BY-LAWS OF THE
LOUISVILLE-JEFFERSON COUNTY DEMOCRATIC PARTY
Article I. Name/ Purpose
Section 1.01 The local Democratic Party’s official name shall be the Louisville-Jefferson County Democratic Party operating as the Louisville Democratic Party (LDP).
Section 1.02 The Executive Power of the Louisville Democratic Party (LDP) shall be vested in the County Executive Committee.
Section 1.03 The Louisville Democratic Party (LDP) shall operate in Jefferson County, KY.
Article II. Membership
Section 2.01 The County Executive Committee shall be comprised of: (a) the Legislative District Chairs (LDC);
(b) the Legislative District Vice Chairs (LDVC);
(c) the County Chair;
(d) the president(s) of the sanctioned Louisville/ Jefferson County Democratic Women’s Club(s);
(e) the president(s) of the sanctioned Louisville/ Jefferson County Young Democrat Club(s);
(f) and At-Large members equal to the number of State Legislative Districts wholly or partially within Jefferson County.
Section 2.02 The voting members of the County Executive Committee shall be:
(a) the Legislative District Chairs,
(b) the respective Legislative District Vice Chair from the same district;
(c) At-Large members equal to the number of State Legislative Districts wholly or partially within Jefferson County;
(d) representative(s) of the sanctioned Jefferson County Democratic Women’s Club(s);
(e) and representative(s) of the sanctioned Jefferson County Young Democrats Club(s).
Section 2.03 The president(s) of the sanctioned Jefferson County Democratic Women’s Club(s), and the president(s) of the sanctioned Jefferson County Young Democratic Club(s) or their representatives shall have one vote each amongst themselves, each partition of the one vote being equal.
Section 2.04 The president of the Young Democrats and Women’s club, if not present, will notify in writing or by electronic means of their representative.
Article III. Terms of Executive Committee
Section 3.01 The election of the Legislative District Chairs and Vice Chairs shall be governed by the State Party By-Laws. The election for the Jefferson County At-Large members shall be governed by the State Party By-Laws and these By-Laws as set forth herein.
Section 3.02 Nominations for Legislative District Chair, Legislative District Vice Chair, and Legislative District At-Large may be nominated from the floor at the district convention.
Section 3.03 All candidates for Legislative District Chair and Vice Chair, shall, at the time of their election, whether for a full term or to serve out an unexpired term, be a resident of the District they intend to serve.
Section 3.04 Candidates for County At-Large shall, at the time of their election, whether for a full term or to serve out an unexpired term, be a resident of Jefferson County.
Section 3.05 Legislative District Chairs and Vice Chairs are elected on a date set by the State Central Executive Committee.
Section 3.06 At-Large members are elected by the Legislative District Chairs and Vice Chairs on a date set by the County Executive Committee, within thirty (30) days of the Reorganization.
Section 3.07 No more than 3 At-Large Members may come from the same Legislative District.
Section 3.08 Terms for these offices are from one quadrennial Reorganization Day to the next quadrennial Reorganization Day.
Article IV. Duties
Section 4.01 Duties of the Executive Committee
(a) To govern the Louisville Democratic Party
(b) To have all responsibility, jurisdiction, and supervision over all matters relating to or affecting the Louisville Democratic party and its organization, finances, candidate nomination, campaign management, and public relations.
(c) To make rules, by-laws, and regulations as it shall deem necessary to promote the progress of the Louisville Democratic party, so long as such rules, by-laws, and regulations are not inconsistent with those of the Kentucky and National Democratic Parties.
(d) To hire staff and define the duties and responsibilities of such staff. (e) To maintain offices for the Louisville Democratic Party.
(f) To provide for the efficient and effective operation of the Louisville Democratic Party
(g) To take other measures as deemed necessary for the support and election of Democratic candidates to public office.
(h) To appoint a Chair Pro-Tempo to serve for a specific meeting in which both the County Chair and County Vice-Chair are absent. No person may be appointed to serve in this capacity by the County Chair or Vice Chair.
(i) To govern themselves and the County Executive Committee under the laws of the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
Section 4.02 Duties of Legislative District Chairs
(a) To conduct the affairs of the Democratic Party within their respective Legislative District.
(b) To maintain a Party organization of precinct leaders and others as needed, within the precincts of their Legislative Districts.
