The following comparison of the Rules, between June 14, 2008, and September 17, 2011, was introduced at www.takeovergop.com on September 28, 2011. It was announced by a Press Release dated September 30, 2010. You can see the press release here:
Bob Barney of Wilmore, KY, and founder of www.takeovergop.com, warns conservative Republicans that the party establishment is moving to block efforts for conservatives to have a greater say in Party politics.
|
OFFICIAL RULES REPUBLICAN PARTY OF KENTUCKY
Revised June 14, 2008
We are the Party of the open door. With these Rules, we seek to transfer the transcendent principle into accepted practice. But written Rules are no substitute for personal commitment. As Republicans, we are and we must be committed to encouraging the broadest possible participation in the affairs of our Party. We must and we do encourage every Kentuckian to seek that level of Party leadership for which his talents and energy recommend him.
1. AUTHORITY AND ORGANIZATION OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY OF KENTUCKY: 1.01. The final, full and plenary authority and control of the Republican Party of Kentucky resides in and is possessed by the registered Republicans of Kentucky in State Convention assembled as provided in these Rules. 1.02. During the times when the Republican State Convention is not assembled the full and final authority stated in 1.01 shall be vested in the Republican State Central Committee (hereafter -”RSCC”). During the times when the Republican State Central Committee is not assembled, the Executive Committee shall be responsible for the operation of all party affairs subject to the limitations set forth in 9.03. Therefore, references herein to -”RSCC” shall include the Executive Committee except as limited in 9.03, or except where the context requires a different construction. 1.03. The authority of 1.04. Subordinate Party organizations shall include district committees in each congressional district, county committees in each county and precinct committees in each precinct in the Commonwealth. Each such committee shall direct Party affairs and exercise the same authority and have the same duties and responsibilities as that of the Republican State Central Committee, but each such precinct committee shall be under the authority of its respective county committee, and each county committee shall be under the authority of its respective congressional district committee which in turn shall be under the full authority of the Republican State Central Committee.
2. THE REPUBLICAN STATE CENTRAL COMMITTEE: 2.01. RSCC: The Republican State Central Committee of Kentucky (hereafter “RSCC”) is a permanent political body. 2.02. Membership: Membership is limited to registered Republicans in Kentucky who are citizens of the United States and residents of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. The members shall be as follows: (a) (b)
(d) The Chairman of each County Republican Committee;
(f) The Republican members of the Kentucky (g) The Republican(s) elected to a statewide constitutional office for the period of time during which they hold such office.
(i) The Chairman and officers of the RSCC; (j) The most recent past Chairman of the RSCC, who is qualified to be a member and accepts such membership; (k) The State Finance Chairman, State Treasurer and Legal Counsel, each of whom shall be appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the State Chairman; both such appointments shall be subject to ratification by the Executive Committee of the RSCC; (l) The Republican National Committeeman and Committeewoman;
(n) All former Kentucky Republican Governors,
The life member(s) shall have all privileges of membership of the Executive Committee and the RSCC. No dues or attendance will be required of the life member(s).
2.03. Executive Committee:
2.04. Removal: (a) Members of the RSCC and/or the Executive Committee are expected to pay dues (i) Executive Committee members’ seats will be declared vacant automatically if their dues have not been paid in full by August 31st, or 60 days after their election to the Executive Committee, whichever is later. Persons removed under this provision are eligible for immediate re-election to the Executive Committee; that is, they are exempt from the 4-year waiting period mentioned in the first paragraph of Rule 2.06. (ii) Executive Committee members’ seats will automatically be declared vacant immediately after the end of an Executive Committee meeting which represented their (iii) At every Executive Committee meeting, the Secretary shall report the names of all Executive Committee (and all other RSCC) members, indicating (a) whether or not they have paid their dues, and (b) the number of immediately-previous consecutive meetings of the Executive Committee (or of the full RSCC) they have missed. For RSCC members who are not on the Executive Committee, there will be no automatic penalty for absenteeism or failure to pay dues. [now 2.09a(iii); no change] (iv) The Secretary shall report at every Executive Committee meeting those Party positions which are vacant, so that Party leaders can expedite filling the vacancies by means of procedures set forth in these Rules. [now 2.09a(iv); no change] (v) State and District officers who are removed from the Executive Committee pursuant to this rule will also forfeit their position in that office. [now 2.09a(v); no change] (b) In addition to the procedures available under Section 2.04(a), any member of the RSCC may be removed from the RSCC and from Party office (but not from office in an Auxiliary Organization) for misfeasance, malfeasance or nonfeasance in office provided any member so offending has been given thirty (30) days written notice and the opportunity to be heard. He or she may be removed by majority vote of the members present at a duly called and constituted meeting of the Executive Committee. [now 2.09b; no change] (c) Removal by the RSCC - Any member or officer of a District, County, Precinct or other Party Committee, (d) After giving 30-day notice, the Executive Committee, by vote of a majority of the members then present and voting, may declare vacant the seat of any party officeholder who supports or supported (during the current or prior-year's General Election) the opponent of a Republican nominee for local, statewide, or national office. [now 2.09d; no change] (e) In addition to the procedures available elsewhere in this section 2.04, any party officer above (f) Any vacancy caused by loss of membership shall be filled as provided by these Rules. [now 2.09f; no change] 2.05. Officers Within (a) State Chairman: who shall be the Chief Executive Officer of the Republican Party of Kentucky with all necessary and implied powers to carry out his/her duties. He/she shall preside at all RSCC meetings, shall create any special committees necessary and appoint, and be an ex-officio member of all special and standing committees including, but not limited to, those specifically provided for in these Rules. The State Chairman shall be responsible for carrying out the mandate of these Rules. [now 2.04a; edited for grammar] (b) Vice Chairman: who shall be of the opposite sex from the Chairman, and who shall have all the duties and authorities of the State Chairman during the absence or disability of the State Chairman, and who shall also serve during a vacancy in the office of State Chairman until such vacancy is filled. The Vice-Chairman shall also be an ex-officio member of all committees. [now 2.04b; edited for grammar] (c) Secretary: who shall keep and be responsible for the minutes and records, including correspondence, of the RSCC and who shall receive and file the minutes and records of all committees of the RSCC, including its subordinate organizations, campaign committees and Party Conventions. [now 2.04c; edited for grammar]
(e) Method of Election: To elect the Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Secretary, National Committeeman and Committeewoman, the Executive Committee shall nominate a slate of officers who shall be voted upon as a slate by the RSCC. In the event said slate shall not receive a majority of the votes cast, the Executive Committee shall nominate and offer a new slate of candidates for said offices which shall be voted on in a similar manner. Slates of candidates shall continue to be offered until a new slate is approved by a majority of the votes cast. [now 2.04j; amended] (f) Treasurer: The State Treasurer shall be appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the State Chairman subject to ratification by the Executive Committee of the RSCC. The Treasurer shall oversee all party receipts and disbursement.. He/she shall work with the appropriate staff in order to keep a careful records according to normal and accepted accounting procedures of all transactions, which he/she shall make available for audit on demand by the State Chairman or his/her designee and at least annually to an audit committee. He/she shall be bonded in an appropriate amount. [now 2.04d; unchanged] (g) Deputy Treasurer: The Deputy Treasurer shall be appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the State Chairman subject to ratification by the Executive Committee of the RSCC. He/she shall assist the Treasurer in the performance of the duties of Treasurer as stated in section (f) and shall succeed to the office of Treasurer upon the resignation, inability to serve or death of the Treasurer. The Deputy Treasurer shall not be a member of either the RSCC or of the Executive Committee. [now 2.04e; unchanged] 2.06. Vacancies: A vacancy in a position may be caused by death, resignation, removal or inability to serve. In the case of a vacancy caused by resignation or removal, the person who resigned or was removed from the position shall not be eligible for election to the same post for a period of four years following the date of resignation or removal, except with the approval of the Executive Committee. The State Chairman may by appointment fill any Party officer's position if such position has been vacant for as much as three months without a successor having been named and certified pursuant to other applicable Rules of the Party; the person so appointed shall serve the remainder of the unexpired term of the office; any such appointment shall be subject to the approval of the Executive Committee of the RSCC, but the person appointed will have full authority of the office between the time of the appointment and the time ratification is considered by the RSCC Executive Committee. (a) A vacancy in the position of State Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Secretary, or Republican National Committeeman or Committeewoman will be filled by election of the Executive Committee. The person so elected will serve until the next meeting of the full RSCC, at which time a new election for such position shall be held pursuant to Rule 2.05(e), except that one person shall be nominated to fill just the existing vacancy rather than having a full, revised slate nominated. [now 2.08a; unchanged] (b) A vacancy in a Congressional District office will be filled by the District Committee and the person so elected will be certified to the RSCC by the Chairman and Secretary of such election meeting. [now 2.08b; unchanged] (c) A vacancy in a (d) After a person has been elected to a District or County Party Office which results in the person becoming a member of the RSCC, if the boundaries of the District are changed or the officer moves out of the District or County making such officer a non-resident of the District or County from which he was elected, such office will be declared vacant. [now 2.08d; unchanged]
2.07. Contests: The RSCC shall be the judge of any contested membership for a seat on the RSCC. Neither the challenger nor the challenged shall sit as a member for such judgment but may be present in person or by counsel. Prior to such hearing the person presenting a certification purported to be duly signed by the Chairman and Secretary of the Convention empowered to elect will be seated until such challenge is resolved. A decision of any Congressional District Committee resolving a membership challenge may be appealed to the RSCC. [now 2.10; unchanged] 2.08. Standing Committees: Standing Committees shall be created and shall exist at the pleasure of the RSCC. [now 2.06; unchanged] 2.09. Meetings:
(b) Special meetings may be called by the State Chairman, the Executive Committee or on petition in writing of twenty-five (25) of the members of the RSCC. Such petition (c) Notice of each meeting will be given in writing and mailed by the State Secretary at least five (5) days before the meeting. However, in an emergency, the State Chairman may direct the State Secretary to give less than five (5) days notice by telephoning the members. [now 2.05c; amended] (d) Fifteen percent (15%) of the membership of the RSCC shall constitute a quorum for the conduct of business. [now 2.05d; unchanged] 2.10. Headquarters: The State Headquarters will be established and maintained at a site selected by the RSCC. [now 2.11; unchanged] 3. CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT COMMITTEES: 3.01. Membership. The membership of each Congressional District Committee shall consist of the District Chairman, the District Vice-Chairman, the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of each County in the District
4.01. Membership: The membership of each County Committee
4.03. Election of Officers: 4.04. Vacancies: Vacancies in the County Committee 4.05. Executive Committees: County Committees (including those subject to Rule 4.09) 4.06. Meetings: In addition to the rights and duties enumerated in 1.04, the County Committee shall hold regular meetings not less than quarterly 4.07. Removal Local: The County Committee may itself remove any member 4.08. Wards: Each County Committee by local rule in addition to Precinct Committees may establish Ward, District or Area Committees over groups of Precincts in that County, subject to the approval of the RSCC. Such Committees will be subordinate to the County Committees. 4.09. Local Rules: The counties of Jefferson, Fayette,
5.01. Precinct: The Precinct shall be the basic organizational unit of the Republican Party of Kentucky. [now 5.03; unchanged] 5.02. Officers: The Precinct Committee shall consist of 5.03. Boundary Changes: When Precincts are combined or redivided, the County Committee shall designate which of several persons holding the same office in the predecessor Precincts shall hold that office in the new Precinct. Any displaced Precinct officer shall remain a member of the County Committee until the next re-organization.
