Bylaws of the Socialist Party of Michigan

Article II: Purposes
Section 1 – Principles: The guiding principles of the Socialist Party of Michigan are embodied in the Statement of Principles of the Socialist Party USA (“Socialism as Radical Democracy”).
Section 2 – Candidate Nominations: The Socialist Party of Michigan will only nominate candidates who agree to run under the Socialist Party banner, and run on the basis of the general content and spirit of the SPMI Platform and Statement of Principles and either:
a) run for partisan elected office on the Socialist Party of Michigan party ballot line;
b) run for partisan elected office on the ballot line of another non-corporate-controlled party whose usage has been approved by the Socialist Party of Michigan for that election, and by the Socialist Party National Committee or National Action Committee, as may be applicable;
c) run for partisan elected office with no party label reflected on the ballot;
d) run for partisan elected office as a write-in candidate; — or –
e) run for non-partisan elected office.
f)It is understood that SPMI members who run on another party’s ballot line will always identify/label themselves clearly as Socialists first and foremost, describe themselves as members of the Socialist Party USA and the SPMI, and run on the basis described in items (a) and (b) above.
Section 3 – Candidate Endorsements: The Socialist Party of Michigan will only endorse candidates who support measures similar to the principles and/or platform of the SPMI and run as independents or on the slogan/line of another non-corporate-controlled party deemed friendly by the SPMI, and not in direct conflict with the Socialist Party’s basic principles.
a) Any member of the Socialist Party of Michigan, elected to public office, who shall in any way vote in direct conflict with the general content and spirit of the SPMI’s principles and platform may be recalled and/or expelled from the Party.
Section 4- Elected Officials: Socialist Party of Michigan members who are elected to government office shall advocate and represent the principles and the general content and spirit of the platform of the Socialist Party USA and the Socialist Party of Michigan.

Article III: Membership
Section 1 – Eligibility: Every person who subscribes to the principles of the Socialist Party USA and lives or works within Michigan’s chartered jurisdiction shall be eligible for membership.
a) Except as provided in sub-section (b), all eligible SPMI members, holding membership in good standing in the Socialist Party USA, shall equivalently hold membership in good standing in the Socialist Party of Michigan and in any SPMI local within whose local jurisdiction such members may reside.
b) Socialist Party members in good standing, holding dual residence in both Michigan and in another state, may choose to substitute their SPMI membership for that in the other Socialist Party state organization and/or non-SPMI chartered local within whose jurisdiction they dually reside, or for Socialist Party membership at-large, as applicable.
c) Members are encouraged to participate in discussions, meetings and events of the SPMI, help contribute to special projects and funds, and carry out work for the SPMI in a manner consistent with the expressed will of the membership.
Section 2 – Application: Every applicant for membership shall sign the membership statement required by the national Constitution of the Socialist Party USA.
Section 3 – Admission: All applications for membership, including those made directly to the Socialist Party USA National Office, shall be acted upon by the State Party or by the Local organization whose chartered jurisdiction includes the area within which the new applicant resides, as indicated on his or her application.
a) Before being admitted to membership, all applicants, who have not held SPMI membership in good standing during the preceding two years, or who have since resigned or been expelled from membership in the Party, will be contacted by a member of the State Executive Committee or a member of the applicable Local Executive Committee, in order to introduce new applicants to the Party, answer Party- and membership-related questions, explain national, state, and local Party membership rights and ensure new applicants’ general understanding and acceptance of the SPUSA Principles and application statement in accordance with any applicable guidelines that the state party may adopt.
b) In instances in which a new membership applicant, pending admission under state party jurisdiction, pursues initial communication with a member authorized to serve as local/regional organizing committee convener or organizing contact for his/her area of residence; the applicable local organizing convener/contact may fulfill the requirements of subsection
(a) in place of a member of the State Executive Committee.
