2007 California Elections Code Article 1. Members

CA Codes (elec:7150-7171)

7150.  The state central committee shall consist of:
   (a) One member for each of the following elective officials:
   (1) Governor.
   (2) Lieutenant Governor.
   (3) Treasurer.
   (4) Controller.
   (5) Attorney General.
   (6) Secretary of State.
   (7) All members of the State Board of Equalization.
   (8) All Senators and Representatives of Congress from California.

   (9) All Members of the Legislature.
   (b) Members elected by county central committees pursuant to this
part.
   (c) Members appointed pursuant to this part.
   (d) The national committeemen and national committeewomen of the
party.
   (e) Any person elected to fill a vacancy in the Legislature in a
special election.
   (f) Any immediate past party officers as may be provided by party
bylaws.
   (g) Members elected by Assembly district caucuses pursuant to this
part.
   (h) The President of the California Democratic Council.
   (i) The president, vice president, northern section president, and
the southern section president of the Federation of Young Democrats,
and any officer of the National Young Democrats who resides in
California.
   (j) Former elected, nonjudicial statewide officeholders as
described in Section 7153.



7151.  Within 30 days after the direct primary election, the state
central committee shall send a notice by mail to each person who, as
of the following year, will be a member of the state central
committee according to subdivision (a) of Section 7150.  The notice
shall inform each person that:
   (a) The person shall appoint members of the state central
committee and the number of appointments to which he or she is
entitled or will be entitled, depending on the outcome of the general
election.
   (b) The appointment of members of the state central committee
shall be made in writing in the form prescribed in Section 7152
signed by the person and filed in accordance with Section 7159.
   (c) A form of proxy is enclosed which the person may use.



7152.  The state central committee shall enclose with the notice
required by Section 7151 one copy of the following statement for
appointment of members of the state central committee, which shall be
in substantially the following form:

      APPOINTMENT OF MEMBERS OF THE STATE CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF THE
DEMOCRATIC PARTY MEETING AT ____, IN THE YEAR 19_

   I, ____, duly qualified as a member of the state central committee
of the Democratic Party at ____ in the year 19_ by virtue of my
(appointment by the ____ central committee) (nomination) (election to
the office of ____) (strike out parts inapplicable) on the ____ day
of ____, 19_ upon the Democratic ticket, do hereby appoint the
following voters, who shall be members of the state central
committee:



__________________________________________________________________
            Name               Senatorial,             Post office
                              Congressional,             address
                            Assembly district

__________________________________________________________________
             Name               Senatorial,             Post office
                               Congressional,             address
                             Assembly district

__________________________________________________________________
             Name               Senatorial,             Post office
                               Congressional,             address
                             Assembly district




7153.  Any person who held any of the offices described in
paragraphs (1) to (6), inclusive, of subdivision (a) of Section 7150
or held the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, and who
at the time of filing his or her nomination documents for the
particular statewide office was affiliated with the Democratic Party,
as indicated by the person's affidavit of registration, shall be a
member of the state central committee.
   Former officeholders entitled to committee membership under this
section shall serve on the committee for that length of time equal to
the time that the officeholders served in the particular statewide
office.



7154.  (a) Each officer named in subdivision (a) of Section 7150 who
was nominated and elected as a candidate of the party and whose term
of office extends beyond the first Monday in December, in the case
of Members of the Legislature, and the Monday after January 1, in the
case of other officers, next following the direct primary election,
or the appointee or successor appointed, elected, or otherwise
designated by law to fill a vacancy in the office of that officer,
shall be known as a "holdover member."
   (b) Each candidate of the party in whose behalf nomination papers
were filed and who was nominated at the direct primary election by
that party shall be known as a "nominee member." Nominees for an
office, the term of which extends beyond two years, are members of
each succeeding state central committee until that following the
direct primary election at which nominations for the office are again
to be made. If a candidate is a "nominee member" in the year in
which he or she is nominated, and is elected to the office at the
succeeding general election, the candidate shall be considered a
"holdover member" in the next odd-numbered year.
   (c) One member shall be appointed pursuant to Section 7168 for
each of the officers named in subdivision (a) of Section 7150 not
represented by a "holdover member" nor by a "nominee member" of the
party.



7155.  A person otherwise qualifying for more than one membership
listed in subdivision (a) of Section 7150 shall be a member solely by
virtue of that membership last acquired.



7156.  Each nominee member listed in subdivision (a) of Section 7150
shall appoint to membership on this committee voters as follows:
   (a) Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Treasurer, Controller, Attorney
General, Secretary of State, United States Senators from California,
members of the State Board of Equalization, and Senators shall each
appoint three voters, at least two of whom shall be of the opposite
sex.
   (b) Representatives of Congress from California and Members of the
Assembly shall each appoint two voters, at least one of whom shall
be of the opposite sex.
   All appointments made pursuant to this section shall be absolute.




