By-Laws

By-Laws and Articles of Organization

The Political Revolution

Ratified: July 27, 2017

 

Definitions:

  • Board Member: A member of the PAC Board. The PAC Board consists of a elected officials as outlined in Article VIII.
  • Executive Director: Elected to coordinate with both PAC Board and Team Leads.
    • Treasurer: Appointed to manage the financial assets and liabilities of TPR.
    • Advisory Committee Member (ACM): Any volunteer, voting member, senior counsel or industry expert who has been appointed to the committee as outlined in Article XI.
  • Team Lead: Elected by volunteers to lead a team within the volunteer organization.
  • Volunteer: Active volunteer within the organization, as defined by Article II Section 2.

ARTICLE I

LOCATION and OBJECT

SECTION 1. The name of this Political Action Committee shall be THE POLITICAL REVOLUTION, hereinafter “TPR.”

SECTION 2. Legal Description: TPR is organized and registered under the laws of the United States as a non-partisan, non-connected political action committee (PAC) as defined by the publication “Campaign Guide for Nonconnected Committees” of the Federal Election Commission, hereafter denoted FEC.

SECTION 3. This Organization is established for the following purposes:

  1. The Political Revolution advances politics in America through progressive grassroots activism. Our political action committee is dedicated to electing candidates at state and local levels that support our progressive principles and backing issue-focused efforts to transform our government so it represents all our citizens.
  2. Offerings to candidates include fundraising, digital media promotion, and volunteer mobilization.

SECTION 4. The fiscal year of this Organization will start January 2017.

SECTION 5. All references to writing or formal requests not otherwise defined in these bylaws must be made via e-mail to info@pol-rev.com or sent to PO Box 930539, Wixom, MI 48393.

ARTICLE II

MEMBERSHIP

SECTION 1. Membership in the PAC may be held by all citizens or legal residents of the United States who and shall consist of the following grades: VOLUNTEER, TEAM LEAD, PAC BOARD, and ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEMBERS (ACM). A member shall be a person of good character and reputation as defined in the Articles of Acknowledgement.

  1. All defined members are entitled to vote on issues as defined in Article VI.
  2. Responsibilities of members are defined in this Article.

SECTION 2. A VOLUNTEER in the organization shall:

  1. Be a Team Lead, Secretary, Treasurer, Advisory Committee-member, or Volunteer of The Political Revolution and perform duties imperative to operations of The Political Revolution, including but not limited to: Digital Organizing, Grassroots Organizing, Volunteer Management, Operations, Design, Content Creation, and Digital Marketing.
  2. Be active within the organization. Activity can be defined by the frequent performance of duties that help move the organization forward as defined by members of the TEAM LEADS and approved by Volunteer Management.
  3. A volunteer may not be expulsed without taking into consideration other variables as to be defined in Article III of these documents.
  4. Perform duties without financial compensation.
  5. Be of the age of 18 or older. Underaged volunteers must have written consent of parent or legal guardian filed with TPR

SECTION 4. A BOARD MEMBER in the organization shall:

  1. Uniquely hold liability for complying with FEC guidelines and other related campaign finance laws.

SECTION 5. A TEAM LEAD in the organization shall:

  1. Be a member that has been given responsibilities within the volunteer organization. Typically this involves oversight within an area of the volunteer organization, such as publication, fundraising, or volunteer management.
  2. Team Leads are required to coordinate with the PAC Board.

SECTION 6. An ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEMBER in the organization shall:

  1. Be a member that advises the PAC BOARD and TEAM LEADS.
  2. An ACM shall be any member, industry expert, or other involved person that is appointed by the PAC Board or members of the organization to be on the ACM.
  3. The ACM is not a voting body, voting bodies and methods are outlined in Article VII.
  4. Being an ACM does not bar one from voting in other voting bodies.

ARTICLE III

RESIGNATIONS AND EXPULSIONS

SECTION 1. A Member of this PAC may resign his/her/their membership by written communication to a member of TEAM LEADS, who shall present the same to the rest of the Team Leads and PAC Board when his/her/their resignation shall be accepted.

SECTION 2. The PAC BOARD shall consider the proceedings toward the expulsion of any

TEAM LEAD

  1. Upon information coming to its notice, derogatory to the MEMBERS.
  2. Upon the written request of five or more Members that a person belonging to the organization be expelled for cause set forth. The PAC BOARD shall consider each case and if the circumstances appear to warrant further action, it shall advise the accused of the charges against him/her/them who may, if they so desire, present a defense either in person or writing, which shall be considered for final action at a meeting of the PAC BOARD of which the accused shall receive due notice. No member shall be expelled except by an affirmative vote of two-thirds of the entire PAC BOARD. Should a member be expelled from this Organization, he/she/they shall not again be entitled to membership, unless the PAC BOARD decide that extenuating circumstances and/or subsequent record may favor an applicant for readmission.
  3. Appeals may be made as outlined in Article VI.

