RULES | RD20DelDems

20TH Representative District Democratic Party

Committee Rules

Adopted February 19, 2026

PREAMBLE

The 20th Representative District of Delaware (RD20) Democratic Party Committee (the Committee) adopts these Rules in order to organize and maintain a representative, effective and responsible party organization that will advance the principles of the Democratic Party on the national, state and local levels.

ORGANIZATION

The RD20 Democratic Party is composed of all the duly registered Democrats residing in the RD20. The Committee represents the members of the RD20 Democratic Party in one of the Delaware Representative Districts (Districts or RD) of the Sussex County subdivision as defined by the Delaware Democratic Party. The RD20 is composed of sub-districts, Election Districts (ED’s), that establish the polling place at which the registered voters who reside in an ED are to cast their ballot. The RD20 Democratic Committee People (Committee People) are the members of the RD20 Democratic Committee. The Committee People shall be duly elected from among the registered Democrats who reside in the RD20.

PURPOSE

These Rules are established to govern the organization of the Committee and to direct the Committee People and their officers. The primary responsibility of the Committee is to recruit and elect Democratic candidates. The Committee raises money, coordinates volunteers, and offers support to candidates and their campaigns. The Committee is also responsible for promoting the growth of the Democratic Party in our district and promoting Democratic Party values.

GOVERNANCE

The Committee fully accepts the Rules of the Delaware Democratic Party (adopted 16 March 2019) and the Sussex County Democratic Party Rules (revised February 19, 2026). The Rules of the Delaware Democratic Party shall take precedence, followed by the Sussex County Delaware Democratic Party Rules, followed by these RD20 Democratic Party Committee Rules. When the state and county rules are silent, or defer governance to the Districts, then the RD20 Democratic Committee shall be able to apply these rules of governance. In the absence of any rules, fairness and good faith should prevail.

RD20 RULES

Rule 1 Responsibilities of Officers and Committee People
Rule 2 Elections, Vacancies, Replacements and Removals
Rule 3 Meetings, Quorums, Proxies, Votes and Roberts Rules
Rule 4 Annual Audit
Rule 5 Standing and Ad Hoc Committees
Rule 6 Endorsements
Rule 7 Amendments

RULE 1 Responsibilities of Officers and Committee People

The Officers of the Committee shall be the Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary and Treasurer.

1.1 Officers: Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary and Treasurer

A. The Chair of the Committee (Chair) shall:

i. Direct all the affairs, Committee People, and activities of the Committee in accordance with the RD20 Democratic Party Committee Rules;

ii. Preside at the official general meetings of the Committee, including a Caucus and elections;

iii. Serve as the primary communication interface and representative of the Committee with the Sussex County and Delaware Democratic Parties;

iv. Serve as an ex-officio member on all Standing and Ad Hoc committees of the Committee, except the Audit Committee;

v. Excuse Committee Persons from some or all of their responsibilities for selected situations, including but not limited to, illness, travel, family activities or alternate Committee participation and shall report at the next Executive Committee meeting on any excusal granted; and

vi. Have the authority to spend up to $150 per occurrence that will be reported to the Committee at the next meeting.

vii. Nominate a Parliamentarian to be confirmed by a majority of the committee present.

B. The Vice Chair shall:

i. Assist the Chair and perform tasks assigned by the Chair;

ii. Assume the duties of the Chair when the Chair is unable to perform the activities/responsibilities assigned to the Chair;

iii. Lead the Committee if the Chair is unable to complete his or her term in office, until a new Chair is elected at an official Committee meeting;

iv. Assist the Chair in developing the agendas for official Committee meetings and Caucuses;

v. The Vice Chair may serve as the chair of one of the Standing Committees.

C. The Secretary shall:

i. Prepare the minutes of the Committee meeting, as approved by the Executive Committee and then the Committee for approval at the following business meeting;

ii. Send approved minutes to the Sussex County Delaware Democratic Party

and the Delaware Democratic Party;

iii. Prepare a summary of the Committee’s Executive Committee meetings for its members for distribution by the Chair;

iv. Maintain sign-in sheets for meetings of the Committee;

v. Send the names and contact information for new persons attending a Committee meeting to the appropriate person who maintains the external contact email list;

vi. Ensure that the Committee files are maintained.

vii.Keep and monitor compliance with the Committee Rules and chair the Rules Committee when changes to the Rules are needed.

viii. Verify eligibility of attendees to participate in the Caucus of the RD20 Democratic Party, with the assistance of a Delaware Democratic Party representative if one attends.