c) After contacting new applicants, State or Local Executive Committee members will report to the State Party, or applicable Local, at its next convened membership or Executive Committee meeting, whereupon each applicably pending new membership applicant’s admission may be approved, denied, or tabled by a simple majority vote. In instances in which an eligible member does not anticipate any reasonable likelihood of blocking concerns being raised with respect to the admission of a pending new applicant with whom s/he has made standard pre-admission contact, pursuant to subsection (a); the formal admission of such an applicant may be conducted by means of a simple phone or e-mail poll of the SEC, in lieu of waiting for the next regularly scheduled meeting to be convened, if either of the following two conditions exist: (i) there is no state membership or SEC meeting is scheduled for the next two or more weeks – or — (ii) expediting action on the pending application in question would provide for a potential solution to an otherwise un-met meeting quorum.
d) An SPMI local shall hold sole jurisdiction over the admission of new SP membership applicants residing within its jurisdictionally chartered boundaries, unless it has formally resolved to delegate responsibility for membership admissions within its boundaries to the State Party, and provided the State Party with official notice to that effect. A local that has formally resolved to delegate its membership admissions processes to the State Party may resume full jurisdictional authority over such processes at any later time, upon correspondingly providing the State Party with official notice of that decision.
e) Once approved for membership, the applicant will be a member of the Socialist Party USA, the Socialist Party of Michigan, and the Local in his/her area if any.
f) The State Executive Committee will make every effort to welcome new members, to inform them of SPMI activities and meetings, to offer them subscription to the SPMI members’ listserv, to offer them copies of basic SPUSA and SPMI documents, to inform them of the rights and privileges of the SPMI website, to introduce to them the Michigan Socialist Magazine, to give them/show them the recommended reading list of the SPMI, to urge them to be active, and to give them the names and contact information of Locals and at-large members in their areas.
Section 4 – Dues: The SPMI, and any applicable SPMI local, may respectively assess a sliding scale of annual state and/or local membership dues of which payment may be required as a condition for holding Party membership in good standing.
a) Any state or local membership dues scale must include a process by which eligible members may request and obtain dues waivers in cases of severe financial need.
Section 5 – Voting: All members in good standing shall have full voting. motioning, and proposal-making rights at state membership meetings, applicable local membership meetings, and State Conventions; as well as full voting rights in all applicable state and local referenda as called.
a) Full voting, motioning, and proposal-making rights begin at the point an applicant is admitted to membership in the Party.

Article IV: General Membership Meetings
Section 1 – General Meetings: meetings of the general membership shall take place between State Conventions and shall in general remain open to the public except when decided otherwise by the membership at a given meeting.
a) State membership meetings shall be held at least once every two months and on a weekend.
b) The Secretary, or an appointed member, shall record the meeting minutes
c) Meetings shall only begin once a quorum of four members, who are in good standing at the time of the meeting, is met.
d) At any time following the scheduled start time, the meeting may be opened by a majority vote of all members present, regardless of which officers may, at that time, be absent.
e) State membership meetings shall approve a treasury report and previous state membership meeting minutes and minutes from any SEC meetings/phone conferences that occur in between state membership meetings. Within a week of approval of said minutes, they will be published on the Party’s internal listserv, and in other media as the SEC determines.
Section 2 – Conventions: The State Convention is the highest-ranking body of the Socialist Party of Michigan and with voting rights granted to all members in good standing (see Article III, Section 2a).
a) State Conventions shall be held at least once in a 24-month period
b) The State Convention shall not be convened unless there is a quorum of one-fourth of members in good standing or seven members, whichever number is smaller. However, once a Convention is convened on opening day, the Convention sessions may proceed through the full Convention as long as five members in good standing are still present at all times.
c) Delegates to the National Convention shall be elected at the State Convention and shall require a plurality vote.
d) The State Convention may authorize a procedure by which additional SPMI delegates and/or alternates to the next subsequently convened National Convention may be elected to ensure maximum fulfillment of the SPMI’s allotted delegate weight. To the extent that such ordering does not contribute to offsetting the SPMI delegation’s gender balance, as defined by the SP Constitution, the seatable order of delegates and alternates elected at the State Convention shall automatically precede that of any and all subsequently elected delegates and/or alternates, pursuant to whatever type of procedure for later delegate/alternate elections the State Convention may authorize.