6.01.
The County Mass Convention will be organized as provided in Section 7 hereof. The County Mass Convention in addition to all other duties provided in these rules, shall elect delegates and alternate delegates to the District and State Conventions in such numbers as
6.03. Certification: 6.04. District: (a) The District Convention will be held at such time and place as designated by and set forth in the official call
(c) Only a delegate certified as such by his County Mass Convention may challenge the credentials of any other delegate or alternate delegate at the District Convention. (Also see 9.04.) The Credentials Committee report will first certify the number of undisputed and unchallenged votes which may be cast by each county, and the Convention will take action to accept or reject said partial report. Then the Credentials Committee will report its findings and recommendations on all disputed delegates for one county at a time, the order of such county-by-county reports to be decided by blind draw during the report of the Credentials Committee. The Convention will take action on the report for each challenged county before hearing the report on the next county. When challenged delegates have been thus certified as official delegates by action of the Convention, they may vote on all matters thereafter coming before the Convention, including any subsequent portions of the Credentials Committee report; no challenged delegate may vote on any matter until his credentials have been certified by the Convention to be official. In the event that more than ten percent (10%) of the authorized number of delegates to the District Convention are challenged, the Executive Committee of the RSCC, after due consideration, may invalidate any such challenges which it finds to be spurious, leaving more substantial disputes to be resolved by the convention during the report of the Credentials Committee. (d) The District Convention, in addition to all other duties provided in these Rules, shall in the Presidential election year elect such number of delegates and alternate delegates to represent the District at the Republican National Convention as may be apportioned by the Rules of the (e) A Registration Fee may be charged to help defray the expenses of a District Convention, with the amount per person to be determined by the District Chairman and Vice Chairman. In the event the District Chairman and Vice Chairman determine to charge a fee for the District Convention, the District Chairman may have the Executive Committee of the RSCC notify all delegates and alternate delegates of the amount of the fee and the manner of payment in the Call for the District Convention, and may require payment of registration fee no later than when the person signs in at the District Convention. 6.05. State: (a) The Executive Committee of the RSCC shall designate a time and a place for the State Convention; and shall select two (2) members-at- large, who may or may not be delegates to said Convention, for each of the Convention Committees as specified in 7.05.
(b) Only a delegate certified as such by his County Mass Convention may challenge the credentials of any other delegate or alternate delegate at the State Convention. (Also see 9.04.) The Credentials Committee report will first certify the number of undisputed and unchallenged votes which may be cast by each county, and the Convention will take action to accept or reject said partial report. Then the Credentials Committee will report its findings and recommendations on all disputed delegates for one county at a time, the order of such county-by-county reports to be decided by blind draw during the report of the Credentials Committee. The Convention will take action on the report for each challenged county before hearing the report on the next county. When challenged delegates have been thus certified as official delegates by action of the Convention, they may vote on all matters thereafter coming before the Convention, including any subsequent portions of the Credentials Committee report; no challenged delegate may vote on any matter until his credentials have been certified by the Convention to be official. In the event that more than ten percent (10%) of the authorized number of delegates are challenged, the Executive Committee of the RSCC, after due consideration, may invalidate any such challenges which it finds to be spurious, leaving more substantial disputes to be resolved by the Convention during the report of the Credentials Committee.
(d) If the report of the Permanent Organization Committee is voted down by the Convention, the Committee shall, as soon as possible, submit a new report recommending for both of the two offices new nominees, neither of whom were recommended in the earlier report(s) of the Committee.
(f) In order to help defray costs, a State Convention registration fee shall be paid before the Credentials Committee of the State Convention is authorized to certify the delegate or alternate delegate as fully registered and credentialed. Such registration fees should be sent to State Headquarters as early as possible, preferably with the minutes of the County Mass Convention, but must be paid no later than when the person signs in at the State Convention. Registration fees in the same amount may be charged to Guests or waived at the discretion of the Arrangements Committee. The Executive Committee shall set the amount per person to be charged as the State Convention Registration fee. 6.06. National Organization: The delegates and alternate delegates elected to the National Convention by the State and District Conventions will meet in Kentucky at the call of the State Chairman prior to the National Convention to select a Delegation Chairman and to select various members to the National Convention Committees. 7. ORGANIZATION OF CONVENTIONS: 7.01. Conventions: All conventions provided for in these rules will be organized as follows:
7.04. Order of Business: The order of business of each convention shall be: The call to order; Announcement of Temporary Officers; Report of the Credentials Committee; Report of the Rules Committee; Report of the Committee on Permanent Organization; Report of the Nominations Committee; Report of the Resolutions Committee; Announcements; Adjournment sine die. 7.05. Committees: One Vice Chairman of the Convention; One Assistant Secretary of the Convention; One member of the Credentials Committee; One member of the Rules Committee; One member of the Committee on Permanent Organization; One member of the Nominations Committee; One member of the Resolutions Committee.
The District and State Convention Committees may meet prior to the District and State Conventions to transact their business, on the call of the District or State Chairman, respectively. However, each Committee will be considered to be in session during the Convention itself, and may meet, change its report, and continue to transact such other business as may be appropriate until such time as the Convention has taken final action on the Committee's report. 7.06.Convention Committees and Officials: (a) The Credentials Committee will report a list of the proper accredited delegates and alternate delegates to be seated by the Convention. They will hear and make a report to the convention on any disputed delegations, delegates or alternate delegates. The Credentials Committee shall NOT certify as an accredited delegate or alternate any person who they do not believe was duly elected as such by his County Mass Convention. (b) The Rules Committee shall report a proposed set of rules to the Convention which will not conflict with these rules unless passed by two-thirds (2/3) of the Delegates. (c) The Committee on Permanent Organization will nominate a permanent Convention Chairman and a permanent Convention Secretary. (d) The Nominating Committee will nominate candidates for any positions to be filled by the Convention under these rules. (e) The Resolutions Committee of the State Convention shall have a preliminary meeting no later than the night before the State Convention, so that most resolutions can be debated, amended as necessary, adopted and then typed prior to the Convention.
