete records of the proceedings
of the PTDC and to file all appropriate papers with the State of Indiana; to conduct the
correspondence of the PTDC; to order all floral bouquets for members (or make appropriate
contributions) to hospitalized members and deaths of members; to keep an active classified
list of membership of the PTDC with addresses of each member; and to send members
meeting notifications.

Section 4: It shall be the duty of the Treasurer to pay all bills when warranted by the
President; to keep an itemized account of all receipts, disbursements, and present a written
report with substantiating documents of the transactions of the preceding month at each
meeting of the PTDC; and to file the necessary papers to the Secretary of State, Marion
County Clerk's office in compliance with the Corporation structure of Indiana, if required.

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Constitution and Bylaws

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Article VI: REMOVAL AND REPLACEMENT OF OFFICERS

Section 1: Should an officer cease to function, or to attend two (2) consecutive meetings,
without good cause, he or she shall automatically be removed from office.

Section 2: Officers are subject to impeachment and removal from office for misfeasance or
nonfeasance of assigned duties, or for criminal convictions resulting from the violation of any
law in the course of carrying out or failing to carry out the duties described in Article V of
these bylaws, if such conviction damages the reputation of the PTDC.

Section 3: Impeachment proceedings may be initiated upon a two-thirds majority vote of the
active membership of the PTDC present at a regular meeting of the PTDC. If such a vote
passes, an open hearing will be conducted at the next regular meeting of the PTDC, where
evidence of the impeachment will be presented and the accused will have an opportunity to
defend himself or herself. The accused will be removed from office upon a three-fourths
majority vote of the active membership of the PTDC present at this meeting.

Section 4: If an office becomes open at any time due to the removal of an Officer, that Officer
is to be replaced. The nomination and election process shall follow the requirements outlined
in Article III of the Bylaws.

Article VII: COMMITTEES AND DUTIES

Section 1: The President shall create any committees that he or she believes may aid in the
growth or in the satisfaction of the shared goals of the PTDC.

Section 2: Any active member of the PTDC may be a member of such committees.

Section 3: The President, in conjunction with the Steering Committee, shall define the duties
and objectives of any such committees.

Article VIII: CAMPAIGN ACTIVITY

Section 1: The PTDC shall be prohibited from contributing any funds to any individual or
group of individual candidates for public office in a primary.

Section 2: The PTDC shall be prohibited from endorsing or otherwise publicly supporting any
individual candidate or group of candidates in a primary election that have not been selected
by the Marion County Democratic Party during the Pre-Primary Convention.

Section 3: All candidates who receive money from the PTDC must make a written report of
monies spent, to the PTDC within one (1) month following the general election.

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Constitution and Bylaws

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Article IX: FINANCES

Section 1: Any expenditures by the PTDC that exceed one hundred dollars ($100.00) shall
be voted on and approved by a majority of the membership present at any regular meeting.

Section 2: If an expenditure in excess of one hundred dollars ($100.00) must be made by a

date prior to the next regular meeting, the President shall call an emergency meeting of the
Steering Committee. The expenditure may be approved by a majority vote of the voting
members of the Steering Committee, but the Treasurer must report at the next regular
meeting the nature of the expenditure, the amount of the expenditure, and the reason why
the expenditure was necessary prior to the next regular meeting of the PTDC.

Section 3: There shall be an Auditing Committee, who shall examine all books and vouchers
and make a complete report of the same to the PTDC at the February meeting covering the
preceding calendar year. This committee shall be composed of no less than two (2)
members, the first named by the President to be the Chairman, unless otherwise specified.

Article X: AMENDMENTS

This Constitution and the Bylaws may be amended at any regular meeting by sixty (60)
percent of the active members present, provided that the proposed change shall have been
presented in writing at the previous stated meeting.

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