CHAPTER

ORGANIZING
MANUAL
Compiled and Edited by

Katie Naranjo
Clark Gascoigne
Cover design by Frank Chi
Contributions from Frank Chi, Alex Cornell du Houx, B. Lee Drake, Scott Hoberg,
Awais Khaleel, Ethan Porter, Art Richey, and Lauren Wolfe

Special Thanks to Julien Baburka, David Boundy, Maureen Garde, Dan Geldon,
LaToia Jones, Jason Leon, Colin Maly, Anna Martinez, Parag Mehta, Leila Sahar,
Jeff Shulman, Amaya Smith, Carolyn Whitaker, Anna Ruth Williams, Emily
Williams and the DNC Political Department

College Democrats of America ! 430 South Capitol Street, SE ! Washington, DC 20003 ! 202.863.8151 ! http://www.collegedems.com
 2007 College Democrats of America
Unauthorized use or republication of this manual is prohibited

College Democrats of America

430 South Capitol Street, SE
Washington, DC 20003

1
 Comprehensive Chapter Manual
Page
1. Step One: Getting Started 3
2. Step Two: The Organization 5
3. Step Three: Going Public 12
4. Step Four: Chapter Building 20
5. Step Five: Fundraising 24
6. Step Six: Elections 30
5. Step Seven: CDA on Campus 40

APPENDIX
A1. Sample Constitution 46
A2. Media Advisories and Press Releases 50
A3. Sample Media Advisory 51
A4. Sample Press Release 52
A5. Writing an Op-Ed 53
A6. Tips for Organizing a Press Conference 55
A7. When Talking to a Reporter 58
A8. Radio 59
A9. Letter Writing 60
A10. Utilizing New Media 62
A11. Tips on Grassroots Lobbying 65
A12. Ideas for Off-Years 67
A13. Hosting a Speaker/Event on Your Campus 68
A14. Responding to Protests 71
A15. Election Registration Deadlines 72
A16. Chief Election Official Contact Information 73
A17. Democratic Websites 74
A18. State Party Contact Information 75

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STEP ONE: GETTING STARTED

THE FOUNDATION
Whether the campus is swelling with Democrats or
overwhelmingly Republican, the steps to establishing a chapter
of College Democrats are essentially the same. The only
ingredient required is a hunger for action and a desire to work
toward a better America.

The Core Group The first goal when organizing a College Democrats chapter is
finding a few individuals to form the core group. These
individuals must be energetic and committed to the foundation
of the College Democrats of America on their campus. This
committed group of activists will do the lions share of the
work, drive the organization, and ultimately determine the
chapters success or failure.

Trying to start a chapter by oneself can be very overwhelming.

Creating a core group is a great way to distribute the work and
share the rewards of organizing a new College Democrats of
America chapter.

Points of Focus A few pointers to keep in mind when building a new chapter:

Purpose: A core group must be small enough to establish a

primary sense of purpose for the CDA chapter. A mission
statement outlining broad goals for the coming year is essential
for focused and active participation of the members.

Commitment: It takes a lot of time and effort to build a solid

foundation. Commitment and discipline are the key
components of a successful organization.

Creativity: Be creative in planning events and meetings. Use

innovative methods to spark interest in the organization.
Students will continue to be active as long as their fire for
change is ignited and fed with positive energy.

Enthusiasm: Present the chapter with a positive spin and lots

of excitement. People will be attracted to an organization or
event if the organizers are excited about it.

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Realism: It is important to be realistic about how much work
one person can do. Delegating responsibility to others will
reduce stress while maximizing the efficiency of the
organization. It is very important to have a core group that can
work together with a united focus on Democratic objectives.

Trust: It is important that the core group be able to trust the

other core members and foster an environment where people
can trust each other in order to succeed. Without trust, it is
very difficult to meet goals.

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STEP TWO: THE ORGANIZATION

STRUCTURE Once the core group of committed activists is formed, the next
step is to set up the structure of the organization. The essence
of building structure is to establish credibility.

The Constitution A constitution will provide the chapter with its basic structure,
offer guidelines for operations and elections, simplify the
transfer of leadership, and establish some institutional
legitimacy for the organization. The constitution should have a
mission statement to guide the rest of the articles. Establish the
constitution by drafting, debating, and voting on its passage.
Due to the small size of the core group, this should be
relatively easy. Constitutions can be amended to accommodate
the needs of the chapter as it expands. A sample constitution is
in the appendix of this manual.

Executive Board The next step is to form an Executive Board, a board of

officers who assume the responsibilities of the core group.
Most often the core group transitions to become the Executive
Board. Here are some suggested guidelines:
Meet Regularly: At many colleges and universities, the
Executive Board usually meets before the general meeting for
about twenty minutes. During campaign years, executive
boards usually meet weekly for an hour apart from the general
meeting; meeting regularly is probably the most important
thing that can be done to ensure an active chapter. Develop a
schedule that works for the individual chapter and stick to it.

Set Goals: Short-term and long-term. Outline specific

membership, political, and legislative goals for each quarter
and each year. While it is important to set goals that will
challenge you as a group, it is also important to be realistic.
Nothing destroys morale more than not being able to achieve
set goals. If you would like help setting goals, please contact
your state federation or the CDA National headquarters.

Submit Progress Reports: Each board member should give

progress reports on each project he/she is responsible for.
Progress reports help keep everyone current and they
encourage cooperation and communication between board
members by allowing each member constructive input on each
project. This can be done at the weekly meetings.

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 Maintain Accountability: Clearly defining roles among
board members encourages responsibility and produces results.

Executive Board
Responsibilities The following configuration of the executive board can be used
as a reference. Chapters and state federations may have
different agendas and may require a different composition of
officers.

President: The President ensures that the chapters activities

correspond with the overall mission of the organization. The
Presidents responsibilities include:

Delegating Tasks: Distributing responsibility to

other members of the executive board will increase
efficiency while building unity. Ultimately,
however, it remains the Presidents responsibility to
ensure that all tasks are completed.

Official Representative: The President officially

represents the chapter to the school administration,
the press, the community, and to other student
organizations.

Building Future Leadership: To ensure the future

of the chapter, the President must recruit and train a
group of strong leaders who will likely be able to
take on executive duties in the following years.