D. The Treasurer shall:

i. Keep accurate and timely records of the organization’s finances, including revenue and expenditures;

ii. Provide monthly reports to the Committee on the organization’s finances at the monthly meetings of the Committee and submit these monthly reports in writing to the Chair, the Finance Committee Chair and to the Secretary for safekeeping;

iii. Submit reports to the State of Delaware Department of Elections; and

iv. Provide guidance to the Chair to help ensure the Committee follows the finance rules and regulations of Delaware.

1.2 Committee and Associate Committee People

A. Committee People

i. The persons elected to the Committee according to Rule 2 are the RD20 Democratic Committee People (aka, Committee Persons).

ii. The Committee People are expected to:

a. Attend and participate in local, Sussex County and Delaware Democratic functions and organizations;

b. Take an active role in at least one Standing or Ad Hoc Committee;

c. Attend at least seven Committee meetings, which includes absences that are excused by the Chair, held in a calendar year;

d. Request an excusal from the Chair when a CP cannot meet one or more of their Committee participation expectations, including provide a suggested alternate Committee participation activity(ies) as part of the excusal request;

e. Participate in outreach and get out the vote activities; and

f. Shall:

1. Be involved in their community;

2. Promote the Democratic Party and membership;

3. Communicate with our elected officials, regardless of their party affiliation;

4. Not speak as a formal representative of the Committee unless approved by the Chair;

5. Recruit volunteers;

6. Suggest candidates for joining the Committee and for elected office; and

7. Advance Democratic candidates.

B. Associate Committee Persons will:

i. Be assigned to an ED by the Chair;

ii. Receive Committee meeting agenda and meeting minutes;

iii. Be eligible to participate in Committee outreach activities;

iv. Not be eligible to vote on Committee matters; and

v. May serve and vote on committees of the Committee.

RULE 2 Elections, Vacancies, Replacements and Removals

2.1 Election of Committee People

A. The RD20 Democratic Party shall elect its Committee People at a Caucus to be held by the RD20 during the month of January following a presidential election.

i. A Caucus shall be a gathering of registered Democrats residing in the RD20 to choose their Committee People.

ii. The Outreach and GOTV Committee and the Media/Committee shall notify:

a. Committee People directly by mail or email;

b. Other registered Democrats in the RD20 by:

1. Issuing a press release to local newspapers;

2. Delivery of the press release via email to those registered Democrats using the Friends of RD20 email list; and

3. Posting on social media.

iii. All notifications shall be published at least ten, but not more than thirty, days prior to the Caucus.

iv. The notices of the Caucus shall explain:

a. The date, start time and location of the Caucus;

b. Only registered Democrats residing in the RD20 are eligible to attend and participate;

c. No participants will be admitted into the Caucus after a specified time; and

d. A Committee meeting will follow immediately after the conclusion of the Caucus.

v. The Committee Secretary shall confirm the Democratic registrations and the RD and ED location of all Caucus attendees using the latest voter registration information reasonably available;

vi. The existing Chair shall preside over the Caucus;

vii.Nominations for a Committee Person may be made by any person attending the Caucus;

viii. To be nominated as a Committee Person, a candidate must be a registered Democrat residing within the boundaries of the RD20 for a period of one year prior to the date of the Caucus.

B. Each ED is entitled to three Committee People, to be elected at the Caucus.

i. Prospective candidates shall identify themselves by name and ED of residence.

ii. If there are exactly three candidates for the three positions in an ED, those candidates can be elected as an uncontested slate via a majority voice vote of the Caucus attendees.

iii. If there are more than three candidates for the three positions in an ED, the Chair may ask if any of those candidates is willing to run for a position in an ED that does not have a full slate of three candidates.

iv. If more than three candidates remain for the three positions in an ED, Committee Persons will be elected individually. The male candidate and female candidate who receive the highest number of votes will be elected. The third position will be filled by the candidate, regardless of gender, who receives the highest number of votes from the remaining pool of candidates.

