Our Bylaws

Last Updated: Feb 23, 2025

Bylaws of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) National Electoral Commission (NEC)

Article I. Name

The name of this body will be the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) National Electoral Commission (NEC).

Article II. Purpose

Our mission is to build working class state power through nationwide socialist electoral efforts in order to win socialism.

The NEC is a defined membership body of DSA members active in DSA’s socialist electoral work. The National Electoral Commission is committed to building working-class power through electoral politics. Electoral work and campaigns are a vital part of DSA’s larger struggle for political and economic democracy. DSA organizes in elections to win and wield power for the working class and to communicate our democratic socialist vision for a fairer and more sustainable future.

The NEC and its subcommittees will work on communications, fundraising, compliance, field, data and research work. This work can include mentoring chapters, helping create and deliver education to chapters and campaigns, supporting national endorsement application processing, designing graphic assets for use by the NEC and our nationally endorsed campaigns, leading national phonebanks, helping with national fundraising, assisting with national NEC operations, and other goals and duties to be developed as the NEC itself develops.

Article III. Membership

Section 1. Defining Membership

Members of the NEC will be DSA members in good standing who apply to the NEC and have a history of consistent engagement in chapter-level or national-level electoral work, to be defined as a contribution of meaningful labor to a locally or nationally endorsed candidate or ballot initiative campaign within the prior 3 (three) years, including consistent work on a chapter or endorsed campaign’s field, communications, fundraising or volunteer outreach operations.
DSA members in good standing will apply for NEC membership directly via a form located on the NEC’s website or otherwise distributed publicly. In this form, they will describe in their own words their qualifying experience and goals for their involvement in the NEC. Applicant eligibility will be reviewed and verified by the NEC Steering Committee on a rolling basis and at minimum every other month,
Members who satisfy these criteria, are accepted into the NEC after applying, and have not committed any membership conduct violations, will be considered in good standing. It will be the responsibility of members to approve policies, statements, guidelines, and directives of the NEC.

Section 2. Roles and Responsibilities of the Membership

Members will be responsible for advancing the mission and strategic campaigns of the NEC within their chapters and through the National Electoral Commission (NEC).
Members will be empowered to elect National Electoral Commission (NEC) Steering Committee members (Article V).
Members will also be empowered to make decisions through membership-wide voting and the Amendments Process (Article IX).
Members may submit proposals to the Steering Committee for consideration.

Section 3. Membership Application

The Steering Committee will publish a membership application for all DSA members to apply on a rolling basis.
A subgroup of the Steering Committee will evaluate membership applications and propose acceptances and rejections to the rest of the Steering Committee, who will vote on the final decision..
Prospective members must receive simple majority support of the Steering Committee to be accepted.

Section 4. Member Conduct

NEC members are expected to conduct themselves with civility and respect towards all other members in accordance with the code of conduct outlined in Article VIII.
If a member’s conduct is found to be in substantial disagreement with the principles or policies of the NEC, they will be dealt with in accordance with the process for reporting and resolving harassment and grievances as enumerated in Article VIII.

Article IV. Steering Committee

Section 1. Composition and Terms

The Steering Committee will be composed of the following voting members:
1. A member of the National Political Committee who will act as chair and only vote in the event of a tie.
2. 13 at-large members, among whom will also be elected 2 co-chairs, a committee treasurer and subcommittee co-chairs.
The Steering Committee members, except for the NPC-member chair, will be elected to terms of one (1) year. See Article V. Steering Committee Elections.
The NPC will appoint additional, non-voting liaisons to the committee.

Section 2. Duties

The Steering Committee administers the affairs of the NEC as well as maintains and develops NEC infrastructure according to its mission and strategic campaign priorities. This includes the maintenance of electronic communication platforms, member lists, email, social media channels, and internal committees.
The Steering Committee will be responsible for implementing program activities for the NEC, aligned with the mission and campaign strategies.
The Steering Committee will be responsible for creating opportunities for rank and file members to participate in and drive the work of the NEC, and for the body to be democratic and member led.
The duties, responsibilities, and tasks of the Steering Committee are to be equitably distributed among that Committee’s members, while remaining mindful of imbalances of labor distribution. Members of the Steering Committee must undertake their responsibility and maintain attendance in order to remain on the committee (see section 4).

Section 3. Steering Committee Quorum

Quorum shall be one more than half of the total Steering Committee.

Section 4. Resignation, Absence, and Vacancies

Members of the Steering Committee may resign at any time through written notification to the rest of the Committee.
Members of the Steering Committee may take leaves of absence not to exceed two (2) months through written notification to the rest of the Committee.
In the event of a vacancy in any NEC office, the NEC Steering Committee will seek applicants for a replacement, and conduct a vote at the next members meeting.

Section 5. Steering Committee Expulsions

Grounds for expulsion include but are not limited to:
1. Actions in contravention of the working group Mission Statement
2. Violation of the Code of Conduct
3. Missing three (3) consecutive Steering Committee meetings or failing to communicate for more than a month without prior written or verbal notice to the other members of the Steering Committee.
Members of the steering committee may cast a vote of no confidence, with a simple majority, against another member of the steering committee, if actions result in serious breach of official duties, responsibilities, and mission.

