Article I. Name
The name of this organization shall be the College Democrats of Notre Dame.
Article II. Purpose
The purpose of the College Democrats of Notre Dame will be to uphold and promote the principles of the Democratic Party and social justice through debate and action.
Article III. Membership
Section 1. Membership in the College Democrats of Notre Dame shall be open to any interested undergraduate students at the University of Notre Dame, Saint Mary’s College, or Holy Cross College.
Section 2. Notre Dame graduate students and Notre Dame faculty/administrators may join the club as “Associate Members.” Associate Members may not run for office and do not have voting rights.
Section 3. If deemed necessary, a person’s membership may be reviewed by the club officers for repeated or serious violations of the club constitution. Members may also be expelled by a unanimous vote of the club officers for gross ethical or professional misconduct.
Article IV. Election of Officers
Section 1. An annual election shall be held during the month of March for the officers of the Executive Board.
Section 2. Candidates for office must be members of the College Democrats of Notre Dame. Candidates for office must be students attending the University of Notre Dame, Holy Cross College, or Saint Mary’s College. Additionally, at a minimum, at least half of the Executive Board must be undergraduate students of the University of Notre Dame. At least one of the Co-Presidents must be an undergraduate student of the University of Notre Dame.
Section 3. Interested individuals must announce their candidacy to the membership prior to the elections. There will be an initial anonymous candidacy declaration process, which will later be publicized and available for change.
Section 4. With the exception of Co-Presidents or semester-alternating tickets, the formation of slates for multiple positions will not be allowed.
Section 5. The position of Election Commissioner will be appointed by the Executive Board of the Notre Dame College Democrats prior to the candidacy declaration process. The Election Commissioner will be responsible for overseeing elections, and shall not be a member of the preceding Executive Board or a candidate for the Executive Board.
Section 6. Elections will take place at the annual Election Meeting. At this time, each candidate or ticket will have the opportunity to address the membership. In the event that the candidate is studying abroad during the semester of the election, they can designate an individual to speak on their behalf at the meeting of the election. Candidates have the option to submit a video for their candidacy no longer than 1:30 minutes or a short statement no longer than 200 words. Elections will take place via a Google Form administered by the Election Commissioner, who will verify all votes as being from members of College Democrats, characterized by membership on the listserv at the time of the election. Elections will close at midnight on the day after the election meeting. The Election Commissioner will announce the results of elections via email on the following day.
Section 7. The Election Commissioner, assisted by a member of the general membership, will tabulate the results and announce the new officers to the complete membership. The candidates winning a majority of votes cast in their election will win. In the event that no candidate receives at least 50%+1 of the votes cast in their election, a run-off election shall be held between the two candidates receiving the most votes. Ties will result in an immediate run-off vote between the two tied candidates, except in the case of a tie between Co-Presidential tickets, wherein the tie will be broken by members of the newly elected Executive Board. The tie break will be administered by the Election Commissioner.
Section 8. In the event that the candidate is studying abroad one semester for the term in which they would be in office, they are permitted to run as a joint ticket with one other member of the club who will be present for the semester in which the aforementioned candidate is absent. It is the responsibility of the candidate studying abroad to secure a running partner. If they fail to do so, they will be disqualified from the election. There will be no time constraint for when this partnership can be formed prior to the election.
Article V. Officers
Section 1. Two Co-Presidents, Vice-President, Political Director, Finance Director, and Communications Director shall be the officers of the club.
Section 2. The duties of the Co-Presidents shall be to preside over meetings of the College Democrats of Notre Dame and to oversee all College Democrats activities.
Section 3. The duties of the Vice-President shall be to preside over meetings of the College Democrats in the absence of the Co-Presidents and to assist the Co-Presidents in College Democrats activities.
Section 4. The duties of the Political Director shall be to interact with campaigns and secure internship opportunities for the members of the club.
Section 5. The duties of the Finance Director shall be to directly oversee the financial transactions and the general financial status of the College Democrats of Notre Dame and to prepare accurate financial statements at the end of their term. The Finance Director shall also oversee any fundraising activities.