(f) If any duly-elected member of a District Convention Committee or State Convention Committee is absent for any reason from a formal or informal meeting of said Committee, the County Chairman of his County, or the District Chairman of his District, respectively, may appoint a substitute to serve in the place and stead of the absent Committee member; said substitute shall have full power to vote during the absence of the duly-elected member, but shall have no power to vote if and when the duly-elected absent member later is in attendance at the same or any subsequent meeting of said Committee. (g) An Arrangements Committee may be appointed for the (h) The Temporary Chairman of each convention will appoint a Parliamentarian, Sergeant-at-Arms, Teller and other necessary personnel. Such persons shall continue to serve for the entire convention in the offices to which they were thus appointed unless and until they are replaced by appointment of the Permanent Chairman of the Convention, who is permitted but not required to appoint different persons to such positions. (i) If it becomes necessary to determine which alternate delegates should replace absent delegates at the District or State Conventions, the alternate delegates will be taken in the order listed on the list of alternate delegates submitted by the County Mass Convention to State Headquarters. 7.07. Call: The Executive Committee of the RSCC will issue the official call to Convention 8. STATUTORY DUTIES: 8.01. Election Officials: (a) Pursuant to the Kentucky Revised Statutes, from time to time it shall be the duty of the Executive Committee of the RSCC to nominate a list of candidates to the Governor for each Republican member of the State Board of Elections and the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance. Each list shall contain the number of nominees required by statute and shall be submitted to the Governor by the date required by statute. (b) Following the elections of persons to statewide office, each County Committee will nominate a list of five (5) Republicans for the County Board of Elections by sending the same on a form provided by the State Board of Elections to Republican State Headquarters. Republican State Headquarters shall submit said list to the State Board of Elections. (c) Each County Committee will submit the names of not fewer than four (4) Republicans for Election Officers in each Precinct to the County Board of Elections on a form prescribed by the State Board of Elections by September 15, along with such other information as may be required by law, such as addresses, phone numbers and social security numbers if available of such nominees. Further, the list shall be accompanied by a signed statement from each person set forth thereon that the person is willing to serve, has not failed to serve without excuse in the past, and has not been convicted of an election law offense. In the event the Kentucky Revised Statutes shall be amended to alter the method of selection, the number of nominees to be submitted or otherwise require additional information or statements, these Rules shall be deemed amended to comport with such altered statutory requirements. 8.02. Nominees: Wherever else public or Party law requires the filling of a nomination by a Party Committee, the lowest level Precinct, County, or District Committee embracing the entire geographic area of the office for which a nomination is to be made, shall make such nominations. (a) Statewide nominations shall be made by the Executive Committee of the RSCC. (b) In those cases where the office for which a nomination is to be filled embraces one entire Congressional District, the District Chairman or his designee shall call and chair such meeting. The selection will be made by the District Committee. Each voting member of the District Committee shall be entitled to vote a number of votes calculated as follows: (i) the number of registered Republicans in those precincts of that member’s County which form a part of the Congressional District for which a nominee is to be chosen, divided by (ii) the number of voting members of the District Committee residing in that County who are present at such meeting. No member of the District Committee may cast the votes which he is entitled to cast for more than one person on any ballot; that is, he may not split up his votes and vote for more than one candidate on any particular ballot. (c) In those cases where the office for which a nomination is to be filled embraces more than one County, but less than a Congressional District, a Committee made up of the County Committee of each of the affected Counties shall make the selection. The District Chairman (or his designee) shall call and chair such multi-county meeting whenever the district for which a nominee is to be chosen lies entirely within one Congressional District; otherwise, the State Chairman (or his designee) will do so. Each member of a County Committee in attendance at such a meeting shall be entitled to vote a number of votes calculated as follows: (i) the number of registered Republicans in those precincts of that member’s County which form a part of the district for which a nominee is to be chosen, divided by (ii) the number of members of that County’s County Committee who are present at such meeting. Wherever this rule refers to a “County Committee” the County’s Executive Committee, if one has been created pursuant to rule 4.05 or 4.09, shall function instead. (d) Persons on County Committees, Executive Committees or District Committees empowered to act by this rule, shall be permitted to serve whether or not their personal residence is within or outside the district for which a nominee is being selected. (e) For the purposes of this rule, the number of registered Republicans in any area shall be the number determined by the Secretary of State after registrations closed before the previous statewide General Election. (f) For the purposes of this section 8.02, no person may cast more than one person’s share of any allocated votes by virtue of holding two different offices, both of which would be entitled to vote if held by different individuals. (g) After any nominating meeting held pursuant to this section 8.02, the State Chairman shall certify the nominee so chosen, to the Secretary of State and/or other applicable authority. 8.03. Nomination of National Convention Delegates and Alternates: (a) Any registered Republican who desires to be nominated at either the District or State Convention to be a Delegate or an Alternate Delegate to the National Convention, shall submit a letter which must be received by Republican state headquarters at least four (4) working days before the applicable District or State Convention. Said letter shall be addressed to the Nominating Committee, state the person's interest in becoming a Delegate or Alternate Delegate, and set forth the reasons why they should be considered by the Nominating Committee. The state headquarters staff will immediately convey the would-be nominee's letter to the Nominating Committee of the appropriate convention. No person may be nominated or elected by a District or State Convention to be a Delegate or Alternate Delegate to the National Convention unless this procedure is followed. If an insufficient number of persons thus qualified are elected at the District or State Conventions, the remaining slots will be filled as if they were vacancies which occurred AFTER the State Convention. The Nominating Committee at the District and State Conventions shall consider at least two criteria in selecting Delegates and Alternate Delegates to the National Convention; namely, (1) the letter received in accordance with this rule, and (2) any current political involvement on behalf of the Republican party and/or Republican candidates at any level.
8.04. National Convention Delegates: With regard to the allocation of delegate votes of the Kentucky Republican Party at the Republican National Convention pursuant to the Kentucky Presidential Preference Primary Statutes, the method of allocation set forth in KRS 118.641(1)(a) shall be the method used by the Kentucky Republican Party. In the event that a candidate dies or withdraws and the delegate votes allocated to such candidate become uncommitted pursuant to KRS 118.641(2), the Chairman of the delegation shall call a meeting of the delegates and alternate delegates at the convention by giving notice to each delegate and alternate delegate of the time and place of the said meeting. At the meeting the delegates (or alternate delegates who replace any delegates who fail to attend) in attendance shall vote by secret ballot for any candidate for the Republican nomination for President each may choose. The number of votes cast for the various candidates shall be converted to a percentage of the total votes cast by the delegates at said meeting, and the delegate votes which have become uncommitted as provided above shall be allocated to the candidates in accordance with their said respective percentages, and these said delegate votes shall be cast on the first ballot in such proportion for the said candidates. All fractions shall be rounded to the nearest whole number. 9. GENERAL PROVISIONS: 9.01. Proxies and Quorum: No proxy voting is allowed at any level Committee meeting. The quorum at any level Committee meeting will be
9.03. Amendment: These rules may be amended by majority vote of those members voting at a meeting of the RSCC provided a copy of the proposed changes is mailed to the members with a notice of the meeting; provided, however, that if one-third (1/3) of the members present at a RSCC meeting object, the proposition to alter, amend or repeal shall be postponed until the next meeting at which time action will be required. The Executive Committee may amend these rules by majority vote at any regular or special session so long as five (5) days notice of the rule change shall have been effected; provided, however, that the Executive Committee cannot change the composition of the RSCC. Further, any change of rules made by the Executive Committee must be submitted for ratification by the RSCC at the next meeting thereof; provided, however, that any changes made by the Executive Committee shall have the full force and effect as the Rules of the RSCC until such time as they fail to receive said ratification. 9.04. Appeals: Any ruling by a subordinate committee or Chairman which affects the Party interest or the rights of any candidate for a nomination or the right of any person to hold any place in the Party organization shall be subject to appeal in the manner provided herein.
The Chairman of the Republican Congressional District Committee shall, within fourteen (14) days of the appeal, call a meeting of the District officers to hear the matter. The committee shall enter a written ruling stating the factual basis of the complaints and a summary of reasons for the decisions within ten (10) days after the hearing. The decision of this special District committee shall be final and binding unless and until overruled upon appeal by the Executive Committee of the RSCC. Any appeal to the RSCC shall be made within ten (10) days of the said decision. All contests and controversies arising in City, Precinct, Magisterial District and County matters shall be ruled upon by the County Committee; provided, however, if the County sits in more than one Congressional District the losing party may appeal for a hearing to the Executive Committee for the RSCC within ten (10) days after being notified of the County Committee’s decision. The Chairman of the Executive Committee for the RSCC shall, within fourteen (14) days of the appeal, call a meeting of the Executive Committee for the RSCC to hear the matter. The committee shall enter a written ruling stating the factual basis of the complaints and a summary of reasons for the decisions with ten (10) days after the hearing. The decision of the Executive Committee for the RSCC shall be final and binding. Matters affecting the District Committee or the Congressional District shall be heard by the Executive Committee of the RSCC. A ruling of the District Committee or any special District committees which affects the Party's interest may be heard by an Ad Hoc Committee appointed by the Chairman of the RSCC for the purpose of conducting a hearing and making recommendations to the Executive Committee of the RSCC. The Executive Committee's decisions shall be final and binding. Written notice of an appeal to the Executive Committee of the RSCC shall state the grounds of contest and appeal and shall be made within thirty (30) days from the date on which the election, action or decision appealed from is held, taken or rendered. No appeal or contest shall be considered unless such notice is filed within such time. Upon hearings of appeals and contests under this Rule, only those members of the Executive Committee of the RSCC who are not the subject of the said appeal or contest shall participate, and the Legal Counsel for said Committee, or his Designee, shall preside. In the event the matter is receiving its first hearing, the members of the former Committee or the former Party Official(s) holding office(s) involved in the contest or appeal must be recognized until the said contest or appeal is resolved at such initial level in the appeal process. Thereafter, the decision at such level shall be binding until overruled by the next level in the appeal process. Except as provided in Section 6.04(c) and 6.05(b), any challenge, objection or appeal of a ruling or of an election regarding a County's delegates or alternate delegates to the District or State Conventions will be decided by the Credentials Committee of that Convention, subject to the approval of the Convention. Any such challenge to any delegate or alternate delegate must be submitted in writing to State Republican Headquarters at least three days before the Convention at which the Credentials Committee will be asked to rule. 9.05. Addresses; Telephone Numbers: It shall be the responsibility of each member of the RSCC to keep the Secretary informed of his or her current addresses and telephone numbers. The officers of the RSCC shall be entitled to rely upon the accuracy of such records for all notice purposes.
