STANDINGRULES FOR ENDORSEMENTS BY THE

STONEWALLDEMOCRATS OF AUSTIN

(Adopted04/10/19)

Inaccordance with Article VII of the Bylaws of the Stonewall Democrats of Austinthe Endorsement Committee shall draft a questionnaire to be used in theendorsement process. The Endorsement Committee shall send the questionnaire toall candidates, shall inform candidates of the opportunity to appear at ascheduled forum, and shall fully publicize the candidate forum to the generalmembership and the public.

TheEndorsement Committee Chair shall preside over the candidate forum and theendorsement proceedings in accordance with rules determined by the Chair andapproved by the Board. Copies of the rules shall be available at theendorsement meeting. The rules shall state that a candidate must provide asigned questionnaire and declare themselves to be a Democrat in order to beeligible for endorsement, and multiple copies of the completed questionnaireshall be made available to the membership at the endorsement meeting. Otherterms of the rules may not conflict with any provision of the Bylaws.

Inorder to be eligible to vote in an endorsement meeting, members must be in goodstanding as defined by Article IV, Section 1 of the SDA Bylaws and have been amember for at least 30 days prior to the endorsement meeting or renewed theirmembership within 30 days of the endorsement meeting.

Thefollowing standing rules shall govern procedures for endorsements beforepartisan, non-partisan and special elections.

A.  The procedure for partisan elections shall beas follows:

1.   The entire membership may participatein the candidate forum and the discussion of the candidate's positions but onlythose members eligible to vote as defined above may cast ballots. A 60% vote of eligible members presentand voting shall be required for the endorsement of any candidate. Should no candidate receive 60% of the votes cast in a particular race, a dual endorsement willresult if two candidates receive more than 40%of the votes cast and there are more than two candidates in that race.

2.   The membership may vote whether toapprove all prior endorsements or make additional endorsements in a run-offelection at the general membership meeting or special meeting immediatelyfollowing any election resulting in a run-off. An endorsement may be approvedor made with a 60% vote of theeligible members present and voting.

3.   Endorsement made for the primaryelections extend to the general election. In the event candidates who receivedthe Stonewall Endorsement are defeated in the primary election, prior to thegeneral election, the full membership may meet to consider endorsement ofcandidates for the general election. A 60%vote of eligible members present and voting shall be required for theendorsement of any candidate.

4.   The Endorsement Committee Chair shalldetermine whether additional questionnaires or an additional candidate forum isnecessary or appropriate prior to a run-off election of the general election,subject to approval by the Board.

B.  The procedure for non-partisan and specialelections shall be as follows:

1.   The entire membership may participatein the candidate forum and the discussion of the candidate's positions but onlythose members eligible to vote as defined above may cast ballots. A 60% vote of eligible members presentand voting shall be required for the endorsement of any candidate. Should no candidate receive 60% of the votes cast in a particular race, a dual endorsement willresult if two candidates receive more than 40%of the votes cast and there are more than two candidates in that race.

2.   The membership shall vote whether toapprove all prior endorsements or make additional endorsements in a run-offelection at the general membership meeting or special meeting immediately followingany election resulting in a run-off. An endorsement may be approved or madewith a 60% vote of the memberspresent and voting.

3.   The Endorsement Committee Chair shalldetermine whether additional questionnaires or an additional candidate forum isnecessary or appropriate prior to a run-off election, subject to approval bythe Board.

C. If exceptional circumstances call into question the appropriateness ofan endorsement, a special meeting may be called to consider whether theendorsement should be withdrawn.  Theendorsement shall be withdrawn upon a 60%vote for withdrawal of the eligible members present and voting.

D. The Endorsement Committee Chair shall promptly inform each participatingcandidate whether the candidate received an endorsement.  The Endorsement Committee Chair shall reviewthe election results at the general membership meeting immediately followingany election.