e) Resolutions must be submitted to the Chairperson, and post marked or computer dated if mailed or emailed, at least one week prior to the Convention in order to be included in the Convention’s agenda. Resolutions may be submitted after their submission deadline for inclusion on the Convention’s agenda or submitted at the Convention, but only after all items on the agenda have been settled or tabled within the section being covered, or the Convention attendees decide by a majority vote to include late-submitted or on-the-spot resolutions on the agenda. Late-submitted proposals shall be considered, during the Convention session to which they pertain, in the order in which they were late-submitted, unless Convention attendees decide by a majority vote to consider them in a different order.
e) Attendees may decide by a majority vote to table late submitted or on-the-spot resolutions that are determined to be too long or too complex to adequately study and deal with within a convention’s duration, or not to consider them at all. Such resolutions may be tabled to the next State Convention or to a future State membership meeting. Bylaws change proposals so tabled at a State Convention may be sent to the membership for a referendum vote.
f) Individual members may decide on their own to propose resolutions tabled at a State Convention to a State membership meeting or to propose tabled bylaws changes as referendum issues.
g) Resolutions submitted at least one week prior to the Convention shall be placed on the SPMI listserv and the SPMI website within two days of the submission to provide for discussion, proposed amendments, and debate. Resolutions submitted after the deadline for inclusion in the agenda may still be submitted for printing in the Convention booklet if special arrangements are made with the Chairperson.
h) The State Executive Committee shall inform all members by regular mail of date, time and location of every Convention at least one month prior to the Convention date.
i) All specific dollar amounts or other absolute numbers within the SPMI Platform and within any individual plank of the Platform must be reviewed by the general membership at each state convention to see if these amounts must be changed. If there is no convention in any given year, these numbers must be reviewed during a summer general membership meeting and can be changed by referendum.
Section 3 – Referenda: Referenda can be called by a two-thirds vote of the State Executive Committee or a majority vote of the previous monthly meeting body or a petition signed by 5 members in good standing;, and must adhere to the following guidelines:
a) be mailed by the SPMI State Secretary to all members in good standing two weeks prior to the response deadline and no later than 24 days after a referendum is called.
b) be returned to the State Office no later than 14 days after the mailing date;
c) shall pass only if approved by a majority of the members in good standing who return ballots.
d) All referenda may include a pro and con statement. Statements may not exceed three hundred words. Within three days after a referendum is called, the SPMI Secretary shall announce the opportunity to submit a con statement on the SPMI members listserv, after which and members shall will have at least one week from the date of the announcement to submit an initial the con statement. If more than one con statement is submitted within the week following the Secretary’s initial call for con statements, then the Secretary shall directly provide those who submitted a con-statement within one week of the call with the opportunity to attempt to reconcile their conflicting versions over the following seven days. In cases where members cannot agree on the content of the con statement, by the end of the second week following the Secretary’s initial call for a con statement, then the referendum shall will include the first version submitted during the first week following the Secretary’s initial call. If no con statement is submitted during the first week following Secretary’s call for con statements, then any member may still submit a con-statement during the second week and the Secretary shall accept the first con statement submitted as final, pending any optional revisions that the member submitting the first con statement may choose to make during that second seven-day time period. If no con statement is submitted by the conclusion of the second week following the Secretary’s initial call for con statements, then the referendum shall be mailed without a con statement.
e) The membership body or grouping calling the referendum will be given the first opportunity to designate one member to submit a pro-statement, which must also be submitted no later than one week from the Secretary’s initial call for con statements. If both the member and back-up member designated to submit the pro-statement fails to submit one within one week after the Secretary’s call for con statements, then the SPMI Secretary shall announce the opportunity for any member(s) to submit a pro-statement for the forthcoming referendum and shall accept the first pro statement submitted during the following seven days as final, pending any optional revisions that the member submitting the first pro statement may choose to make during that second seven-day time period. If no pro statement is submitted by the end of the second week following the Secretary’s initial call for con statements, then the referendum shall be mailed out without a pro statement.
f) Once the referendum content is finalized, two weeks after the Secretary’s initial call for con statements, the Secretary shall mail out the referendum within the next seven days, thereby mailing it out no later than 21 days following his or her initial call for con statements and 24 days following the date on which the referendum was officially called itself by the sponsoring membership grouping or body.
g) All referendum ballots and envelopes in which they are returned must be maintained by the State Office for at least two months after the date of counting.