9.07. Registration requirements: In order to be eligible to vote at any meeting described in these Rules, or to be eligible for election or to serve in any Party position or office described in these Rules, a person must be and remain a Registered Republican voter, eligible to vote in the next succeeding Republican primary election. In order to be eligible to file as a candidate or to vote in a Republican Primary Election, a person must be a Registered Republican by close of business on the day of the filing deadline. Such person will be officially acknowledged as a Republican candidate or voter notwithstanding Kentucky law. If a qualified person holding a Party office or other position is purged or otherwise ceases to be a registered Republican qualified as above, a grace period of ten days (during each of which the registration books are open) will be allowed for re-registration after the person is notified by Party Headquarters that his position will otherwise be considered vacant at the end of the ten day period.
|
OFFICIAL RULES OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY OF KENTUCKY
- RATIFIED BY THE REPUBLICAN STATE CENTRAL COMMITTEE ON SEPTEMBER 17, 2011 - PREAMBLE We are the Party of the open door. With these Rules, we seek to transfer the transcendent principle into accepted practice. But written Rules are no substitute for personal commitment. As Republicans, we are and we must be committed to encouraging the broadest possible participation in the affairs of our Party. We must and we do encourage every Kentuckian to seek that level of Party leadership for which his or her talents and energy recommend them. 1. AUTHORITY AND ORGANIZATION OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY OF KENTUCKY: 1.01. The final, full and plenary authority and control of the Republican Party of Kentucky resides in and is possessed by the registered Republicans of Kentucky in State Convention assembled as provided in these Rules. 1.02. During the times when the Republican State Convention is not assembled the full and final authority stated in 1.01 shall be vested in the Republican State Central Committee (hereafter -”RSCC”). During the times when the Republican State Central Committee is not assembled, the Executive Committee shall be responsible for the operation of all party affairs subject to the limitations set forth in 9.03. Therefore, references herein to -”RSCC” shall include the Executive Committee except as limited in 9.03, or except where the context requires a different construction. 1.03. The authority of the Republican State Central Committee shall include, but not be limited to, full control of and over all subordinate Party committees.
2.01. RSCC: The Republican State Central Committee of Kentucky (hereafter “RSCC”) is a permanent political body. 2.02. Membership: Membership is limited to registered Republicans in Kentucky who are citizens of the United States and residents of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. The members shall be as follows: (a) Eight (8) members, State-at-Large;
(c) The Chairman and Vice-Chairman of each Congressional District Committee; (d) The Chairman and Vice-Chairman of each County Republican Committee;
(f) The Republican(s) elected to a statewide constitutional office for the period of time during which they hold such office;
(h) The most recent past Chairman of the RSCC, who is qualified to be a member and accepts such membership; (i) The State Finance Chairman, State Treasurer and Legal Counsel, each of whom shall be appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the State Chairman; all such appointments shall be subject to ratification by the Executive Committee of the RSCC; (j) The Republican National Committeeman and Committeewoman;
(l) One (1) Republican member of the Kentucky State Board of Elections, being nominated and elected by a majority vote of the Executive Committee of the RSCC; and (m) Anyone who has served as a Republican National Committeeman or Republican National Committeewoman from Kentucky for a period of twenty years shall be made a life time member of the RSCC and the Executive Committee of the RSCC. This membership shall apply to anyone who has served this number of years on the RNC as of June 30, 1996 or shall serve twenty years in the future.
(a) Membership.
(b) Meetings. (c) Special meetings of the Executive Committee may be held upon the call of the State Chairman or by written petition signed by five (5) members of the Executive Committee of the RSCC and transmitted to the Chairman. Notice of each meeting will be given in writing by the State Secretary at least five (5) days before the meeting. However, in the case of special meetings or in an emergency, the State Chairman may direct the State Secretary to give less than five (5) days’ notice by telephoning, or contacting via electronic mail, the members. (d) Budget Committee.
(e) Fifteen percent (15%) of the membership of the Executive Committee of the RSCC shall constitute a quorum for the conduct of business. 2.04. Officers Within twenty (20) days of the Republican State Convention, as provided for by Rule 6.04, the full RSCC shall meet at the call of the Chairman or Secretary of the preceding RSCC, and shall elect by secret ballot a Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Secretary, eight (8) State-at-Large members, and at the same time in each year in which the President of the United States shall be elected shall additionally elect the National Committeeman and National Committeewoman. (a) State Chairman: The State Chairman shall serve as the Chief Executive Officer of the Republican Party of Kentucky with all necessary and implied powers to carry out his/her duties. He/she shall preside at all RSCC meetings, shall create and appoint any special committees as necessary, and shall serve as an ex-officio member of all special and standing committees including, but not limited to, those specifically provided for in these Rules. The State Chairman shall be responsible for carrying out the mandate of these Rules. (b) Vice-Chairman: The State Vice-Chairman, who shall be of the opposite sex from the Chairman, shall have all the duties and authorities of the State Chairman during the absence or disability of the State Chairman, and who shall also serve during a vacancy in the office of State Chairman until such vacancy is filled. The Vice-Chairman shall also serve as an ex-officio member of all committees. (c) Secretary: The State Secretary shall keep and be responsible for the minutes and records, including correspondence, of the RSCC and who shall receive and file the minutes and records of all committees of the RSCC, including its subordinate organizations and Party Conventions. (d) Treasurer: The State Treasurer shall be appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the State Chairman subject to ratification by the Executive Committee of the RSCC. The Treasurer shall oversee all party receipts and disbursements. He/she shall work with the appropriate staff in order to keep careful records according to normal and accepted accounting procedures of all transactions, which he/she shall make available for audit on demand by the State Chairman or his/her designee and at least annually to an audit committee. He/she shall be bonded in an appropriate amount. (e) Deputy Treasurer: The Deputy Treasurer shall be appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the State Chairman subject to ratification by the Executive Committee of the RSCC. He/she shall assist the Treasurer in the performance of the duties of Treasurer as stated in section (d) and shall succeed to the office of Treasurer upon the resignation, inability to serve or death of the Treasurer. The Deputy Treasurer shall not be a member of either the RSCC or the Executive Committee. (f) Legal Counsel: The Legal Counsel shall be appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the State Chairman subject to ratification by the Executive Committee of the RSCC. (g) Finance Chair: The Finance Chair shall be appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the State Chairman subject to ratification by the Executive Committee of the RSCC. (h) Nominating Committee: The Nominating Committee for slate of State Officers, State-at-Large Members of the RSCC, and National Committeeman and National Committeewoman shall consist of the following members:
(i) Twenty-four (24) District-at-Large members, four of whom are elected by each of the six Congressional District Committees pursuant to Rule 3.04;
(ii) The Chairman and Vice-Chairman of each Congressional District Committee pursuant to Rule 3.04;
(iii) The current Chairman and officers of the RSCC;
(iv) The most recent past Chairman of the RSCC, who is qualified to be a member and accepts such membership;
(v) The State Finance Chairman, State Treasurer and Legal Counsel;
(vi) The Republican National Committeeman and Committeewoman; and
(vii) The Republican Leader in both the State Senate and State House.