Secretary: The Secretarys primary job is to communicate the

chapters message to the college community, perform all
administrative duties, and to maintain institutional legitimacy.
The Secretarys responsibilities include:

Correspondence: Communication with individual

members through mailings and campus e-mail. This
includes Facebook and MySpace correspondence.
This social networking responsibility can be
delegated to the secretary or the communications
director. Each individual chapter can determine this
responsibility.

Newsletter: Producing updates on club activities

and writing articles about current issues.

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 Record Keeping: Recording minutes at executive
and general meetings. This is very important
because it allows people who were not at the
meeting to see everything the chapter is doing. It
also helps guarantee accountability because any
delegating that occurs during a meeting is
accurately recorded.

Membership Director: The membership director is

responsible for outreach programs, new member recruitment,
and maintenance of current membership. Tasks will include:

Membership Drive: Innovative programming and

widespread publicity (as well as one-on-one
interaction) on campus to promote membership in
CDA.

Membership Files: Keep a current listing of

names, phone numbers and email addresses of all
members and regularly report this information to
the state federation and the CDA National
Headquarters.

Encourage Diversity: Make a strong effort to

recruit a diverse membership that accurately reflects
the school population.

Treasurer: The Treasurer serves as the chapter banker and

fund-raiser. The Treasurer is responsible for:

Fundraising: Chapters raise money through

alumni donations, fundraising events, selling
merchandise, and numerous other creative methods.
Often, the university is willing to help fund
activities. CDA National Headquarters and your
state federation can assist you with innovative
fundraising ideas. Be sure to check the fundraising
section of the manual for detailed information on
fundraising.

Maintaining Financial Records: Keep accurate

records of ALL monetary transactions to avoid
discrepancies with the student
organizations/activities office and to ensure

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 potential donors that you are a responsible
organization. Make procedures and bookkeeping
clear to the officers who take over in following
years.

Design Annual Budget: Plan the annual budget

based on school funding and other potential income.

Manage/Handle Finances: Handle and distribute

the funds of the chapter. If any member needs
money, then they need to get it from the Treasurer.

Communication Director: Serves as the media contact for

College Democrat events, and works with the chapter secretary
to produce a regular newsletter. Responsibilities include:

Chapter Message: Formulate and communicate

the message of the College Democrats and the
Democratic Party to the media and the campus.

Press Releases and Advisories: Write and issue

press releases on College Democrats activities and
events. A sample press release and additional
media information can be found in the appendix.

Branding/Image: Design the overall image of the

chapter. This includes designing a logo and color
scheme that will be used on all posters/the website.
For help with developing a logo, you may want to
enlist a visual art student.

Op-ed and Letters to the Editor: Write and

submit Democratic op-ed pieces to local
newspapers. Generate letters to the editor from
chapter membership to support the organizations
pro-student, pro-Democrat goals. For help with
writing a letter to the editor, view our sample letter
in the appendix.

Oversee Internet Communications: While the

Secretary may help with the implementation of
online communications, and the Webmaster may
maintain the website, the Communications Director
is in charge of developing the online strategies that
will be used by the chapter. For more information
on Internet Communications including New Media

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 and websites, please see Step Three and the
appendix.

Events Director: The job of the Events Director is to make

sure that the chapter maintains a full schedule of events for the
members and the greater campus community. College
Democrat events may include (but are not limited to):

Activist Events: Campaign rallies, campus-wide

petition or letter writing campaigns, lobby days, etc.

Educational Events: Speakers, forums, panel

discussions, debates, etc.

Community Service: Soup kitchens, homeless

shelters, environmental clean ups, AIDS Walk, etc.

Social Director: The Social Director works with the

Executive Board to ensure that all chapter events are enjoyable.
Members should enjoy CDA events and celebrate the fruits of
their labor.

Democratic Theme Parties: Election Night and

State of the Union Watch Parties, etc.

Other Events: College Dems vs. College

Republicans Softball Game, etc.

Campaign Director: During campaign season, the Campaign

Director organizes and coordinates student involvement in
national, state and local campaigns. During major election
years, this function may be shared among other members of the
board. The Campaign Director is responsible for:

Liaison: Act as the liaison between the State Party,

Local Party, Democratic campaign offices and the
campus chapter. Update membership on the
progress of the candidates. Work with the
campaigns volunteer and campus coordinators to
promote student involvement in the process.
Coordinate efforts and strategy with the CDA
National Student Director of Political Affairs.

Coordinate Volunteers: Recruit, organize and

schedule volunteers for phone banks, GOTV efforts,
dorm lit drops, and other activities.

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 Voter Registration: The campaign director is in
charge of running the voter registration campaigns.
For more information on how to run a voter
registration campaign, see the Elections Section.

GOTV: Coordinate the on-campus Get Out the

Vote effort in coordination with the state, local and
national GOTV campaign.

Work with CDA Remain in contact with the College Democrats of Americas
National Headquarters throughout the process of forming and
building the chapter. The national headquarters has many
resources. For example, they maintain a database of members
in individual states who can assist others in their campus
organizing efforts. In addition, the headquarters can put
campuses in touch with local Democratic Party leaders and
CDA alumni in the area.

Sign up on CDAs online system: It is important to sign up

for CDAs online eChapters system to become an active
chapter with the national organization as soon as possible. Go
to www.collegedems.com to sign up.

Join or Organize the State Federation: The College

Democrats of America National Headquarters will assist
individual chapters to register with or build a state federation,
and it is very important that you make contact with the state
federation as soon as you begin building your chapter. This
will allow them to assist you as you grow, as well as help the
state federation spread any statewide initiatives. State
federations are composed of representatives from all of the
College Democrats chapters throughout the state. State
federations are active and involved in state and local politics,
campaigns and legislative watchdog projects. Association with
a state federation elevates the status of the campus chapter and
lifts the chapters agenda to state and national attention.

School Relations Register with the campus Student Activities Office once the
constitution is in place. Most schools have a student activities
or organizations office that requires student organizations to be
officially registered. Many times it will be a valuable resource
and can provide substantial institutional support such as
funding, office space, and contacts in the local community.

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Faculty Advisor Many chapters have found faculty advisors to be extremely
helpful. They are especially good advocates when dealing with
school administration. Faculty advisors can also lend
continuity by providing a long-term membership to the chapter.
Good places to find faculty advisors are the Political Science or
the Government department.

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STEP THREE: GOING PUBLIC

PUBLICITY Now that a core group of activists is established with an

organizational structure, it is time to let people know that there
is an exciting new group on campus a group of students
committed to progressive change and a better America.

