Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party of
Convention
2005 Rules
Governing Authority and Agenda
1. Any
individual rule to which there is an objection will be considered
separately. The rest shall be considered
jointly.
2. Upon
all matters not governed by the Official Call, the State DFL Party Constitution
and Bylaws, the St. Paul City Party’s constitution and bylaws, and these Rules,
Robert’s Rules of Order–most recently
revised shall govern. Provisions of the Official Call shall take precedence
over any other party rules at any level wherever a conflict exists.
3. A
majority vote of the convention is required to adopt these rules and the
agenda. Once adopted, these rules and the agenda shall govern unless suspended
or modified by a two-thirds vote of the convention.
4. The
quorum for conducting any business of the convention is a majority of the
registered delegates (including upgraded alternates).
Seating of
Delegates and Alternates
5. Registration
shall begin at 8:30 a.m. and shall remain open until adjournment of the
Convention. The Convention shall convene
at 9:30 am.
6. Each
Ward delegation shall elect one or more delegation chairs for purposes of
alternate seating, roll calls and ballot voting. The Convention Chair shall
instruct the convention as to the duties each delegation chair will be expected
to perform during the convention. The name of each delegation chair shall be
reported promptly to the Convention Chair. Any delegate shall be eligible for election
as delegation chair.
7. The
seating of delegates and alternates shall be governed by the following:
a. All registered delegates (not
alternates) on the temporary roll shall be seated.
b. The convention shall hear and resolve
any challenges regarding delegate or alternate seating pursuant to the Official
Call.
c. Any delegates or alternates entitled to
be seated after all challenges have been resolved shall go to the registration
table with their delegation chair so that proper seating can be arranged. As
soon as practicable after verification of a quorum, the registration stall
shall function inside the convention hall so as to permit its members to
maintain a consistent and accurate delegate count by wards while participating
as convention delegates.
d. Alternates elected at large shall be
upgraded to delegate status according to their numerical ranking on the ward
report. Alternates elected through subcaucus voting systems will be upgraded to
delegate status in the order reported within their subcaucus. If there are no
alternates available within a subcaucus, alternates will be raised by lot from
among the highest ranking alternates within the other subcaucuses. Each
subcaucus will be represented in the lot system in proportion to its delegate allocation
strength.
e. The registration staff shall issue
identification badges to delegates, alternates and visitors during the
registration process. Badges issued to each group shall be of a different
color.
f. A temporary delegate badge shall be
issued to an appropriate alternate when the alternate is raised to delegate
status. There shall be no upgrading of alternates during any voting process. If
the raised alternate is subsequently returned to alternate status, the
alternate’s delegate badge shall be immediately surrendered to the registration
table.
g. Unseated alternates and visitors shall
be seated separately from delegates and shall not be allowed on the convention
floor during the convention.
8. Upon
application to the Credentials Committee chair, each candidate for endorsement
for mayor shall be allotted fourteen floor passes and each candidate for
endorsement for school board shall be allotted seven floor passes. All
candidates and their representatives (using floor passes) must leave the convention
floor at the time that ballots are distributed.
Floor passes issued for each race shall be returned to the Credentials
Committee chair when the endorsement process for that race concludes. Each candidate for endorsement for any
City-wide office who is not a delegate or seated alternate will be given a
permanent, personal floor pass for the convention.
General
Convention Rules
9. One
or more Convention Chairs, with gender balance, if applicable, shall be elected
by a plurality vote of the convention. The Convention Chairs shall appoint a
convention secretary, timekeepers, judges, clerks, tellers, sergeants-at-arms,
parliamentarians, pages and other assistants as they deem necessary to conduct
convention business.
10. All persons shall comply with rules established by
11. If a contest exists, all elections shall be done by secret
written ballot. In the event of a tie vote, there will be a run-off ballot
including only the names of the tied candidates. If a tie still exists, it will be broken by
lot. All other voting shall be by voice vote or standing division unless a
secret ballot vote is requested by the Convention Chair or by one-third of the
delegates present.
