2.25.17 – DNC Leadership elections wrapped up in Atlanta. Former Labor Secretary Tom Perez elected as DNC Chairman.

Most of the selection process for Chair and every other officer position is laid out in the Charter and Bylaws, the constitution of the Democratic Party. Here’s what the Charter and Bylaws call for:

Who Votes:
It’s helpful to remember that the DNC is a committee made up of voting committee members. There are about 447 members on the national committee, and they’ll be the Democratic leaders selecting our next Chair. These are people elected by your community to represent you: Most states elect their DNC members at the same time as presidential nominating convention delegates. State party chairs and vice chairs are also voting DNC members, as are representative officials from various levels of elected office, Democratic organizations, and constituency groups. Members will be voting on candidates for Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary, National Finance Chair and Treasurer. In Denver, the Rules and Bylaws Committee set the deadline to declare candidacy for those positions for February 21. Candidates must file paperwork with the DNC and have signatures from 20 voting DNC members to be considered.

When They Vote:
The Charter and Bylaws call for DNC officer elections at the DNC meeting after a presidential election, which must be held before March 1 of the following year. Accordingly, our next DNC meeting is scheduled for February 23–26 in Atlanta, Georgia. That’s when we will elect our next Chair and other officers.

Knowing that we have to work within those parameters, we are setting out to hold the most open and transparent Chair election in history.

OPENNESS AND TRANSPARENCY
Democrats who won’t be able to vote will still be able to make their voices heard. We are hard at work creating opportunities — online and in-person — that will allow Democrats who are not voting DNC members to give input on how our Party should move forward.