(c) To adhere to the Non-Disclosure Agreement signed at the beginning of their term on the County Executive Committee and any subsequent Non-Disclosure Agreement required by the local party.
(d) To have a fiduciary relationship with the Democratic Executive Committee.
(e) To comply with the requirements provided by the by-laws of the local, Kentucky, and National Democratic Parties.
(f) To serve on the various committees of the County Executive Committee
(g) To elect County At-Large members, who are residents of Jefferson County, for a term of equal date and duration to that of LD Chairs and Vice-Chairs
Section 4.03 Duties of Legislative District Vice-Chairs
(a) To serve in the capacity of the Legislative District Chair at meetings of the County Executive Committee at which their respective Legislative District Chair is absent.
(b) To assist under the direction of the Legislative District Chair in the affairs of the Democratic Party within their respective Legislative District.
(c) To adhere to the Non-Disclosure Agreement signed at the beginning of their term on the County Executive Committee and any subsequent Non-Disclosure Agreement required by the local party.
(d) To have a fiduciary relationship with the Democratic Executive Committee.
(e) To comply with the requirements provided by the by-laws of the local, Kentucky, and National Democratic Parties.
(f) To serve on the various committees of the County Executive Committee
Section 4.04 Duties of At-Large Members
(a) To assist under the direction of the County Party in the affairs of the Democratic Party within Jefferson County
(b) To adhere to the Non-Disclosure Agreement signed at the beginning of their term on the County Executive Committee and any subsequent Non-Disclosure Agreement required by the local party.
(c) To have a fiduciary relationship with the Democratic Executive Committee.
(d) To comply with the requirements provided in the by-laws of the local, Kentucky, and National Democratic Parties.
(e) To serve on the various committees of the County Executive Committee
Article V. Officers
Section 5.01 Elected officers shall be the County Chair, County Vice Chair, Secretary, and Treasurer.
Section 5.02 Eligibility for Officers
(a) Chair: May be any Democrat registered to vote in Jefferson County, Kentucky:
(b) Vice Chair: Must be a newly elected Legislative District Chair of the opposite sex of the chair:
(c) Secretary and Treasurer: May be any Democrat registered to vote in Jefferson County, Kentucky:
Section 5.03 The terms for these offices are from one quadrennial Reorganization Day to the next quadrennial Reorganization Day.
Section 5.04 Duties of County Chair
(a) To call a meeting upon the written request of twenty-five per cent (25%) of the members of the County Executive Committee.
(b) To hold at least one meeting per quarter, and additional meetings as deemed necessary.
(c) Within thirty (30) days of her/his election, appoint a Secretary and a Treasurer, who shall be ex officio non-voting members of the County Executive Committee, unless they are already voting members, then they maintain their vote as Executive Committee Members.
(d) To serve as the Chief Executive Officer of the County Executive Committee; and have the responsibility of executing and administering the rules and regulations governing the County Executive Committee.
(e) To serve as spokesperson for the Louisville Democratic Party or otherwise appoint someone to such duty.
(f) To appoint members of the County Executive Committee to any Standing, Regular, Select, Special, Ad-Hoc, or any other committee of the County Executive Committee.
(g) To serve as an ex-officio voting member of all Committees of the County Executive Committee.
(h) To designate County Executive Committee members with honorary titles upon approval by a majority vote of the voting members of the County Executive Committee.
(i) Any other such duties as may be approved by a majority vote of the voting members of the County Executive Committee.
Section 5.05 Duties of County Vice Chair
(a) To serve in the capacity of the County Chair at meetings of the County Executive Committee at which the County Chair is absent.
(b) To serve in capacities as directed by the County Party Chair which are not in conflict with any governing By-Laws.
Section 5.06 Duties of Secretary
(a) If not a current voting member of the executive committee, they serve as an ex-officio non-voting member of the County Executive Committee.
(b) To maintain a record of all Democratic organization personnel (official and unofficial) including names, addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses of all Precinct Committee members, Legislative District Chairs, Legislative District Vice Chairs, At-Large members, and other members of the County Executive Committee.
(c) To maintain a record of the minutes of all meetings of the County Executive Committee.
(d) To file all minutes of the County Executive Committee meetings with the Chair of the State Central Executive Committee within ten (10) days of such meetings.
(e) To make the information contained herein available upon request to any Democrat registered to vote in Jefferson County, Kentucky.
