1. The Massachusetts Democratic State Committee shall convene local conferences in each State Senatorial District, as defined by law, for the purposes of electing one State Committee man and one State Committee woman from each District where more than one candidate for a seat has filed.
2. Each conference shall be composed of attendees elected by the members and associate members of the Democratic ward and town committees residing within the State Senatorial District, as more fully described in Section 10.
3. The Democratic State Committee Chair shall appoint a Coordinator for each State Senate District Conference who shall be responsible for selecting the site for the conference and for making all logistical arrangements after conferring with all the candidates. That Coordinator shall notify the appropriate ward and town committee chairs of the location of the conference in accordance with Section 9 of these rules.
4. Each ward and town committee chair shall send a listing on or before 10 days prior to the Conference to the Coordinator and the State Committee in form and manner acceptable to the Chair of the Rules Committee, of all ward or town committee attendees elected in accordance with Section 10, showing place of residence, including ward and/or precinct. Only those members so certified by the ward or town chair shall be eligible to vote. In the absence of such certification a list may be submitted and certified by any officer or member of the committee or a DSC member who is resident in the district and who is not a candidate in the conference. If the Coordinator or DSC does not receive a certification then no elected attendees from that town and ward can participate in the conference, and no ward or town committee shall elect such attendees unless they have filed a list of their full membership with the Secretary of State's Office and the Democratic State Committee.
5. State Committee members who are not candidates for election at the conference shall serve as the Head Tellers for the conference in their District. The responsibilities of the Head Tellers are to collect and tabulate all ballots, announce the results of each election, ensure that all present and voting are duly elected and authorized to do so, and certify the elections of State Committee members elected at the conference.
6. The Coordinator shall preside at the conference to take place on (date to be set) at 2:00 p.m., in a public place that is reasonably accessible to the disabled and does not inhibit the participation of any Democrat.
7. It shall be the responsibility of the State Chair, through the staff of the State Committee, to make every effort to notify all Democrats of the availability of the seats no sooner than 30 days and no later than 9 days before the filing deadline for letters of intent. The minimum notice to all Democrats shall consist of one announcement in the local newspaper and, to the extent practicable, other media during this period. And a mailing to committee chairs.
8. Each coordinator shall inform the Democratic State Committee in writing no later than (date to be set) , of the location of the conference. The Democratic State Committee shall send a notice of such location to every appropriate ward and town chair and DSC member resident in the district and shall make a listing of such locations available for public inspection and such listing shall be posted on the MassDems Web page.
9. Only ward and town committee attendees who are registered Democrats in the District, selected in accordance with Section 10, may vote on any matter at the local conference. Registration shall remain open until all persons presenting themselves by 2:15 p.m. have registered (including any in line inside or outside the meeting place). No persons presenting themselves after 2:15 p.m. shall be registered. Ballots shall not be distributed until all such persons are registered and registration has been closed. Those voting must be present at the conference. The Coordinator will call the conference to order at 2:15 p.m. There will be only 5 items on the agenda: (a) discussion of the purpose of the conference; (b) discussion of the roles and responsibilities of the State Committee and its members, (c) discussion of Affirmative Action and Outreach as outlined in the Party Charter, (d) review of the Method of Electing Democratic State Committee members in State Senate District Conferences, and (e) nomination and election of State Committee members by signed written ballot. A listing of ward and town committee members and associate members shall be posted at the conference, along with ward and precinct information and the names of the attendees to the conference.
10. The members of the ward and town committee shall elect from among the registered Democrats who live in said ward or town, at a duly noticed meeting before (date to be set ), attendees to represent the committee at the local conference, in a number equal to the number of delegates allocated to such ward or town for the most recent State Convention who shall represent the committee at the local conference. Attendees elected must be gender balanced. Each such elected member shall have one vote at the conference. In no event shall any town or ward that is split between two or more State Senatorial Districts elect more attendees for any local conference than that ward or town's percentage of that ward or town represented in that State Senatorial District. Said percentage to be determined by the number of registered Democrats residing in each District. Where a Ward/Town has an odd number odd delegates for the state convention, then the number of members it shall select to represent the ward/town at the conference shall be rounded up to the next whole number.
