Adopted 5/9/2023, Last amended 2/22/2024

The official and up-to-date version of these bylaws can be viewed here.

Article I. Purpose, or What is LSC?

The Libertarian Socialist Caucus or Libertarian Socialist Circle (LSC) is the national DSA Circle of the Horizon Federation.

LSC is a working body within which shared members of the Democratic Socialists of America and the Horizon Federation can advocate and organize for libertarian socialist principles and a libertarian socialist vision of DSA’s structure and work, as outlined in the Horizon Bylaws and the Points of Unity. LSC’s primary points of interaction with DSA are its national structures, but members in regions with sufficient interest in libertarian socialist organizing are encouraged to form Horizon Cohorts or Sections. Horizon Cohorts or Sections whose members meet the membership requirements of LSC may apply to be Locals of LSC. Under no circumstances will LSC make any endorsement of any person for government office, or for any position outside of DSA.

Article II. Membership, or Who can be in LSC?

Section 1.

Membership in LSC shall be open to dues-paying members of DSA who are sympathetic to the ideals of libertarian socialism and agree with the Points of Unity and the purpose of the Circle outlined in Article I. LSC will maintain a public application collecting applicants’ name, DSA or YDSA chapter, email, and at least one other digital mode of contact, preferably one associated with the Circle’s primary mode of communication. LSC will hold orientation meetings for new applicants at least once per month. After attending an orientation meeting and agreeing to the membership requirements, applicants will become members of LSC.

Section 2.

Dual-carding with organizations or formations within DSA other than LSC is prohibited by default, but exceptions may be made on a case-by-case basis by the Orientation Leaders. Denials may be appealed to the general membership.

Section 3.

LSC will keep a membership list including current members, inactive members, and applicants. An up-to-date copy of the membership list will be provided to the Horizon Standing Committee at least every six months.

Section 4.

LSC Locals will be required to provide an up-to-date version of their bylaws to the LSC Circle, and must notify an Administrative Officer of LSC within one week of any change to their bylaws.

Section 5.

Members of LSC may cease to be members by inactivity, resignation, or expulsion. Members who do not attend a meeting of LSC for more than 6 months, or who do not vote on a motion considered by LSC for more than 6 months, or who express that they cannot or do not wish to remain active in LSC will cease to be members and become Horizon Associates, unless they remain active in another Horizon working body. A member who wishes to permanently withdraw from LSC and Horizon will be removed from the membership list at their request, rather than being marked as inactive.

LSC will not establish a process for expelling members beyond the expulsion process outlined in the Horizon Bylaws, and expulsion from Horizon is equivalent to expulsion from LSC. LSC will make use of the Horizon mediation process where appropriate.

Article III. Meetings and Platforms, or How do we talk to each other?

Section 1.

LSC will maintain a single digital discussion space open to all members. Instructions on how to access this space will be included in orientation meetings.

Section 2.

LSC will hold general membership meetings not less often than once every three months, and not more often than once per week. The purpose of general membership meetings is to discuss political questions facing LSC, to plan for future Circle activities, and to report on ongoing Circle activities. Notes from general meetings should be published in the primary discussion space after at most a week.

Section 3.

Working meetings may be scheduled at any time and with any frequency by members. Working meetings should be held on a platform open to the membership and reports on their work should be presented at the next general meeting. If notes are taken in a working meeting, they should be published in the primary discussion space no later than the next general meeting. If a regular working meeting is scheduled by motion, notes must be taken and published to the general membership.

Article IV. Officers, or Who’s responsible for all this?

Section 1.

LSC must elect no fewer than two of each of the following officers:

• General Meeting Facilitators, who will be responsible for facilitating general meetings and soliciting agenda items from the membership.
• Orientation Leaders, who will run orientation meetings for new members.
• Spokespersons, who will operate LSC’s social media accounts and public presence.
• Administrative Officers, who will operate internal tools and processes such as votes and polls, assist the Horizon Liaison in maintaining the membership list, and take on miscellaneous administrative work necessary for the functioning of the Circle.

Section 2.

LSC’s contributions to Horizon bodies will be chosen by sortition, including the Horizon Liaison and LSC’s Delegate in the Standing Assembly. The Horizon Liaison will be responsible for maintaining the membership list and ensuring LSC’s membership is aware of any debates of interest to LSC or active motions within Horizon, and should report at general meetings.

Section 3.

No officer position may be held by only one person, except those required to by the Horizon Bylaws. No officer may hold their position for more than a year without reelection, and if an officer holds a position for two years, they are not permitted to hold it again for a year. A member who has never held an officer position must be elected to each officer position at least once per year. There is no maximum number of officers for each position.