(i) The County Executive Committee reserves the right to charge for materials requested through the offices of the local Democratic Headquarters.
(f) To serve in capacities as directed by the County Party Chair which are not in conflict with any governing By-Laws.
Section 5.07 Removal of Officers/ Vacancies
(a) Any Party Officer shall be removed and their office declared vacant for their failure to support the nominees of the National or Kentucky Democratic Party, after hearing and declaration of such vacancy by a majority vote of the voting members of the County Executive Committee.
(b) Any Party Officer shall be removed and their office declared vacant for their disavowal of allegiance to either the National or Kentucky Democratic Committee, after a hearing and declaration of such vacancy by a majority vote of the voting members of the County Executive Committee.
(c) The County Chair/ Vice Chair may be removed at any time during their term without cause by a majority vote of the voting members of the County Executive Committee.
(d) The office of the County Chair shall be declared vacant should the County Chair fail to hold at least one meeting per quarter of the County Executive Committee.
(e) The office of the County Vice-Chair shall be declared vacant when a person of the same sex as the incumbent County Vice-Chair is elected to serve out an unexpired term of County Chair.
(f) The office of any member of the County Executive Committee shall be declared vacant by the member’s failure to attend, either in person, virtually, or by written proxy, more than fifty percent (50%) of the annual County Executive Committee meetings.
Section 5.08 Vacancies due to removal, resignation, or any other cause, in the office of County Chair, County Vice Chair, Legislative District Chair, Legislative District Vice Chair, and At-Large member, shall be filled by a majority vote of the voting members of the County Executive Committee within thirty (30) days of such vacancy.
Section 5.09 Duties of the Treasurer
(a) If not a current voting member of the executive committee, they serve as an ex-officio non-voting member of the County Executive Committee.
(b) To keep all financial records of the Louisville Democratic Party and of the County Executive Committee.
(c) To prepare and present a monthly financial statement to the County Executive Committee.
(d) To serve in capacities as directed by the County Party Chair which are not in conflict with any governing By-Laws.
(e) To maintain a complete and separate accounting of donations made which are designated by the donor as restricted and to spend such donations for those specific activities only.
(f) To provide the KREF report, signature and 1099 forms as required. Article VI. Nominations/ Elections
Section 6.01 The County Chair shall be elected by the Legislative District Chairs, Vice Chairs and At-Large members elected in the quadrennial Reorganization, in accordance with the State Party By-Laws.
Section 6.02 Following the election of the County Party Chair, the Legislative District Chairs, Vice Chairs and At-Large members shall elect a County Vice Chair of the opposite sex of the Chair.
Article VII. Meetings
Section 7.01 Quorum
(a) At all meetings of the County Executive Committee, attendance by a total of forty percent (40%) of the total of Legislative District Chairs, Legislative District Vice Chairs, and the At-Large members, either in person or by proxy, shall constitute a quorum.
(b) Proxies cannot be counted to establish a quorum to conduct business of an election or dismissal of any Party officer.
Section 7.02 Proxies
(a) Voting by proxy is permitted at all meetings of the County Executive Committee, except during the conduct of an election or dismissal of any party officer.
(b) A Legislative District Chair, a Legislative District Vice Chair, or At-Large member may assign their proxy to another member of the County Executive Committee for no more than 4 Executive Committee meetings annually.
(c) The proxy shall be in writing or by electronic means and shall describe the specific meeting for which the proxy is assigned and state the specific member of the County Executive Committee to whom the proxy is assigned.
(d) A proxy also may be assigned for voting for a limited purpose during a specific meeting.
(e) A proxy must be present at the local Democratic Headquarters or by virtual attendance by the start of the meeting for which the proxy is assigned.
(f) A member may not hold more than 3 proxies for any given meeting. Section 7.03 Voting
(a) Voting may be taken by electronic means.
(b) In the event the County Party Chair is a voting member of the EC by way of LD Chair/Vice Chair/At-Large, A tie vote of the County Executive Committee shall be broken by a vote of the State Central Committee.
Article VIII. Committees
Section 8.01 The Standing Committees shall be Bylaws, Facilities, Finance/Budget, Events, Fundraising, Volunteer, Communication, Training, and Candidate Recruitment.
Section 8.02 The duties of the Standing and Special Committees are to be determined by the County Chair and the Standing Committee Chair for each Standing Committee.