Outreach It is terribly important to build up your membership because

the more people that get involved in your organization, the
more things you can accomplish. Furthermore, with bigger
membership numbers you gain a bigger voice and carry more
sway on campus and as a lobby in local and statewide politics.
Therefore, it is necessary to wage a membership recruitment
campaign, which, while increasing your membership, will also
raise awareness about your chapter on campus. Furthermore,
while you are raising awareness of your chapter on campus,
you will also get people talking about the ideas you are fighting
for and you will be able to hone your campaign skills for other
things during the year. A likely person to spearhead this
operation would be the Membership Director.

Begin Early In the Year to reach out to new students. Look

into your schools schedule for club fairs and activity days and
make sure you have a presence at these events. Students are
most likely to join clubs when theyre not involved in other
activities. Before its too late in the semester/year to do this,
start a week long outreach campaign directed at attracting
students to a first meeting -- this is where purpose, energy, and
enthusiasm all come together.

Look for opportunities on your campus and in the community

to reach out to new students, especially freshmen. Some
institutions have summer orientations for new students; try to
tap into these events to reach potential members. Also, be sure
to reach out to all sorts of people dont discriminate. For
example, dont assume because someone hangs out with
apathetic people that they are themselves apathetic or that they
cant be persuaded. You dont want to be viewed as a
homogenous crowd, and as a College Democrat, it is a primary
goal to persuade people.

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 Tabling: Place College Democrats information tables in busy
places like campus walkways, in dining halls, and in the
student union, and use these locations to recruit volunteers.
Decorate the table with posters and Democratic paraphernalia
to catch peoples interest. Contact local campaigns and parties
for materials that you can give out to potential recruits. CDA
National Headquarters can set you up with free giveaways that
you can use while youre tabling. Candidate buttons, stickers,
and signs go a long way in showing that youre well connected
with the local goings on; however, you also need people there
to interact with prospective members.

The one-on-one contact that you make with possible recruits is

the most effective way of persuading people to join your
chapter. You will want to practice a message that you can
deliver to people as they walk past the table. Also be willing to
answer their questions for a while, the longer that you talk to
them, the more likely they will join your group. Be sure to
have informational flyers to hand out to people with
information on when/where you meet and include contact
information. Also dont just hide behind the table; the best
tables are willing to go out and approach people
conversationally in front of the table. Additionally if you can
think of fun ways to spice up your table, that will make it more
attractive to people walking past. Voter registration is another
great way to attract students to the table and distribute
materials about membership. Check out the Election section of
this manual for more information on Voter Registration.

Design and Distribute Materials that catch the eye and

demonstrate the great work CDA is doing in your state and for
America. Obtain a quote from an elected official who will
testify to the important work that College Democrats play in
the political process. Its a good idea to brand your chapter by
designing a trendy logo that represents your group, and can be
put on all of your posters and materials. CDA National
Headquarters can assist with finding designers and promotional
materials.

Plaster Posters all over the campus announcing meetings and

events. Be creative! Remember, the posters that stick out the
most are the ones that are the most unique. Try using fonts and
shapes that regularly arent used on your campus. Appoint an
advertising director if the current executive boards lacks artistic

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ability. Although some people like the look of less professional
posters, the most professional posters stuck on the walls of
campuses are still the most noticed and effective. Try to find
friends or Democrats who have a background in graphic design
their work will greatly enhance the presence of the College
Democrats on any campus simply because most other student
groups wont have those resources. Also, place the posters in
highly visible places so that people will see them without
having to go out of their way.

Walk through Dorms and talk with people while passing out
information flyers. Making the personal connection can prove
very worthwhile when trying to recruit members.

CDA Paraphernalia on campus. This is free advertising and

demonstrates the legitimacy of the organization. Rally signs,
bumperstickers, buttons and pamphlets will be provided by the
College Democrats of America upon request and will be
mailed to your campus address. Make sure that students who
take visibility material make it visible! For example, putting a
sign on a wall is nice but not nearly as effective as putting it in
a window. It might seem simple, but people always seem to
forget how they themselves are marketing tools. Remember:

Rally signs = Window

Bumperstickers = Cars, Laptops & Notebooks
Buttons = Backpacks and Jacket

Consult the CDA web page or CDA National Headquarters for

information on how to obtain logo merchandise in small or
large quantities.

Build Coalitions with other campus organizations that share a

similar political agenda. Co-sponsor meetings and events with
students for choice, the African-American and Latin American
student organizations, gay/lesbian organizations, environmental
groups, peace groups, etc.

Speaking and making announcements at other organizations

meetings and events will promote partnerships and increase
event attendance. Each officer of the chapter should be
responsible for creating relationships with certain organizations
in order to increase Democratic involvement on campus.

Follow Up: It is also very important that you follow up with

recruits and other prospective members ASAP. If you get back

14
 to people with information quickly then they feel like they are
wanted. This will also prevent them from losing interest in the
interim and make your chapter seem more responsible. Also
get to know the new recruits. Target people with the potential
to grow into leadership positions in the future and foster their
growth. This will be crucial to the longevity of the chapter.

Phone Calls: Phone calls are an excellent method to follow

up with people because they are far more personal than
emails. Here are some tips on how to follow-up with phone
calls.

After you have made initial contact with a

perspective recruit through tabling or other means,
call them then next day, so that the encounter is still
fresh in their memory. Be sure to remind them of
your name and where you met them.

Try not to leave voicemail messages because they

are far less personal and you cannot tailor the call to
the individual person.

If you know the particular interests of the person

you are calling, then play up those aspects of
involvement in the College Democrats. If not, try
to pick up on vocal cues that might signal their
interest in particular areas, and then tailor the call
toward that.

During the call, be sure to describe the plans of

what the College Democrats have been doing up
until this point, what youre currently doing, and
what you plan to do in the future.

Try not to hang up the phone until youve gotten a

commitment out of the person to either show up at
your next meeting, or volunteer at (or at least
attend) your next event.

Email: If you absolutely cannot get in touch with people

over the phone, then it is okay to email them. Use the same
techniques you used for making phone calls (tailoring the
emails to the persons interest). Include information on
your next meeting location and any upcoming events that
you have planned.

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 It is also a good idea to follow-up with people that you
have talked to on the phone via email. This way the person
will have a sort of permanent reminder that they are going
to be attending the next meeting or event, and the
information detailing where and when the event is
occurring will be readily available for them to reference in
the future.