(i) Voting Members: See Rules 2.02(b) through 2.02(m). (j) Method of Election: To elect the Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Secretary, eight (8) State-at-Large members, National Committeeman and National Committeewoman, the Executive Committee shall nominate a slate of officers who shall be voted upon as a slate by the RSCC. In the event said slate shall not receive a majority of the votes cast, the Executive Committee shall nominate and offer a new slate of candidates for said offices which shall be voted on in a similar manner. Slates of candidates shall continue to be offered until a new slate is approved by a majority of the votes cast. To be qualified for election as a State Officer, State-at-Large member, or National Committeeman or National Committeewoman, a person need not already be a member of the Committee. 2.05. Meetings of the RSCC (a) Meetings. The RSCC shall meet twice each year on dates approved by the Executive Committee of the RSCC. (b) Special Meetings. Special meetings may be called by the State Chairman, a majority of the Executive Committee members or on petition in writing of twenty-five (25) of the members of the RSCC. Such petition shall state the purpose of such meeting and be transmitted to the State Chairman. (c) Notice of each meeting will be given in writing and mailed by the State Secretary at least five (5) days before the meeting. However, in the case of special meetings or in an emergency, the State Chairman may direct the State Secretary to give less than five (5) days’ notice by telephoning, or contacting via electronic mail, the members. (d) Fifteen percent (15%) of the membership of the RSCC shall constitute a quorum for the conduct of business. 2.06. Standing Committees: Standing Committees shall be created and shall exist at the pleasure of the RSCC. 2.07. Special Committees: Special Committees may be created and shall exist at the pleasure of the State Chairman; such committees shall be subject to ratification by the Executive Committee of the RSCC. 2.08. Vacancies: A vacancy in a position may be caused by death, resignation, removal or inability to serve. In the case of a vacancy caused by resignation or removal, the person who resigned or was removed from the position shall not be eligible for election to the same post for a period of four years following the date of resignation or removal, except with the approval of the Executive Committee. The State Chairman may by appointment fill any Party officer's position if such position has been vacant for as much as three months without a successor having been named and certified pursuant to other applicable Rules of the Party; the person so appointed shall serve the remainder of the unexpired term of the office; any such appointment shall be subject to the approval of the Executive Committee of the RSCC, but the person appointed will have full authority of the office between the time of the appointment and the time ratification is considered by the RSCC Executive Committee. (a) A vacancy in the position of State Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Secretary, or Republican National Committeeman or Committeewoman will be filled by election of the Executive Committee. The person so elected will serve until the next meeting of the full RSCC, at which time a new election for such position shall be held pursuant to Rule 2.04(j), except that one person shall be nominated to fill just the existing vacancy rather than having a full, revised slate nominated. (b) A vacancy in a Congressional District office will be filled by the District Committee and the person so elected will be certified to the RSCC by the Chairman and Secretary of the District Committee. (c) A vacancy in a district-at-large position of the RSCC/Executive Committee will be filled through election by the District Committee in which the vacancy occurs. Nominees for such positions shall be registered Republican voters from the district in which the vacancy occurs and shall be certified to the Secretary of the RSCC by the Chairman and Secretary of the District Committee within five (5) days of said election. (d) After a person has been elected to a District or County Party Office which results in the person becoming a member of the RSCC, if the boundaries of the District are changed or the officer moves out of the District or County making such officer a non-resident of the District or County from which elected, such office will be declared vacant. (e) A vacancy in a state-at-large position of the RSCC/Executive Committee will be filled through election by the Executive Committee of the RSCC. 2.09. Removal: (a) Members of the RSCC and/or the Executive Committee are expected to pay dues and attend meetings of the RSCC and/or the Executive Committee as mandated in these rules. (i) Executive Committee members’ seats will be declared vacant automatically if their dues have not been paid in full by August 31st, or 60 days after their election to the Executive Committee, whichever is later. Persons removed under this provision are eligible for immediate re-election to the Executive Committee; that is, they are exempt from the four-year waiting period mentioned in the first paragraph of Rule 2.08. (ii) Executive Committee members’ seats will automatically be declared vacant immediately after the end of an Executive Committee meeting which represented their second consecutive absence; such persons will be eligible for re-election to the Executive Committee at such time as the vacancy is to be filled as provided elsewhere in these rules; that is, they are exempt from the four-year waiting period mentioned in the first paragraph of Rule 2.08. This automatic removal provision will apply to State and District officers as well as other members; however, it will not apply to the Senate or House Floor Leaders. (iii) At every Executive Committee meeting, the Secretary shall report the names of all Executive Committee (and all other RSCC) members, indicating (a) whether or not they have paid their dues, and (b) the number of immediately-previous consecutive meetings of the Executive Committee (or of the full RSCC) they have missed. For RSCC members who are not on the Executive Committee, there will be no automatic penalty for absenteeism or failure to pay dues. (iv) The Secretary shall report at every Executive Committee meeting those Party positions which are vacant, so that Party leaders can expedite filling the vacancies by means of procedures set forth in these Rules. (v) State and District officers who are removed from the Executive Committee pursuant to this rule will also forfeit their position in that office. (b) In addition to the procedures available under Section 2.09(a), any member of the RSCC may be removed from the RSCC and from Party office for misfeasance, malfeasance or nonfeasance in office provided any member so offending has been given thirty (30) days written notice and the opportunity to be heard. He or she may be removed by majority vote of the members present at a duly called and constituted meeting of the Executive Committee. (c) Removal by the RSCC - Any member or officer of a District, County, Precinct or other Party Committee, may be removed by the RSCC for misfeasance, malfeasance, or nonfeasance in office by the same method provided in 2.09(b). (d) After giving 30-day notice, the Executive Committee, by vote of a majority of the members then present and voting, may declare vacant the seat of any party officeholder who supports or supported (during the current or prior-year's General Election) the opponent of a Republican nominee for local, statewide, or national office. (e) In addition to the procedures available elsewhere in this section 2.09, any party officer above may be removed without cause from said office by the Committee of which he is an officer. That is, any of the State Chairman, State Vice-Chairman, or State Secretary may be removed by the Executive Committee; any of the five (5) District Officers may be removed by the District Committee; and any of the five County Officers, or precinct officers, may be removed by the County Committee. Before any such committee may vote on the question of removal of an officer under this provision, said officer must be given at least 30 days advance written notice of the date, time, place and purpose of the meeting at which said vote will be taken. The vote of at least two-thirds (2/3) of the members of the committee present and voting shall be necessary for such removal. No reasons for removal need be given. If the necessary number of votes are cast in favor of removal, said removal will be effective immediately. (f) Any vacancy caused by loss of membership shall be filled as provided by these Rules. 2.10. Contests: The RSCC shall be the judge of any contested membership for a seat on the RSCC. Neither the challenger nor the challenged shall sit as a member for such judgment but may be present in person or by counsel. Prior to such hearing the person presenting a certification purported to be duly signed by the Chairman and Secretary of the Convention empowered to elect will be seated until such challenge is resolved. A decision of any Congressional District Committee resolving a membership challenge may be appealed to the RSCC.
3. CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT COMMITTEES: 3.01. Membership. The membership of each Congressional District Committee shall consist of the District Chairman, the District Vice-Chairman (who shall be of the opposite sex from the Chairman), the District Secretary, the District Treasurer, the District Youth Chairman, the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of each County in the District, the District-at-Large members of the RSCC, State-at-Large members of the RSCC who reside in the District, the Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives currently representing the district for the period of time during which they hold such office, and all Republican members of the Kentucky General Assembly residing in the district for the period of time during which they hold such office. The Chairman and Vice-Chairman of any County that is split between two or more Congressional Districts shall serve on both District Committees. Members may be removed by the District Committee in the same fashion and on the same grounds as set out in Rule 2.09. Vacancies will be filled by the District Committee except for County Chairman and Vice-Chairman whose vacancies will be filled by the County Committee; however, long-standing vacancies may be filled by the State Chairman as provided in Rule 2.08. 3.02. Officers: The District Officers shall be a Chairman, a Vice-Chairman, a Secretary, a Treasurer, and a Youth Chairman. 3.03. Duties: In addition to the authority and duties set forth in Rule 1.04, it shall be the duty of each District Committee to meet annually, with notice given as in Rule 2.05(c), and to see to the organization of each County in its jurisdiction, that each County Committee is advised as to State and National Party affairs, and that regular written reports of its activities and copies of the minutes of its meetings are transmitted to State Party Headquarters. Fifteen percent (15%) of the membership of the District Committee shall constitute a quorum for the conduct of business. 3.04. Election of Officers and District-at-Large members of the RSCC: The members of the District Committee, being the newly elected County Chairmen and County Vice-Chairmen in the district, the Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives currently representing the district for the period of time during which they hold such office, and all Republican members of the Kentucky General Assembly residing in the district for the period of time during which they hold such office, will be called together on the same day as the District Convention, and at the same location, by the Chairman of the preceding District Committee to elect the new Officers and four (4) District-at-Large members of the RSCC. Upon their election, the names of the new District Officers and District-at-Large members will be certified to the Secretary of the RSCC. To be qualified for election as a District Officer or District-at-Large member, a person need not already be a member of the Committee. 4. COUNTY COMMITTEES: 4.01. Membership: The membership of each County Committee shall consist of the Precinct Officers and the County Officers. Each County Committee may, by a majority vote of the County Committee, include as members any or all elected Republican officials who reside in the county. In addition to Precinct Committees, County Committees may, by a majority vote, establish Ward, District or Area Captains over groups of Precincts in that County. Such Captains will be full-voting members of the County Committee. 4.02. Officers: The County Officers shall be a Chairman, a Vice-Chairman, a Secretary, a Treasurer, and a Youth Chairman. 4.03. Election of Officers: The newly elected Precinct Officers, who shall constitute the members of the new County Committee, will be called together on the same day as the County Mass Convention, and at the same location, by the Chairman of the preceding County Committee to elect the new Officers. Upon their election, the names of the new County Officers will be certified to the Secretary of the RSCC. To be qualified for election as a County Officer, a person need not already be a member of the Committee. 4.04. Meetings: In addition to the rights and duties enumerated in Rule 1.04, the County Committee shall hold regular meetings not less than quarterly. (a) Special meetings may be called by the County Chairman or on petition in writing signed by five (5) members of the County Committee and transmitted to the County Chairman. Such petition by members shall state the purpose of such meeting. Any such special meeting shall require at least five (5) days written notice to all members of the County Committee. However, in an emergency, the County Chairman may direct the County Secretary to give less than five (5) days’ notice by telephoning, or contacting via electronic mail, the members. (b) Fifteen percent (15%) of the membership of the County Committee shall constitute a quorum for the conduct of business.
4.05. Standing Committees: Standing Committees shall be created and shall exist at the pleasure of the County Committee. The Chair of any such Standing Committee may, by majority vote of the County Committee, be afforded membership on the County Committee.