7157.  A "holdover member" or a "nominee member" who has been
elected to an office under subdivision (a) of Section 7150 at the
general election, or following any special election, shall appoint
additional voters to membership on this committee, as follows:
   (a) Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Treasurer, Controller, Attorney
General, Secretary of State, United States Senators from California,
members of the State Board of Equalization, and Senators, three
additional voters, at least one of whom shall be of the opposite sex.

   (b) Representatives of Congress from California and Members of the
Assembly, three additional voters, at least two of whom shall be of
the opposite sex.
   All appointments made pursuant to this section shall be absolute.



7158.  Any person who is a member of this committee by reason of
having been elected to fill a vacancy in the Legislature in a special
election, shall within 60 days of the special election, appoint
additional members to this committee in the same manner as holdover
members and nominee members make those appointments.




7159.  Appointments of members of this committee shall be made in
writing, signed by the member, and delivered to the chairperson of
this committee.  The deliveries shall be made not later than 5 p.m.
of the first Monday following the regular statewide general election.



7160.  Within 35 days following the regular statewide general
election, each county central committee shall elect members to the
state central committee as follows:   two members for the first 5,000
registered Democrats, and one member for each 25,000 registered
Democrats or portion thereof, over 5,000.  The number of registered
Democrats shall be as of the most recent report of registration to
the Secretary of State.
   The members elected pursuant to this section shall be divided as
equally as possible between men and women who are members of the
county central committee and were elected at the preceding direct
primary, or who were appointed pursuant to Section 7228.



7161.  By no later than January 1 of an odd-numbered year, the
county chair shall notify the chair of the state central committee in
writing signed by him or her of the names and addresses of those
persons elected pursuant to Section 7160.




7162.  Within 35 days following the regular statewide general
election, a caucus as provided in this section shall be convened in
each Assembly district in the state by the Democratic nominee for the
Assembly at the general election or by the nominee's designee.
However, if the Assembly district is the residence of the Democratic
State Senate nominee, or if none, of the holdover Democratic Senate
nominee, the caucus shall be called by that person or his or her
designee.  If the Assembly district is the residence of more than one
such person, in addition to the Assembly nominee, the caucus shall
be called by the person whose senatorial district includes the
greatest proportion of the registered voters of the Assembly
district, or that person's designee.  In the event of the failure of
the appropriate person to call the caucus, the chair of the state
central committee shall call the caucus.
   The person calling the caucus shall be assisted by an Assembly
district executive committee in setting the time and place of the
caucus and the procedure to be followed at the caucus.  The executive
committee shall consist of all members of the state central
committee who attained that membership by operation of law or by
appointment after the preceding direct primary election and county
central committee members elected in the preceding direct primary
election residing in the district.
   The person calling the caucus or the person's designee shall
preside over the caucus as temporary chair until a permanent chair is
elected by the caucus.
   Every registered Democrat as of the close of registration and
residing in the district shall be entitled to attend and vote at the
caucus.  The executive committee and the person calling the caucus
shall make every reasonable effort to make known to all registered
Democrats in the district the time, place, and purpose of the caucus
and their right to participate.
   Each caucus shall elect five members to the state central
committee.  In addition, each caucus shall elect five alternates who
shall serve as members in the event of vacancies.  Alternates shall
fill vacancies in the order based upon the number of votes received
in the caucus.   To the extent possible, persons elected shall be
equally divided between men and women.
   Any person seeking election to the state central committee shall,
at least five days prior to the Assembly district caucus, deliver to
the temporary chairperson a nomination paper subscribed to by the
number of signers set forth in subdivision (c) of Section 8062.  The
nomination paper shall be in a form substantially similar to that set
forth in Section 8041, except that the paper shall not be examined
and certified by the elections official.  The elections official
shall not be required to prepare or distribute nomination papers to
persons seeking election pursuant to this section.
   The number of nomination papers that a person may sign shall not
exceed the number of members that the caucus is entitled to elect to
the state central committee.
   The temporary chairperson or his or her designee shall be
responsible for the examination and verification of all nomination
papers.
   Within five days following the Assembly district caucus, the
person calling the caucus shall notify the chairperson of the state
central committee in writing signed by him or her of the names and
addresses of the persons elected to membership on the state central
committee and their alternates pursuant to this section.




7163.  The chairperson of this committee shall notify each person
appointed or elected as a member of this committee:
   (a) That he or she is a member of the committee.
   (b) Of the date, time, and place of the meeting of the committee.

