Call to Convention

Pursuant to the authority vested in this Committee by the Virginia Democratic Party Plan (State Party Plan) the Seventh District Democratic Committee (7th District Committee) hereby calls a District Convention to convene virtually  at 11:30 A.M., on February 19th .Delegates, alternates and interested guests will be able to view the convention on the internet. Note that only delegates and alternates will be allowed to participate, however.  Delegates will engage in online voting for 30 minutes once voting commences.             This District Convention shall: Nominate twenty (20) persons, ten (10) men and ten (10) women (or as close as possible) to serve as the 7^th Congressional District Democratic Committee and serve on the Democratic Party of Virginia’s State Central Committee starting March 2022 until June 2026 when a new district committee is elected in the spring of 2026. (See Section III)

2. Allocation and Election of Delegates and Alternates

As determined by the Democratic Party of Virginia, the Seventh District Convention shall be composed of  delegates and  alternate delegates to be elected from Caroline County,  Culpeper County, City of Fredericksburg, Greene County, King George County, Madison County,  Orange County, part of Prince William County,  Spotsylvania County and Stafford County,  in accordance with the provisions of this Call. Accordingly, these numbers have been allotted by regions. Member Regions. The 7th Congressional District shall be divided into five regions that will each be served by four Central Committee members that reside in his or her region and are elected at the Convention. The member regions are as follows: Nova Region – Consists of all portions of the 7th Congressional District in Prince William County’s Woodbridge, Occoquan, and Coles Districts. Quantico Region – Consists of all portions of the 7th Congressional District in Prince William County’s Neabsco and Potomac Districts and the Griffis-Widewater District of Stafford County. Rappahannock North Region – Consists of King George County and Stafford County except for the Griffis-Widewater District. Rappahannock South Region – Consists of the City of Fredericksburg, Caroline County, and Spotsylvania County except for the Courtland and Chancellor Districts. Piedmont Region – Consists of all Greene County, Madison County, Orange County, Culpeper County, all portions of the 7th Congressional District in Albemarle County, and the Courtland and Chancellor Districts of Spotsylvania County. Piedmont Region    Rapp South Region        Rapp North Region        Quantico Region        NoVA Region Albemarle         Caroline            King George        Prince William        Prince William Culpeper        Fredericksburg        Stafford            Stafford Greene        Spotsylvania Madison Orange Spotsylvania

NoVA	Piedmont	Quantico	Rappahannock North	Rappahannock South
Locality	Del.	Locality	Del.	Locality	Del.	Locality	Del.	Locality	Del.
Prince William	38	Albemarle	1	Prince William	32	King George	5	Caroline	7
		Culpeper	10	Stafford	5	Stafford	30	Fredericksburg	7
		Greene	4					Spotsylvania	21
		Madison	3
		Orange	8
		Spotsylvania	9

3. Allocation of District Committee Members

The allocation of district committee members, as determined by using a numerical formula derived from delegates numbers in each locality shall be 4 per region as defined above. : TOTAL    4 SCC members * 5 regions + 20 allotted to cd 7 These allocations are in effect with the caveats voted by the seventh cd committee as of January 14, 2022, which specifies the conditions for an unfilled slot. In accordance with the DPVA Party Plan, the State Central Committee delegation must be gender balanced or a close as possible. In August of 2018, the DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee adopted language to facilitate the inclusion of individuals who identify as gender non-binary, meaning they do not self-identify as either female or male.  If gender non-binary individuals file to run for Central Committee member, ballots for Central Committee members  shall list all candidates on one ballot and the winners shall be the highest vote getters, achieving as close to parity as possible. If a male/female gender disparity greater than one elected member should exist upon the conclusion of the Convention, the 7th CD Committee shall rectify that disparity though its additional member appointment process.

4. Pre-filing for Delegate and Alternate Delegates to the CD Convention

1. Delegates and alternates shall be elected in accordance with provisions of the State Party Plan and this Call, including gender balance.
2. Individuals interested in serving as a delegate or alternate shall file on a form provided by DPVA..
3. Should one locality have too many individuals interested in serving as delegates (or alternates) those individuals may be moved and allowed to serve from another locality, within the cd, maximizing participation.
4. As long as the total number of individuals filed for delegate is equal to or less than the total allotted to cd 7, everyone filed will be declared elected.
5. After moving prefiled delegates and alternates to localities with vacancies, if any locality still has overage, that locality will hold an election at 11:30a on February 19^th just prior to the start of the 7^th CD convention.
6.  Pre-filing forms shall be made available by the DPVA electronically

C. No filing fee shall be required nor requested by any jurisdiction for delegate or alternate.  D.  Timeline The pre-filing deadline shall be 5:00 p.m., on February 12^th, 2022.  Delegate candidates for 7^th Congressional Democratic District Conventions shall pre-file with the DPVA. No filings shall be accepted after the deadline.