C. The Chair will have the option of forming an Ad Hoc committee of up to five people to assist in the election process, including the registration verification, recording of nominations and the counting of votes. At no time shall a member of this Ad Hoc committee assist in the recording of nominations or counting of votes for the ED in which they reside.

D. The Committee People shall be elected for a term of four years.

E. The Secretary shall send the names and contact information of the elected Committee People to the Chairs of Delaware Democratic Party and Sussex County Delaware Democratic Party within 14 days of the completion of the Caucus.

2.2 Election of Officers

A. The Committee shall elect new Officers, who are defined in Rule 1, at an official Committee meeting as defined in Rule 3, to be held immediately after the conclusion of the RD20 Caucus.

B. The existing Chair shall oversee the election of a new Chair. The new Chair will oversee the election of the remaining Officers.

C. Nominations will come from the newly elected Committee Persons.

D. To be elected to an officer position, a candidate must:

i. Be a Committee Person; and

ii. Receive the highest number of votes in an election held during an official Committee meeting if the position is contested. If not contested, a simple majority of the Committee People present will suffice.

E. The Secretary shall send the names of the duly elected Officers to the Chairs of the Delaware Democratic Party and the Sussex County Delaware Democratic Committee within 14 days of election.

F. Officers shall be elected for a term of four years.

2.3 Election of Associate Committee People

A. Associate Committee People shall be duly registered Democrats who reside in the RD20.

B. The Chair has the discretion of suggesting candidates for nomination as an Associate Committee Person.

C. An Associate Committee Person will be nominated at an official Committee meeting.

D. The nominated Associate Committee Person will be elected if he or she receives a simple majority of the votes from the Committee People present.

E. Once the Associate Committee Person has resided in the RD20 for a period of one year, and a Committee Person vacancy exists, an Associate Committee Person can be elected as a full Committee person according to the rules for filling a vacancy.

F. The number of Associate Committee People allowed on the Committee will be at the discretion of the Chair.

2.4 Vacancies of Officers or Committee People

A. In the event the position of an Officer or Committee Person is relinquished or vacant for any reason whatsoever, a Committee Person may nominate a qualified person to fill the vacant position.

B. To be elected, such Officer or Committee Person candidate must:

i. Meet the same eligibility requirements as those elected at the Caucus as referenced in Section 2.1; and

C. Any change in the Officers or Committee People shall be sent to the Chairs of the Delaware Democratic Party and the Sussex County Delaware Democratic Party by the Chair.

D. Officers and Committee Persons elected to fill a vacant or relinquished position will serve the remainder of the initial four-year term.

2.5 Removal of Officers, Committee People or Associate Committee People

A. An Officer, Committee Person or Associate Committee Person may be required to relinquish his or her position if the Committee determines that he or she is not fulfilling the responsibilities of the office or position. The term, “not fulfilling the responsibilities of the office” shall include, but is not limited to:

i. Failure to meet the responsibilities as defined in Rule 1;

ii. Failure to follow responsibilities as defined under the Delaware Democratic Party Rules, the Sussex County Delaware Democratic Party Rules, or the RD20 Democratic Party Committee Rules;

iii. Failure to maintain confidentiality of voter information and records;

iv. Failure to report to the Sussex County Democratic Party Chair any criminal action defined by State of Delaware code; or

v. Financially contributing to or publicly endorsing a non-Democratic candidate.

B. The Chair shall:

i. Talk to the person about the violation to obtain any reasonable explanation(s) and explore corrective actions by the person; and

ii. Send a letter, with proof of delivery, to the Officer, Committee Person or Associate Committee Person, following their unresolved violation, informing him or her of the intent of the Committee to remove him or her. The letter from the Chair shall include the reasons for the removal and the date of the official Committee meeting when the vote will occur.

C. Removal of an Officer, Committee Person or Associate Committee Person shall require a two-thirds vote of the Committee Persons present at the aforesaid meeting.

D. The Officer, Committee Person or Associate Committee Person shall be afforded the opportunity to address the Committee at the aforesaid meeting prior to the vote.

