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Proposal Details

Proposal ID	1311
Proposal	By-Laws - Article 6 Amendment
Presenter	National Black Caucus
Floor Manager	Charles Ostdiek
Phase	Closed - Adopted
Discussion	07-06-2026 - 07-26-2026
Voting	07-27-2026 - 08-02-2026
Presens Quorum	Two Thirds of Active Accredited States/Caucuses
Consens Quorum	Two Thirds of Yes and No Votes

Background

This proposal makes formatting and minor language corrections to Article VI. The substantive election procedures are unchanged. Changes include: (1) removal of "Section" from all subsection headers; (2) adding the period after "ARTICLE VI"; (3) correcting run-together text in 6-2.1 through 6-2.6 (e.g., "6-2.1Discussion" ā†’ "6-2.1 Discussion"); (4) minor language updates ("5pm" ā†’ "5 pm," "which" ā†’ "that," "party's" apostrophe); and (5) adding "day" in 6-2.6 for clarity

Article VI. Steering Committee Elections
https://gpus.org/bylaws/#06
New Anchor Link (suggestion) - http://gpus.org/bylaws/#Article6
6-1 Nomination
https://gpus.org/bylaws/#06-01
New Anchor Link (suggestion) - http://gpus.org/bylaws/#Article6-1
6-2 Discussion and Vote
https://gpus.org/bylaws/#06-02
New Anchor Link (suggestion) - http://gpus.org/bylaws/#Article6-2
6-3 Vacancy
https://gpus.org/bylaws/#06-03
New Anchor Link (suggestion) - http://gpus.org/bylaws/#Article6-3
6-4 Recall
https://gpus.org/bylaws/#06-04
New Anchor Link (suggestion) - http://gpus.org/bylaws/#Article6-4

No substantive rights, powers, or thresholds are altered by this proposal. Descriptive anchor links such as #Article6-1 follow Web Content Accessibility Guidelines best practices and ensure that members with vision or hearing impairments can navigate directly to specific bylaw sections without difficulty. This is a suggestion to web administration/staff and has no bearing on the operative text of this proposal.

Proposal

Amend the GPUS Bylaws, Article VI. STEERING COMMITTEE ELECTIONS, (https://gpus.org/bylaws/)

Current Bylaw:

ARTICLE VI STEERING COMMITTEE ELECTIONS

Section 6.1. Nomination

6-1.1 Between seventy-five and eighty days before the Annual National Meeting, the Secretary shall publish a call for nominations for Steering Committee members to the National Committees Votes List. The call shall contain the job description for each position, as is described in the the GPUS Rules and Procedures, and a copy of this Article.

6-1.2 Nominations may be made by any National Committee member or alternate, including the candidate. Nominations shall be considered made when posted to the National Committees Votes List. Nominations shall be considered accepted when posted as such to the National Committees Votes List by the candidate. Self-nominations shall be considered accepted when made.

6-1.3 The deadline for nominations shall be 28 days before the Annual National Meeting.

6-1.4 If no Annual National Meeting is held, the Secretary shall publish the call for nominations on the third Monday of May and the deadline for nominations shall be at the conclusion of Sunday six weeks later.

6-1.5 Candidates are strongly encouraged to submit a candidate statement to the National Committees Votes List, no later than the commencement of the discussion period. The statement should address performance of the position sought, as its duties and responsibilities are defined in the GPUS Rules and Procedures, and contain a biography of relevant experiences. Candidates are encouraged to submit video material in support of their candidacy.

Section 6-2 Discussion and Vote

6-2.1Discussion shall commence 21 days before the Annual National Meeting. Voting shall commence on the Saturday the week before the Annual National Meeting and conclude on the Saturday of the Annual National Meeting, at 5pm in the time zone in which the meeting is held.

6-2.2Co-chairs shall be elected in a single Ranked Choice Voting election according to the process described in the GPUS Rules and Procedures, Article VII. Co-chairs shall appear on the GPUS voting page affiliated with the state party or caucus through which they became a National Committee member.

6-2.3The Secretary and Treasurer shall be elected in separate elections using Instant Run-Off Voting, according to the process described in the GPUS Rules and Procedures, Article VII. The Secretary and Treasurer may appear on the ballot either affiliated with any affiliated state party or caucus of which they are a member.

6-2.4Votes for Co-chair, Secretary and Treasurer shall be cast on the GPUS voting page, but made public only upon the conclusion of the voting period.

6-2.5The terms of the newly elected Co-chairs and Secretary shall commence upon the conclusion of the Annual National Meeting.

