1 SEAMEC BYLAWS 2 Adopted January 4, 1995 3 (Amendment Dates Last Page) 4 Article I Name 5 The name of the organization is the Seattle Metropolitan Elections Committee for Gays, Lesbians, 6 Bisexuals and Transgendered persons. The organization will be known as SEAMEC. 7 Article II Purpose 8 SEAMEC will serve the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered community by working to 9 increase the level of political awareness among citizens and to enhance the influence and impact 10 of our community upon elections. 11 Article Ill Organization and Membership 12 SEAMEC is an membership organization open to any individual 16 years or older, or agency or 13 business, agreeing to the stated purpose of this organization. Membership dues shall be 14 determined at the annual meeting. Dues may be reduced or waived upon approval by two 15 members of the steering committee for any individual who requests a waiver due to financial 16 hardship. Memberships shall be available at all meetings of SEAMEC, and full membership rights 17 are effective upon completion of application and payment of dues. 18 Article IV Steering Committee 19 1) The Steering Committee is the governing body of SEAMEC and has final authority on all 20 questions. The Steering Committee determines the final ratings and endorsements. 21 2) The Steering Committee shall consist of up to fourteen positions of which twelve shall be 22 elected, and two positions which may be filled by appointment. Appointed positions are 23 intended to be filled by an exchange of representatives between SEAMEC and other similar non-partisan 24 community organizations, or upon other satisfactory reasons agreed upon and approved by 2/3 25 of the Steering Committee. The Steering Committee shall be gender balanced if possible. 26 Steering Committee positions shall be numbered one through fourteen (14). 27 3) The qualifications for elected Steering Committee members are as follows: 28 (a) Steering Committee members shall have participated actively in the process prior to 29 election to the Steering Committee. 30 (b) They shall be a member in good standing of SEAMEC, and agree to the stated 31 purpose of the organization. 32 4) Half of the members of the Steering Committee shall be elected at the annual meeting. Terms 33 of office shall be two years. Even numbered positions shall be elected in years ending in an 34 even number (0,2,4,6,8) and odd numbered positions shall be elected in years ending with an 35 odd number (1,3,5,7,9). 36 5) The Steering Committee may, at its discretion, appoint a nominating committee, for the 37 purpose of submitting candidates for election to the Steering Committee at the Annual Meeting. 1 Nominations for Steering Committee can also be made from the floor by any member in 2 attendance during the annual meeting, provided all nominees meet the qualifications for 3 Steering Committee Members. 4 6) Steering Committee member may resign by providing verbal notification or presenting a written 5 statement of resignation to the chairs of the organization. 6 7) Any Steering Committee member who misses three consecutive regular meetings of the 7 Steering Committee, without excuse approved by a Co-Chair, is subject to removal pursuant to 8 Section 8 of this article. 9 8) A member of the Steering Committee may be removed for cause by affirmative vote of two 10 thirds of the Steering Committee; PROVIDED, that notice and cause of such removal is given 11 to the member to be removed at least twenty days prior to the vote on removal, and the 12 member is provided with an opportunity to present his/her case to the steering committee prior 13 to the vote. 14 Article V Officers 15 1) The officers of the Steering Committee shall consist of Co-Chairs, one female and one male, 16 Secretary(s), a Treasurer, and other officers as approved by the Steering Committee. The 17 officers of the Steering Committee shall be elected from its members to a one year term of 18 office, by a majority vote of the Steering Committee. Except that; if desired a qualified 19 Secretary and/or Treasurer may be elected from the general membership to serve as a non- 20 voting officer. The Steering Committee, by a 2/3 vote, may appoint other officers as it deems 21 necessary. Such appointed officers, unless already serving, or later appointed to the Steering 22 Committee, shall not enjoy voting privileges on the Steering Committee. 23 2) A SEAMEC officer, or an officer of the Steering Committee, may resign from office by 24 presenting a written statement of intent to the Steering Committee at least ten days prior to the 25 effective date of the resignation. 26 3) An Officer may removed from office for cause by affirmative vote of two-thirds majority of the 27 Steering Committee; PROVIDED, that notice and cause of such removal is given to the officer 28 to be removed at least twenty (20) days prior to the vote on removal, and the officer is provided 29 an opportunity to present his/her case to the Steering Committee prior to the vote. 30 4) The officers of SEAMEC will function as a personnel and grievance committee as required. 