Shun Complacency: It is easy to become complacent with

your membership after the first month or two of the school
year. While the beginning of the school year is certainly the
most important time for recruitment, it is important to continue
recruiting people later in the school year. Always bring
recruitment materials / information flyers to all of your College
Democrats events like lectures or campaign events. There is a
certain crowd of people that will be very attracted to your
group once they see the exciting things that youre able to
accomplish.

Good Government Needs to Start on the School Level. Get

involved with your schools student government organization
to have up to the minute knowledge of whats going on at your
campus in terms of programming and advocate the importance
of political clubs. If one club has successful ideas on
programming on your campus, dont feel afraid to try to
improve them.

Media Announce the new chapter in the student newspapers. Invite

the press to your meetings and events. Recruit someone from
the campus newspaper, radio and television stations to join the
chapter. Press releases can be used to maintain publicity
through local news outlets and to keep members active. A
sample press release can be found in section A-4 of the
appendix, and guidelines to working with the media can be
found in sections A-7 and A-8 of the appendix.

Online Media More than any other single demographic group, college
students choose the Internet as their preferred mode of
communication. Taking the chapter online is essential to
reaching students on campus and building a strong chapter.
Here are some key elements to an effective CDA web site:

Find a Webmaster: If no members of the core group are

proficient, search the computer science dept. for a new recruit.

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 Designing and managing a web page takes time and
considerable dedication.

Fresh and Timely Content: Visitors come back to Web sites

with constantly changing content. Think of the home page as
the front page of a daily newspaper - try to have something
new every week. Also make sure that all of the group/contact
information is kept up to date. If possible, make it interactive
with a blog or message board to create an online community
that thrives even after the school year ends. Podcasts are easy
to set up and great ways to highlight interviews with local and
on-campus leaders.

Clear, Attractive and Intuitive Website: It is terribly

important that a website be attractive and intuitive to the person
visiting the site. Make sure the navigation buttons are clearly
worded and easily navigable. People should quickly
understand how to find information on the web site. Also, it is
good if people enjoy being on your website. If possible, it is a
good idea to get someone who is good with graphic design to
create a mock-up of your website. Then you can have your
Webmaster turn it into a usable site. As always, if you need
help with designing a website, please contact CDA National
Headquarters and wed be happy to assist you.

Use the Web to Build E-Mail Lists: Ask visitors to the web
site to subscribe to the chapter e-mail list. Send subscribers
legislative and campaign updates and information about
upcoming CDA events on campus.

Highlight a Democratic Message: A CDA web site must

project the pro-student, pro-Democrat message that forms the
cornerstone of the organization. Check out the Democratic
Party web site at www.democrats.org or CDAs National
Headquarters web site at www.collegedems.com.

Network Online: Post events on MySpace and Facebook in

order to not only show you have an interactive presence in
cyberspace, but also to lure friends and classmates into joining.
The average college student spends an enormous amount of
time on social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace, so
this is probably the most practical method of interacting with
your campus.

Be sure to place links on your website encouraging your

visitors to join your Facebook group and become your

17
 MySpace and Facebook friends. See the attached New Media
appendix for a complete and detailed guide to utilizing these
very important tools. Also, use blogs and e-mail newsletters to
let friends know about upcoming events and political issues in
your area.

Interesting Links: There are many Democratic web sites that

can provide chapter members instant information on issues on
Capitol Hill, the White House and the Democratic Party. See
the list of web links in the appendix and include them on your
chapters web page. Also be sure to add any links for your
local and state party/leaders. Furthermore, contact CDAs
National Headquarters to add the chapter web page to CDAs
national web page links.

Democratic Network
State Party: The state party can be both an ally and a valuable
resource as the chapter begins to grow and become a force in
regional politics. The state party can be a resource for
speakers, funding, internships/jobs, etc. Schedule a meeting or
phone conversation with the Executive Director to discuss how
to help each other.

State Delegation: Just as with the state party, Democratic

elected officials can be valuable friends to the chapter. Send
local elected officials, state legislators and members of
Congress a letter introducing the new College Democrats
chapter. Send them quarterly updates of activities and request
their presence at an upcoming event. Also, ask for an
opportunity to sit down with them and discuss the chapters
goals and their recommendations for campus organizing. CDA
National Headquarters can assist with setting up appointments
with elected officials.

Local Democrats: Send a brief letter to the town and/or

county Democratic committee or its equivalent to let them
know a chapter of College Democrats is forming and seeking
to build a strong coalition between students and residents.
This small step is very important and will prove very useful in
the future. Local Democratic groups and candidates have the
most to gain from partnering with your chapter as you can have
the biggest impact on local elections.

In 2006, the UConn Democrats were able to expand their

resources, improve relations between students and city

18
 residents, and expose the chapter to a new range of
opportunities. They built strong relations with the Campaign to
get Congressman Joe Courtney elected, and after increasing
turnout on campus by 800%, he ended up winning by just 83
votes.

Stay Informed: Know the local races and Democratic events

going on in your community. While elections happen in
November, fundraisers and other activities are yearlong.
Contact your local parties and candidates to see if they need
help which your CDA Chapter can provide. Forming a working
relationship goes a long way towards building close-knit ties
with Democratic leaders.

19
STEP FOUR: CHAPTER BUILDING

EXPANDING MEMBERSHIP
The key to any successful College Democrat chapter is a
growing, vital group of activists. It is essential to constantly
reach out to new members - the greater the membership, the
greater the political influence.

Consistency Once the chapter is fully in place, it is important to maintain

regularity and consistency. Here are some suggestions:

Meetings: Hold weekly or bi-weekly meetings at the same

time and location. While preparing for a meeting, be sure to
create an agenda ahead of time so that the meeting has some
guidance to it. Usually, it is good for the chapter leaders to
begin with an update on how things are going in their particular
fields, and then you can open the meeting up for discussion.
While discussions may revolve around upcoming campaigns
and critical legislative issues, try to have something fun and
entertaining to make the meeting enjoyable, as well as
informative. Refreshments are definite crowd pleasers.

Chapter Office: Establish a chapter office. The student

organizations/activities office on campus usually provides
office space for chartered organizations. Local Democratic
Party offices or union halls can also be helpful in obtaining
office space and supplies.