12. Convention tellers shall distribute ballots to the chair of
each ward delegation on matters to be determined by secret ballot. Ballots
shall be distributed only to delegates and upgraded alternates seated under the
rules of this convention. These ballots shall be returned by the precinct delegation
chair to the tellers.
13. Smoking and use of intoxicants is prohibited on the convention
floor. No smoking is allowed in the hallways adjacent to the convention hall,
or outside the main entry to the building. All persons shall comply with any additional
rules established by the convention facility.
14. Incumbent DFL office holders, declared DFL candidates for
public office, and other party dignitaries may address the convention at the
discretion of the Convention Chair only after the 1st ballot for
endorsement for Mayor has been cast.
Such visitors will be requested to limit their remarks to no more than
two minutes.
Voting and Procedures
15.
All voting
shall be by delegates and alternates serving as delegates who are sitting in
the location designation for their ward.
16.
No ballot shall be distributed until at least five
minutes after appropriate notice that delegates shall return to the floor has
been given.
17.
Unless otherwise provided in these rules, all voting
shall be by voice vote or standing division unless a counted division or a
secret ballot vote is requested by the chair or by a one-third vote of
Convention delegates. All votes on
contested endorsements shall be a secret ballot. No roll call votes shall be allowed.
18.
On a counted division, each ward delegation chair
will poll the delegation and deliver a signed tally sheet to the Convention
chair.
19.
On a secret ballot vote, each ward delegation chair
will receive an envelope from the tellers containing sufficient ballots for
each delegate and upgraded alternates as listed by the Credentials committee.
Each ward delegation chair shall distribute and collect ballots for their
ward. A delegate will cast only ballot,
but each delegate may vote for as many candidates as there are persons to be elected
or endorsed, but voting for each candidate only once.
20.
If no candidate for endorsement has received sixty
percent of the votes cast, a motion to have no endorsement will be in order at
any time thereafter, and will pass with a majority vote. In that event, balloting shall terminate and
no body of the DFL will endorse for that position prior to the primary
election. There will no limit on the number of ballots cast for endorsement.
21.
The phrase “sixty percent affirmative vote” means
that to be endorsed, a candidate must receive sixty percent of the votes cast
on that ballot excluding blanks and abstentions. Ballot marked “No endorsement” shall be
counted for purposes of determining the sixty percent necessary for
endorsement. Uncounted ballots shall
include blank ballots, ballots marked as abstaining, ballots marked with the
name of a dropped candidate or unnominated candidate, and unintelligible or
spoiled ballots. A spoiled ballot is
defined as containing the name of a dropped candidate or too many names in a
multiple endorsement race. All ballots
cast shall count toward a test of quorum.
Election
of Party Officers
22. For each Party office, the chair shall call for nominations by
name only. After the candidates have been nominated, the chair shall determine
speaking order by lot. Each candidate
for Party office will have one minute to address the Convention. Party Officers
shall be elected by simple majority. Voting will be conducted by separate
ballot for each position. If none of the nominees for an office receives a
majority vote on a ballot, the nominee with the least number of votes will be
dropped on the next ballot, provided that at least two candidates remain on
that ballot.
Speech and
Debate Rules
23. No delegate may speak until recognized by the Convention
Chair. Speakers will first state their name and ward. No person may speak more
than once on an item of business until all others on that side who wish to do
so have had an opportunity.
24. Unless otherwise provided for in these rules, no delegate
shall speak for more than one minute on any item. The chair will rotate
speaking privileges among floor microphones and between proponents and
opponents of a measure to the extent possible. Debate will terminate when three
speakers have been heard on each side.
25. With respect to credentials challenges to delegations, prior
to floor debate, speakers on behalf of both the challenged delegation and the
challenging delegation shall each be allowed two minutes in total to present
their positions, with the challenged delegation speaking last.
26. Any motion to table shall be considered as though it were a
motion to postpone indefinitely. A motion to postpone indefinitely does not
preclude amendments to the main motion. The motions “to reconsider and enter on
the minutes” and “to object to consideration” are not in order. The motion to
reconsider is in order and will require a two-thirds vote.