31 Unless otherwise directed by the Steering Committee, the Co-Chairs of SEAMEC will be 32 responsible for coordinating paid and volunteer staff, and for establishing the duties of paid 33 staff. 34 5) The officers of SEAMEC are the only official spokespersons for the organization; PROVIDED, 35 that such authority may be delegated by the Co-Chairs for any specified purpose or project. 1 Article VI Vacancies 2 1) A vacant position on the Steering Committee may be filled by majority vote of the Steering 3 Committee. Any position so filled, shall be filled by election for the remainder of the term, if any, 4 at the next annual election. 5 2) A vacancy on the Steering Committee which is to be filled pursuant to Section 1 of this article 6 shall be well publicized to the community. 7 3) Persons selected to fill such vacancies shall meet the qualifications for Steering Committee 8 Membership pursuant to Article IV, Section 3 a & b, and shall also have met the additional 9 qualification of having attended a minimum of two Steering Committee meetings prior to being 10 elected to fill a vacancy. 11 Article VII Meetings 12 1) The Steering Committee shall meet at least once each quarter at a time and place determined 13 and announced by the Co-Chairs. Special meetings may be called at the discretion of the Co-- 14 Chairs, or by written request to the Co-Chairs by two members of the Steering Committee. 15 2) Fifty percent plus one of the Steering Committee as constituted shall constitute a quorum. 16 Except as otherwise provided for, all actions of the Steering Committee shall be by simple 17 majority vote of those present. The presiding Co-Chairperson will vote only to break a tie, or in 18 a vote pursuant Article IV, Section 8 or Article V, Section 3. Proxies may be used in a Steering 19 Committee meeting under the following conditions: 20 (a) Proxies may not be used for the purpose of obtaining a quorum. 21 (b) Proxies must be presented to a co-chair in writing signed by the designator, and shall be 22 attached to the official minutes. 23 (c) Proxy votes will be cast by the co-chair, and only to break a tie. Exception: designator may 24 direct co-chair to cast her/his vote "yea" or "nay" on a specific item or on a specific 25 nominee. 26 3) Visitors attending a Steering Committee meeting may participate in discussion but may not 27 make motions or vote. 28 4) The annual meeting will be held in the First Quarter of the year. It will be open to the public and 29 shall be well publicized. Voting at the annual meeting to members in good standing. The 30 Membership Committee shall verify those eligible to cast votes. The agenda shall include, but 31 not be limited to, election of Steering Committee members, presentation of the financial 32 statement, plus any other business determined by the Steering Committee, or presented by the 33 membership. 34 5) Except as otherwise provided for in these bylaws (Article X, Section 2a) or any committee 35 policy and procedure statement approved by the Steering Committee, all meetings shall be 36 open. 1 Article VIII Committees 2 1) The Steering Committee shall establish such committees, and subcommittees as it deems 3 appropriate to carry out the purposes of SEAMEC. Every committee and subcommittee shall 4 be responsible to the Steering Committee. 5 2) The Steering Committee shall appoint and remove all committee chairs. The Steering 6 Committee has the authority to remove any committee member or volunteer from any 7 committee, subcommittee, or panel. 8 3) The following committees shall be established as standing committees mandated by these 9 bylaws. 10 (a) Resources. This committee is charged with developing the human and financial resources 11 which support SEAMEC's operations. The committee shall be responsible for membership, 12 including the recruit-merit of new members and retention of existing members; fundraising; and 13 the organization's database, which should include, but need not be limited to major donors, 14 current members and volunteers, and prospects for membership. 15 (b) Operations/Research. This committee is charged with generating political information of 16 interest to the GLBT community. The committee shall be responsible for investigating the prior 17 records, public statements, and affiliations of candidates for public office, pending legislation, and 18 other political issues of interest to the GLBT community; creating questionnaires used in the 19 interview process, and rules governing interviews and ratings, subject to approval by the Steering 20 Committee; tabulating data from the interviews; and surveying or polling of members, volunteers, 21 and/or the GLBT community. 22 (c) Communications. This committee is charged with delivering information to the GLBT 23 community. The committee shall be responsible for producing and distributing SEAMEC's ratings 24 sheet, and other print information; designing and managing SEAMEC's website; producing and 25 distributing press releases in coordination with the Co-Chairs; and creating and placing ad copy. 26 4) To govern its activities, each standing committee shall develop a Policy and Procedure 27 Statement and submit it for approval to the Steering Committee. 