4.06. Special Committees: Special Committees may be created and shall exist at the pleasure of the County Chairman; such committees shall be subject to ratification by the County Committee. The Chair of any such Special Committee may, by majority vote of the County Committee, be afforded membership on the County Committee. 4.07. Local Rules: The counties of Jefferson and Fayette may adopt local rules for the organization and governing of party affairs in those counties, but such rules shall have force and effect only after the local rules have been approved by the Executive Committee of the RSCC. Said local rules, if adopted, shall not contain provisions which conflict with these Rules applicable to removal or replacement of Party officers and appeals and contests. No other county shall adopt local rules unless specifically authorized by the Executive Committee of the RSCC. 4.08. Dues: The County Committee, by majority vote, may establish annual dues for its membership. The failure to pay dues by August 31st of each year shall constitute cause for removal of any member. 4.09. Executive Committees: County Committees (including those subject to Rule 4.07, by majority vote of the County Committee, may elect an Executive Committee of not less than nine (9) members, who need not be Precinct Officers. No such Executive Committee shall assume any authority or be officially recognized in any way unless and until Republican State Headquarters has received written notification of the election of said Executive Committee, together with the names, addresses, telephone numbers and e-mail addresses of the members of said Executive Committee. In the event that such an Executive Committee is elected it shall thereafter function in place of the County Committee until a new County Committee takes office as provided in Rule 4.03. The new County Committee may or may not decide to create an Executive Committee. 4.10. Vacancies: Vacancies in the County Committee will be filled by the County Committee, except that long-standing vacancies may be filled by the State Chairman as provided in Rule 2.08. Individuals who fill vacancies in precinct officer positions need not reside in the precinct in which they are elected to serve. All such vacancies filled by the County Committee shall be reported, in writing, within ten (10) days to the State Republican Headquarters. The new members shall not be recognized until the minutes of the meeting at which they were elected, their names, addresses, telephone numbers and email addresses are reported to State Party Headquarters. 4.11. Removal Local: The County Committee may itself remove any member without notice for absence from three (3) consecutive duly called meetings, or with 30-day written notice for misfeasance, malfeasance or nonfeasance in office subject to the same appeal as provided in contested elections to the RSCC. 5. PRECINCT COMMITTEES:
5.03. Precinct Committee Elections: The Precinct shall be the basic organizational unit of the Republican Party of Kentucky. (a) Timing of Elections: In the year in which the President of the United States shall be elected, all precincts shall hold elections for Party office not earlier than March 1 and not later than March 31. Each County Committee shall provide written notice to State Republican Headquarters on or before the second Friday in January of the date, time and location of such elections. Any County Committee that fails to submit said notice by the deadline established in this rule shall hold said elections on the third Saturday in March beginning at 10 AM local time at a location approved by the County Committee and submitted to the State Republican Headquarters on or before January 31. Failure to submit written notice as provided in this rule mandates that the Executive Committee of the RSCC implement a mechanism for Precinct Committee elections.
(i) Precinct elections shall be held on the same day and at the same location except that a County Committee may opt to hold precinct elections in groups on separate dates, times, or at separate locations. Any County Committee choosing to hold precinct elections in groups as described above shall include the specific dates, times, and locations for precinct elections in the written notice described in Rule 5.03 (a) and shall be due not later than the second Friday in January.
(ii) Inclement Weather: In the event of inclement weather conditions, it shall be the responsibility of the County Chairman to consult with the County Committee and make a decision on the cancellation and rescheduling of said Precinct Committee elections in the most timely manner possible. All efforts should be made by the County Chairman to notify all local news outlets of said cancellation and rescheduling information. Notice of cancellation and rescheduling shall be given to State Republican Headquarters within twenty-four (24) hours or on the next business day.
(b) Notice of Elections: To encourage broad participation, widespread and frequent promotion of precinct committee elections is strongly recommended. The County Committee shall provide not less than fourteen (14) days notice of the date, time and location of Precinct Committee elections. The notice provided by this rule shall indicate the time registration for said election begins and ends. Methods of acceptable notice include:
(i) advertisement(s) of not less than one-quarter page in size in the newspaper that has the largest circulation in the county; or
(ii) automated or live phone calls to eligible Republican voters; or
(iii) mailings to eligible Republican voters.
(c) Validation of Eligible Republican Voters: The County Committee shall provide a registration list containing the names and addresses of all registered Republican voters eligible to vote in the previous General Election. All registered Republican voters attending Precinct Committee elections shall be required to present a government-issued photo identification upon registration.
(d) Precinct Committee Elections: Registration for Precinct Committee elections shall close at the time prescribed by the County Committee. Upon the closing of registration, the County Chairman, or their designee, shall report the number of eligible Republican voters in each precinct in attendance. Following said report, the County Chairman shall divide the meeting by precinct for the purpose of conducting Precinct Committee elections.
(i) Method of Election: The Temporary Chairman of the Precinct Committee Election shall be the Precinct Captain, or in his absence the Co-Captain, or in his absence the Youth Captain. If none of said officers is present, the eligible Republican voters in attendance will elect a Temporary Chairman. The Temporary Chairman shall appoint a Temporary Secretary. The order of business for the Precinct Committee Election shall be as follows: (a) first, a Permanent Chairman and Secretary (in that order) will be nominated and elected; (b) the positions of Precinct Captain, Co-Captain and Youth Captain will be filled in that order by nomination(s) from the floor followed by balloting; (c) if after a ballot, no candidate for that office has a majority of the votes cast, the candidate receiving the fewest number of votes will be eliminated, and another ballot will be taken, and so on until the winner is elected by a majority of the votes cast. The names, addresses, telephone numbers and e-mail addresses shall be recorded on the Precinct Committee Officer form authorized by the Executive Committee of the RSCC and submitted to the County Secretary, or his designee, upon completion of the Precinct Committee Election.
5.04. Contests: In Precinct Committee Elections set forth in this section, the right to vote will be determined by the Republican voter registration list as established for the previous General Election. It will be the duty of the County Chairman and Secretary to see that such list is available for the Precinct Committee Elections. Said list of registered Republican voters shall reflect registered voter information on file with either the County Clerk’s office or the Kentucky State Board of Elections as of the date of the previous General Election. Any individual who does not appear on said list shall not participate in the Precinct Committee elections set forth in this section.
It shall be the responsibility of the State Republican Headquarters to procure and maintain a statewide database of registered Republican voters who were eligible to vote in the previous General Election. Said list shall be made available for use in the Precinct Committee Elections.
5.05. Certification
(a) The Chairman and Secretary of each County Committee shall assume responsibility to certify, in writing, the names of the newly constituted County Committee as set forth in Section 4. A composite list of all newly elected Precinct and County Officers will be certified by the County Secretary and Chairman to State Republican Headquarters with a copy to the Chairman of the Congressional District Committee.
(b) The Chairman and Secretary of each Congressional District Committee shall assume responsibility to certify, in writing, the names of the newly constituted Congressional Committee as set forth in Section 3. A composite list of all newly elected Congressional District Officers will be certified by the Congressional District Secretary and Chairman to State Republican Headquarters. 6. CONVENTIONS 6.01. County Mass Convention: Each County shall hold a County Mass Convention to perform such business as called for in Sections 6 and 7 hereof. Each County’s Mass Convention shall be conducted not earlier than March 1 and not later than April 15 in the same year as a presidential election. Each County shall provide written notice of the date, time and location of said mass convention to State Republican Headquarters not later than the second Friday in January of the same year. Any County who does not provide said written notice shall hold its County Mass Convention on the third Saturday of March at 11:00 A.M. local time and shall provide written notice of the location to State Republican Headquarters not later than March 1 of the same year.
The County Mass Convention will be organized as provided in Section 7 hereof. The County Mass Convention in addition to all other duties provided in these rules, shall elect delegates and alternate delegates to the District and State Conventions in such numbers as not to exceed the allocation to that county as dictated by the Official Call to Convention.
If the slate of individuals to serve on the District Convention Committees or the slate of delegates and alternate delegates recommended by the Nominating Committee
In the event that a County Mass Convention envisioned by these Rules was not held, then upon petition of a registered Republican voter of the County, or upon its own motion, the Executive Committee of the RSCC may establish a reasonable method of conducting a new County Mass Convention. 6.02. Certification:
6.03. District Convention: (a) The District Convention will be held at such time and place as designated by and set forth in the Official Call to Convention issued by the Executive Committee of the RSCC, which will consider but need not follow recommendations which may be made by the District Chairman. The District Convention shall be held at least three (3) days prior to the State Convention. (b) The Executive Committee will also determine the Temporary Rules of the District Convention. These rules shall be distributed with the Official Call pursuant to Rule 7.06. The District Chairman (or in his absence the Vice-Chairman) or a person appointed by him shall serve as Temporary Chairman, and the District Vice-Chairman (or in his absence someone appointed by the Temporary Chairman) shall serve as Temporary Secretary of the District Convention. (c) Only a delegate certified by his County Mass Convention may challenge the credentials of any other delegate or alternate delegate at the District Convention. (Also see Rule 9.04.) The Credentials Committee report will first certify the number of undisputed and unchallenged votes which may be cast by each county, and the Convention will take action to accept or reject said partial report. Then the Credentials Committee will report its findings and recommendations on all disputed delegates for one county at a time, the order of such county-by-county reports to be decided by blind draw during the report of the Credentials Committee. The Convention will take action on the report for each challenged county before hearing the report on the next county. When challenged delegates have been thus certified as official delegates by action of the Convention, they may vote on all matters thereafter coming before the Convention, including any subsequent portions of the Credentials Committee report; no challenged delegate may vote on any matter until his credentials have been certified by the Convention to be official. In the event that more than ten percent (10%) of the authorized number of delegates to the District Convention are challenged, the Executive Committee of the RSCC, after due consideration, may invalidate any such challenges which it finds to be spurious, leaving more substantial disputes to be resolved by the convention during the report of the Credentials Committee. (d) The District Convention, in addition to all other duties provided in these Rules, shall in the Presidential election year elect such number of delegates and alternate delegates to represent the District at the Republican National Convention as may be apportioned by The Rules of the Republican Party, and one Presidential Elector.