Section 4.

LSC may establish additional officer positions to meet ongoing needs identified by the Circle. A motion to create a new officer position may specify that the position should be filled by sortition or election, and if no method is specified the officers for that position should be elected.

Section 6.

Recall of any officer, including LSC’s Horizon officers, may be accomplished with a simple majority vote.

Article V. Voting, or How does this all work?

Section 1.

LSC will establish a quorum requirement by polling its membership list at least once every six months. A quorum poll may be called early at the request of at least five members or by consensus of the General Meeting Facilitators, but no sooner than three months after the most recent quorum poll. The quorum poll should include a question indicating respondents’ availability to participate in general meetings, and the desired frequency of general meetings. Active membership is defined as the total number of respondents to the quorum poll, and quorum will be set at 2⁄3 of the active membership. A quorum poll must be open for at least two weeks, and immediately after a quorum poll closes, the new quorum number should be announced to the membership. If no motion to alter the time and frequency of general meetings is made, or if such a motion is made and does not pass, the prior general meeting time and frequency stay in effect. Members shall remain free to make motions to alter the meeting time and frequency between quorum polls.

Section 2.

A motion is made by submitting the text of the motion in the primary discussion space of LSC. Motions must be seconded, and must specify a voting period, which may not be less than two weeks. Once a motion is submitted and seconded, the motion will be announced to the membership by email and in the primary discussion space and put up for an asynchronous vote. During this time, amendments may be offered. While all other motions shall require only one second, secondary motions (i.e, motions pertaining to a pending motion) must be seconded by four individuals, not including the author, before they may be considered for asynchronous voting (synchronous secondary motions shall only require one second). The voting period for an amendment is one week, and the voting period for the main motion will be extended by one week should the amendment pass. Members may change their votes at any time.

Section 3.

A motion may be passed early if the number of votes in favor is at least ⅔ (or ¾ in the case of bylaws amendments) of the active membership or the total number of votes, whichever is greater. A motion may be failed early if ⅔ of the active membership has voted against it. A motion may not be closed early if a related secondary motion is under consideration. Early closure of a motion that meets these requirements is not automatic or mandatory, and may be postponed at the discretion of the author or seconder of the motion or ⅔ of the Administrative Officers.

Section 4.

Votes on motions may be held synchronously during a general meeting. A synchronous vote must be announced to the general membership at least 4 days in advance. The quorum for a synchronous vote is half the quorum for an asynchronous vote. A request by 1/5 of members present at the general meeting shall cause the motion to be submitted for an asynchronous vote instead.

Section 5.

Motions of different types require different levels of support to pass.

• Motions to recall an officer, amendments to main motions, and most procedural motions within a meeting require a simple majority to pass.
• Motions to end debate within a meeting, and main motions, such as approval of a statement, election of an officer, endorsement of a proposal or a candidate for DSA leadership, or other general functions of the circle, require a ⅔ majority to pass.
• Motions to amend the bylaws, points of unity, or other central documents of the Circle, require a ¾ majority.

Section 6.

Motions may be proposed strictly regarding matters related to individual LSC Locals. Only members of the LSC Local may propose or vote on such motions. Statements approved through Local motions will be prominently labeled as statements of the LSC Local rather than of the caucus itself, but may still be communicated using official LSC resources. Quorum for LSC Local motions shall be determined by the Local as a proportion of its members. Voting rules for each Local may be further determined by the bylaws of the Local, otherwise the same rules used by the general body shall apply.

Section 7.

During the DSA Convention, special motions may be proposed strictly regarding matters related to convention. Only LSC delegates, alternates, and observers to the DSA Convention may propose or vote on such motions. The quorum for a convention motion is ¾ of all LSC delegates, alternates, and observers to the DSA Convention, and such motions require a ⅔ majority to pass. The voting period for convention motions may be as short as 20 minutes, and may end early if there are enough votes in favor that the motion would pass if every remaining eligible voter opposed the motion. If the convention motion does not meet quorum, the voting period is extended by 30 minutes. The results of all convention motions will be prominently labeled as statements of LSC’s convention delegation rather than of the caucus itself, but may still be communicated using official LSC resources.

Section 8.

Statements of dissent from official LSC statements or endorsements shall be published on LSC public-facing channels (e.g. an LSC website) upon petition by 1/5 of active membership. LSC shall prominently disclaim such statements as the opinions of the signatories, and such statements should not be construed as official statements of LSC.

The official and up-to-date version of these bylaws can be viewed here.