The 2019 Annual Meeting of Democrats Abroad Chile will be held May 25, 2019 at the location and time noted just below. The agenda of the meeting is as follows:
- Approval of the accounts and the report of the Chairperson and the Treasurer for the preceding calendar year
- Election of Officers
- Approval of revisions to the DA Chile By-laws
- Other such business as may be properly brought before the Executive Committee
When: May 25, 2019 at 2:30 PM
Where: 129, Av. Holanda
Please RSVP here
Election of Officers
Nominations Open: March 13, 2019
Nominations are now open for Democrats Abroad Chile Executive Committee Officers. If you are interested in serving or wish to nominate someone, please contact the Nominations Committee at [email protected], attention David Galvin, or see specific directions below. Here are the positions and duties:
Article V: Officers
The Executive Committee of the organization shall be the following officers: Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson, Secretary, Treasurer and Counsel to the Committee. An effort shall be made to promote diversity among the elected officials.
Article VI: Chairperson
The Chairperson shall be the chief executive officer of the organization, shall call and preside at all meetings of members and of the Executive Committee, establishing the agenda of such meetings, and shall have responsibility for all activities approved by the organization. The Chairperson shall sit ex-officio on all committees and subcommittees of the organization including Standing Committees, with full voting privileges. The Chair may appoint and remove deputies, assistant officers, honorary Officers, committee leaders, having such duties as he/she shall designate, subject to ratification by the members of the Executive Committee at the next meeting of the Executive Committee.
Article VII: Vice-Chairperson
In the absence of the Chairperson, the Vice-Chairperson shall call and preside at meetings of members and of the Executive Committee. The Vice-Chairperson shall have such other duties as the Chairperson shall define. NOTE: The Chairperson and the Vice-Chairperson shall be of a different sex. This is mandatory.
Article VII: Secretary
The Secretary shall maintain a current list of members of the organization (containing the name, mail and e-mail addresses, telephone and fax numbers and U.S. voting district/State and such other information as the DPCA may from time to time require), minutes of all meetings, and all files and administrative records of the organization. The minutes books shall be open for inspection by members.
Article IX: Treasurer
The Treasurer shall manage the finances of the organization, maintain its financial reports to members and make and maintain such financial reports as may be required by law (including without limitation the laws and regulations of the United States or the Chilean tax authorities, and the several States applicable to political parties and contributions to them). All such records shall be open for inspection by members. The Treasurer shall consult with the International Treasurer of Democrats Abroad from time to time on matters concerning the maintenance of financial records and financial reporting (notably to the United States Federal Election Commission).
Article X: Counsel
The Counsel shall be available for consultation by the Committee or its officers on legal and procedural questions relating to Democrats Abroad Chile and its activities. The Counsel shall consult with the International Counsel from time to time on emergent matters, including notably questions on voting issues and financial record keeping.
Nominations close: May 8, 2019
Notification of nominations: May 11, 2019
Any member not nominated by the Nominating Committee may declare or nominate another member as a candidate for any office in writing, including email if sent from the member’s email address, and with a second from one other member, until May 8, 2019. A brief statement and qualifications must be included. As we are accepting voted ballots by email, nominations from the floor during the annual meeting will not be accepted.
Members will be asked to approve the DA Chile By-laws. The By-laws had not been updated since 2011 and in many cases did not include mandatory changes from DA International. Notable changes include:
- Dates were adjusted to coincide with the calendar approved by DA International
- A requirement was added to state the Chairperson and Vice Chairperson must be of a different sex.
- The requirement to have two elected Members at Large as members of the Executive Committee was eliminated
- The process for establishing residency for voters or candidates was clarified
- The definition of a quorum for meetings was changed from 5% of the membership to 10 members
- The procedure for joining Democrats Abroad Chile was harmonized with DA International procedures
Copies of the April 2011 By-laws and the proposed revised 2019 By-laws are available to verified members on request by emailing a request to Christopher Meek, Vice-Chairperson, at [email protected]
Ballots
Ballots will be sent to verified members: May 11, 2019
To be eligible to vote, you must have been a registered member of DA and residing in Chile either (a) no
less than 1 hour before the scheduled meeting time, or (b) for ballots submitted by mail or email, no less than 14 days prior to the election meeting.
Email ballots must be returned to the Chairman of the Nominating Committee, David Galvin, [email protected] no later than 2pm, local time, May 25, 2019. Ballots delivered after that time will not be counted. The Chairman will hold all ballots unopened until the count, which will take place during the annual meeting. The count of ballots will be certified by an independent, non-candidate appointed by the Board.
Ballots will be retained for 30 days following the election.
Democrats Abroad Executive Committee
April 16, 2019