Section 8.03 Duties of Bylaws Committee
(a) responsible for maintaining and updating the governing documents of an organization to ensure they are current, relevant, and in legal compliance.
(b) this committee reviews and recommends changes to the full board or membership, ensuring that the foundational rules remain consistent with current operations.
Section 8.04 Duties of Facilities Committee
(a) responsible for the oversight, maintenance, and long-term planning of an organization's physical properties, by ensuring that facilities are functional, attractive, and well-maintained.
Section 8.05 Duties of Finance/Budget Committee
(a) The Finance Committee shall adopt a Fiscal Policy and submit an annual budget to the executive committee in January of each year for approval.
(i) Purchases of $500 or less may be made only with prior approval of the County Chair.
(ii) Purchases between $501 and $999 may be made only with the prior approval of the County Chair, the Treasurer and the Finance Committee Chair.
(iii) Purchases of $1000 or greater may only be made with prior approval of the Finance Committee and a majority vote of the County Executive Committee.
Section 8.06 Duties of Events Committee
(a) Plans, organizes, and executes an organization's events, from small internal gatherings to large public functions. Its overarching duty is to deliver high-quality, impactful events that align with and advance the organization's mission and goals.
Section 8.07 Duties of Fundraising Committee
(a) Develops and implements fundraising strategies, organizes events, and builds relationships with donors.
Section 8.08 Duties of Volunteer Committee
(a) To provide practical support for the organization's overarching mission and goals.
(b) Recruit and train volunteers
(c) Support outreach efforts of the party
Section 8.09 Duties of Communications Committee
(a) manages and oversees both internal and external messaging to promote the organization's mission, goals, and events.
(b) plays a hands-on role in creating content, managing communication channels, and ensuring brand consistency across all platforms
Section 8.10 Duties of Training Committee
(a) dedicated to identifying, developing, and executing training programs for other volunteers, staff, or members.
(b) ensure its training is inclusive by adopting a multi-faceted approach that addresses accessibility, learning styles, cultural competence, and the training content itself
Section 8.11 Duties of Candidate Recruitment
(a) identifying and encouraging qualified individuals to run for public office. These committees work to build a robust pipeline of candidates, from school boards up to federal offices.
(b) include providing a range of resources to assist prospective candidates in developing and running competitive campaigns.
Section 8.12 The Special Committees shall be Democratic Platform, and Endorsements
Section 8.13 Duties of the Platform Committee
(a) The Louisville Democrat Party shall compose a Louisville Democratic Party Platform by December 31st of the year of a Party Reorganization, as called by the Kentucky Democratic Party
(b) The composition of a party platform shall be led by a Platform Committee of at least 7 members encompassing both members of the County Executive Committee and elected officials.
(c) The Louisville Democratic Party Chair or Vice Chair shall act as Co Chair of the Platform Committee
Section 8.14 Duties of the Endorsement Committee
(a) The Louisville Democratic Party shall have the authority to endorse candidates in non-partisan elections
(b) The process of endorsing candidates shall be determined by an Endorsement Committee of at least 7 members of the County Executive Committee. This process shall be published by December 31st of the year preceding non-partisan general elections.
Section 8.15 The chair has the power to establish ad-hoc committees as deemed necessary by the executive committee
Article IX. Primary Transparency
Section 9.01 No assets of the Louisville Democratic Party shall be used in a Democratic Primary Election unless they are made available equally to all Democrat Candidates in that specific primary election.
Section 9.02 The Louisville Democratic Party Chair, acting in their official or personal capacity, shall not endorse or support one Democratic candidate over another Democratic candidate in a Democratic Primary Election.
Section 9.03 Louisville Democratic Party Officers who are candidates in a Democratic Primary Election are permitted to list their party position or party office in their campaign materials.
Article X. Amendments
Section 10.01 The By-Laws may be amended, altered, or rescinded at any meeting at which a quorum is present in person and voting in the majority to so act, provided that either written notice of proposed action at least two weeks prior to the meeting to all members of the County Executive Committee indicating such action is in order, or such action has been introduced at a previous meeting of the County Executive Committee.
Section 10.02 These By-Laws, upon their adoption and approval shall replace and supersede all previously passed By-Laws of the Louisville Democratic Party and shall become effective immediately upon such adoption and approval.
Section 10.03 The Roberts Rules of Order shall apply in any case not covered by these By-Laws of the Louisville Democratic Party.
Updated October 22, 2025