28 5) As soon as possible after their appointment, the chairs of the standing committees shall 29 provide the Steering Committee with prioritized .goals for the coming year, and a plan to achieve 30 them. Upon review and adoption by the Steering Committee, these plans shall constitute 31 SEAMEC's action agenda for the year. 32 6) Standing committee chairs will make periodic progress reports to the Steering Committee as 33 requested by the Co-Chairs. 34 7) Prior to the annual meeting, standing committee chairs shall provide the Co-Chairs with a 35 report on completion of their goals, for transmission to the membership. 36 Article IX Rules of Order 37 Robert's Rules of Order shall govern all proceedings of the Steering Committee and any 38 committee so long as such rules do not conflict with or are not inconsistent with any provision of 39 the procedural statement approved by the Steering Committee. 1 Article X Policies 2 1) Integrity and Credibility 3 (a) In the interest of integrity and credibility, members of the Steering Committee and staff will 4 not be aligned in any way with a candidate for office which SEAMEC is evaluating, until the 5 ratings for the primary elections are released. Until such time, members will avoid any 6 situation which might lend even an appearance of support for a candidate. Members are 7 expected to disclose possible conflicts of interest to the steering committee. 8 (b) Volunteer interviewers may not participate in the interview or deliberation process for any 9 contest in which they have indicated support for a candidate. After ratings are released by 10 SEAMEC, volunteer interviewers may involve themselves with the campaigns of any or all 11 candidates. 12 (c) Any member or volunteer may speak publicly as an individual regarding SEAMEC's 13 evaluations, but shall clearly state that they are providing their personal opinion and it is not 14 representative of SEAMEC. 15 2) Confidentiality 16 (a) To ensure maximum freedom of any endorsement deliberations of the Steering Committee 17 are absolutely confidential. 18 (b) No member of the Steering Committee and no member of any committee created to 19 evaluate candidates for office may comment on the substantive content of the evaluation or 20 the endorsement process before that process has been completed. 21 (c) Candidates for office will be advised that SEAMEC's candidate interviews are "on the 22 record" after SEAMEC releases its ratings and endorsements. The specific questions used 23 by SEAMEC shall be confidential, unless release is authorized by a 2/3 affirmative vote of 24 the Steering Committee. 25 (d) The membership list of SEAMEC shall be confidential, unless release is authorized by a 2/3 26 affirmative vote of the Steering Committee. 27 3) Policy Manual 28 The Steering Committee shall establish and maintain a SEAMEC Policy Manual. Policy 29 statements approved by the Steering Committee shall be kept in the Policy Manual and shall 30 relate to, but not be limited to, activities, administration, finances, and organization. 31 4) The Steering Committee may endorse candidates, initiatives, referendums, issues, or causes 32 if the particular endorsement is approved by a 2/3 majority of the Steering Committee 33 Members voting at a regularly scheduled meeting. 34 Article XI Dissolution 35 1) Dissolution of SEAMEC must be conducted as follows: 36 (a) A motion to recommend dissolution to the membership must be introduced at a regularly 37 scheduled Steering Committee meeting. 1 (b) The motion shall be scheduled for a vote at the next regularly scheduled Steering 2 Committee meeting. The entire Steering Committee must be notified of the date, time, and 3 place for this meeting in writing no less than twenty days prior to consideration of the 4 motion. 5 (c) Motions recommending dissolution must be approved by a 2/3 affirmative vote of the entire 6 Steering Committee. 7 (d) Upon passage by the Steering Committee, a Community meeting shall be called in no less 8 than 30 days after such a vote. The issue of dissolution shall be well publicized, along with 9 the date, time, and location of the meeting, and shall also be advertised in community 10 publications as a legal notice. 11 (e) Dissolution shall occur upon approval by 60% of those members present and voting. 12 2) Upon dissolution of SEAMEC, the Steering Committee shall designate and individual or 13 organization. as trustee for all records produced or received by SEAMEC. In addition, the 14 Steering Committee shall designate an organization which serves the community, to receive 15 any unencumbered balance of funds. 16 Article XII Amendments 17 These bylaws may be amended by an affirmative vote of two-thirds (2/3) of the members of the 18 Steering Committee; PROVIDED, that the proposed amendment was read and considered at the 19 previous Steering Committee meeting, and that written notice of the proposed amendment was 20 given to each Steering Committee member at least one week prior to such a vote. Bylaws and 21 such amendments shall be filed with the State of Washington as required by law. 22 Amended: 1/22/95 23 Amended: 2/12/98 Article IV Steering Committee, Sect 2/3/6 24 Amended: 2/--/99 Article VIII Committees Sec. 3a-3d, 4; added 5-7 25 Re-Typed 3/9/98 26 Re-Typed 2/5/00