5. Verification of Caucus Participants. 

In the event that more individuals file to serve as Delegate in any one locality than positions available, vacancies may be filled across jurisdictions within cd 7. Example. If 40 individuals file for 50 Delegate Positions in Virginia Beach, and 20 individuals file for 10 Delegate Positions in Northampton, the CD Chair, in consultation with Party Staff, may move the delegates from representing Northampton to representing  Virginia Beach. These Delegates would be able to vote how they please at the CD Convention. All individuals must be registered voters in the congressional district.

6. Filing for State Central Committee.

Filing for State Central Committee shall be done on the form provided (see attached). The form and check must be received by Abbi Easter, Chair, by ,February 16,  2022 by 5p. Individuals may file electronically. There will be a $25 filing fee which can be sent by check with the filing fee to Abbi Easter, 2611 Cherrytree Lane, North Chesterfield 23235 or paid through ActBlue and the filing form sent electronically. . Only those persons eligible to serve on the 7^th cd committee (registered to vote in a seventh cd locality and willing to sign the oath), properly prefiled and in a timely manner will be shown on the ballot.

7. Voting for State Central Committee Members

The convention will vote on 20 members according to the regional allocation shown above, evenly divided by gender, following DNC guidelines (Section III of this Call). Any ballot with an overvote (by number or gender) will be discarded. The CD Convention delegates will each be assigned a unique identifying number. That number, along with a link to access the ballot, will be emailed to each delegate. Delegates will click on the link which will first request that they type their specific number in to the space provided to access their ballot. Ballots with an incorrect ID number entered will not be accepted. Delegates will then be able to view their ballot and be able to vote for candidates for DPVA Central Committee members. Ballots with overvotes will not be accepted nor will write in ballots (Eligible candidates must have pre-filed. If a delegate submits more than one electronic ballot, only the most recent one shall be accepted. Voting will be open for one-half hour.

8. Slates

Slates will be allowed. A slate may consist of up to 20 or fewer, following the regional allocations in Section III. Slates must conform to gender balance rules. Slates must be sent to Abbi Easter at [email protected] by Thursday, February 17 at 5p to be on the ballot. Slates will randomly be assigned color names (no blue!).  An individual can only appear on one slate. The chair will explain slate voting prior to the beginning of voting to ensure no over votes.)

VII. Subcommittee Appointed and Empowered to Act

A special subcommittee consisting of the Chair,  Secretary and such other persons as the District Chair shall appoint is empowered to act for and in the name of the District Committee in making additional plans and arrangements and finalizing dates and location for the execution of the resolution and to fill in the blanks of this draft call as time permits.

 VIII. Publication, Affirmative Action, Discrimination Prohibited

The officers and members of the District Committee shall take all reasonable affirmative action to publicize these party activities and retain full participation by all segments of the Democratic Party of the Seventh Congressional District in them. Discrimination on the basis of race, sex, age, color, national origin, religion, ethnic identity, or economic status in the conduct of these activities is prohibited. All Democrats are encouraged to participate in the delegate selection process. Pertinent parts of this Call shall be publicized in accordance with the Party Plan on the 7^th District Website, the Democratic Party of Virginia website and county and city committees’ websites. IX. Incorporated Documents. All appropriate provisions of the DPVA Party Plan, as those documents have been revised, are incorporated into this Call by reference, and made a part hereof/ Roberts Rules of Order are also incorporated for this Convention. Seventh Congressional District of the Democratic Party of Virginia District Committee Membership Filing Form I, the undersigned, hereby state that I am a Democrat, that I am a registered voter in the precinct, city, or county listed below, that I believe in the principles of the Democratic Party, and that I do not intend to support any candidate who is opposed to a Democratic nominee in the next ensuing election. PLEASE PRINT: NAME_________________________________________________________________________ ADDRESS_____________________________________________________________________ CITY_________________________________________________________ZIP______________ MAILING ADDRESS (if different)____________________________________________________ PHONE cell___________________________  other____________________________________ E-MAIL________________________________________________________________________ CD 7      county/city_______________________ Precinct_________________________________ GENDER_______________________________________________________________________ EMPLOYER____________________________________________________________________ OCCUPATION__________________________________________________________________ PLACE of EMPLOYMENT_________________________________________________________ SIGNATURE __________________________________________________        Date_________________________ All candidates for election to the 7^th CD Democratic Committee must file by 5p, on Feb 16^th, 2022, three days before the convention, which is February 19, 2022, with Abbi Easter, chair. There is a filing fee of $25.00 made payable to the 7^th District Democratic Committee. Filings will be accepted by mail, in person or electronically.  Filing is not considered complete until form and check are received. Filings may be sent to: Abbi Easter, 2611 Cherrytree Lane, North Chesterfield, VA 23235 or [email protected]. Please contact Abbi to arrange in person filing. Only those individuals who file completely and in a timely manner will be eligible for election. Paid for and Authorized by 7th District Democratic Committee