Article V. Steering Committee Elections

Section 1. Selection

At least six weeks before the end of their terms, the SC will form an Election Committee consisting of three (3) members of the NEC, including at least one Steering Committee member (unless all members are running for re-election);
1. The SC must publicly solicit applications to the Election Committee;
2. Steering Committee members running for re-election may not serve on the Election Committee;
3. The Election Committee will handle the intake of candidate nominations,including statements or questionnaires;
4. NEC members may nominate any other NEC members or nominate themselves;
The official period for SC elections must happen within thirty (30) days of the end of the SC’s term;
1. Nominations will be accepted for fourteen (14) days;
2. At least one NEC-wide candidate forum, set up by the Election Committee and open to all members of the NEC, must be held within seven days of the closure of the nomination period;
  1. More than one NEC-wide candidate forum may be held;
  2. The format of the candidate forum will be determined by the Election Committee;
3. An SC-election channel will be created in whatever medium the NEC uses for asynchronous membership communications. This is the only NEC resource that may be used to campaign for the NEC election.
Elections will be conducted online by National DSA staff with STV using OpaVote or a similar voting technology. The voter roll will consist of current NEC members. No electioneering using member data shall be permitted by anyone running. The terms of the election must be approved by the DSA NPC prior to undertaking it. The results must be announced within 24 hours of the closure of the vote.

Section 2. Transition of Steering Committee Roles

Once the new Steering Committee has been elected, the current and newly elected Steering Committee will meet within two (2) weeks of the election over a conference call to debrief. Minutes will be taken on the call and be made available to the NEC membership. After this meeting, the newly elected Steering Committee members will officially become the National Electoral Commission (NEC)’s Steering Committee.
Before this transition meeting, the prior Steering Committee co-chairs will hold an orientation for the newly elected Steering Committee members for the purpose of introductions and general organizational onboarding.

Section 3. NEC Co-Chair & Subcommittee Co-Chair Elections

Two Steering Committee Co-Chairs, along with two Co-Chairs for each subcommittee will be voted on at the first Steering Committee meeting of the term.
Steering Committee members interested in running must submit a statement via Slack or email 1 week prior to this election.
The Steering Committee Co-Chairs will be responsible for ensuring the General and Steering Committee Meetings get scheduled and other administrative tasks related to the NEC’s operations.
The Steering Committee Co-Chairs will have a standing call with the NPC liaison and will be the NPC liaison’s primary point of contact with the Steering Committee and NEC.
The Subcommittee Co-Chairs will be responsible for scheduling meetings and other administrative tasks related to their Subcommitee’s operations.

Article VI. Meetings

Section 1. General Meetings

The entire NEC as a body will meet online at least four (4) times annually. The Steering Committee will share the time and date of each meeting with the membership at least fourteen (14) days in advance, and will provide in that announcement an opportunity for proposals and agenda items. The SC may create specific requirements such as requiring co-signers to get items on the agenda.
Additional meetings with or without specified focuses (i.e. political education, organizer training, campaign planning, etc) can be organized by the Steering Committee.

Section 2. Steering Committee Meetings

The NEC steering committee will meet regularly, 2-4 times a month, to discuss and vote on the business of the body, including voting on endorsement recommendations.
Steering committee meetings will be composed of elected steering members, co-chairs, the NPC chair, liaisons, NEC staff, and any invited guests.
Steering meetings will be private and closed to the public. Minutes of steering committee meetings will be kept for later review by the steering committee, staff, or the NPC.

Section 3. Special Meetings

Special meetings are meetings that require an urgent gathering of NEC membership due to important or newly emergent circumstances.
Special meetings require a majority approval of the Steering Committee. If authorization for a special meeting is granted, the Steering Committee will alert the NEC membership at least forty-eight (48) hours in advance as well as provide an overview of what the meeting will address.

Section 4. Quorum

Ten percent (10%) of members in good standing, but not fewer than 10 people, shall constitute a quorum and is required for the transaction of business at a General or Special meeting.
For online voting, fifteen percent (15%) of members in good standing, but not fewer than 25 people, shall constitute a quorum.

Section 5. Online Voting

Online voting will be done in a secure format which connects the vote to a member in good standing. Voting information will be sent to the general membership via email and remain open for no less than forty-eight (48) hours.

Section 6. Voting Rights

All NEC members in good standing are entitled to vote on motions and resolutions at general meetings.
All NEC members in good standing are entitled to vote on motions and resolutions at subcommittee meetings.
Unless otherwise stated, all voting procedures will be in accordance with Roberts Rules of Order.

Article VII. Subcommittees

Section 1. Definition

The Steering Committee may create permanent or temporary subcommittees of the NEC to coordinate specific work priorities and areas. Each committee will have co-chairs to direct its work. A committee may be dissolved by a ¾ vote of the Steering Committee or the NEC membership.

Section 2. Subcommittee Membership

Members of the NEC will select a subcommittee for the purposes of onboarding, but any member may participate and vote in any subcommittee as they wish.