Newsletter: Publish and distribute a monthly newsletter to the

wider campus community to promote awareness and publicity.
The newsletter should detail upcoming events on campus and
statewide.

Political Action: The school newspaper, radio and television

stations are the great vehicles to let other students know what
the chapter is doing that week or month, provide a forum for
Democratic ideals and policies, and challenge the Republicans
to a lively, healthy debate. It is also a great idea to make eye-
catching posters for any event/action that you are doing. Be
sure to place the posters all over campus in highly trafficked
and highly visible areas.

20
Types of Members There are three types of members in the organization: core,
peripheral and occasional members.

Core Members: Core members are incredibly dependable and

committed. These individuals are campus organizers, itching
for a big issue or campaign to focus their efforts. They are the
leaders and future leaders of the chapter and play an active role
in CDAs regional and national activities.

Peripheral Members: Chapter events should focus on the

peripheral members because they have strong interest but are
not ready to commit unless the organization proves its
legitimacy. The peripheral member should be the target of the
chapters commitment, energy, and enthusiasm. The Executive
Board should reach out to peripheral members and make sure
they are included and excited about the goals and direction of
the chapter.

Occasional Members: Occasional members are needed

because they provide support for rallies, and other campus
wide activities. They are the corps of volunteers activated
when a campaign comes to campus or a big event takes place
in the community. Unfortunately, occasional members are not
generally reliable for the day-to-day operations of the chapter.

Retention Retaining old members can be difficult, especially when other

pressures take over, i.e. midterms, finals, job search, etc.
However, social events build friendships and keep members
from losing touch with the chapter. In addition, holding
regularly scheduled meetings and holding regular events helps
maintain membership levels. To the regular membership, not
holding regular meetings can seem to them like the club is dead
even if the core members are doing amazing things.

Faculty Keep the faculty and staff of the campus aware of College
Democrat activities. Educators are typically Democrats and
will support the chapter if it has credibility. Invite them to
rallies, panels, and other appropriate activities. They can be
great resources of influence, donations and general operational
support.

Communication &
Organization Remember to communicate effectively and remain organized.
Set objectives and follow them. Disorganized meetings are a
sign that the chapter leaders are not serious about building an
active club, and apathy has the tendency to spread among

21
 members. More often than not, a lack of communication can
break down all organizing efforts. It is also important that
general members have access to the Executive Board. Have
open Executive Board meetings and save important decisions
for the general meetings.

Records Keep track of what you accomplish. This means not just
remembering the big events that occur (e.g. brought a speaker
to campus), but also knowing how many doors you knocked
on, and how many people you got to sign a petition. Have your
volunteers record their accomplishments every time that they
complete a task. Not only will this let you know which
members are doing the most amount of work, but it will also
give your chapter some influence as you can specifically let
party officials/candidates know your capabilities.

Planning for
The Future Train new members to become future leaders within the
organization. This is one of the most important things that can
be addressed in a College Democrats chapter. Because each
student is only on a campus for four years, every four years the
entire membership turns over, and unless new leadership has
emerged the organization can fall apart. So in addition to
building up the membership of the organization, the leaders in
the organization should reach out to the newer members of the
organization.

Members feel good about their involvement in a chapter if they

feel like they are making a difference and if they are constantly
being challenged. Chapter leaders should progressively give
more responsibility to newer members of the organization.
Initially this could mean putting up posters around campus.
However the next time that same person could be put in charge
of leading a group of people to hang up posters. This gradual
increase in responsibility should be encouraged. If a person
shows a lot of interest in the organization then the chapter
leaders should invite them to help them organize a tabling
session in the union, or organize a canvassing drive. As these
new volunteers are exposed to more and more responsibility,
they will learn a lot more and feel a sense of ownership over
the organization. These are the type of people that you need to
train to take over the reigns of the organization after you have
graduated.

Additionally, a chapter leader should check in one-on-one with

the new members immediately after they finish a new task to

22
 take their temperature and figure out what went wrong and
what went right. This is typically called debriefing, and it is an
essential and easy thing to do: it allows members to learn from
their mistakes and evaluate the impact that they have in the
organization.

Also, eventually encourage active members to get involved in

the chapter leadership, and the State Federation. Eventually
you could even push them to consider running for a regional or
national office. Make sure your campus is represented at the
annual convention held each year in Washington, D.C. Also,
do not forget the alumni. Keep them informed of the chapters
progress. Furthermore, alumni may be able to provide
contacts, internships, donations and other resource assistance.

Here is a breakdown of some things to keep in mind while

trying to develop new leaders:

Get new members involved (through basic

volunteering).
Progressively give members more responsibility.
Ask responsible members to help you organize an event
so that they can learn how to do it in the future.
Check in with a member and debrief after they
complete a task.
Encourage the impressive members to run for
leadership positions.

23
STEP FIVE: FUNDRAISING

Introduction For a CDA Chapter, fundraising is a necessary step in the

evolution from infancy to self-sufficiency and independence.
While it is a difficult task, there are many different ways to
develop funds from the resources at your disposal. Below are
samples of successful campus fundraisers, but it is important to
note that there are many different and innovative ways to raise
money when the internet and social networks such as Facebook
and Myspace are rapidly changing the political spectrum for
students.

This step is divided into three parts. The first details methods
of fundraising that can and have been employed by CDA
chapters across the nation. The second details the
consolidation of fundraising information that other chapters
have used with incredible effectiveness, raising anywhere from
$15,000 to $150,000 in election cycles. A chapter can do well
with the first part but will do great things when it includes the
second. The third and final part of this step details past
successful fundraising efforts employed by CDA chapters to
give you an example of what is possible.

It is also important to note that in politics you must always

communicate three things: What you plan to do, what you are
doing, and what you have done. When approaching potential
donors to your CDA chapter remember to rely on your past
record, explain your current activities, and what you will do
with the funds that a donor has entrusted you with. This
organizational principle is essential in building confidence.
Think of it in terms of basketball. When you take a shot, you
rely first on past experience. Then you judge the situation and
act accordingly. And no shot is successful unless you follow
through with your performance.

Methods School Funding: Schools often provide funds for specific

events; others give a certain amount of money to groups active
on campus annually. By talking to student government officials
and/or the student organizations/activities office you can learn
more about how your school can provide financial assistance.
Funding is often based on individual presentations where
groups describe their budget proposals for the upcoming year

24
 or individual events. It is very important to be well prepared for
the meeting. Go into the presentation with an itemized list of
expenditures, cost estimates, and benefits the student body will
gain by increasing political awareness and volunteerism in the
community.