(e) A Registration Fee may be charged to help defray the expenses of a District Convention, with the amount per person to be determined by the District Chairman and Vice Chairman. In the event the District Chairman and Vice Chairman determine to charge a fee for the District Convention, the District Chairman may have the Executive Committee of the RSCC notify all delegates and alternate delegates of the amount of the fee and the manner of payment in the Call for the District Convention, and may require payment of registration fee no later than when the person signs in at the District Convention. 6.04. State Convention: (a) The Executive Committee of the RSCC shall designate a time and a place for the State Convention and shall select two (2) members-at-large, who may or may not be delegates to said Convention for each of the Convention Committees as specified in Rule 7.04.
(b) Only a delegate certified as such by his County Mass Convention may challenge the credentials of any other delegate or alternate delegate at the State Convention. (Also see Rule 9.04.) The Credentials Committee report will first certify the number of undisputed and unchallenged votes which may be cast by each county, and the State Convention will take action to accept or reject said partial report. Then the Credentials Committee will report its findings and recommendations on all disputed delegates for one county at a time, the order of such county-by-county reports to be decided by blind draw during the report of the Credentials Committee. The State Convention will take action on the report for each challenged county before hearing the report on the next challenged county. When challenged delegates have been thus certified as official delegates by action of the State Convention, they may vote on all matters thereafter coming before the State Convention, including any subsequent portions of the Credentials Committee report; no challenged delegate may vote on any matter until his credentials have been certified by the State Convention to be official. In the event that more than ten percent (10%) of the authorized number of delegates are challenged, the Executive Committee of the RSCC, after due consideration, may invalidate any such challenges which it finds to be spurious, leaving more substantial disputes to be resolved by the State Convention during the report of the Credentials Committee. (c) If the report of the Rules Committee, as may have been amended from the floor, is voted down by the State Convention, the Temporary Rules shall be used thereafter as the Permanent Rules. (d) If the report of the Permanent Organization Committee is voted down by the Convention, the Permanent Organization Committee shall, as soon as possible, submit a new report recommending for both of the two offices new nominees, neither of whom were recommended in the earlier report(s) of the Committee. (e) In addition to all other duties set forth in these Rules,
(f) In order to help defray costs, a State Convention registration fee shall be paid before the Credentials Committee of the State Convention is authorized to certify the delegate or alternate delegate as fully registered and credentialed. Such registration fees should be sent to State Headquarters as early as possible, preferably with the minutes of the County Mass Convention, but must be paid no later than when the person signs in at the State Convention. Registration fees in the same amount may be charged to Guests or waived at the discretion of the Arrangements Committee. The Executive Committee shall set the amount per person to be charged as the State Convention Registration fee. 6.05. National Organization: The delegates and alternate delegates elected to the National Convention by the State and District Conventions will meet in Kentucky at the call of the State Chairman prior to the National Convention to elect a Delegation Chairman and to elect various members to the National Convention Committees. 7. ORGANIZATION OF CONVENTIONS: 7.01. Conventions: All conventions provided for in Section 6 will be organized according to the following process. 7.02. Call to Order: The Temporary Chairman designated by these Rules for each Convention shall call the Convention to order; then the Temporary Secretary as designated by these Rules will be announced; the Temporary Chairman will then briefly describe the Official Call to Convention from the RSCC, but without objection the call need not be read aloud to the meeting. The Temporary Rules of the Convention will be made available to the delegates in printed form, or read to the meeting, unless a motion is passed to waive the reading. The Temporary Chairman will preside until permanent convention officers are elected. A set of Temporary Rules for each Convention will be adopted by the Executive Committee of the RSCC and will be included as a part of the Call; the Temporary Rules will be in effect until each convention adopts its Permanent Rules upon approving the report of its Rules Committee.
The Call to Order; Announcement of Temporary Officers; Report of the Credentials Committee; Report of the Rules Committee; Report of the Committee on Permanent Organization; Report of the Nominations Committee; Report of the Resolutions Committee; Announcements; Adjournment sine die. 7.04. Committees: Each County Mass Convention
One Vice Chairman of the Convention; One Assistant Secretary of the Convention; One member of the Credentials Committee; One member of the Rules Committee; One member of the Committee on Permanent Organization; One member of the Nominations Committee; One member of the Resolutions Committee.
7.05. Convention Committees and Officials: (a) The Credentials Committee will report a list of the proper accredited delegates and alternate delegates to be seated by the Convention. They will hear and make a report to the convention on any disputed delegations, delegates or alternate delegates. The Credentials Committee shall not certify as an accredited delegate or alternate delegate any person who they do not believe was duly elected as such by his County Committee. (b) The Rules Committee shall report a proposed set of rules to the Convention which will not conflict with these Rules unless passed by two-thirds (2/3) of the delegates. (c) The Committee on Permanent Organization will nominate a permanent Convention Chairman and a permanent Convention Secretary. (d) The Nominating Committee will nominate candidates for any positions to be filled by the Convention under these Rules. (e) The Resolutions Committee of the State Convention shall have a preliminary meeting no later than the night before the State Convention, so that most resolutions can be debated, amended as necessary, adopted by the Committee and then typed prior to the Convention.
(f) If any duly-elected member of a District Convention Committee or State Convention Committee is absent for any reason from a formal or informal meeting of said Committee, the County Chairman of his County, or the District Chairman of his District, respectively, may appoint a substitute to serve in the place and stead of the absent Committee member; said substitute shall have full power to vote during the absence of the duly-elected member, but shall have no power to vote if and when the duly-elected absent member later is in attendance at the same or any subsequent meeting of said Committee. (g) An Arrangements Committee may be appointed for the District or State Convention,
respectively, by the District or State Chairman.
(h) The Temporary Chairman of each convention will appoint a Parliamentarian, Sergeant-at-Arms, Teller and other necessary personnel. Such persons shall continue to serve for the entire convention in the offices to which they were thus appointed unless and until they are replaced by appointment of the Permanent Chairman of the Convention, who is permitted but not required to appoint different persons to such positions. (i) If it becomes necessary to determine which alternate delegates should replace absent delegates at the District or State Conventions, the alternate delegates will be taken in the order listed on the list of alternate delegates submitted by the County Committee to State Headquarters. 7.06. Call: The Executive Committee of the RSCC will issue the Official Call to Convention not later than January 31 in a year in which a presidential election is held.