6-2.6The term of the newly elected Treasurer shall commence on the first of the month that occurs at least four weeks after the conclusion of the Annual National Meeting. During this time the outgoing Treasurer would be accountable to the party as before, but would spend approximately one month working with the newly elected Treasurer to understand the party’s finances so that person would be prepared to directly oversee them upon assuming office.

Section 6-3 Vacancy

6-3.1 A vacancy shall exist when a seat was not filled in an election; when a member has submitted a written statement of resignation to the National Committees Votes List; is recalled, is no longer a Green Party member or dies or becomes incapacitated to act.

6-3.2 Any vacancy that occurs within thirty days after a regular election for Co-chair, Treasurer or Secretary, shall be filled by recounting the ballots from the election which elected that member, except that the vacating member’s name shall be deleted from all ballots. The first candidate accruing sufficient votes to surpass the winning threshold in the recount, that was not elected to office in the original count, shall fill the vacancy. If more than one vacancy occurs at the same time, this process shall continue until all vacant seats are filled. If such a recount fails to resolve a vacancy, the Steering Committee shall conduct a special election to fill the seat until the next regularly scheduled election for that position.

6-3.3 If a vacancy occurs after thirty days after a regular election for Co-chair, Treasurer or Secretary, the Steering Committee shall conduct a special election to fill the seat for the remainder of the term until the next regularly scheduled election for that position.

6-3.4 If a special election is necessary to fill a vacancy, the Steering Committee shall call for an online election, with a nomination period of three weeks to commence on the next regular starting date as defined in Article VI of the GPUS Rules and Procedures, followed by a two-week discussion period and a one-week vote.

Section 6-4 Recall

6-4.1 Any proposal to recall a Steering Committee member must be co-sponsored by a number of delegates equal to at least one-fifth of the National Committee, coming from at least one-fifth of the total number of state Green Parties and caucuses represented on the National Committee. Only one Steering Committee member can be proposed to be recalled with each proposal.

6-4.2 Any proposal to recall a Steering Committee member must state the specific grievance(s) upon which the recall proposal is based, and relate them to the relevant duties and responsibilities of the position as defined in the GPUS Bylaws and the Rules and Procedures.

6-4.3 A recall proposal shall be considered submitted when it is posted to the National Committees Votes List and copied to the Secretary. The Secretary shall confirm within 48 hours of its receipt whether the requisite conditions specified in 6-4.1 and 6-4.2 have been met and shall report this to the National Committee Votes List. If the position proposed for recall is the Secretary, co-sponsors shall forward their proposal to the Co-Chairs and the Co-Chairs shall confirm the conditions instead. If the Secretary or Co-Chairs respectively, find that the conditions have not been met, they must approve findings that state how the conditions have not been met as part of their report to the National Committee Votes List.

6-4.4 All recall proposals shall be allotted three weeks for discussion and one week for voting. Discussion shall begin on the next regular starting date as defined in Article VI of the GPUS Rules and Procedures, after it has been confirmed that the proposal has requisite support. The vote shall be conducted online, even if an Annual National Meeting falls within the specified window. Quorum shall be two-thirds of member state Green Parties and caucuses, and the threshold for recall shall be two-thirds of those casting yes or no votes.

6-4.5 If the National Committee does not approve a recall proposal, no individual who brought the proposal forward may co-sponsor a new one against the same Steering Committee member until at least 90 days after the completion of the aforementioned vote.

New Bylaws:

ARTICLE VI. STEERING COMMITTEE ELECTIONS

6-1 Nomination

6-1.1 Between seventy-five and eighty days before the Annual National Meeting, the Secretary shall publish a call for nominations for Steering Committee members to the National Committees Votes List. The call shall contain the job description for each position, as described in the GPUS Rules and Procedures, and a copy of this Article.

6-1.2 Nominations may be made by any National Committee member or alternate, including the candidate. Nominations shall be considered made when posted to the National Committees Votes List. Nominations shall be considered accepted when posted as such to the National Committees Votes List by the candidate. Self-nominations shall be considered accepted when made.

6-1.3 The deadline for nominations shall be 28 days before the Annual National Meeting.

6-1.4 If no Annual National Meeting is held, the Secretary shall publish the call for nominations on the third Monday of May, and the deadline for nominations shall be at the conclusion of Sunday six weeks later.

6-1.5 Candidates are strongly encouraged to submit a candidate statement to the National Committees Votes List no later than the commencement of the discussion period. The statement should address the performance of the position sought, its duties and responsibilities as defined in the GPUS Rules and Procedures, and contain a biography of relevant experiences. Candidates are encouraged to submit video material in support of their candidacy.