Department staff and professors can help with fundraising as

well, either as individuals or through their own connections
through the university. Additionally, supporting candidates
friendly to CDA in student government elections can be critical
in gaining support for your group.

Sell CDA and Campaign Merchandise to raise money for the

group and increase the visibility of the chapter and Democratic
candidates. The CDA National Headquarters and campaigns
have such items that can be purchased at a bulk rate. This can
be sold not only to college students but also to the local
community. You can also partner with other organizations to
sell merchandise as well.

Create an online Donation System so that members of the

community can easily donate for events through a payment
system using credit cards. Paypal and other services provide an
easy hassle-free way for people in the community.

Set up links through your website and in your emails for people
to click on and donate.

Direct Mail and Fundraising Events are great ways to raise

money; however both require considerable overhead
expenditure. Simple logistics such as envelope and stamp costs
add up as you reach out to local/state/national sources for
funds. The state party, state federations and CDA National
Headquarters are great resources for chapters planning major
fundraising efforts.

Phone Solicitation can generate a considerable amount of

money if chapters target the correct donors. Approach
community and business leaders whose work or interests may
relate to youth activism to begin this fundraising tactic. You
can also speak with local Democratic leaders for suggestions of
potential donors. Meet with them in person if possible and have
a specific project in mind. Tell them what you plan to do with
the funds, and what your group has done in the past.

25
 New Media has changed the way the way CDA reaches out to
students, particularly with the development of Web 2.0 social
networking, such as Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, Digg, etc.
Students are one step ahead of most other demographics, and
you can use this to help increase funding and broaden your ties
to the local community by offering your more technologically
apt skills to local campaigns and businesses. Simple know-how
that we students have is a valuable asset to others in the
Democratic community, and now is a better time than ever to
market those skills.

Communicate with county and town committees when you

need to raise funds to send individuals to conventions or for
smaller community projects.

CDA National Headquarters: The national office can help.

Call to discuss new ideas, purchase merchandise, or develop a
fundraising plan. CDA National Headquarters and the CDA
regional organizers/state federations will be happy to help
develop an organizational budget and discuss any ideas about
raising revenue.

Organization Create a Plan: The first and most important thing you can do
is to develop a solid development plan for the year, which
should include event, financial, and membership goals. This is
useful not only to provide solid direction for your group, but
the plan also can be shown to potential donors to give them an
idea of what they will contribute too. Work with your state
party to coordinate whenever possible to accomplish mutual
goals.

State Party relations are critical to developing a strong

fundraising infrastructure. Your state party can form a critical
base of support not only in providing their donor lists (which
can include business leaders, lawyers, etc.) but also act as a
repository for your meeting minutes, former development
plans, and other forms of institutional memory. Additionally
your state party can help with overhead costs, hold joint
fundraisers and even advocate for your chapter through their
mailing lists.

Campaign Finance Laws: Both state and federal campaign

finance laws may impact a chapters fundraising activities.
Please seek the advice of counsel through the DNC, State Party
or CDA National Headquarters prior to setting up your chapter.

26
 Several options are available to new chapters for campaign
finance purposes: 1) if the chapter intends to contribute to non-
federal (state and local) candidates, it may be required to
register and report as a state PAC, subject to state campaign
finance requirements. In addition, if the State PAC raises more
than $25,000, there are additional IRS registration and possible
reporting requirements; 2) if the chapter does not intend to
make political contributions or spend funds on direct candidate
specific GOTV it may operate as a 527 organization. As such,
it would not have any incoming contribution limits but would
be required to register and report with the IRS if annual income
exceeds $25,000; 3) the chapter may choose to operate to
operate as an affiliate of the State Party.

Chapters should not contribute to or spend funds on behalf of

any federal candidate since this raises affiliation issues with the
CDA national organization and subjects the chapter to
restrictive federal contribution and reporting laws. Again, if
you have questions about campaign finance and/or fundraising,
please seek the advice of counsel.

Bank Accounts are essential if you are going to maintain your

organizations fundraising capabilities. After choosing a bank,
set up a group account with more than one member, and
preferably a faculty sponsor, with deposit/withdrawal rights to
insure that there is rollover within the group. With a bank
account, keep in mind that there is often a minimum account
limit that needs to be met before maintenance fees are deducted
from your groups balance. Every bank has a different policy,
start shopping around to find the best policy for your group.
You will definitely want to check in with the state party and
your local committee to see what the local regulations are
regarding political bank accounts.

Database: This is a critical (though often neglected) portion of

CDA fundraising; although in many cases it can prove to be the
most important. By maintaining a large donor list - built with
your county or state party in election years and retained in the
off-season - you can form the foundation of your organization
for years. These databases work effectively when they cover
not only local political figures but extend to lawyers and local
businessmen. The secondary effects of a strong database can
also help ease transitions in CDA groups as experienced
seniors leave and enthusiastic freshmen come in.

27
 Follow Through: When you successfully raise funds it is
important to thank your sources and let them know what your
group has accomplished recently. This helps build confidence
and ultimately a strong donor base. Writing thank you notes is
a must-do for every donation you receive. Donors like to know
that you received their money and that you appreciate their
money.

Examples Conventions and Events: Can and have been very effectively
used to raise funds in the past. For example, in 2005 the Maine
College Democrats held a textbook fundraising event. They
created a host committee early on for a convention and worked
with their state party to advertise throughout the state. They
also wrote personal letters to large donors inviting them to
attend by using their state partys donor list. They then secured
Al Franken as a speaker and got him to agree to a period of
book signings and private receptions. They then made follow-
up calls to insure attendance among invitees. They held
receptions both before and after his speech at the convention
for their big donors and were very successful. The end result
was a net gain of $15,000, stronger state party connections, a
proven track record, and a stronger and more experienced CDA
chapter. These events can be stretched out as well, once a
speaker is in your town you can find other opportunities to gain
capital for your group.

Databases: Were effectively employed by the University of

Kansas College Democrats in joint fundraisers with their state
party, resulting in a net gain of $150,000 for Democratic
Congressional candidate Nancy Boyda, who won by a narrow
margin in one of several Democratic House pick-ups in the
2006 election cycle. They cooperated and built a large database
with their state party of lawyers, businessmen, and other
consistent donors to the Kansas Democratic Party. The leader
of this group then registered his group as a Kansas Political
Action Committee and raised $50,000 on their own, effectively
negotiating a path through campaign finance laws in a crucial
election year.

