Constitution

Constitution of the Mecklenburg County Young Republicans

ARTICLE I — NAME AND MISSION

The name of this organization shall be the Mecklenburg County Young Republicans.

The mission of this organization is to Recruit, Train, and Elect Republicans. Our goal is to provide an avenue by which Mecklenburg County’s Young Republicans can become involved in the party at a grassroots level, become educated about current issues and the political process, interact with other young Republicans and party leaders, and help Republicans get elected.

ARTICLE II — FEDERATION MEMBERSHIP

The association shall be a member of the North Carolina Federation of Young Republicans, Inc. (NCFYR).

ARTICLE III — MEMBERSHIP

Section 1. Active — Any person who is at least eighteen (18) years of age but not over forty (40) years of age inclusive and is a registered Republican residing in Mecklenburg County is eligible for active membership in the association.

Section 2. Associate — Any registered Republican not meeting the requirements for active member status may be an Associate member and shall have all the rights and privileges of active members, except that he/she may not vote nor hold association office.

Section 3. Honorary — Honorary members shall be those people so designated by a 3/4 vote of the active members present at any regular meeting of the association.

Section 4. Dues — Annual dues for active members shall be set annually by the Executive Committee, but shall not be set lower than $2 per member per year.

Section 5. Members in Good Standing — Members in good standing shall be active members who have paid dues for the current calendar year.

Section 6. Discipline — The association may, by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of those active members present at a regular meeting where Extraordinary Quorum is met, censure, remove from elected office, if applicable, and/or expel from the association any member for any act or conduct deemed unfriendly or hostile to the best interests of the association, provided that:

1. The Executive Committee has reviewed such proposed action and has made a recommendation;

2. That such member has been notified of the Executive Committee’s recommendation by certified mail at least one (1) week prior to the meeting;

3. And that such member has had the right and opportunity to present his defense, either himself or through a representative.

Notice of the charges against the member and a recommendation of the Executive Committee must be included in the call of the meeting, and must be received by the membership at least seventy-two (72) hours prior to the beginning of the meeting.

Should the allegations of such behavior be made against the current Chair, the Vice-Chair shall act as chair until after the vote.

ARTICLE IV — ELECTED OFFICERS

Section 1. Designation — The elected officers of this association shall be the Chairman, Vice Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer, Parliamentarian, and Political Director. All officers shall hold office from the Annual Meeting until their successors take office.

Section 2. Terms — The terms for all elective offices shall be two years. No elected officer shall serve more than two consecutive terms in the same office. Elected officers shall serve without compensation, with exception to the treasurer, and must be active members in good standing with the association.

Section 3. Vacancies — A vacancy in an elective office shall be filled by means of an election of the membership if more than six months of the unexpired term remain. If fewer than six months remain, the vacancy shall be filled by an election of the Executive Committee.

Section 4 Resignation- A member of the executive committee can resign his or her post by submitting a written statement to the chair. The resignation is rendered effective immediately unless there is a specific date, not to last longer than the term, included within the written statement of resignation.

Section 5 Impeachment- A member of the executive committee who is expelled from elected office pursuant to Article 3 section 6 shall be ineligible, forever, to hold elected office for the Mecklenburg County Young Republicans.

ARTICLE V — POWERS & DUTIES OF OFFICERS

Section 1. Chairman — The Chairman shall preside at all meetings of the association and the Executive Committee, appoints committee chairs, creates ad hoc committees and appoints and removes ad hoc committee chairs, supervises the activities of the association, represents the association in official capacity, and performs all other duties incidental to the office. The chairman shall draft and present articles of impeachment or disciplinary action involving any member of the Mecklenburg County Young Republicans in the event the parliamentarian is named a defendant. In case of a sudden vacancy, the chairman may appoint an acting elected officer, provided the appointee meets all of the requirements in Article 3 sections 1 and 5, to serve until the next executive committee meeting or next regular association meeting, whichever applicable.

Section 2. Vice Chairman — The Vice Chairman shall preside in the absence of the Chairman, shall be acting chairman in the event of a sudden vacancy of the chair (this includes dereliction of the Chair without reason), until the next executive committee meeting or next association meeting, whichever applicable, and shall perform other duties as designated by the Chairman.