SECTION 3. If a BOARD MEMBERS, member of the ACM, or TEAM LEAD is absent without any

communication for more than two weeks, they will be sent a letter of intent. If no response is given in a week, that member is subject to demotion.

  1. This decision will be made by TEAM LEADS and BOARD MEMBERS.

ARTICLE IV

ORGANIZATION

SECTION 1. The members of this organization are defined in Article II.

SECTION 2. The PAC Board shall consist of elected Board Members.

SECTION 3. The terms of the Board shall begin at the close of the annual meeting.

SECTION 4. The election of Directors and Advisors shall be done as set forth in Article X.

SECTION 5. Any BOARD MEMBERS, ACM, or TEAM LEAD of this organization who is absent for three consecutive Board meetings without warning will be subject for review of resignation as defined in Article III.

SECTION 6. A vacancy in any office shall be filled by an appointment by the agreement (see Article VII) of both BOARD MEMBERS and TEAM LEADS, and the person so appointed shall hold office for the remainder of the unexpired term of the vacancy being filled, or until a successor is duly elected by these bylaws.

ARTICLE V

AMENDMENTS

SECTION 1. The bylaws may be repealed or amended by two-thirds majority of the Member vote cast with a quorum of two-thirds of all Members.

SECTION 2. Bylaws changes shall be initiated by petition signed by at least one-fourth of TEAM LEADS and PAC BOARD MEMBERS..

SECTION 3. Proposed bylaws changes in writing shall be sent to all MEMBERS at least fifteen days before voting takes place.

  1. Voting on amendments will take place over the course of seven days minimum.

SECTION 4. Voting on changes to the bylaws shall abide by Article VI.

ARTICLE VI

VOTING

SECTION 1. Within the organization, there will be different Voting Bodies.

SECTION 2. Voting Bodies may vote on items that are related to their scope.

SECTION 3. There will be three main voting bodies. Their scopes typically include:

  1. PAC BOARD: Votes on official publications, items related to FEC compliance, operational and financial assets, and any other public-facing communications, branding, or assets.
  2. TEAM LEADS: Votes on internal team operations.
  3. VOLUNTEERS: Votes on organization-wide issues put forth by the PAC Board and Team Leads.

SECTION 4. QUORUM: A quorum will be determined by the Timeframe and Scope of the vote.

SECTION 5. TIMEFRAME: A timeframe will be determined by taking into account the urgency

and scope of the vote.

  1. The TIMEFRAME for votes must be chosen before the vote is held by at least two agreeing members of the voting body.
  2. One of the following TIMEFRAMES must be chosen: immediate, one day, three days, and seven days.

SECTION 6. DISPUTES: A dispute is defined by a voting body to reach a two-third’s approval during a vote.

  1. The Team Leads may be called to vote on members in which there is a dispute with the directors of the organization. If there is a dispute in both the Board and the Team Leads, the rest of the Members may be polled.
  2. If there is a dispute in the Team Leads, members of the PAC Board may be called in to break a tie or reach quorum.
  3. Disputes may also be settled by member polls (all VOLUNTEERS).

SECTION 7. Voting Bodies are required to make the results of voting known in the form of

public bulletin or e-mail to the rest of the membership depending on the SCOPE and MAGNITUDE of the issue being voted on.

  1. SCOPE: Scope is defined by how many people are included in the voting body that is making the decision.
  2. MAGNITUDE: Magnitude is defined by how many people are affected by the decision being made.
  3. Additional examples and processes of group-decision making will be outlined in the Democratic Decision Making document maintained by Team Leads.

SECTION 8. VETOES: The PAC Board and Team Leads have veto power.

  1. Vetoes must be made within 48 hours of a vote being known.
  2. The PAC Board may veto decisions made by Team Leads.
  3. The Team Leads may veto decisions made by PAC Board.
  4. Vetoes can be initiated by a majority vote of a voting body.
  5. Vetoes must be approved by two-thirds of a two-thirds quorum.
  6. No veto can be vetoed again.

SECTION 9. APPEALS: An appeal is a formal request to reverse a decision made by Voting

Bodies as defined in these By-Laws.

  1. Any member or member who has been expulsed within two weeks can appeal a decision made by a Voting Body.
  2. Appeals must be made in writing and can be submitted to BOARD MEMBERS by e-mailing info@pol-rev.com.
  3. Appeals will be reviewed by an Appeals Committee, to be created as needed.
  4. The Appeals Committee will be created as set forth in Article XI.
  5. Appeals must be addressed within 48 hours of their submittal.