11. The "Method of Electing Democratic State Committee Members in the State Senatorial District Conference" shall be posted or distributed in its entirety at each local conference to elect State Committee members. A listing of ward and town committee members and associate members shall be posted at the conference, along with ward and precinct information and a list of attendees.
12. The conference is a Democratic Party meeting and no Democrat, person ineligible to register or media representative shall be denied admittance.
13. No persons shall be excluded from any stage of the committee member election process for failure to pay a cost or fee. Donations may be solicited (if not held in a public building).
14. There shall be a quorum requirement of ten percent of certified attendees for the State Senatorial District Conferences.
15. No persons may vote in more than one State Senatorial District conference. Ward and town committee members elected from a town or ward split between two Senatorial Districts shall attend and be eligible to vote in the conference in the District in which they reside.
16. Discrimination on the basis of race, gender, age, color, creed, national origin, religion, ethnic identity, sexual orientation, philosophical persuasion or economic status in the conduct of the Democratic Party affairs is strictly prohibited.
17. Affirmative Action and Outreach, as outlined in the Party Charter, shall be a priority concern of the organizers of each State Senatorial District conference. At minimum, a good faith effort is required to publicize availability of the seat and the time and place of the State Senatorial District conference and to hold it in an easily accessible public place including easy accessibility to the disabled.
18. Candidates must be registered Democrats and reside within the State Senatorial District from which they are running for State Committee member. Candidates must file a statement of their intention to seek election as State Committee members, which must be received or postmarked by the Democratic State Committee, 56 Roland St., Suite 203, Boston, MA 02129 , (617) 776-2676, by 5:00 pm, five weeks prior to the conference. The State Committee shall supply to each ward or town committee the attendance record of each State Committee member and shall post same on the website. Additionally, upon the request of any ward or town committee member, the voting record of a State Committee member shall be supplied to that member. Candidates must be nominated and seconded by two participants at the conference and a signed acceptance of the nomination must be presented to the Coordinator. Only those candidates who have filed a notice of intent to run, and who have not publicly supported or contributed to any opponent of a nominee of the Democratic Party in the last two biennial elections may be nominated.
19. One State Committee man and one State Committee woman shall be elected at each State Senatorial District conference. Each State Committee member may reside in any town or ward in the District.
20. Slate making shall be allowed but no preference shall be given to slates.
21. Use of the unit rule is prohibited.
22. The order of nomination and election between men and woman shall be determined by lot.
23. Nominations are closed by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of those present and eligible to vote. The names of all candidates must be posted before balloting begins.
24. Nominations for both men and women shall be completed and nominations closed before speeches may begin.
25. Each candidate will be allowed to make a two-minute speech and to distribute materials on his or her behalf. The provision allowing each candidate to make a two-minute speech may be amended (i.e., lengthened, provide for questions) by a vote of two-thirds (2/3) of those present and eligible to vote.
26. No speeches may be made while balloting is being conducted, provided, however, that speeches for the second seat may be made while ballots are being tabulated from the balloting for the first seat.
27. Voting shall be by signed written ballot.
28. Persons eligible to vote may vote for no more than one person on each ballot.
29. Election at State Senate District conferences shall be by a majority of those present and voting, with successive ballots taken by the same procedure until candidates receive a majority. After the second ballot the person receiving the lowest number of votes shall be dropped on each successive ballot.
30. The Head Tellers shall fill out and sign the form certifying the election of State Committee members to which must be appended a listing of voting on each ballot, the ballots, and registration sign-up sheets.
31. The Coordinator must also sign the form certifying election and must deliver it and the list of voting on each ballot, the ballots and registration sign-up sheets to the Democratic State Committee no later than (date to be set).
32. The Chairperson of the Democratic State Committee shall appoint a Special Credential Committee, which shall hear evidence and make a recommendation to the State Committee as to the election challenge.
33. Challenges to the election of State Committee members at State Senatorial District Conferences shall be filed with the Special Credentials Committee by a registered Democrat residing within the State Senatorial District and postmarked no later than (date to be set). These procedures will be available from the Democratic State Committee, 56 Roland St., Suite 203, Boston, MA 02129 , (617) 776-2676.
34. These rules may not be suspended, amended or overruled by any local committee or State Senatorial District Conference except as otherwise provided herein.