Conclusion We hope that all of the above gives you ideas to help build and
maintain your chapters financial infrastructure. All the above
has been developed through trial and error, and has led to
successful groups in the past. But politics (and fundraising) is a
constantly changing game, there are many opportunities

28
 opening up all the time that can be used to help your chapter. If
you need more assistance, please contact the CDA national
offices - well help you in any way that we can.

29
STEP SIX: ELECTIONS

Introduction Every cycle (two years) campaigns prepare for elections. A

campaign is an organized effort to influence the decision-making
process of voters. An election is the selection of a person into
office by vote.

Election Districts Know what district you are in, there are many, here are some
that are universal: congressional district, state senate district,
state representative district, and city council (sometimes in
local districts like the city council, the districts are referred to
as wards or precincts). It is also important to know the dates
of the above elections and their primaries.

Election Coalitions You should get to know the local county (or town) party
members and leaders, in addition to getting to know your
coordinated campaign directors/organizers. You should discuss
how the county organizes/divides the work in your area and
where your chapter fits in.

Campaign
Vocabulary Benchmark Poll: thorough 20 30 minute survey asking
respondents for opinions on a variety of issues and political
figures.

Constituency: the group of people that an elected

representative represents.

Contact: Noun describing each time a campaign worker

actually gets in touch with a prospective voter.

Cut Turf: Divide up precinct maps into walkable sections.

DPI (Democratic Performance): The percentage of the vote

you can reliably depend on to vote Democratic.

Flushing: The act of going door to door on Election Day in

order to get known Democratic voters to go to the polling place
and vote.

30
 Message: A brief statement of the candidates beliefs and
values, to be repeated over the course of the campaign.

NCEC (National Committee for an Effective Congress

Data): Precinct-level information regarding demographics,
turnout, and past Democratic performance.

GOTV (Get Out The Vote): This is the part of the campaign
that occurs on Election Day. It is the action of targeting known
supporters and making sure that they make it to the polling
place.

Process Now that you have all the vocabulary here is how the process
usually works.

Registration Register students on your campus to vote. Also, help register

at grocery stores, community events and public venues. Voter
registration rules and deadlines vary from state to state, and in
some states or counties, you must be a voter registrar, so look
up the requirements and laws in your county. (Think
strategically about where you register people to vote, you
usually must register everyone in the places that you go, but
there are often areas that are Democratic hotspots like union
halls or college campuses).

Also, at schools with a lot of out-of-state students, you should

provide information to students on how to register both at
school, and also in their home district; sometimes it is actually
more beneficial for a student to register in their home district.

For instance, in 2004 it wouldnt have made sense for a student

from Ohio who attended school in Massachusetts to register in
Massachusetts because the state was safely Democratic. It
wouldve been much better for them to vote in their home
district in Ohio. It is important for you as the campaign expert
to advise them on which location is the best place for them to
register and then provide them with information on registering
in that location.

Create a Plan Create a plan on your campus for how to contact students in
the most effective manner. There is a lot of stuff that needs to
happen in order to get as many Democratic votes as possible

31
 on Election Day. Before you get caught up in the heat of the
election, be sure to make out a plan, so that you have a thought
out blueprint that you are following. This plan will include
many of the elements found later in this section, although
campaigns are always changing. Be willing to try something
new and innovative if you think it might work.

Remember your primary goal: You want to have as many

students vote as possible, and you also want them to vote
Democrat. It is your job to 1. Persuade them to vote Democrat
and then 2. Get them to the polling booths.

Work on campaigns: Students should volunteer on campaigns

during their free time, you can setup opportunities with a
volunteer coordinator officer. Your chapter can also setup
internships with the campaigns for a set period of time for
students who apply. In fact some schools will give credit for
people who work on campaigns. Your chapter should keep up
to date with campaign events and the progress of local races.

It might be easiest to choose certain campaigns to work on

based on the need for volunteers, and the closeness of the
race.

Each officer should try to build a relationship with a certain

campaign in order to keep a pulse on the race.

Phonebanking: This can happen at the county coordinated

campaign, or at the end of a chapter meeting. You should have a
script for students, phone numbers from the campaign, a brief
training on how to fill in the information sheets, cell
phones/landlines. Make sure to have snacks, it always makes
volunteers more chipper.

Voter Identification When it comes to campaigning, information about voters is like

gold: knowing how people are going to vote makes your life a
lot easier. In order to wage a successful GOTV campaign on
Election Day, you need to identify who your base voters are
ahead of time.

Survey: Create a survey that asks people questions about the

upcoming election. First make sure that you get their

32
 name/address/phone number. Ask them if they plan to vote in
the coming election. Ask them if they associate with a political
party. If they say they dont, ask them if they lean toward a
particular political party. Ask them if they plan to vote for the
Democratic candidate(s)/issues (list the specific
candidates/issues that you are really focusing on). Thats about
it!

Spreadsheet: Pick up a copy of your student directory

(preferably an electronic copy) and input this information into
an excel spreadsheet so that you can sort it by name, dorm,
phone, precinct, etc. This will be your master voter file, and
will be vital to your campaign.

Tabling: Then you need to get people to fill out the survey.
Set up tables in highly visible places (e.g. dining halls, student
union, campus quad, football games, etc.) and ask people if
they are interested in taking a survey about the upcoming
election. You want everyone to fill out this survey whether
they are Democrats or Republicans, so dont discriminate
against any people who fill it out (even if they are
conservative). If somebody asks you for whom you are
working, dont lie. Tell them you are doing this survey with
the College Democrats, but that it is a bipartisan survey. When
you are done, be sure to input all of this information into your
spreadsheet so that you can use it later on.

Phone Banking: After tabling, try phone-banking to fill in the

holes in your voter file information. Set up a script for your
volunteers to use, and have them ask the questions to people
over the phone. Be sure to train them in how to mark down the
information once they get it.

Dont Get Discouraged: You will never be able to identify

every person on campus. There will always be people who
dont want to answer or who you cant get in touch with. This
is okay any information you get is better than no information
even if it is not comprehensive.