Section 3. Treasurer — The Treasurer shall collect and pay out all association funds as directed by the Executive Committee. He or she shall deposit such funds in a depository designated by the Executive Committee and shall keep accounts open at all times for inspection. He or she shall render accounts of the transactions and the financial condition of the association at each regular meeting and shall submit an Annual written report to the association at the January meeting and shall perform other duties assigned by the Chairman. The Treasurer shall partake in mandatory, no cost, treasurer training as mandated by North Carolina campaign finance laws.

Section 4. Secretary — The Secretary shall be responsible for taking minutes at all meetings of the association and the Executive Committee and shall submit a copy of said minutes to the Executive Committee. He or she shall also be responsible for the mailing or emailing of all announcements and/or notices and shall perform other duties as assigned by the Chairman.

Section 5 Parliamentarian- The Parliamentarian shall be responsible for providing interpretive guidance to all board members with regards to this constitution. The parliamentarian shall process, handle and present resolutions and amendments. They shall also be responsible for running monthly meetings in the event that both the Chairman and Vice Chairman are unable to do so. The parliamentarian shall be responsible for drafting and presenting to the executive committee articles of impeachment and recommendations of disciplinary action of the members of the Mecklenburg County Young Republicans, unless the parliamentarian is named as the defendant, and shall carry out other duties as assigned by the chair

Section 6 Political Director- The Political Director shall be responsible for organizing and aiding get out the vote (GOTV) efforts, coordinate with various Republican organizations or Republican candidates to assist with door knocking, phone banking, and greeting voters at the polls and must create a report showing Mecklenburg County Young Republicans involvement in immediate past year general elections to be presented at the annual meeting in January.

ARTICLE VI — EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Section 1. The Executive Committee shall consist of the elected officers of the association, the immediate past Chairman, and the Chairmen of the standing committees.

Section 2. Duties — The Executive Committee shall plan and oversee all association activities.

Section 3. Meetings — Executive Committee meetings shall be held at such times and places as the committee shall decide, and each Executive Committee member shall receive at least five days notice from the Chairman unless said notice is waived by individual committee members. A majority of the Executive Committee shall constitute a quorum. Meetings of the Executive Committee are open to all association members.

ARTICLE VII — ASSOCIATION MEETINGS

Section 1. Regular — Regular meetings of the association shall be held at the times designated by the Executive Committee of the association. All association members must be notified at least seven (7) days prior to each regular meeting. Regular meetings shall be held at least once every two months.

Section 2. Special — Special meetings of the association may be called at any time by the Chairman, by the Executive Committee, or by signed petition of ten (10) percent of the active members. Written notice must be given the membership at least one (1) week in advance of such special meeting. Such written notice shall contain a summary of the matters to be considered and only such matters shall be discussed.

Section 3. Annual — The Annual meeting of the association shall be the regular meeting in January of each year. Only those persons who have been members for thirty (30) days prior to the Annual meeting may vote during the Annual meeting.

Section 4. Quorum — A quorum shall consist of ten (10) percent of the active members.

Section 5. Extraordinary Quorum – An extraordinary Quorum shall consist of thirty (30) percent of the active members.

ARTICLE VIII — ELECTIONS

Section 1. Annual — The election of officers shall be held at the Annual meeting, every odd numbered year, and officers-elect shall take office at the end of that meeting. The election of officers shall occur no later than February 29th of that calendar year.

Section 2. Nominations — All candidates for association office shall be nominated from the floor during the Annual meeting. Only active members in good standing may nominate a candidate for association office. Nominators shall be given an opportunity to make a nominating speech on the candidate’s behalf during the Annual meeting. Further, all candidates for association office shall be given an opportunity to speak during the Annual meeting. If only one candidate is nominated for a given office that officer may be elected by acclamation.

Section 3. Ballots — Voting in all contested races shall be by secret ballot. No proxy or absentee ballots shall be allowed. Fifty (50) percent plus one of the votes cast shall constitute a majority for election. If no candidate garners a majority of the votes cast on the first ballot, the two candidates receiving the most votes will be voted upon in a runoff election.

Section 4. Tellers — The Meeting Chairman shall appoint at least three (3) tellers who shall dispense, collect and tabulate the vote. The tellers shall not be a candidate for any elected association office.