   (c) That the meeting may be attended either in person or by proxy.

   (d) That every proxy shall be filed in the office of the state
central committee not later than 5 o'clock of the afternoon of the
day preceding the meeting of the committee.
   (e) That the proxy shall be in writing, signed by the member under
penalty of perjury.
   The chairperson shall enclose with each notice one copy of the
form of proxy.



7164.  A person is not eligible for appointment or election to this
committee if he or she is not registered as affiliated with this
party at the time of his or her appointment or election.



7165.  This committee may remove any member appointed or elected to
this committee, who during his or her term of membership affiliates
with or registers as a member of another party, publicly advocates
that the voters should not vote for the nominee of the party for any
office, or publicly gives support to or avows a preference for a
candidate of another party or candidate who is opposed to a candidate
nominated by this party.



7166.  In the event of the appointment or election of an ineligible
person, or whenever any member of this committee dies, resigns,
becomes incapacitated to act, or removes from the jurisdiction of the
committee or ceases to be a member of the committee's party, a
vacancy exists which shall be filled in the manner prescribed in
Section 7167.  A vacancy shall also exist on this committee when a
member is removed from the committee pursuant to Section 7195 or
Section 7165, and the vacancy shall be filled in the manner
prescribed in Section 7167.


7167.  Vacancies shall be filled as follows:
   (a) Should a member appointed to membership pursuant to Section
7156 or 7157 cease to be a member for any of the reasons specified in
Section 7166, the vacancy shall be filled by the person who made the
appointment, unless that person is himself or herself no longer a
member of this committee or indicates that he or she does not wish to
fill the vacancy, in which instances the committee shall do so.
   Notice shall be given by the committee to a person entitled to
fill a vacancy under this section as soon as possible after the
occurrence of the vacancy, and vacancies shall be filled not less
than three days preceding the first meeting of the committee.  The
committee shall notify in writing the state chair of all appointments
made pursuant to this subdivision.
   (b) Should a member elected to membership by a county central
committee pursuant to Section 7160 cease to be a member for any of
the reasons specified in Section 7166, notice shall be given to the
county central committee by the state central committee as soon as
possible after the occurrence of the vacancy, and the county central
committee shall fill the vacancy at its next meeting following the
notification and notify in writing the state chair of the election
held pursuant to this subdivision.
   (c) Should a member elected to membership by an Assembly district
caucus pursuant to Section 7162 cease to be a member for any of the
reasons specified in Section 7166, the resulting vacancy shall be
filled by the alternate who was elected for that purpose pursuant to
Section 7162.
   In the event a vacancy develops for which there is no alternate,
either because insufficient alternates were elected or because a
vacancy or vacancies have developed among the alternates, at the
earliest opportunity the Assembly nominee, the Senate nominee, or the
holdover Senate nominee or the appropriate nominee's designee shall
call a meeting of the Assembly district executive committee which
shall fill the vacancy.   That person shall notify in writing the
state chair of the selection made pursuant to this subdivision.



7168.  Members shall be appointed to fill vacancies occurring
pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 7154 as follows:
   (a) If the vacancy occurs in a senatorial or Assembly district
situated wholly within the limits of a single county, by appointment
by the county central committee of the party in the county of a
person who resides in the senatorial or Assembly district involved.
   (b) If the vacancy occurs in a senatorial or Assembly district
comprising two or more counties, by appointment by the county central
committee of the party in the county in which the disqualified or
deceased member resided, if the vacancy is caused by disqualification
or death, or in which the "holdover member" or "nominee member" of
the Republican party resides, if the vacancy is due to any other
cause.
   (c) If the vacancy occurs as to a United States Senator from
California or as to any of the state officers named in subdivision
(a) of Section 7150, by appointment by the state central committee.
   (d) If the vacancy occurs as to any Representative in Congress
from California, by appointment by the state central committee of a
voter who resides within the congressional district to be
represented.



7169.  In the event the appointment of alternate or associate
members is authorized by statute or the bylaws of the committee, this
committee shall supply forms to the members for the appointment of
such members.  The forms shall be in substantially the same language
as set forth in Section 7152, and shall contain suitable spaces
wherein there can be listed their names, addresses, and the numbers
of the congressional, Assembly, and senatorial districts in which the
appointees reside.



7170.  Each member listed in subdivision (a) of Section 7150 may
appoint three voters as associate members of this committee.  An
associate member shall have those privileges and obligations as are
given to him or her by the rules of the committee but shall not be
eligible to vote.



7171.  A person who is registered to vote is qualified for
appointment to the committee if otherwise eligible.