ARTICLE VII

MEETINGS

SECTION 1. Regular meetings shall be held the 1st Wednesday of each month by the appropriate Members. Special meetings may be held either at the call of the PAC Board or TEAM LEADS. An annual meeting shall be held during a month and date agreed upon by the Board.

SECTION 2. Board of Directors and Advisors of the organization shall be installed at the regular annual meeting on the second Monday of December.

SECTION 3. Business proceedings at all General and PAC Board meetings shall be governed by an appointed TEAM LEAD.

SECTION 4. Board members must attend meetings to retain Board membership. Refer to Article III.

ARTICLE VIII

PAC BOARD

SECTION 1. The organization bylaws hereby provide for an PAC Board consisting of three elected Directors, including an Executive Director, and a Treasurer (non-voting member).

  1. BOARD MEMBER: Elected member who oversees and votes on PAC Board.
  2. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: Elected member whose duty is to coordinate between PAC Board and Team Leads, as well as oversee all operations.
  3. TREASURER: A person elected to administer or manage the financial assets and liabilities of a society, company, local authority, or other body

2. It is the duty of the Board to review funds. Purchases are subject to review by the entire board.

SECTION 3. It is the duty of the Board to oversee total cost of operation.

SECTION 4. It is the duty of the Treasurer to file FEC reports on fundraising, expenditure, and contributions and to abide by FEC guidelines in these matters. All bank statements, filing to FEC shall be made public each month.

  1. Other duties of the Treasurer may be viewed on the FEC Website.

SECTION 5. Additional positions may be created and elected as outlined in Article X as needed.

SECTION 6. Any change in the information disclosed on the Statement of Organization, including a change in officers, must be reported within 10 days after the change takes place.

  1. The Treasurer must file either an amended Statement of Organization or a signed letter. Electronic filers must electronically file the entire Statement of Organization to report a change. Paper filers report a change by filing either an amended Statement of Organization or a signed letter which includes the committee’s name, identification number (assigned by the FEC when the Statement of Organization is originally filed) and information pertaining to the change.

ARTICLE IX

POWERS AND DUTIES OF PAC BOARD

SECTION 1. The powers of the organization shall be exercised, its property controlled, and its

affairs conducted by the PAC BOARD, except as limited by these bylaws.

  1. A Board Member shall uniquely hold liability for complying with FEC guidelines and other related campaign finance laws.

SECTION 2. The PAC Board must make all of its decisions voted on must be made known to members of the organizations.

SECTION 3. The Treasurer shall be the custodian of all funds and financial records of the organization, and shall make disbursements when authorized by the PAC Board.

  1. The Treasurer is uniquely responsible for FEC compliance as it relates to financial law and any other law defined by FEC regulations.

ARTICLE X

NOMINATION AND ELECTION OF LEADERS AND DIRECTORS

SECTION 1. The Nominating Committee shall consist of the PAC Boards and Team Leads.

SECTION 2. All members shall be sent a ballot listing the nominees for the various offices. The marked ballot shall be returned to the Nominating Committee. The results shall be announced at the next board meeting and the directors shall take office at the close of the meeting.

SECTION 3. A simple majority of the votes cast shall be necessary for the election of directors.

SECTION 4. In the event of a tie between two or more candidates for the same office, the Nominating Committee will hold a vote to determine the winning candidate.

  1. The Nominating Committee may choose to poll the other membership.

SECTION 5. Ranked voting will be used when there are multiple candidates.

  1. Separate elections will be held for the positions of Executive Director and Director(s) every 6 months.

SECTION 6. Election dates will be determined by the Team Leads.

  1. Election dates will be made known to all membership at least 3 months in advance.

ARTICLE XI

COMMITTEES

SECTION 1. The standing committees of this organization shall be:

  1. Advisory Committee – A group of industry experts, volunteers, and other members who have been elected to advise the PAC Board and Team Leads.

SECTION 2. Additional standing committees may be created or existing committees eliminated by the PAC BOARD or by membership vote.

SECTION 3. The membership and number serving on committees shall be at the discretion of the Director(s).

  1. Committees may consist of up to 15 members.

SECTION 4. It is the duty of all committees to abide by FEC guidelines.

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Ratified on July 27th, 2017 by Team Leads and Board Members as listed below:

Raymond Braun – Executive Director

Gloriann Fields – Treasurer and Digital Director

Thomas McIntire – Deputy Director

Ryman Curtis – Team Lead

Karsh Sahay – Reddit Ambassador

Chris Skiba – Team Lead

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The Political Revolution By-Laws were originally written by William Godfrey, and then revised several times by The Political Revolution membership. These meetings were aptly called ‘Consitutional Summits’. Gloriann Fields authored the By-Laws after these summits combining the original document and the notes from the summits. The final By-Laws were ratified above using Loomio, a digital democratic platform.