Article VIII. Conduct

Section 1. Conduct Expectations

Members of the NEC are expected to follow DSA’s Code of Conduct, which expects members to act with respect towards others and refrain from harassment, among other areas.

Section 2. Types of Prohibited Conduct

The NEC shall not engage in activity prohibited by resolutions adopted by DSA’s National Convention or DSA’s National Political Committee.
Acting in opposition to DSA’s Code of Conduct shall be considered prohibited conduct.

Section 2. Consequences for Prohibited Conduct

NEC members who engage in prohibited conduct will be subject to temporary suspension and/or permanent removal by a majority vote of the NEC Steering Committee.

Article IX. Harassment and Grievance Policy

Section 1. Scope

This Harassment Grievance Procedure applies to all NEC and national DSA venues in which members of the NEC communicate, both in person and online. This includes but is not limited to DSA national conventions, DSA local chapter meetings, DSA national and local communication platforms (e.g. Slack, social media platforms and groups, virtual meeting platforms, and e-mail), any DSA specific communication platforms set up for working groups, sections, or initiatives, as well as all NEC in person meetings and NEC virtual communication platforms.
Members shall not engage in harassment on the basis of sex, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, physical appearance, disability, race, color, religion, national origin, class, age, or profession. Harassing or abusive behavior, such as unwelcome attention, inappropriate or offensive remarks, slurs, or jokes, physical or verbal intimidation, stalking, inappropriate physical contact or proximity, and other verbal and physical conduct constitute harassment when:
1. Submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of a member’s continued affiliation with DSA;
2. Submission or rejection of such conduct by an individual is used as the basis for organizational decisions affecting such individual; or
3. Such conduct has the purpose or effect of creating a hostile environment interfering with an individual’s capacity to organize within DSA.
4. Harassment based on categories not encompassed by those listed section (a) will be evaluated at the discretion of the NEC Steering Committee representatives in consultation with national DSA per availability of a national Harassment Grievance Officer (HGO).

Section 2. Reporting Harassment

Members may follow the standard DSA complaint process as set out in the following sections if they believe they have been harassed by another member. There will be no time limits requiring the accuser to file a report within any amount of time after the alleged harassment has occurred.
Members filing a formal complaint must contact the national DSA harassment grievance officer (HGO).
The NEC will follow the standard procedure set forth by the HGO.

Section 3. Remedies and Penalties

All reports will be assessed on a case-by-case basis by the HGO(s) and Steering Committee associated with the accuser’s reporting channel. The ultimate disposition of each report will be made by the Steering Committee after that body reviews the written report and recommendation of the HGO(s).
The Steering Committee will find the factual allegation in a report is “credible” if it more-likely-than-not occurred.
If the NEC Steering Committee finds the report to be credible, they are authorized to carry out the following remedies and penalties:
1. A formal discussion between the accused and the Steering Committee to develop a plan to change the harassing behavior(s);
2. Suspension from committee meetings and other working group or organizational events;
3. Removal from committee(s);
4. Removal from the NEC; and
5. Any and all other relief deemed necessary and just by the chapter or national leadership.
DSA national is authorized to enforce certain remedies and penalties in accordance with Article III, Section 4 of the DSA Constitution and Article I, Section 3 of DSA Bylaws:
1. Removal from DSA; and
2. Any and all other relief deemed necessary and just by the chapter or national leadership.
3. The appropriate form of relief will be determined by, among other things:
4. The request of the accuser;
5. The severity of the offense;
6. The response of the accused; and
7. The accused’s relevant behavioral histories.
Either party may appeal the form of relief determined by Steering Committee. Appeals must be filed within thirty days of receiving written notice of the Steering Committee’s decision. The limited grounds for appeal are:
1. Either party believes the behavior was not interpreted using the standards for harassment set out in Section 1a;
2. Procedural errors, misconduct, or conflicts of interest affected the fairness of the outcome; and
3. The remedy or penalty determined by Steering was grossly disproportionate to the violation committed
This policy prohibits retaliation against any member for bringing a complaint of harassment pursuant to this policy. This policy also prohibits retaliation against a person who assists someone with a complaint of harassment, or participates in any manner in an investigation or resolution of a complaint of discrimination or harassment. Retaliatory behaviors includes threats, intimidation, reprisals, and/or adverse actions related to organizing. If any party to the complaint believes there has been retaliation, they may inform the HGO who will determine whether to factor the retaliation into the original complaint, or treat it as an individual incident.

Section 4. Compliance with Chapter Discipline

Individuals who have been expelled from or censured by their local DSA chapter are subject to removal from the NEC, or discipline commensurate with disciplinary actions enacted by that local chapter or DSA organizing body.
Appeals of this rule may be made to the Steering Committee with a written request of a member.

Article X. Amendments

Section 1. Amendments Process

Amendments may be proposed to the Chairs of the NEC for consideration at an upcoming meeting. The proposal must be submitted in written form and be endorsed by ten (10) members of the NEC.
Resolutions submitted 1 week prior to a general meeting will be deliberated at the meeting.
The Steering Committee shall announce the proposal at least one week before a meeting and allow for a period of discussion and amendments before voting occurs.
Bylaws amendments may be adopted by a vote of two-thirds of the members present and voting to pass.