The Bylaws Committee is formed by the DAJ Chair to review the bylaws and determine if any changes are needed to the rules governing its actions and members. The Committee focus has been on clarity and revising sections that are vague, overly specific, outdated, or inconsistent. The Committee examined the Democratic Party Committee Abroad (DPCA) Charter, Model Bylaws and the current DAJ Bylaws as well as requested the review of a professional legal counsel in order to come up with the proposed changes (SEE BELOW).
The DAJ Chair, Executive Committee and Advisory Board members were updated throughout the process. On March 14 and March 24 the Bylaws Committee hosted a Town hall and an open meeting to present the draft revisions and amendments. This was an opportunity for members to provide feedback, ask questions, seek clarification, and share additional suggestions. Members can still share feedback and questions in April until the Annual General Meeting, where we will present the changes and facilitate a final discussion before voting commences.
The Committee, which includes members that have been part of previous DAJ Bylaws committees, also reviewed parts of the bylaws that have consistently been troublesome in order to provide a document that is clear and useful for the effective operation of the organization.
Based on careful review and feedback from various members, the committee came up with four (4) types of edits and amendments - color coded in the March 29 document which shows a clear before / after. These four sections are as follows:
-
Section one, in yellow, are clarifications of language, typos, spelling out acronyms, punctuation and numbering corrections (some of which are dependent on the other sections below).
- These changes will be voted on all together on the ballot.
- Section two, in grey, are clarifications of language that has been problematic or confusing, such as identifying what prefectures are in each DAJ region.
- Section three, in green, are new sections or additional language.
-
Section four, in blue, are new sections required or recommended by Democrats Abroad in the 2025 Model Bylaws.
- Changes in sections two through four will be voted on individually.
Key dates and schedule
- Feb ~ March: Revisions, Review and Discuss Bylaws
- March 15th: Town hall
- March 24th: Review session
- March 29th Members receive proposed bylaws changes for the AGM, via email and on the DAJ website (SEE BELOW)
-
April 19th: Discussion and Feedback on the Proposed Amendments and Edits at the Annual General Meeting (AGM).
-
-
-
Voting commences after discussion on proposed changes.
-
Voting commences after discussion on proposed changes.
-
-
- By May 1: Proposed Bylaws & ballot re-distributed to Members for Voting
-
May 17th: Bylaws Voting Deadline (by 23:59 pm)
- May 18th: Ballot count (date and time details forthcoming)
- PROPOSED BYLAWS DOCUMENT
- Shared in the MARCH 29 mailing to the members..