Rules for Endorsement

SAN JUAN COUNTY DEMOCRATS

RULES FOR ENDORSEMENT

February 8, 2020

These rules shall govern all endorsements of candidates, ballot issues, initiatives, and measures requested of and/or made by the San Juan County Democrats (SJCD). This set of rules applies to primary, general, and special elections. (This is wholly separate from our certification policy, which can be found at https://sjdemocrats.org/about-us-2/certification-policy/)

  1. An Endorsement Committee will be appointed by the Chair of the SJCD (“Chair), who shall establish the committee by appointing its chair and its other members; the total number of members will be either three or five, at the discretion of the Chair. All members of the Endorsement Committee shall serve until December 31 of even-numbered years.

  1. The SJCD may choose to endorse any Democratic incumbent candidate for partisan office in the general election who is unopposed or opposed only by an other-party candidate, regardless of the absence of a request for endorsement. For incumbent candidates, the endorsement committee may choose to bypass the normal requirements for endorsement requests, and instead review public information about the incumbent’s performance. 

    For non-incumbent candidates, only endorsements properly requested in writing by candidates will be considered by the SJCD. However, the chair, in consultation with the endorsement committee, may reach out to candidates that they think should be considered for endorsement, and these may be considered if a written response requesting endorsement is received. Such requests must be made as follows:

a. CANDIDATE ENDORSEMENTS:

i. Candidates requesting a SJCD endorsement will be supplied with a questionnaire which shall have been developed for each race on the ballot by the Executive Committee or the Endorsement Committee. The candidate may also supply whatever additional information he or she may desire. Send an email to thesjcdems@gmail.com to request a questionnaire.

ii. The Endorsement Committee shall begin considering endorsement requests as soon as the completed questionnaires are received.

iii. No recommendation to endorse shall be made until at least two weeks after the filing deadline of the race in question.

iv. Either the candidate or Endorsement Committee may request a face-to-face meeting between the two, which will be scheduled depending upon availability of the principals.

              v. The Endorsement Committee shall exercise discretion in recommending        endorsement of Democratic candidates for all positions absent evidence of material variation from Democratic values and platform, as well as on ballot issues, initiatives and other measures deemed to warrant comment by the SJCD.

b. BALLOT ISSUES, INITIATIVES, AND MEASURES:

i. The proponent of the issue, initiative, or measure may request an endorsement.

ii. A request by the proponent must include a copy of the ballot issue, initiative, or measure, and a statement setting out why the issue, initiative, or measure ought to be adopted.

iii. Either the proponent or the Endorsement Committee may request a face-to-face meeting between the two, which will be scheduled depending upon availability of the principals. The proponent may also submit whatever additional information he or she may desire.

  1. The Endorsement Committee shall set and publicly announce a closing date for completed endorsement requests, including all required paper work, to be received by the Committee for each election cycle.
  1. As soon as possible after the closing date for endorsement requests, the Endorsement Committee shall meet and consider all requests. The approval of each individual request for an endorsement recommendation shall require the approval of a majority of the members of the Endorsement Committee.
    After deciding on all requests, the Committee will prepare a Proposed Endorsement Report and submit that report to the Chair. The Chair will forward the Report to all voting members. At its next meeting, the SJCD will consider each endorsement recommendation made by the Endorsement Committee and either accept or reject that recommendation. If a SJCD meeting is not scheduled at a timely point for this purpose, the Chair may call a special meeting of the SJCD. An affirmative vote of at least 60% of those present and voting is required for the approval of an endorsement.

     4.5  Early Endorsement: The chair or other members of the local party leadership may request the SJCDs to consider early endorsement of individual candidates in specific circumstances. Such circumstances may include upcoming close races where it would be very helpful to our preferred candidate to receive an early endorsement or where it would enable including such endorsement in the voter’s pamphlet.  A 60% affirmative vote of members present is required.

  1. The Endorsement Committee may recommend, and the SJCD may decide, that two candidates are equally deserving of our endorsement.  In such cases, we will “dual endorse” those two candidates. Alternatively, the Endorsement Committee may recommend, and the SJCD may decide, to not endorse any candidate in a race, but the SJCD may decide rather to approve one or more candidates. Such an approval indicates only that the the candidate or candidates so approved are acceptable to the SJCD. An affirmative vote of at least 60% of those present and voting is required for the ratification of an approval.
  1. When the Endorsement Committee makes its recommendations, it may or may not include a recommendation that funds be provided to the endorsed candidate/ballot issue, initiative or measure (subject to SJCD budget limitations and provisions made in that year’s budget for this purpose). The SJCD Executive Committee may then approve, disapprove, or modify this funding recommendation, subject to the same budgetary limitation. Endorsed candidates are eligible to receive such funds, if approved. Approved candidates are not entitled to funds.
  1. After the voting membership has met and made its decisions regarding endorsement, and the Executive Committee has decided upon any funding levels, the Chair will communicate those decisions to the requesting candidate or ballot measure proponent. Any funds appropriated will be distributed as per the By-Laws of the SJCD.
  1. The Chair will arrange for appropriate publication of the endorsement decisions of the SJCD.
  2. The SJCD will generally endorse prior to general elections.  However, we reserve the right to also endorse prior to primaries when circumstances merit doing so.,

Adopted September 28, 2017; Amended February 8, 2020; Updated June 18, 2022