Puget Sound LSC Bylaws

Adopted 3/16/2024, Last amended 9/29/24

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

Article I. Name.

The name of this body shall be 'The Puget Sound Local of the Libertarian Socialist Caucus'. The short forms of this name shall be 'Puget Sound LSC’ and ‘PS-LSC'. This document will refer to this body as the Local, to the national Libertarian Socialist Caucus as the National, to Horizon Federation as Horizon, and to the Democratic Socialists of America as DSA.

Article II. Mission Statement.

The Puget Sound Local of the Libertarian Socialist Caucus is a body of voluntarily-associating LSC members who organize within the Puget Sound region to extend LSC's political vision to our local organizing efforts.

Article III. Membership.

Section 1. Eligibility.

The Local's eligible pool of membership shall consist of all DSA members who are affiliated and in good standing with a DSA chapter located in the following Washington state counties: King County, Kitsap County, Pierce County, Snohomish County, and Thurston County.

Section 2. Membership.

The Local's membership shall constitute the highest legislative body of the Local. It shall consist of all individuals from the Local's eligible pool of membership who have met all of the following criteria:

  1. The individual is either a current member of the National, or has submitted an application to join the National within two weeks of the Local's eligibility to conduct Horizon orientations, and has yet to attend a new-member orientation,
  2. The individual expresses interest in being part of the Local, and
  3. The individual has not been previously expelled from the National or Horizon, or has been formally reinstated following an expulsion.

Section 3. Expulsion.

The Local may vote to expel a member by a three-fourths vote after all attempts at mediation and restorative justice have been exhausted. A member that has been expelled at the Local level does not automatically become expelled from the National nor Horizon. Expulsion from the National shall be equivalent to expulsion from the Local. The Local will make use of the mediation process outlined by the National where appropriate.

Article IV. Officers.

Section 1. Selection Method.

The selection method of Local officers shall be sortition, i.e. random selection from a pool of eligible members. Officer positions shall be filled in order of their enumeration in this article, from among a pool of members who shall have met all of the following criteria:

  1. The member has been a current member of the Local for the past two months, or since the Local's incorporation,
  2. The member has not held the given position for the previous term, unless no other valid members are in sortition,
  3. The member does not reject inclusion in the sortition pool,
  4. The member has not yet been selected for a position for the incoming term, and
  5. The member has not previously been recalled from the given position, unless reinstated per Section 4.

Section 2. Selection Process.

At minimum, sortition for new officers shall be observed by, in order of preference, two current officers, else one current officer and one volunteer member, else two volunteer members. The most preferred option shall be used except where prohibitively unreasonable.

Section 3. Recall and Vacancy.

Subsection 1. Recall.

Unless otherwise stated, officers may be recalled by a one-third minority vote. Recalled officers shall not be included in the sortition pool unless reinstated by a two-thirds vote.

Subsection 2. Recall by Default.

If a member refuses to accept an officer position within one week of being selected, they shall be immediately recalled without a vote.

Subsection 3. Vacancy.

If an office becomes vacant due to recall, resignation, or sudden ineligibility, sortition shall be conducted as immediately as possible to find another valid officer for the position to serve the remainder of the previous officer's term.

Section 4. Collective Responsibilities.

All officers shall collectively share the following responsibilities:

  • Liaising with the National as required by the bylaws of both the National and the Local,
  • Conducting sortition in keeping with the terms of the relevant officer positions, and
  • Favorably representing the interests of the Local as its official spokespersons.

Section 5. Delegation.

Officers other than the Horizon Delegate may delegate their responsibilities to other members, with mutual consent, in the event of an expected absence. These responsibilities may not be delegated to a member who has previously been recalled from the given role without reinstatement, or to a member who has not been properly trained on the responsibilities of the position, if applicable.

Section 6. Positions.

Subsection 1. Horizon Delegate.

The Horizon Delegate shall be responsible for serving on the Horizon Steering Committee as a representative of the Local to vote on its behalf, and shall report to the Horizon Liaison their rationale for voting decisions. The Horizon Delegate shall assist in managing the Local's asynchronous votes alongside the Horizon Liaison. The term of the Horizon Delegate shall be six months, concurrent with the terms of the Horizon Liaison and Onboarding Officer.

Subsection 2. Horizon Liaison.

The Horizon Liaison shall be responsible for attending Horizon Steering Committee and General Assembly meetings on behalf of the Local and shall report to the Local on developments within those bodies that are pertinent to its organizing. The Horizon Liaison shall assist in managing the Local's asynchronous votes alongside the Horizon Delegate. The term of the Horizon Liaison shall be six months, concurrent with the terms of the Horizon Delegate and Onboarding Officer. In the event that there are not enough members in sortition to fill the role of Horizon Liaison, the role of Horizon Liaison shall be filled by the Horizon Delegate.

Subsection 3. Onboarding Officer.

The Onboarding Officer shall be responsible for facilitating local orientation meetings for interested DSA members to join Horizon and LSC, and shall be required to receive necessary instruction from Horizon and the National to this end. The term of the Onboarding Officer shall be six months, concurrent with the terms of the Horizon Delegate and Liaison.

Subsection 4. Facilitator.

The Facilitator shall be responsible for organizing and chairing meetings of the Local and should be educated on the rules of parliamentary procedure. Previous Facilitators are expected (but not required) to help train new Facilitators. The term of the Facilitator shall be three months, concurrent with the term of the Secretary. In the event that there are not enough members in sortition to fill the role of Facilitator, the role of Facilitator shall be filled by the Onboarding Officer.

Subsection 5. Secretary.

The Secretary shall be responsible for keeping and maintaining the Local’s documents, including but not limited to:

  • Meeting minutes,
  • Working documents,
  • Membership lists, and
  • Records of resolutions and bylaws changes deliberated by the Local.

The term of the Secretary shall be three months, concurrent with the term of the Facilitator.

Article V. Platform.

Section 1. Adoption of Federated Points of Unity.

The Local affirms the Points of Unity of the National and of Horizon.

Section 2. Local Points of Unity.

The Local shall reserve the right to adopt its own Points of Unity that are more closely pertinent to its mission as defined in Article II. These points shall not conflict with the Points of Unity affirmed in Section 1. Local Points of Unity shall only be adopted or amended by a three-fourths vote.

Article VI. Meetings and Discussion.

Section 1. Meetings.

The Local will hold general membership meetings no less often than once every three months. Meetings may be called sooner if a date and time is agreed upon by a quorum of members, or if a more frequent schedule is decided by a two-thirds vote. All official records of Local meetings shall be kept using encrypted software. All in-person Local meetings shall be immediately followed with a post-meeting social at an informally agreed-upon location.

Section 2. Discussion Space.

The Local will maintain a single digital discussion space open to all members. Instructions on how to access this space shall be given to newly approved members within a week following orientation. A repository of official Local documents shall be provided in a readily-accessible location within this space.

Article VII. Voting.

Section 1. Adoption of Federated Voting Rules.

Unless otherwise specified, the Local adopts the voting rules of the National per its bylaws.

Section 2. Quorum.

Subsection 1. Active Membership.

"Active membership" shall be defined as the number of Local members who are defined as active members of the National per Article V, Section 1 of the National's bylaws.

Subsection 2. Local Quorum.

Quorum for Local meetings (i.e. synchronous votes) shall be set at one-third of active membership (rounded up), or five members, whichever number is larger. Quorum for asynchronous votes shall be set at two-thirds of active membership (rounded up), or eight members, whichever number is larger. These numbers shall be posted in a location accessible by caucus members.

Section 3. Amendments.

These bylaws shall be amendable by a three-fourths majority vote.

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