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To all Callaway County Democrats
We have received notice from the Missouri Democrat
Committee that the April 6th Mass Meetings (Caucus) have been
CANCELED. We were scheduled to host the quarterly
3rd Congressional District Committee meeting on March
29th at Callaway Electric. This has also been CANCELED.
In addition, the 3rd Congressional District convention
originally scheduled for April 30th has now been moved to May
30th. Location to be determined.
The Missouri State Convention which was previously
scheduled for June 20th in Kansas City will be re-located to
Central Missouri (Location TBD.)
From the MDP:
• MASS MEETINGS: All mass meetings scheduled on
April 6th are cancelled and the delegate selection plan will be
updated to have all state delegates, which under the prior plan
would have been elected at the mass meetings, to be elected at
the congressional conventions instead.
• Previously, the state delegates elected at mass meetings
on April 6th would then move on to the April 30th congressional
convention and June 20th state convention. We are collapsing the
first step of mass meetings to instead elect all state delegates
at the congressional district conventions (postponed to be held
on May 30th), and then those delegates will immediately proceed
to elect the national convention delegates. This is to reduce
the number of meetings held for safety purposes, and it still
fulfills the process of electing state delegates who vote in
congressional conventions and go onto the state convention to
vote on resolutions, at-large national delegates, and DNC
members.
• The total state delegation size will remain the same. The
calculations for delegate apportionment and allocation will be
done in accordance with how the current delegate selection plan
details.
• The previous role of mass meeting chairs - county
chairs, and ward and township committeepeople in St. Louis City,
St. Louis County, and Jackson County - will be modified in
accordance with moving state delegates to be elected at the
congressional conventions. The Congressional Conventions will
have an officer of a county committee that falls within the
congressional district serve as the Secretary for the
Congressional Convention meeting, rather than the Secretary of
the Congressional District Committee.
• Form MM (filing to run for a state delegate) may now be
filed in advance by May 15th so that state delegate candidates
who do not attend in person may still be considered to fill
vacancies. They may still be filed in-person at the
Congressional Conventions on May 30th so that those coming in
person, who have not pre-filed, may still run as state
delegates. The pre-filing forms will be used to fill vacant
state delegate positions. Those who have already prefiled their
Form MM will remain valid.
• Public calls for all meetings will be due to be
disseminated 30 days prior to any meeting.
• CONGRESSIONAL CONVENTIONS: All congressional
conventions scheduled on April 30th are postponed to May 30th.
• State delegates will be elected as the first step at the May
30th congressional conventions, and then will immediately
proceed to elect the national district-level delegates from each
congressional district.
• The congressional district chair will chair the entirety of
the in-person meeting, from electing state delegates to electing
national delegates. The Congressional Conventions will have an
officer of a county committee that falls within the
congressional district serve as the Secretary for the
Congressional Convention meeting, rather than the Secretary of
the Congressional District Committee.
• In the event that in-person congressional conventions are not
recommended by federal, state, and local public health
authorities, the MDP will officially chair each congressional
convention in order to run teleconferencing and/or video
conferencing software to conduct the convention.
• Delegates elected to the state convention will be elected in
the same proportion as the original delegate selection plan
indicated, granting the same number of delegate positions to
each county, ward, or township as was allocated in the original
delegate selection plan. Any vacancies not filled by state
delegates afterward will be filled by those in attendance at the
congressional convention and then those who pre-filed and will
be selected by random drawing.
• District-Level national delegates may pre-file by May 15th and
will be considered to run as national delegates if they are
first elected as state delegates at the beginning of the
congressional convention, or they may file and run in person at
the Congressional Convention on May 30th.
• 2ND QUARTER STATE COMMITTEE MEETING & PLEO ELECTION: The 2nd
quarter state committee meeting scheduled for May 9 will be held
virtually via webinar or conference call. The business of
electing PLEO delegates will be done via the webinar or
conference call. PLEO delegates must still file online to run in
advance by May 1st.