Article V: State Executive Committee
Section 1 – Purpose: The Socialist Party of Michigan is run on a day-to-day basis between membership meetings by the State Executive Committee (SEC).
a) Party decisions between meetings that do not fall under the jurisdiction of any one specific officer shall be made by a majority vote of the State Executive Committee unless a Party resolution authorizes the decision, or type of decision, to go before another body.
b) Decisions made by state meeting bodies and referenda supersede decisions made by the State Executive Committee.
Section 2 – Officers: The State Executive Committee shall consist of at least, but not limited to, a Chairperson, Secretary and Treasurer, and be at least three members.
a) SEC officers shall be elected at State Conventions, except in cases where referendum elections are conducted to fill vacancies of elected office, as provided in § 4 of this article.
b) Members in good standing, who have been members for at least three months, may run for any elected office;
c) Officers are elected by a majority vote of all members voting;
d) An officer’s term begins one month after election, there upon ending the current officer’s term. During this one month time, current officers must turn over all documents and resources necessary for the newly elected officer, thereby ensuring a smooth transition.
e) New SEC offices, and corresponding duties, can be created by a majority referendum vote or by a resolution at a State Convention, and must be elected at a State Convention or by referendum.
f) Should any new SEC offices be established by means of referendum, members shall not be elected to those offices by means of the same referendum ballot or mailing through which such new SEC offices are created. Such offices shall instead be designated as vacant at the time of their establishment, and shall accordingly be elected through the procedures outlined in § 4 of this article.
g) Members may be appointed, and recalled, by a two-thirds vote of the State Executive Committee to temporary positions or duties, excluding elected offices and their corresponding duties, as necessary;
h) Officers of the SPMI may not, while using their titles, endorse or support, any candidate, party, or ballot issue that does not already have the endorsement of the Socialist Party of Michigan.
i) Officers may never endorse candidates of the Democratic or Republican parties.
j) An officer, per her/his duty as an elected official, must uphold democratic decisions when and where she/he is acting in an official manner.
k) An officer may not refuse to implement a democratic decision, nor hinder in any way the implementation of a democratic decision.
Section 3 – Duties: Officers of the State Executive Committee shall have, but not be limited to, the following duties, if such offices exist:
a) The Chairperson shall preside over all general membership and State Executive Committee meetings and State Conventions and shall be the Party’s default official spokesperson unless other members are delegated to fulfill this purpose.
b) The Secretary shall manage the State Office, record and post meeting minutes, postal mail, membership applications and maintain contact with the Socialist National Committee and National Office of the Socialist Party USA.
c) The Treasurer shall manage all Party funds, including income and expenses, and shall maintain complete records when necessary.
d) The Organizer shall handle communication with the membership in coordinating activities and contact between members, organizing state campaigns and assisting local campaigns and networking with groups deemed friendly by the Socialist Party of Michigan.
e) The Editor of the Michigan Socialist shall be responsible for managing the composition and editing of articles, production of each issue in printed text and website formats and setting the article content for each issue.
f) When motions or resolutions are passed in the SEC, the SEC will state in the item who is responsible for what tasks and set a time table as to when tasks are expected to be completed. SEC members or other SPMI members who are assigned to/volunteer for tasks are expected to communicate difficulties they experience with completing tasks on time or to seek help. Every effort will be made to complete tasks in a timely manner.
g) SEC members and other officers shall make brief reports at all regular SEC meetings, whenever practical, on their areas of work and shall make a similar report to all SPMI membership meetings.
Section 4 –Vacancy: In the event that any elected SEC officer is recalled, resigns, dies, or is otherwise unable to fulfill his/her duties, within four or more months before the next scheduled State Convention, the State Secretary or State Executive Committee will mail all members in good standing a request for nominations to fill the vacant position, which shall thereupon be required to be submitted to the State Office within two weeks of the mailing date.
a) In the event that any member nominates a member other than him or herself as a candidate for a vacant SEC office, following the mailed request for nominations, the Secretary shall confirm that nominated member’s acceptance of his or her nomination for that office, before he or she is listed as a candidate on the subsequent referendum ballot to elect a member to the correspondingly vacant office in question. In not more than one month, and not less than two weeks, following the date of the vacancy announcement, a referendum ballot will be mailed to all members in good standing to elect a new member to each such the vacant SEC office, which shall be required to be returned to the state office within two weeks following the mailing date.
