Anne Arundel County Branch Charter

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Table of Contents

  1. Name

  2. Land Acknowledgment

  3. Powers

  4. Members

  5. Meetings

  6. Officers

    1. Branch Steering Committee

    2. Branch Steering Committee Positions

    3. Officer Terms

    4. Elections

    5. Removal

  7. Branch Formations

    1. Working Groups

  8. Branch Funds

  9. Amendments

    1. Proposals

    2. Ratification

  10. Dissolution

The Greater Baltimore Democratic Socialists of America (the “GBDSA”) hereby establish and charter the Anne Arundel Branch (the “Branch”) of the GBDSA on the terms and conditions set forth below.

Name

The name of this Branch shall be Anne Arundel County Branch of GBDSA (“AACO”). Its jurisdiction shall be Anne Arundel County, Maryland. Its purpose should be consistent with that of the Greater Baltimore Democratic Socialist of America.

Land Acknowledgement

The Anne Arundel County Democratic Socialists of America recognizes that we meet and organize upon the occupied lands of the Piscataway, Patuxent, Mattapanient (Mattaponi), Nacotchtank (Anacostan), and Susquehannock people. We affirm the need to share history of the rightful past, present, and future inhabitants of the land, starting with an acknowledgment at all public meetings. We further acknowledge that this county, state, and country were built with the stolen labor of millions of enslaved human beings, including thousands in Anne Arundel County. As Socialists, we oppose oppression in all of its forms, and seek to repair past injustices as we organize for a just future for all.

Powers

The Branch shall have the power to:

  • commission campaigns

  • establish working groups in furtherance thereof

  • appoint and remove officers in accordance with this charter

  • designate times and places for regular meetings

  • communicate in accordance with chapter and branch policy

  • make requests to the Steering Committee for the use of GBDSA resources, and to otherwise conduct and manage its affairs consistent with this charter and the bylaws of the GBDSA (the “Bylaws”).

Members

Any member of GBDSA who lives in the Branch’s territory shall automatically be a member of AACO DSA. Any member of the Branch may terminate their membership by notifying the Secretary of the Branch in writing. 

Meetings

The Branch shall hold a regular meeting (Branch General Body Meeting) for conducting business at least once every quarter. They shall be conducted under parliamentary procedures specified by the chapter, unless a chapter steering vote specifies differently. The Branch Steering Committee (BSC) may increase the frequency of the BGBM as needed with a Three-Fifths (⅗) vote. Branch general body meeting quorum threshold is defined as 10 people.

Officers

Branch Steering Committee

The Branch Steering Committee (“BSC”) shall be composed of elected officers. There shall be 4 At-Large BSC members. Collectively, the BSC shall act as stewards of the Branch and chair its regular meetings. 

  1. Geographic Requirement. At-Large BSC members may live, work, or attend school in any part of the Branch.

  2. Representation Requirement. A majority of BSC members must identify as women, people of color, and/or nonbinary if at all possible. If the outcome of an election would result in a violation, the highest-voted individuals who fulfill one of these criteria will be elected instead of the lowest-voted individuals who fulfill none of the criteria until it is no longer in violation.

    1. The initial BSC shall not be strictly subject to the representation requirement. A good faith effort to encourage BSC membership will be conducted by initial members to strive for fulfillment of the requirement. Upon the Branch reaching 200 members in good standing and at least 10% of Branch members attending a BGBM the next subsequent BSCs shall be subject to the representation requirement.

  3. Quorum. In order to vote on Branch business, the BSC must meet quorum. Quorum for the BSC is three-fifths (⅗) of its members.

  4. Qualifications. To be eligible to be a member of the BSC, members must have been current in their dues (a “Member in Good Standing”) prior to accepting their nomination.

    1. Initial members of BSC must be in good standing as of the time of branch formation.

Branch Steering Committee Positions

These positions shall be elected by Branch members in good standing.

  1. Chair. The Chair shall serve as chief executive officer of the Branch, chair regular meetings of the BSC and ensure that the Branch operates democratically.

  2. Secretary. The Secretary shall have primary administrative duties, to include (but not limited to) maintaining a current and accurate list of the members of the Branch. The Secretary shall manage the shared resources of the Branch not otherwise assigned to the Branch Delegate or Communications Steward. The Branch Secretary shall ensure that the minutes are kept of the meetings of the Branch Steering Committee and of the Branch’s monthly meetings, and that these minutes are made available to all Branch members within two weeks of the aforementioned meetings.

  3. Communications Steward. The Communications Steward shall have primary responsibility for posting to the Branch social media profiles. The Steward shall also curate content on the AACO DSA Branch website and compile and send the weekly branch email to Branch members and activists. They will coordinate with the Chapter Communications officer as appropriate.

  4. Branch Delegate. The Branch Delegate shall attend each meeting of the GBDSA Steering Committee for the purpose of keeping the Branch apprised of the activities of the Steering Committee and making regular reports to the Steering Committee on the activities of the Branch. They also shall coordinate with the Chapter Treasurer, Budget and Finance Committee, and the Branch on financial questions and appropriately maintain any necessary documentation.

Officer Terms

All officers shall serve for a term of one year, until the next annual elections. No member may serve for more than 4 consecutive terms in the same office.

Elections

Elections shall be held for the At-Large BSC members/officers on an annual basis. All branch members in good standing may nominate any other member in good standing, including themselves by application form sent to the Electoral Committee.

The Secretary shall inform all Members in Good Standing of the date of an election via email no later than two weeks prior to elections being held.

Each Member in Good Standing shall be entitled to vote for each officer position. The vote shall proceed by secret online ballot and shall be resolved according to the Hare system for proportional representation with vote calculation done via Scottish Single Transferable Vote.

“No” shall be a listed option on all ballots, and the membership can choose to reject candidacies and keep a position vacant. 

  1. At-Large. Elections for At-Large BSC members shall be held simultaneously and shall be resolved in favor of the four highest vote earners where the results of the election, as determined by Scottish STV, are subject to the Representation Requirement.

  2. Vacancies. In the event that a vacancy occurs on the BSC then the BSC may appoint a member to the absent BSC position by a two-thirds (⅔) vote of the BSC, after which the Branch membership must approve the appointment by a two-thirds (⅔) vote. This newly elected officer will serve out the time of the remaining term.

Removal

A BSC member may be removed by a two-thirds majority vote of members present at a regular meeting.

Branch Formations

Working Groups

For each campaign commissioned by the Branch, the Branch shall establish a temporary, ad hoc committee with open membership - a working group - that will organize the campaign and make regular reports to the Branch and the BSC on its progress.

Working groups are to be centered solely in Anne Arundel County. These campaigns will be commissioned in coordination with the Chapter.

Each campaign working group shall make its reports available to the entire Branch membership by issuing emails and/or posting reports to a persistent online location or service.

Branch Funds

If the Branch conducts an approved fundraiser for a particular purpose, it shall deposit these funds in the chapter accounts as directed by the GBDSA Treasurer. The Treasurer shall keep a ledger of chartered Branch deposits, and those deposits shall only be disbursed with the consent of the BSC.

Amendments

Proposals

Branch members may submit written proposals for amendments to the Charter, signed by at least one co-sponsor, to the BSC or to the membership at a regular meeting. The BSC shall promptly distribute the amendment to the membership for review, and shall announce it to members at least 30 days in advance of any vote.

Ratification

Amendment proposals may be recommended by a two-thirds vote of members present at a Branch meeting then subject to ratification by a two-thirds vote of the GBDSA General Body.

Dissolution

A meeting of the members of GBDSA may, with a two-thirds vote dissolve a Branch.