27. Any amendment to a motion or resolution that removes, changes
or adds five or more words must be submitted in writing to the Convention Chair
before being considered. When the motion to amend is made, it must be seconded
by at least one other delegate. Amendments take a majority vote for adoption.
Endorsement
Rules
28. General Endorsement Rules:
a. When
a public office that will be contested on the general-election ballot contains
more than one person to be elected, the Convention may endorse as many persons
as there will be positions for that office.
b.
For each public office to be considered, the chair shall
first call for nominations from the floor for endorsement. Nominations shall be by name only. After the candidates have been named, the
chair shall determine an order for speaking time by lot.
c.
No time shall be given to individuals who are not
seeking DFL endorsement.
Endorsement Ballot for Mayor and School Board
29. Candidates nominated shall be allotted for nominating
speeches, seconding speeches, floor demonstrations, and addressing the
convention the following time:
a.
Mayor: up to fifteen minutes
b.
Board of Education: up to five minutes.
30. Speaking order shall be determined by
lot.
31. There will be up to a thirty-minute question-and-answer period
following the nominating speeches for Mayor and a twenty-minute
question-and-answer period for School Board at the beginning of the Convention.
All candidates seeking endorsement will be invited to participate.
a.
Delegates and alternates are entitled to submit
written, signed questions. All questions
must be submitted to the Convention secretary prior to the question-and-answer
period. All questions must be submitted
in writing and only one question per submission is permitted. All questions must be general in nature and
be addressed to all of the candidates.
No preliminary remarks, statements, or explanations may be included and
are cause for disqualifications of the questions. No question deemed to be in
the nature of personal attacks on any or all candidates will be accepted. All questions should be possible to answer
within a one-minute period.
b.
Each candidate will have up to one minute to respond
to each question. The order of response
for the first question will be determined by lot and rotation will follow for
subsequent questions. All candidates
will have the opportunity to answer the last question asked even if the time
frame elapses prior to completion of the rotation. The first question all candidates will be
asked will be: “In the event that you are not endorsed, will you run against
the candidate(s) endorsed for the office the nominee seeks?”
32. Endorsement for Mayor and School Board shall proceed in
alternating ballots, beginning with Mayor.
The first ballot for School Board endorsement shall occur before the
results of the first endorsement ballot for Mayor are announced. Thereafter, each successive endorsement ballot
for Mayor shall occur before the results of the preceding endorsement ballot
for School Board are announced, and each successive endorsement ballot for
School Board shall occur before the results of the preceding endorsement ballot
for Mayor are announced. This rule expires once the convention concludes
endorsement balloting for either Mayor or School Board.
33.
The endorsed candidate for Mayor may be allotted up
to five minutes for an acceptance speech
34.
Drop Rule. Candidates receiving less than ten percent
will be dropped after the first ballot.
On subsequent ballots, the drop-off percent will be raised by five
percent each ballot. In addition, after
the fourth ballot, the lowest remaining candidate will be dropped regardless of
the percent. However, in no case will this
drop off rule be used to reduce the number of candidates remaining on the next
ballot to less than two.
35.
Resolutions
a. Ballots shall be distributed to
delegates and upgraded alternates at registration and each delegation chair
will collect resolutions ballots no later the distribution of the first Mayoral
endorsement ballot. There will be no time specifically devoted to the
resolutions balloting process.
b. A resolution shall be adopted by a 60
percent affirmative vote of all non-spoiled ballots cast, including
abstentions.
c. Resolutions may be made by
petition. Such resolutions must be
submitted in writing to the resolutions committee chair, before the second
resolutions committee report, with the signatures of at least 50 delegates or
alternates and must involve issues not covered in the Resolutions Committee
Report.
d. Petition resolutions, shall be debated
in between balloting for endorsements.
e. Any amendment which removes, changes or
adds five words or more must be submitted in writing to the convention chair.
f. Only resolutions pertaining to city or
school district issues shall be considered by the convention.
g. Once a resolution has been adopted or
rejected, it shall not be reconsidered.