E. The Chair shall notify the Chairs of the Delaware Democratic Party and the Sussex County Delaware Democratic Party within 14 days of the vote to remove the person.

F. The open Officer, Committee Person or Associate Committee Person position will be filled according to the rules for filling a vacancy.

RULE 3 Meetings, Quorums, Proxies, Votes and Roberts Rules

3.1 Meetings and Roberts Rules

A. All official meetings of the Committee shall be conducted in accordance with Robert’s Rules of Order.

B. The Committee shall hold at least nine monthly meetings in each calendar year at a time and location determined by a majority vote of the Committee People present with no less than 10-day notice given.

3.2 Quorum.

A. A quorum, which is defined as no less than one third of the Committee membership is required for an official meeting.

3.3 Special Meetings

A. The Chair may, at his or her discretion, call a Special Meeting at any time with a minimum of three days, and not more than 10 days, notice.

B. The Committee People may call a Special Meeting by a majority vote of the Committee People present at an official Committee meeting, to be held at any time following a minimum of three days, and not more than 10 days, notice.

3.4 Proxies

A. The Rules shall not permit voting by proxy at a Caucus or any Committee meeting, including at meetings of committees of the Committee.

3.5 Votes

A. Votes shall not be taken by secret ballot.

B. Unless defined otherwise, votes may be taken by voice ballot when a vote results in unanimity and the Chair shall report the results to the Secretary for recording in the meeting minutes. When a vote is not unanimous the voting will be done by a show of hands with counting done by the Chair and Vice Chair and when their vote counts agree with each other, the vote count will be reported to the Secretary for recording in the meeting minutes.

RULE 4 Annual Audit

A. Each November, the Chair shall appoint three (3) Committee People, that does not include the Chair or the Treasurer, to serve on the Audit Committee to conduct an annual audit of the organization’s financial records.

B. The Audit Committee shall:

i. Elect a chair;

ii. Report its findings at the January meeting of the Committee and prior to the election of officers in the January meeting following the presidential election;

iii. Provide a written report that shall be submitted to the Secretary for inclusion in the organization’s official files and to the Chair, following their providing the report at the January meeting; and

iv. The Treasurer shall be available to assist the Audit Committee.

RULE 5 Standing and Ad Hoc Committees

A. The following shall define the Standing and Ad Hoc Committees of the full Committee.

B. Any project or activity implemented by a Standing or Ad Hoc Committee must have prior approval by the Executive Committee and then the Committee shall be notified at the next official Committee Meeting.

C. Written communications prepared for dissemination outside the Committee must first have a draft sent to the Executive Committee, then be approved by the Chair following which the Committee shall be notified at the next official Committee Meeting.

5.1 Outreach and GOTV -CHAIR POSITION IS OPEN

A. The Outreach and GOTV (Get Out The Vote) Committee shall:

i. Consist of the Outreach and GOTV Chair and not less than two other Committee Persons all of whom are appointed by the Chair;

ii. Be responsible for overseeing election-related activities within the RD20;

iii. Recruit, organize and train people as necessary for outreach activities within the RD20;

iv. Assist in sponsoring voter registration drives;

v. Assist the Committee in identifying potential Democratic candidates;

vi. Provide information to the Media Relations Committee for developing communications releases;

vii.Coordinate with candidate(s) or issue committee(s) on election activities directly related to RD20 residents;

viii. Lead activities to highlight the Committee work and increase awareness of the Democratic Party;

ix. Report at Committee meetings on recent and upcoming activities;

x. Lead all data activities performed by the Committee including updating the VoteBuilder database, maintaining an email list of all members and interested parties, and performing data analyses of relevant data;

xi. Be the lead advocate on a position regarding any matter allowed by law that

is authorized by the Executive Committee and notified to the Committee; and

xii. Annually, provide funding requests and projected plans to the Finance Committee.