8.01. Election Officials: (a) Pursuant to the Kentucky Revised Statutes, from time to time it shall be the duty of the Executive Committee of the RSCC to nominate a list of candidates to the Governor for each Republican member of the State Board of Elections and the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance. Each list shall contain the number of nominees required by statute and shall be submitted to the Governor by the date required by statute. (b) Following the elections of persons to statewide office, each County Committee will nominate a list of five (5) Republicans for the County Board of Elections by sending the same on a form provided by the State Board of Elections to Republican State Headquarters. Republican State Headquarters shall submit said list to the State Board of Elections. (c) Each County Committee will submit the names of not fewer than four (4) Republicans for Election Officers in each Precinct to the County Board of Elections on a form prescribed by the State Board of Elections by September 15, along with such other information as may be required by law, such as addresses, phone numbers and social security numbers if available of such nominees. Further, the list shall be accompanied by a signed statement from each person set forth thereon that the person is willing to serve, has not failed to serve without excuse in the past, and has not been convicted of an election law offense. In the event the Kentucky Revised Statutes shall be amended to alter the method of selection, the number of nominees to be submitted or otherwise require additional information or statements, these Rules shall be deemed amended to comport with such altered statutory requirements. 8.02. Nominees: Wherever else public or Party law requires the filling of a nomination by a Party Committee, the lowest level Precinct, County, or District Committee embracing the entire geographic area of the office for which a nomination is to be made, shall make such nominations. (a) Statewide nominations shall be made by the Executive Committee of the RSCC. (b) In those cases where the office for which a nomination is to be filled embraces one entire Congressional District, the District Chairman or his designee shall call and chair such meeting. The selection will be made by the District Committee. Each voting member of the District Committee shall be entitled to vote a number of votes calculated as follows: (i) the number of registered Republicans in those precincts of that member’s County which form a part of the Congressional District for which a nominee is to be chosen, divided by (ii) the number of voting members of the District Committee residing in that County who are present at such meeting. No member of the District Committee may cast the votes which he is entitled to cast for more than one person on any ballot; that is, he may not split up his votes and vote for more than one candidate on any particular ballot. (c) In those cases where the office for which a nomination is to be filled embraces more than one County, but less than a Congressional District, a Committee made up of the County Committee of each of the affected Counties shall make the selection. The District Chairman (or his designee) shall call and chair such multi-county meeting whenever the district for which a nominee is to be chosen lies entirely within one Congressional District; otherwise, the State Chairman (or his designee) will do so. Each member of a County Committee in attendance at such a meeting shall be entitled to vote a number of votes calculated as follows: (i) the number of registered Republicans in those precincts of that member’s County which form a part of the district for which a nominee is to be chosen, divided by (ii) the number of members of that County’s County Committee who are present at such meeting. Wherever this rule refers to a “County Committee” the County’s Executive Committee, if one has been created pursuant to Rule 4.07 or 4.09, shall function instead. (d) Persons on County Committees, Executive Committees or District Committees empowered to act by this rule, shall be permitted to serve whether or not their personal residence is within or outside the district for which a nominee is being selected. (e) For the purposes of this rule, the number of registered Republicans in any area shall be the number determined by the Secretary of State after registrations closed before the previous statewide General Election. (f) For the purposes of this Rule 8.02, no person may cast more than one person’s share of any allocated votes by virtue of holding two different offices, both of which would be entitled to vote if held by different individuals. (g) After any nominating meeting held pursuant to this Rule 8.02, the State Chairman shall certify the nominee so chosen, to the Secretary of State and/or other applicable authority. 8.03. Nomination of National Convention Delegates and Alternates: (a) Any registered Republican who desires to be nominated at either the District or State Convention to be a Delegate or an Alternate Delegate to the National Convention, shall submit a letter which must be received by Republican State Headquarters at least four (4) working days before the applicable District or State Convention. Said letter shall be addressed to the Nominating Committee, state the person's interest in becoming a Delegate or Alternate Delegate, and set forth the reasons why they should be considered by the Nominating Committee. The State Headquarters staff will immediately convey the interested party’s nomination letter to the Nominating Committee of the appropriate convention. No person may be nominated or elected by a District or State Convention to be a Delegate or Alternate Delegate to the National Convention unless this procedure is followed. If an insufficient number of persons thus qualified are elected at the District or State Conventions, the remaining slots will be filled as if they were vacancies which occurred AFTER the State Convention. The Nominating Committee at the District and State Conventions shall consider at least two criteria in selecting Delegates and Alternate Delegates to the National Convention; namely, (1) the letter received in accordance with this rule, and (2) any current political involvement on behalf of the Republican Party and/or Republican candidates at any level.
9. GENERAL PROVISIONS: 9.01. Proxies and Quorum: No proxy voting is allowed at any level Committee meeting. The quorum at any level Committee meeting will be fifteen percent (15%) of the duly qualified members.
9.02. Rules: The Current Edition of Robert's Rules of Order, Newly Revised, will be the rules of order of all committees and conventions provided in these rules except where in conflict with these rules. 9.03. Amendment: These rules may be amended by majority vote of those members voting at a meeting of the RSCC provided a copy of the proposed changes is mailed to the members with a notice of the meeting; provided, however, that if one-third (1/3) of the members present at an RSCC meeting object, the proposition to alter, amend or repeal shall be postponed until the next meeting at which time action will be required. The Executive Committee may amend these rules by majority vote at any regular or special session so long as five (5) days’ notice of the rule change shall have been effected; provided, however, that the Executive Committee cannot change the composition of the RSCC. Further, any change of rules made by the Executive Committee must be submitted for ratification by the RSCC at the next meeting thereof; provided, however, that any changes made by the Executive Committee shall have the full force and effect as the Rules of the RSCC until such time as they fail to receive said ratification. 9.04. Appeals: Any ruling by a subordinate committee or Chairman which affects the Party interest or the rights of any candidate for a nomination or the right of any person to hold any place in the Party organization shall be subject to appeal in the manner provided herein. (a) All contests and controversies arising in City, Precinct, Magisterial District and County matters shall be ruled upon by the County Committee; provided, however, the losing party may appeal for a hearing to a special Republican Congressional District committee within ten (10) days after being notified of the County Committee's decision. The Republican Congressional District Committee officers, namely the Chairman and Co-Chairman, shall comprise the said special District committee. In the event that any officer cannot or will not serve, the District Chairman shall appoint a replacement member for the hearing. Legal Counsel for the RSCC, or his/her designee, may attend the hearing in an ex-officio and non-voting capacity. The Chairman of the Republican Congressional District Committee shall, within fourteen (14) days of the appeal, call a meeting of the District officers to hear the matter. The committee shall enter a written ruling stating the factual basis of the complaints and a summary of reasons for the decisions within ten (10) days after the hearing. The decision of this special District committee shall be final and binding unless and until overruled upon appeal by the Executive Committee of the RSCC. Any appeal to the RSCC shall be made within ten (10) days of the said decision. (b) All contests and controversies arising in City, Precinct, Magisterial District and County matters shall be ruled upon by the County Committee; provided, however, if the County sits in more than one Congressional District the losing party may appeal for a hearing to the Executive Committee for the RSCC within ten (10) days after being notified of the County Committee’s decision. The Chairman of the Executive Committee for the RSCC shall, within fourteen (14) days of the appeal, call a meeting of the Executive Committee for the RSCC to hear the matter. The committee shall enter a written ruling stating the factual basis of the complaints and a summary of reasons for the decisions with ten (10) days after the hearing. The decision of the Executive Committee for the RSCC shall be final and binding. (c) Matters affecting the District Committee or the Congressional District shall be heard by the Executive Committee of the RSCC. A ruling of the District Committee or any special District committees which affects the Party's interest may be heard by an Ad Hoc Committee appointed by the Chairman of the RSCC for the purpose of conducting a hearing and making recommendations to the Executive Committee of the RSCC. The Executive Committee's decisions shall be final and binding. Written notice of an appeal to the Executive Committee of the RSCC shall state the grounds of contest and appeal and shall be made within thirty (30) days from the date on which the election, action or decision appealed from is held, taken or rendered. No appeal or contest shall be considered unless such notice is filed within such time. Upon hearings of appeals and contests under this Rule, only those members of the Executive Committee of the RSCC who are not the subject of the said appeal or contest shall participate, and the Legal Counsel for said Committee, or his Designee, shall preside. (d) In the event the matter is receiving its first hearing, the members of the former Committee or the former Party Official(s) holding office(s) involved in the contest or appeal must be recognized until the said contest or appeal is resolved at such initial level in the appeal process. Thereafter, the decision at such level shall be binding until overruled by the next level in the appeal process. (e) Except as provided in Rule 6.03(c) and 6.04(b), any challenge, objection or appeal of a ruling or of an election regarding a County's delegates or alternate delegates to the District or State Conventions will be decided by the Credentials Committee of that Convention, subject to the approval of the Convention. Any such challenge to any delegate or alternate delegate must be submitted in writing to State Republican Headquarters at least three days before the Convention at which the Credentials Committee will be asked to rule. 9.05. Contact Information: It shall be the responsibility of each member of the RSCC to keep State Republican Headquarters informed of his or her current addresses, telephone numbers and e-mail addresses. The officers of the RSCC shall be entitled to rely upon the accuracy of such records for all notice purposes. 9.06. Dues: All members of the Executive Committee shall pay to the Party the sum of $200 per year in dues. All other members of the RSCC shall pay annual dues of $50. Such dues shall be payable on or before July 1st of each year. Each payment of dues applies to that specific office held. If a new person replaces in office a person whose dues were previously paid, the new person's dues are considered already paid, until the following July 1st. 9.07. Registration Requirements: In order to be eligible to vote at any meeting described in these Rules, or to be eligible for election or to serve in any Party position or office described in these Rules, a person must be and remain a registered Republican voter, eligible to vote in the next Republican primary election. In order to be eligible to file as a candidate or to vote in a Republican Primary Election, a person must be a registered Republican by close of business on the day of the filing deadline. Such person will be officially acknowledged as a Republican candidate or voter notwithstanding Kentucky law. If a qualified person holding a Party office or other position is purged or otherwise ceases to be a registered Republican qualified as above, a grace period of ten (10) days (during each of which the registration books are open) will be allowed for re-registration after the person is notified by Party Headquarters that his position will otherwise be considered vacant at the end of the ten (10) day period. 9.08. Indemnification: The Republican Party of Kentucky shall indemnify, defend, and hold harmless any member of the RSCC against any and all claims, suits, and damages, including attorneys fees, arising out of actions or duties performed in an official capacity on behalf of the Republican Party of Kentucky, excluding any claims or liabilities arising out of intentional misconduct or fraud. The determination as to whether the RSCC member was, in fact, acting within the scope of his/her official duties on behalf of the Republican Party of Kentucky shall by made by a majority vote of the RSCC or the Executive Committee on its behalf. 9.09. Gender: Throughout these rules, unless the context clearly requires a different interpretation, all references to "he" or "him" or "his" shall be read to mean "he or she," "him or her" or "his or hers," respectively |