There are two ways to be a member of the DSC. One method is to run for Democratic State Committee to be an official elected member. The other is to be an honorary member through our donation package. More information can be found below.

(this is an unofficial overview, for official information see the Party Bylaws and the Party Charter.

Election and Organization

State committees of political parties are organized under Massachusetts General Law chapter 52, section 1, to:

• promote the aims of each party;
• work in cooperation with the national committee and with ward and town committees; and
• organize and work for the nomination and election of party candidates.

Election Procedures

Membership

The state committee of each party includes one man and one woman from each of the 40 state senatorial districts in Massachusetts. They are elected at the presidential primary election for a four year term. Additional members may be appointed by the state committee to hold office for two years from the date of such appointment. Terms for additional members may not exceed those of members elected at the presidential primary.

Candidate Requirements

Candidates for the party state committees must be registered voters in the senatorial district from which they plan to run. Each candidate must be an enrolled member of the party throughout the 90 days before the filing deadline for nomination papers with the Secretary of the Commonwealth, or a newly registered voter enrolled in that party. Additionally, candidates cannot have been enrolled in another political party during the one year period before the filing deadline. Candidates must prove party affiliation by filing a certificate of party enrollment, signed by at least three members of the local board of registrars or election commission, with the Secretary of the Commonwealth. The enrollment certificate is printed on the nomination papers. At least one such certificate must be completed and filed no later than the last day for filing nomination papers with the Secretary of the Commonwealth. At least one of the certified papers must also contain a written acceptance of nomination signed by the candidate.

Instructions to Candidates

Nomination papers will be available on Tuesday, August 5, 2003, from the Secretary of the Commonwealth's Elections Division, Room 1705, One Ashburton Place, Boston, Massachusetts 02108. Many local clerk's offices may also have nomination papers available. Read the instructions on the nomination papers carefully before circulating and check that the name of the district is correct. Be sure to fill in the name of the city or town where signers of each paper are registered voters.

The law allows a candidate to make exact copies of blank nomination papers in order to gather additional signatures. However, nomination papers cannot be altered in any way. Additional markings on nomination papers may disqualify any signatures contained thereon.