5.2 Policy and Education Committee

A. The Policy and Education Committee (P&EC) shall:

i. Consist of a P&EC Chair and not less than two other Committee Persons, all of whom shall be appointed by the Chair;

ii. Collect and catalogue information from the county, state and national Democratic Party on approved policy positions and prepare policy statements for approval by the membership on issues of specific concern to the Committee; Lead the development of policy statements and education efforts including those topics referred to the P&EC Committee;

iii. Provide suggested speakers for official Committee meetings to the Executive Committee for approval;

iv. Support the Committee in advocating positions when approved by the EC and allowed by law;

v. Provide information to the Media Relations Committee for developing communications releases; and

vi. Annually provide funding requests and projected plans to the Finance Committee.

5.3 Media Relations Committee

A. The Media Relations Committee (MRC) shall:

i. Consist of a MRC Chair and not less than two Committee Persons, all of whom shall be appointed by the Chair;

ii. Prepare, finalize and distribute Committee information to the media and general public, advising of Committee events, developments or positions on issues of concern, must first send a draft to the Executive Committee, then be approved by the Chair following which the Committee shall be notified at the next Committee Meeting;

iii. Develop and maintain website and social media presence;

iv. Develop advertising, table displays and literature for use by the Committee following approval by the Executive Committee following which the Committee shall be notified at the next Committee Meeting;

v. Annually, provide funding requests and projected plans to the Finance Committee.

5.4 Finance Committee/Fundraising

A. The Finance Committee (FC) shall:

i. Consist of a FC Chair and not less than two other Committee Persons, all of

whom shall be appointed by the Chair;

ii. Lead the fundraising component of the Committee and monitor that the Committee has operational funds throughout the year;

iii. Identify and develop events that will raise funds for the Committee;

iv. Prepare a one-year budget and a projected general plan for revenues and expenses for the subsequent year for submission to the Executive Committee by November 1 of each year for approval showing projected revenues, recommended expenses, including annual the expenditure requests by each Standing Committee, and contingency funds; and

v. Provide information to the Media Relations Committee for developing communications releases.

5.5 Executive Committee

A. The Executive Committee (EC) members shall consist of the elected Officers and each Standing Committee Chair. Additional non-voting Committee Persons may be added at the discretion of the Chair.

B. Meetings of the EC shall be held prior to each monthly Committee meeting. Additional meetings may be called at the pleasure of the Chair.

C. The date and time of EC meetings shall be determined by the Chair in consultation with its members.

D. Activities of the EC shall include but are not be limited to:

i. Discussing the operational business of the Committee;

ii. Discussing the policy and direction of the Committee and making policy recommendations to the Policy and Education Committee;

iii. Discussing whether to recommend the replacement or removal of a Committee Person pursuant to Rule 2.5;

iv. Approving projects or activities external to the Committee; and

v. Authorizing the expenditure of any approved budgeted Committee funds, up to $250, for the operations of the Committee, which shall be reported at the next official Committee meeting.

E. The Committee shall approve of any approved budgeted expenditure that is over $250 and for which the Treasurer reports there is sufficient funds. For any proposed expenditure over $250 that is not consistent with the budget or for which the Treasurer reports there are insufficient funds, said proposed expenditure shall be referred to the EC for further review.

F. The EC retains the right to change the budgeted expenditures and revenues.

5.6 Ad Hoc Committees

A. The Chair may establish Ad Hoc Committees at his or her discretion.

B. An Ad Hoc Committee shall:

i. Consist of an Ad Hoc Committee Chair and not less than two Committee Persons all of whom shall be appointed by the Chair;

ii. Be established by the Chair if requested by a majority vote of either the EC or the Committee People present at an official Committee meeting; and

iii. Report back to the Committee on the results and/or recommendations.

RULE 6 Endorsements

A. The Committee may endorse only a candidate for RD20 state representative upon two-thirds vote of the Committee members present.

B. The Committee may send to the County Party a recommended endorsement for other positions within Sussex County for which registered voters in RD20 may vote (e.g., for a Senate District (SD) that overlaps some or all of RD20, applicable County positions and county-wide positions) upon two-thirds vote of the Committee members present.

C. No endorsements or recommended endorsements may be made after the Delaware state primary.

D. In a primary election, the committee may choose to endorse the incumbent at any time.

RULE 7 Amendments

These Rules may only be altered, amended or replaced by a two-thirds vote of the Committee Members present and voting during two consecutive official Committee meetings held not sooner than four weeks apart and not more than nine weeks apart.

​