ARTICLE IX — COMMITTEES

Section 1. Standing — The standing committees shall be as follows: Finance, Recruitment, Communications, Political Activism, and Social. The Chairman may appoint and remove chairmen of the standing committees with the approval of the Executive Committee. If necessary, elected officers may be assigned to chair committees.

Section 2. Special — The Chairman, with the approval of the Executive Committee, may appoint special or ad hoc committees as deemed necessary.

Section 3. Finance — The Finance Committee shall be responsible for the development and implementation of activities to raise funds for the association. The Chairman of this committee will be the Finance Director.

Section 4. Recruitment — The Recruitment Committee shall be responsible for recruiting new members for the association, as well as working to ensure that current members renew their memberships each year. The Chairman of this committee will be the Recruitment Director.

Section 5. Communications — The Communications Committee shall be responsible for promoting the association and its activities, both within the Republican Party and to the general public. The Chairman of this committee will be the Communications Director.

Section 6. Political Activism — The Political Activism Committee shall be responsible for assisting Republican campaigns in accordance with the association’s Constitutional provisions. The Chairman of this committee will be the Political Director.

Section 7. Social — The Social Committee shall be responsible for organizing social activities for the association’s members. The Chairman of this committee will be the Social Director.

ARTICLE X — Party Loyalty and Endorsements

Section 1. Any member of the executive committee, either elected or appointed, shall not make any public endorsement, including on social media, of any kind, of any political candidate, other than a Republican, in a general election in which a Republican is on the ballot. Additionally, any member of the executive committee, either elected or appointed, shall not make any statements on any platform expressing support for a candidate or elected official who is not a Republican. For purposes of this section, in non-partisan races, candidates who have been endorsed by the Mecklenburg County Young Republicans following a motion and majority vote in the affirmative shall be considered as Republican candidates for the election of which they are endorsed. Nothing in this section pertains to races in which there are no Republican candidates or non partisan races in which there are no organizational endorsed candidates.

Section 2. This organization and its executive committee members, in their official capacity, are prohibited from making any endorsements in Republican primaries or any registered Republican running against another registered Republican in a non-partisan race, or any individual running for Republican Party office at any level. Further, neither the association, nor the Executive Committee as a whole, nor any officers in their official capacities, shall endorse any candidate who is a member of any party other than the Republican Party. The only exceptions being in internal NCFYR Elections.

Section 3. Members of the executive committee are allowed to seek election to, and hold, public office. In the event of a primary involving an executive committee member, any executive committee member who wishes to pursue public office must refrain from using his or her official capacity to directly imply or indirectly imply he or she is endorsed by the Mecklenburg County Young Republicans.

Section 4. This organization may invite non endorsed Republican candidates in contested primaries to Young Republican events. Additionally this organization may take photographs and videos with the candidate, provided the provisions in section 3 are followed and other Republican candidates in the same primary are offered similar exposure and opportunity.

Section 5. Executive members who violate the provisions mentioned in article X section 1, 2 or 3 are subject to disciplinary action which includes, but is not limited to censure and/ or removal from office as outlined in Article 3 section 6 of this constitution

ARTICLE XI — PARLIAMENTARY AUTHORITY

Section 1. Authority — The rules contained in the current edition of “Robert’s Rules of Order, Newly Revised” shall govern all proceedings except when inconsistent with the Constitution and By-laws of the association.

ARTICLE XII — AMENDMENTS

Section 1. Submission — A proposed amendment to this Constitution shall be submitted in writing to the Secretary at a regular meeting of the association, at which time it shall be read to the members. The amendments shall be discussed and voted upon at the regular meeting.

Section 2. Amendment — This Constitution may be amended by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of those active members in good standing present at any regular meeting, provided that Section 1 of this Article has been complied with.

ARTICLE XIII — RESOLUTIONS

Section 1. Any member in good standing may bring forth a written statement of some conviction that they feel the association should share.

Section 2. Resolutions will be adopted by majority vote of the members present and in good standing at a regular meeting of the association. Resolutions adopted by the association are to be kept in the permanent files maintained by the Secretary.

Passed this 27th day of June, 2023 in Charlotte, NC.