b) No corresponding pro or con statements shall be included with referendum ballots mailed to elect members to vacant SEC offices, however, each candidate listed on the ballots for such offices may submit a statement of candidacy, consisting of not more than 300 words, to be included with the referendum mailing.
c) If all or a majority of elected SEC offices are made vacant due to recall or other circumstances, the Socialist Party National Office may schedule an emergency state convention, provided that it also sends notice of the date and location of the emergency state convention by regular mail to all SPMI members in good standing at least two weeks prior to the convention’s scheduled date. Such an emergency state convention, if scheduled, shall be held in place of the vacancy referendum procedures outlined in the opening section of this article. The processes conducted at such an emergency state convention shall remain governed by these bylaws to the full extent applicable.
Section 5 – Recall: All elected officers may be recalled from elected office by referendum vote.
a) A recall vote shall be initiated and conducted under the referendum procedures outlined in Article IV, § 3.
b) Recall votes require a simple majority of members voting.
c) An officer made subject to a recall vote shall be given first opportunity to compose, or designate another member to compose, the con statement included with the referendum mailed on his or her proposed recall from elected office, pursuant to Article V, § 3(e).
d) Proposals to recall multiple elected officers may be initiated through a single petition or motion, and may be mailed on a single referendum ballot, however, each individual officer’s proposed recall must be presented as a separate proposal on any applicable referendum ballot.
Section 6 – Meetings: The State Executive Committee shall meet at least once during each month in which no SPMI state membership meetings is scheduled, and shall announce meetings at least five days in advance to the membership. SEC meetings shall be open to all SPMI members. Chairs/heads of SPMI commissions and areas of work should try to attend SEC meetings as regularly as possible and make reports on their areas. Only elected SEC members shall have a decisive vote at SEC meetings. All other members in good standing shall have speaking rights and a consultative vote. State Executive Committee meetings may be held in person, by phone, by mail or via the internet.

Article VI: Locals
Section 1 – Charter: Local organizations may be chartered by the State Executive Committee or the State membership upon the application of five or more members in the area of a proposed Local. Local organizations may also be de-chartered by the State Party for good and documented cause, after a fair and open hearing at a State membership meeting or at a State Convention.
a) The State Executive Committee or the State membership shall have the right to amend a local charter if requested, or if it is found necessary by a vote of the State Party at a membership meeting.
Section 2 – Specifications: Locals shall:
a) consist of all members in good standing residing in the area designated by its charter;
b) elect a Local Executive Committee of at least three members.
Section 3 – Organizing Committees: The State Executive Committee may authorize an Organizing Committee, as a subcommittee or working group of the Socialist Party of Michigan, upon the application of at least two members in good standing.
Section 4 – Campaigns: Locals may run and/or endorse candidates or ballot issue positions in their chartered area while abiding by Article II, Section 2 and abiding any resolutions on electoral work passed by the State Party.

Article VII: Publications
Section 1 – Magazine: The Socialist Party of Michigan shall publish, if funds are available, a magazine representing the multiple voices of the Socialist Party of Michigan for public distribution.
a) The magazine shall be called The Michigan Socialist (TMS).
b) The content selection, production, editing, and lay-out, of The Michigan Socialist shall be conducted maintained by an Editor and/or Editorial Collective.
c) All members and non-members may submit articles, from which the Editor and/or Editorial Collective shall decide which articles to publish, and the placement therein;
d) The final version of each issue must be approved by a majority vote of the Editorial Collective, State Executive Committee, or a state membership meeting prior to its publication.
e) The State Executive Committee may, by way of a majority vote, override decisions by the Editor and/or Editorial Collective, except when elected by a State Convention, in which case decisions of the Editorial Collective shall take precedence, subject to review by a state membership meeting, State Convention, or state membership referendum. In instances in which an Editorial Collective is comprised of both Convention-elected and post-Convention meeting-elected or SEC-appointed members, the Editorial Board may co-convene a committee of the whole for voting on the final version of an issue. Dual members of the State Executive Committee and Editorial Collective, in such instances, shall be entitled to only one vote.