Hi Democrats,
On its own initiative, the BRC voted to recommend the following amendments to Sections 8.3.3 and 8.3.6 of the bylaws to clean up the language regarding eligibility for KCDCC endorsements. These sections had been amended repeatedly during the run-up to the February 2019 bylaws meeting, and some of the language was “dead” and applied to situations that could not occur.
These amendments do not modify our actual current rules for endorsing in single-LD races (majority vote to endorse the candidate(s) the LD endorsed) or multi-LD races (majority vote to accept a recommendation of the Endorsements Committee, two-thirds vote to endorse a candidate/position the Endorsements Committee considered but did not recommend, or majority vote to endorse a candidate/position endorsed by LDs representing a majority of the voters in that race), but the amendments do make these rules easier to read and understand.
Note: The BRC also voted at its January meeting to recommend adoption of Floor Amendment #5, which would strike Section 8.3.3 in its entirety. This discrepancy was not caught during the BRC meeting, so we’ve made two different recommendations for how to fix these sections. The recommendation below was adopted later in the meeting, for whatever that’s worth.
Thanks,
— Scott
Section 8.3.3: Duties
A candidate or measure is eligible for endorsement consideration by the Endorsements Committee if the jurisdiction of their election intersects with King County and at least two LDs.
As described below, the committee shall defer to the Legislative District Organizations with regard to recommended endorsements of other candidates and campaigns.
Section 8.3.6: Endorsements
The Executive Board shall meet to consider the committee's recommendations for endorsements prior to the primary election each year and again prior to the general election each year. A candidate or position shall be eligible for KCDCC’s endorsement only if the candidate or position is either (a) considered by the Endorsements Committee, or (b) endorsed by the Legislative District Organization(s) representing a majority of King County voters eligible to vote for that candidate or position.
The Executive Board may, by majority vote, endorse any candidate or position that is recommended by the committee or endorsed by the relevant Legislative District Organization(s). By two-thirds vote, the Executive Board may endorse a candidate or position that was considered but not recommended by the committee.
The KCDCC shall defer to the Legislative District Organizations with regard to endorsements of other candidates and measures that appear on ballots in a single legislative district. Other candidates and measures shall be eligible to receive the KCDCC's endorsement only if they receive the endorsements of Legislative District Organizations representing a majority of King County voters eligible to vote for that candidate or measure. Candidates and measures that appear on ballots in a single legislative district shall be eligible to receive the KCDCC's endorsement only if they are endorsed by the Legislative District Organization for that legislative district. If the relevant Legislative District Organization endorses multiple candidates in a particular single-district race, then the KCDCC shall endorse either all of these candidates or no candidate. The Executive Board may, by majority vote, endorse any such candidates or measures.