• STATE CONVENTION: The State Convention, currently scheduled to
be held on June 20th in Kansas City, will be relocated to a
mid-Missouri location in Columbia, Jefferson City, or the Lake
Ozarks area and potentially will have the date changed.
• The MDP bylaws provision on the state convention date are
suspended to allow for a date change, as to be determined by MDP
staff determining venue availability. This is to ease attendee’s
travel and make contingency plans for date changes determined by
MDP bylaws.
• Allow delegates to the state convention to carry up to (1)
proxy vote for delegates who are unable to attend in-person
conventions. These proxies must be instructed as to the vote
preferences of the delegates not in attendance. Proxy
instructions should be ranked whenever possible. Proxy votes
will only be allowed for delegate selection and not for
selection of DNC members. Proxies must be held by a delegate who
is in the same congressional district as whom the proxy is for,
in order to ensure geographic fairness.
• Allow unfilled state delegate positions after the
congressional conventions to be automatically filled by those
who filed in advance to run as a state delegate, which will
accommodate those who want to run and are unable to attend their
congressional convention. Random selection will be used to fill
vacant delegate spots in order to ensure fairness.
• The MDP will limit the business of all delegate selection
proceedings to only essential items: Election of delegates and
alternates, election of standing committee members, election of
DNC members, and voting on resolutions. The Chair may rule
non-essential business as out of order or add essential business
to the proceedings.
• Contingency measures for virtual meetings, remote balloting
and/or voting and mail-in ballots will be developed as
contingency plans for congressional and state conventions in the
event that in-person gatherings are still a risk at those later
dates. The Delegate Selection plan will be amended to allow for
general virtual voting measures.
On General Proceedings, Office Protocol, Events, and
Recommendations:
• The MDP will prohibit any official MDP in-person sponsored
event or gathering from occurring from March 16th - May 1st.
This includes fundraisers, party meetings, social events,
trainings, delegate selection proceedings, etc.
• The MDP offices will not be available for the public from
March 16th until May 1st. Only credentialed personnel will be
permitted to access our offices on an as-needed basis. All MDP
staff implemented a teleworking policy as of Friday, March 15th,
until further notice. MDP has also cancelled all staff
out-of-state travel until May 1st.
• We recommend our campaigns and local committees to only have
meetings held virtually using Google Hangouts, Zoom, and
conference calls and we and our partners in the House Caucus
will help facilitate the use of online technology for our
committees and campaigns to use to organize and carry on. We and
our House Caucus partners are developing a series of
recommendations on virtual and online organizing tactics for our
campaigns to utilize, as well as health, medical, and other
guidance.
• In regards to canvassers, the MDP recommends that all
canvassing stops until further notice. In order to win
majorities in November, we have a lot of persuadable voters we
need to connect with. The best way to do that is phones, email,
digital apps, and other internet communications. Don’t stop
campaigning, this election is as critical as any in our
lifetimes, but let’s begin to change the nature of our campaign
efforts to consider the public health reality.
• We have developed a Coronavirus FAQ and Mass Meeting and
Congressional Convention Chair Guidance, which will be updated
daily to reflect new information and guidance.
On Rules & Bylaws:
• Loosening the requirements on party notification of events:
forgo notification requirements for party meetings and
conventions when reason and justification is provided.
• Allow party state and local committees to conduct conventions,
meetings, and proceedings via telephonic, internet, or other
electronic means.
• In consultation with the Chair and Vice Chair of any
Congressional District, the officers of the Democratic Committee
are authorized to make alterations that may be necessary to
achieve the purposes of the Delegate Selection.
If you are interested in
becoming a delegate, please pre-file your (form MM) intentions
at  www.missouridemocrats.org/2020
Any questions, please email or call.
Bryant Liddle
President, Callaway County Democrats Club
Chair, Callaway County Democratic Central Committee
4050 State Road JJ
Fulton, MO 65251-5082
573.220.0080
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