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First, let me say Thank you for all the hard work youve put into building your Kentucky Democratic Party. Few
organizations across the country are blessed with the enthusiastic, hard-working and dedicated supporters who
make up the KDP. As we prepare to reorganize our party, the Kentucky Democratic Party is poised to build on our
past successes and lay the foundation for a strong, unified and winning 2016 and beyond.
Whether you are a life-long activist or new to the political process, I hope you find the information in this brochure
helpful to learn how to become more involved in the KDP. It outlines the convention process at the precinct, county,
state and national levels and how the KDP will reorganize itself.
This manual outlines two separate processes as ways to participate in the Kentucky Democratic Party:
Reorganization track (Red) - building the precinct, county and state party organization.
National Convention track (Blue) - becoming a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in July.
If you have questions, please refer to the Frequently Asked Questions section in the back of the manual or contact
the KDP.
Thank you again for helping to build and strengthen the Kentucky Democratic Party. I look forward to continuing to
work with you to make 2016 a winning year for Kentucky Democrats.
Sincerely,
Sannie Overly
Chair, Kentucky Democratic Party
= County
= State
Woman
= National
= County/Legislative Caucus
Man
Youth
Precinct
Convention
April 2nd, 10:00 AM at your local polling place
Precinct
County
State
National
Precinct Committee
Every four years, the Kentucky Democratic Party rebuilds the party from the
neighborhood to the state level. There are several levels of involvement within the
Democratic Party: the Precinct Committee, the County Executive Committee, and
the State Central Executive Committee. Electing members to these committees
is done through a series of conventions held across the Commonwealth. In this
manual, you will see how you can participate in the Democratic Party according to
how much time you can give.
The Precinct Committee is the backbone of the Democratic Party, and first level of
involvement. The Precinct Committee is elected at the Precinct Convention. The
Precinct Committees are made up of one man, one woman, and one youth (35
years or younger) to represent the Democrats in the precinct in a variety of ways
that are detailed in the box to the right. We encourage all registered Democrats in
the precinct to run, nominate, or vote in their precinct conventions.
At the beginning of the Precinct Convention, the Temporary Chairperson (appointed by the current County Chair) will preside over both the reading of the Opening
Statement and the election of the Permanent Chair of the Convention. Once the
Permanent Chair is elected, the Precinct Committee election takes place. After
electing each member of the Precinct Committee, the attendees choose a chair.
The newly elected Precinct Committee Chair then fills out the required paperwork,
and he/she returns it to the Chair of the County Executive Committee within 48
hours.
Roles and
Responsibilities
of Precinct
Committees
The Precinct Leaders are
responsible for:
Recruit volunteers to help with the
Committee and campaigns
Participate in the functions of the
Executive Committee
Electing the Democratic County
Executive Committee at the County
Convention
Electing Delegates to the State
Convention
Keeping current records of
Democrats in the precinct
Distributing communications from
the party
Elect nominees for the ballot when
there is a vacancy in county officials
Perform duties as requested by the
County Democratic Executive
Committee
County
Convention
April 16th, 10:00 AM,
TBD by County Chair
County Executive
Committee
Delegates to State
Conventions
Members of all Precinct Committees
meet at the County Convention to elect
the County Executive Committee and
Delegates and Alternates to the Congressional District and State Conventions.
Committee
Precinct
County
State
National
Delegates
Legislative District
Convention
Based on their population size,
Fayette and Jefferson counties will
hold Legislative District Conventions instead of a County Convention. At these conventions,
Precinct Leaders meet to elect one
Chair and one Vice Chair of the LD.
These LD Chairs and Vice Chairs
then make up the County Executive Committee. At a later date,
the Committee meets to elect 18
at-large members of the Committee. These 18 at-large members
are assigned proportionally to the
registered Democrats in each LD.
For more information, please
contact your County Chair.
Congressional
District
State Central Executive
Committee
Delegates from each congressional district
meet to elect their members. Two men, two
women, and one youth are chosen to serve on
the State Central Executive Committee.
Committee
Precinct
County
State
National
Leadership Roles in
the Democratic Party
Delegates
Statement of Candidacy
May 9th by 5:00 PM at Kentucky Democratic Party
Presidential
Candidate A
Presidential
Candidate B
Presidential
Candidate C
Statement of Candidacy
The first step to join the Kentucky Democratic Delegation to the
National Convention is to fill out the Statement of Candidacy in
which you pledge your support to the Presidential Candidate of
your choice. Only those who file their Statement with the Kentucky
Democratic Party by May 9th can run as a delegate. The statement
must be sent by registered mail or hand delivered by the person
seeking to run.
At the State Convention, the delegates are chosen by either their
Congressional District Caucus, the State Convention delegates, or by
the State Central Executive Committee.
Precinct
County
State
National
County/
Legislative
Caucus
Preserving the
Diversity of the
Democratic Party
To continue the tradition of the
Democratic Partys commitment to diversity, the Kentucky
Democratic Party has established
goals to achieve a representative
delegation to the National Convention. Through these goals, we
hope to have a Delegation that
represents the minority demographics of the Commonwealth.
Our outreach plan will include
African Americans, Hispanics,
Asian Americans, people with
disabilities, LGBT, and youth. The
Kentucky Democratic Party will
continue outreach and inclusion
programs to promote underrepresented groups in all functions
of the Party.
Congressional
District Caucus
June 4th, 10:00 AM
Kentucky Fair and Expo Center, Louisville, KY
National
Convention
Delegates from the county caucus meet with other County Caucus
delegates from each congressional district to elect District Level
Delegates based on the allocation below.
Committee
Committee
Electoral College
Precinct
County
State
National
Delegates
State
Convention
State Central
Executive Committee
National
Convention
Smith County Delegates from the County Convention and County Caucus meet to
elect the final members of the State Central Executive Committee and Delegates to
the National Convention.
Committee
Committee
Precinct
County
State
National
Delegates
State Convention
The delegates elected at the County Caucus gather at the State Convention to
vote for two At-Large Presidential Electors and two alternates to serve on the Electoral College, and the Pledged Party Leaders and Elected Officials. This happens
while the State Central Executive Committee is also being elected at the State
Convention. Credentials are assigned at registration to clarify which activities
each attendee is participating in.
After all the members of State Central Executive Committee and the Delegates
to the National Convention are elected, the State Convention adjourns. Once the
Convention is dismissed, the newly elected State Central Executive Committee will
meet to elect the at-large members of the Kentucky National Delegation. Those
elected as National Delegates will also be given information about travel, scheduling, and other important details.
Same Time,
Same Place
Every four years the Kentucky
Democratic Party gains new
leadership and delegates are
selected to represent Kentucky
at the National Convention. The
final selection for members of the
State Central Executive Committee and the delegates to the
National Convention happens at
the same time in the same place:
the State Convention. Both the
State Central Executive Committee and the National Convention
delegates are chosen in the same
room at the State Convention,
but through separate election
processes. Attendees at the State
Convention are assigned credentials to separate the two groups,
thus making it clear in which
election each person votes.
Can I do both?