6-2 Discussion and Vote

6-2.1 Discussion shall commence 21 days before the Annual National Meeting. Voting shall commence on the Saturday of the week before the Annual National Meeting and conclude on the Saturday of the Annual National Meeting, at 5 pm in the time zone in which the meeting is held.

6-2.2 Co-chairs shall be elected in a single Ranked Choice Voting election according to the process described in the GPUS Rules and Procedures, Article VII. Co-chairs shall appear on the GPUS voting page affiliated with the state party or caucus through which they became a National Committee member.

6-2.3 The Secretary and Treasurer shall be elected in separate elections using Instant Run-Off Voting, according to the process described in the GPUS Rules and Procedures, Article VII. The Secretary and Treasurer may appear on the ballot affiliated with any state party or caucus of which they are a member.

6-2.4 Votes for Co-chair, Secretary, and Treasurer shall be cast on the GPUS voting page but made public only upon the conclusion of the voting period.

6-2.5 The terms of the newly elected Co-chairs and Secretary shall commence upon the conclusion of the Annual National Meeting.

6-2.6 The term of the newly elected Treasurer shall commence on the first day of the month that occurs at least four weeks after the conclusion of the Annual National Meeting. During this time, the outgoing Treasurer would remain accountable to the party as before but would spend approximately one month working with the newly elected Treasurer to understand the party's finances so that the person would be prepared to directly oversee them upon assuming office.

6-3 Vacancy

6-3.1 A vacancy shall exist when a seat was not filled in an election, when a member has submitted a written statement of resignation to the National Committees Votes List, is recalled, is no longer a Green Party member, or dies or becomes incapacitated to act.

6-3.2 Any vacancy that occurs within thirty days after a regular election for Co-chair, Treasurer, or Secretary shall be filled by recounting the ballots from the election that elected that member, except that the vacating member's name shall be deleted from all ballots. The first candidate accruing sufficient votes to surpass the winning threshold in the recount, that was not elected to office in the original count, shall fill the vacancy. If more than one vacancy occurs at the same time, this process shall continue until all vacant seats are filled. If such a recount fails to resolve a vacancy, the Steering Committee shall conduct a special election to fill the seat until the next regularly scheduled election for that position.

6-3.3 If a vacancy occurs after thirty days after a regular election for Co-chair, Treasurer, or Secretary, the Steering Committee shall conduct a special election to fill the seat for the remainder of the term until the next regularly scheduled election for that position.

6-3.4 If a special election is necessary to fill a vacancy, the Steering Committee shall call for an online election, with a nomination period of three weeks to commence on the next regular starting date as defined in Article VI of the GPUS Rules and Procedures, followed by a two-week discussion period and a one-week vote.

6-4 Recall

6-4.1 Any proposal to recall a Steering Committee member must be co-sponsored by a number of delegates equal to at least one-fifth of the National Committee, coming from at least one-fifth of the total number of state Green Parties and caucuses represented on the National Committee. Only one Steering Committee member can be proposed to be recalled with each proposal.

6-4.2 Any proposal to recall a Steering Committee member must state the specific grievance(s) upon which the recall proposal is based and relate them to the relevant duties and responsibilities of the position as defined in the GPUS Bylaws and the Rules and Procedures.

6-4.3 A recall proposal shall be considered submitted when it is posted to the National Committees Votes List and copied to the Secretary. The Secretary shall confirm within 48 hours of its receipt whether the requisite conditions specified in Article#6-4.1 and Article#6-4.2 have been met and shall report this to the National Committee Votes List. If the position proposed for recall is the Secretary, co-sponsors shall forward their proposal to the Co-Chairs, and the Co-Chairs shall confirm the conditions instead. If the Secretary or Co-Chairs, respectively, find that the conditions have not been met, they must approve findings that state how the conditions have not been met as part of their report to the National Committee Votes List.

6-4.4 All recall proposals shall be allotted three weeks for discussion and one week for voting. Discussion shall begin on the next regular starting date as defined in Article VI of the GPUS Rules and Procedures, after it has been confirmed that the proposal has requisite support. The vote shall be conducted online, even if an Annual National Meeting falls within the specified window. Quorum shall be two-thirds of member state Green Parties and caucuses, and the threshold for recall shall be two-thirds of those casting yes or no votes.

6-4.5 If the National Committee does not approve a recall proposal, no individual who brought the proposal forward may co-sponsor a new one against the same Steering Committee member until at least 90 days after the completion of the aforementioned vote.

Resources

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References

CONTACT: BLACK CAUCUS ADMIN - bcgpus@gmail.com

https://gpus.org/bylaws

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