Constitution

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Constitution of the Washburn Law Young Democrats

Our purpose will be to pursue the ideas of liberty, justice, and freedom for all regardless of race, religion, or sex. We will pursue these ideas through support of the Democratic Party and its ideas, ideals, and candidates. With these thoughts we establish this constitution.

 ARTICLE I—Name

Section I: The name of this organization will be the Washburn Law Young Democrats
Section II: Washburn Law Young Democrats will be chartered and affiliated with the Kansas Young Democrats and with the Young Democrats of America.
Section III: Washburn Law Young Democrats will be chartered with the Shawnee County Democratic Party and work as closely as possible with all levels of the Democratic Party.

ARTICLE II—Membership

Section I: Membership requirements for the Washburn Law School Democrats will be the same as those of the Young Democrats of America, except the members must be a student of Washburn Law School or must be an alumni of the Washburn University School of Law who is eligible for membership in the Kansas Young Democrats and the Young Democrats of America.
Section II: Membership will not be affected by race, color, national origin, sex, gender, physical handicap, or sexual orientation.

ARTICLE III—Officers

The Washburn Law Young Democrats will consist of the Executive Board and the remaining members. The Executive Board will consist of the officers from Washburn Law Young Democrats. The organization will have five (5) officers, one of which will be non-voting.
Section I: The four (4) voting officers will be: President, Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer.
Section II: The one (1) non-voting member will be the Executive Director.
 

ARTICLE IV—Officer Duties

Section I: The President will be the chief executive officer for the organization. He/she will preside over all chapter meetings. The President shall have all of the following duties and powers. The absence of a specific power or duty from this list is not necessarily a denial of its existence.
A. Establish administrative procedures not otherwise provided for by the Constitution or By-Laws of this chapter.
B. Act for and on behalf of the county chapter when they are not in session.
C. Attend all meetings of the State Young Democrats. When the attendance of the President is not possible, he/she will appoint a suitable replacement and give said person his/her voting proxy.
D. Establish the agenda for each meeting of the county chapter (general and executive).
E. Serve as delegation chair to the State Young Democrats state Convention.
F. Have two hundred dollar ($200) transaction limit without approval of the Executive Board.
G. Appoint chairpersons and vice-chairpersons of all committees, standing and adjunct, except that the President shall not appoint the chairpersons of the Recruiting and the Fund-raising Committees.
H. Be an ex-officio member of all committees.
I. Appoint an Executive Director without approval of Executive Board to assist the President in the execution of the President’s duties.
J. Remove anyone from an appointed position without the approval of the Executive Board or the general body.

Section II: Vice-President. The Vice-President will have all the following duties:
A. Chair the Recruiting Committee
B. Appoint a co-chairperson of the Recruiting Committee, pending the approval of the Executive Board.
C. Act as President Pro-Tempore in the absence of the President. In a case where the President’s office becomes vacant, the Vice-President will become the President and assume all powers and duties that are associated with that position. The office of the Vice-President then is vacant and will be filled by an appointment by the new President, pending the approval of the Executive Board and the general body.
D. Assist the President.

Section III: The chapter Secretary shall have all the following duties
and powers:
A. Keep accurate minutes of all chapter meetings (general and Executive
Board).
B. Assure publicity for all upcoming events and meetings.
C. Keep an accurate mailing list and phone directory for all members, past and
present.
D. See to all correspondence of the chapter as directed by the President.

Section IV: The chapter Treasurer will be the chief financial officer of the organization and shall have all of the following duties:
A. Chair the Fund-raising committee
B. Appoint a Director of Fund-raising, pending the approval of the Executive Board.
C. Be responsible for developing fund-raising ideas and soliciting donations.
D. Maintain accurate financial records for the organization
E. Coordinate all financial activities, including any tax responsibilities with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
F. Advise the chapter President and the Executive Board of the financial condition of the chapter.
G. If deemed necessary by the Executive Board, the Treasurer will file any reports for the State Democratic Party or the State Ethics Commission in a timely manner.
H. Write Checks and make deposits as directed by the Executive Board. The Treasurer will no have the right to make financial transactions without the approval of the Executive Board.

ARTICLE V—Executive Board

The Washburn Law School Democrats Executive Board will be the chief policy making body for the chapter.

Section I: The Executive Board will have all the following powers necessary for the proper and legal execution of all duties of the Washburn Law School Democrats.
Section II: The Executive Board will meet no less that ten (10) times during the course of one (1) fiscal year.
 

ARTICLE VI—General Body

The Washburn Law School Democrats will meet no less than eight (8) times during the course of one (1) year.

ARTICLE VII—Elections

Section I: Elections of Officers will be held at the first meeting in February of each year. All terms are for one year.
Section II: The order of elections will be as follows: President, Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer.
 

ARTICLE VIII—Standing Committees

There will be two (2) standing committees. These committees shall be the Fund-Raising committee and the Recruiting committee. Each of these committees shall have five (5) or seven (7) members depending on the preference of the committee chair.

ARTICLE IX—Forming New Committees

The President or the Executive Board can form adjunct committees at any time
for any reason they deem necessary.
 

ARTICLE X—Supporting Candidates

The Washburn Law School Democrats shall never oppose a Democrat candidate for political office, either by supporting non-Democrat candidates or by not supporting all Democrat candidates in a primary, nor shall the chapter support a non-Democrat candidate, even if said candidate does not have a Democrat opponent.

                           

ARTICLE XI—Constitutional Amendments

Amendments to this constitution must be submitted in writing to the chapter President and chapter Secretary at least two weeks (14 days) prior to the meeting at which the amendment will be considered. The President is obligated to place the amendment on the agenda for that meeting. The amendment will be considered approved if two-thirds (2/3) of the Executive Board and two-thirds (2/3) of the general body (in attendance) vote in favor of the amendment.
 

ARTICLE XII—Number of Offices  

No person may hold more than one office in the Washburn Law School Democrats organization.

ARTICLE XIII—Impeachment

Only the elected offices may be subject to impeachment. The President reserves the right to remove anyone from an appointed position. Procedures for impeachment will be as follows:
A. Any person holding an elected office within the chapter may be impeached if found guilty of failure to adequately perform his/her duties.
B. The person will be notified of the charges against them no less than thirty days (30) prior to the meeting in which the impeachment will be discussed
C. Members of the Executive Board who are not charged with negligence of their duties will appoint an committee and chairperson to hear the testimony of the person or persons charged. The findings of the committees will be final.

ARTICLE IX—Dues

The amount of dues for each academic year shall be determined by closed session of the Executive Committee of the Washburn Law Young Democrats each May.  The Dues set by the Executive Committee of the Washburn Law Young Democrats for each academic year shall not be more than that of the Student Activities Fee set by the Washburn Student Bar Association of the Washburn University School of Law of the academic year in which the dues are used.