Section 6. The duties of the Communications Director shall be to maintain websites affiliated with the club including the official club website, Facebook page, Instagram, and Twitter; issue press releases to the local media; and serve to promote the goals and ideals of the club through the media in any other capacity.
Section 7. All the officers will form the core of the Executive Board and all, excluding the advisor, will have one vote.
Section 8. In the case that an officer should take a leave of absence (or separates) from the University, said officer will recommend a replacement to be voted upon by the board. In the case that the board fails to approve that replacement, a special election shall take place for that position to fill the rest of the vacancy, following the election protocol in Article IV.
Section 9. Ad hoc officer positions for a given academic year can be created with the unanimous consent of the incoming Co-Presidents and Vice President for that academic year. Appointees to ad hoc officer positions must be approved by a majority vote of the incoming Executive Board.
Article VI. Impeachment of Officers
Section 1. An elected officer found to be deficient in their duties may be promptly removed by a two-thirds vote of voting College Democrats of Notre Dame members, and shall be replaced following the guidelines of the elections of officers.
Section 2. The Advisor of the College Democrats shall oversee impeachment proceedings.
Article VII. Advisor
Section 1. The Club Officers shall unanimously agree upon and appoint an Advisor no later than April 1 to serve a term from May 1 – April 30.
Section 2. The Advisor must be a full-time Notre Dame faculty member or administrator.
Section 3. The Advisor’s duties shall include:
– Meeting with the club officers on a regular basis.
– Attending club meetings and club activities.
– Keeping abreast of club issues and intentions.
– Meeting with the Treasurer on a monthly basis to review account balances and financial transactions.
– Assisting with the implementation of an officer transition program.
Section 4. The Advisor shall be an ex-officio member of the club, and as such, shall not have voting rights.
Section 5. The Advisor shall have veto power over any decision made by the club which is in direct violation of University policy. This authority shall be used only in circumstances where the club officers knowingly intend to violate University policy.
Article VIII. Meetings
Section 1. The College Democrats of Notre Dame will meet at least bimonthly (two times per month) on a day determined by the Executive Board. Members will be notified of meetings via email by the Executive Board.
Section 2. A quorum is established for the purpose of a meeting when at least one-third of the members are in attendance as determined by the officers. If less than one-third of members are present, any action by the members present is non-binding.
Section 3. In the event that an emergency meeting of the club must be held, the Co-Presidents of the club shall have the authority to call such meetings. All officers must agree in advance to the emergency meeting, and at least 24 hours’ notice must be provided to all active members by sending out an email. Communication of emergency meetings will be the responsibility of the Co-Presidents.
Article IX. Disbursement of Funds
Section 1. All disbursements of funds must be approved by the Treasurer and Advisor.
Section 2. Reimbursement for expenditures will only be accepted for members who have retained an original, itemized receipt and a description of the expense incurred.
Section 3. Any expenditure in excess of $500 must be approved by a majority of the Club Officers.
Section 4. Any event or activity in excess of $5,000 must be approved in advance by the Financial Management Board (FMB) by emailing fmb@nd.edu.
Section 5. All financial transactions of DCUND will be managed through the University of Notre Dame’s accounting system, as stipulated by the Student Union Treasurer’s Office.
Section 6. Only the Club Officers and the Advisor shall have the ability to charge expenses to the club via the University’s account charge system.
Article X. Amendments
Section 1. Amendments may be made to this constitution at any time by a two-thirds vote of the active club membership.
Section 2. Members interested in proposing amendments to the constitution must submit the proposed amendment to the President no later than ten days before the club’s next meeting.
Section 3. The proposed amendment shall be presented via email to the active club membership no later than five days before the meeting where the amendment will be debated.
Section 4. Upon receiving a two-thirds affirmative vote in favor on a constitutional amendment/revision, the President shall submit the amendment/revision in writing to the Student Activities Office for review/approval.
Article XI. Affiliation Clause
Section 1. The policies of the University of Notre Dame shall supersede policies of the state and national federations of College Democrats in the event of a conflict of interest.