Letter to the DNC : Let the (Young) People Vote
As things stand, in Atlanta a week from today, a few party elites will elect the Democratic National Committee Chairperson, meant to be the leader of the party in 2018.
However, a grassroots movement could change this by forcing these elites to amend the DNC’s Charter to allow every Democratic (even those younger than 18) to elect the DNC Chair.
Sadly, the current DNC voting body has more in common with the Republican-controlled U.S. Congress than its members would care to admit. The 435 members of the House of Representatives are overwhelmingly WASPy and old; the DNC’s 447-person membership voting roster is fairly similar.*
It’s the not just the body’s composition, but also the process: the method for selecting a DNC Chairperson has striking similarities to how US Senators were chosen before the 17th amendment was ratified in 1913.**
But while Congress is bemoaned and disliked, the DNC has simply been irrelevant.
It doesn’t have to be this way.
Many of the same arguments Progressives made for the 17th amendment ring true today: an amendment to the Charter of the Democratic Party to popularly elected the DNC Chairperson could reinvigorate and reengage Democrats in the Party.
Change the Charter
Even without prior notice, the Charter of the Democratic Party can be amendment by “a vote of two-thirds of the entire membership of any Democratic Party Conference” according to Article 10, Section 1.
With 295 votes in Atlanta, the Charter could be amended in the following ways:
- Delete “a Chairperson,” from Article 3, Section 1.***
- Change “March” to “April” in Article 5, Section 2.****
- Add a seventh section to Article 8 that reads as follows: “The National Chairperson shall be elected by the people of the Democratic Party.”*****
And with those thirteen words added, two words deleted, and one word changed, the people of the Democratic Party could elect their party leader in 2017.
Why popular election of the DNC Chair is needed
There is a lot of progressive grassroots energy after Trump, whether the millions who attended the Women’s March, the tens of thousands who spontaneously protested in 80 airports nationwide, or the hundreds of thousands of citizens contacting their representatives.
But right now, Democrats are in danger of losing their constituency: a host of new organizations are competing for the energy and dollars of Progressives: Brand New Congress, Indivisible, Flippable, Swing Left, and RISE Party to name a few.
And while there are tons of great ideas within the Democratic Party (why not raise the money to hire every interested losing candidate who has been participating in the Vice Chair, Secretary, and Treasurer DNC Future Forums?), the status quo is not good enough.
If the Democratic Party generally and the Democratic National Committee specifically wants to remain relevant, it needs to empower its activists and engage voters.
What better way to do this than by a popular election?
It would provide an opportunity to engage the persistent non-voters who are crucial to transformative electoral change.
It would spur candidates to appeal to all current and future members of the Democratic Party, not to a narrow group of DNC voters.
It would increase viewership of DNC Forums and interest in the race in general, encouraging Democrats to become invested in the Party.
It would be an opportunity to start building voter outreach among people under 18: the Democratic Party Charter lists no age limit for Democratic Party members and, while the rules committee could impose one, giving young people a voice could engage them in our most basic democratic institution.
It would be a training ground for political organizers and an opportunity for Chair candidates to try new political strategies and methods in a relatively low-risk environment. Campaign innovation is something we desperately need — it is what made the insurgent Bernie campaign so successful.
It would be an opportunity to pilot inclusive voting methods on a national scale.
It would help the Democratic Party’s infrastructure. By bringing awareness to how the party works, Democrats could begin to build a true national network of local party members — it could be as simple as adding a question to the DNC Chair ballot asking if the Democrat would like to become a Precinct Committee Officer.
It is something we need now, not in four years. While it is true that this would be changing the rules in the middle of the game, this is not something that can wait. If a candidate cannot adjust to an election by the people, then they probably should not be the leader of the Democratic Party.
The logistics of how a popular election of a DNC chair could work
The rules committee should collaborate with progressive groups to come up with a process that is as simple and inclusive as possible while maintaining the integrity and security of the vote.
This could mean voting in person (opening up party offices nationwide on voting day), by mail (people print and returns ballots via the U.S.P.S.), or online (every person who donated to a Democratic candidate or completed a volunteer shift in Votebuilder is sent a unique voting link via email or text).
Whatever the details, the process should be designed to increase engagement in the Democratic Party. This might mean hosting additional forums / debates before ballots are made available. It might mean including a few survey questions on the ballot, such as mailing address, whether interested in being a Precinct Committee Officer, issues the voter cares about, best method of contact (social media username, email address, or phone number to text or call), and best day of week / time for Democratic Party to contact person via this preferred method. It might mean an increased focus on data security and individual privacy, rebuilding voter’s trust in the Party’s use of their information.
In future years, this voting process could be modified. And, if successful, the Charter could be amended to provide for popular election for all elected DNC positions.
How to advocate for popular election of the DNC chair
So, a week out from the vote, how could this actually happen?
- sharing and revising of idea on social media
- online petition showing popular support
- constituents contact their DNC state representatives advocating for the change
- large public presence at Rules & Bylaws Committee, Credentials Committee, and General Session meetings in Atlanta
I do not have a preferred candidate in the race for DNC Chair, nor do I presume to have the answers to what ails the party. However, I wrote this because I believe in both the Democratic Party and in the power of the people. I worked on Obama’s campaign while I was still in college and quit my job to work to elect Clinton. I’ve seen some organizers I worked with become disillusioned with the party and start their own political ventures, while I’ve seen others defend the status quo, acting as glorified cheerleaders for their preferred Chair candidate.
I find myself somewhere in the middle — frustrated at the current state of political affairs in the Democratic Party, but hopeful that it is an organization able to change. Popularly electing the DNC Chairperson will not magically make things better. But it is an important first step toward moving away from central control to putting the power where it belongs — in the hands of the people.
In the words of my beloved Congressman, I’m just trying to create some “good trouble” to make the Democratic Party — my party — a better institution.
*The DNC does have equal gender representation because of Article 9, Section 16 of the Democratic Party Charter, which reads “the membership of the Democratic National Committee … shall be as equally divided as practicable according to gender.”
**Before 1913, instead of direct election (as we have today), Senators were elected by the state legislatures, whose members (in theory) had the best interest of their constituents in mind, just as a state’s DNC voting members are (in theory) voting for the constituents who elected them to the Democratic state offices. Interestingly, many of the arguments for and against popular election of Senators ring true today.
***Article 3, Section 1 would then read: “Section 1. The Democratic National Committee shall have general responsibility for the affairs of the Democratic Party between National Conventions … This responsibility shall include: …
- (e) providing for the election or appointment of five Vice Chairpersons, one of whom shall be the President of the Association of State Democratic Chairs and one of whom shall be the Vice Chairperson for Civic Engagement and Voter Participation, a Treasurer, a Secretary, a National Finance Chair and other appropriate officers of the National Committee”
****Article 5, Section 2 would then read: “The National Chairperson … shall be elected: (a) at a meeting of the Democratic National Committee held after the succeeding presidential election and prior to April 1"
*****According to Article 8, Section 1: “The Democratic Party of the United States shall be open to all who desire to support the Party and who wish to be known as Democrats.”