33
Wage an Information
Campaign: Once you have registered everyone to vote, and you should,
now it is time to sell, sell, sell your party and candidates.
Students need to know who they are voting for and why.

Posters: Plaster the campus with informational posters, which

remind people why voting for Democratic candidates is a good
idea. Place them in highly visible areas. If you are able to, take
out an ad in the campus newspaper and place an ad on the
campus television/radio station.

Tabling: Set up tables in highly trafficked areas and hand out

information about the election and the candidates. Good places
for this could include the student union, the dining halls, the
main campus quad, etc.

Be Creative: Hold fun/interesting events that are about

political issues that will persuade students. Also think of fun
programming ideas. You dont want people to get bored by
your campaign. (One example of a fun Election Day idea is
Voting Dates invite people to vote and then have ice cream or
lunch. Its different and it promotes friends taking friends, who
might not vote to the polls.)

Early Voting: Remind people about Early Voting, and provide

information about their voting locations (They cant vote if
they do not know where and when to vote). The more people
that vote early, the less work you have to do on Election Day.

Allies: Reach out to allied organizations to make sure that their

members are informed about the candidates/issues and that they
vote.

Canvassing: Also known as block-walking, it is something we

all have to do, and can be tons of fun. This is when a lot of
people go door-to-door dropping off literature, knocking on
doors, and talking to residents about the candidate(s)/issue(s)
that they support. When organizing a block walk have
food/treats available for students. Make sure the campaign(s)
you are working with has walk lists, reliable directions and
campaign lit.

34
 Final Week: Have a week-before-elections plan; each day
should have a theme and major event. Also, coordinate with
the local party and candidates in order to help in locations off
campus. Here is an EXAMPLE of possible themes for the
days leading up to the election:

Monday Save the Environment Vote Democrat

Tuesday Love your neighbor Vote Democrat

(emphasize healthcare & welfare issues)

Wednesday Respect Our Vote youth issues

Thursday Women Vote and Lunch pro-choice vote

democrat

Friday War Zone Vote or Die, discuss the war.

Monday Just Do IT Vote!

Election Day Now or Never get them to the polls

Local Candidates: Accompany local candidates around

campus, knocking on dorm room doors and handing out
information on campus in the days leading up to Election Day.

GOTV GOTV, or Get Out The Vote, is the point at which you
mobilize your base and give a final push to your persuadable
voters.

GOTV Captain Appoint a GOTV captain to head up Election Day operations.

This is a very important job and requires a lot of work, so be
sure that it is someone responsible. A likely person might be
the campaign director, however depending on how much work
there is running the overall campaign operation on campus, it
might be a good idea to appoint someone else.

Headquarters Set-up a campaign headquarters for Election Day. There will

be a lot of people doing a lot of stuff, and you will all need one
central location to report to. It is usually a good idea to make
this a highly accessible/visible location so that people and your
volunteers will be able to get there easily and other people will

35
 be reminded by the mass effort that it is Election Day.

Volunteer
Recruitment Leading up to Election Day, be sure to recruit a large base of
volunteers from your membership and from other liberal groups
on campus who are willing to help on Election Day. This is
crucial because you will need all the people that you can get to
do all the things that need to be done on Election Day. Its
good to put someone in charge of volunteer recruitment who
can focus solely on this aspect. This person can then be in
charge of checking people in the volunteers on Election Day.

Shuttles If possible, reserve vans from your school or a local dealer to

serve as shuttles to the polls on Election Day. If this isnt
possible, get people to volunteer their cars as shuttles. Then
run shuttles to the polling locations all day from (a) very
central area(s). Be sure to widely broadcast that these shuttles
are running from this location continuously. Be sure to have
lots of campaign literature in the vans encouraging people to
vote in support of our candidates/issues. You will also need a
number of your volunteers to serve as shuttle drivers
throughout the day, so be sure to recruit people with driver
licenses.

Door-Hangers If you have the resources to do this, create door-hangers that

you can put on every voters door that is identified as
Democratically-leaning/supporting (through your voter id
campaign). The door-hangers should be put up the night before
election day, and they should tell people where they can go to
vote/get a shuttle to the polls, they should tell them who to
vote for, they should tell them when to vote (i.e. Tuesday), and
they should have a contact email/phone number for questions
(i.e. contact democrats@college.edu). If you attend an
extremely liberal campus, sometimes you can place these on
every door; however you dont want to go out of your way to
anger Republican voters and thereby encourage them to vote.

Phonebanking You will want to set up a phone-banking operation on Election

Day. Phone banking on Election Day should be directed at
everyone except those who have been identified as Republican,
and your goal is to get them to go and vote. You want to call all
the people that you have identified as Democratically-leaning
through your voter id campaign and remind them to vote. Be

36
 ready to let them know where their specific polling location is
and where the easiest shuttle location is for them.

Captain: This requires a lot of volunteers. Appoint a phone-

banking captain to train the volunteers on what to do as the
volunteers come and go throughout the day. Write a script for
your phone bankers to use in order to make this easier for your
volunteers.

Phone Banking Space: You are going to want to set up (a)

space(s) with a lot of phones that you can use to call people all
day long. Often times you can request that a number of
landline phones be set up through your university; this will
likely cost you some money. If your school is unable to assist
you with this, then you can see if a local Democratically-
leaning business owner will help by lending you their
telephones/office space for phone-banking. As a last resort,
you can use cell-phones, however this isnt as ideal because it
uses up peoples cell phone minutes, and it is generally better
to have phone numbers that are from the same area code calling
(especially if you end up calling residents off campus so that is
doesnt seem like an out-of-state operation).

Flushing The goal of flushing is to literally flush democratic voters out

of their homes and into the polling booths. This is probably
the most effective method that you can employ to get people
to the polls; however, it takes the most amount of work.

Captain: You are going to want to appoint a flushing captain

who is in charge of laying out flushing routes for specific
volunteers to follow.

Contact: The volunteers will then follow the route drawn up

for them and will stop at the rooms/houses that have been
identified as Democratically-leaning/supporting during your
voter id campaign. They will encourage the voters living in that
location to get out and vote and they will provide the voters
with information on where/how to go and vote (and for
whom/what to vote).

Visibility A visibility campaign is incredibly important on election day.

Youve been ramping up to Election Day with a lot of posters

37
and such, however Election Day should be the climax of all of
that you want the visibility campaign to be far more intense
than it has been up until this point.

Hang posters all over campus in highly visible locations

encouraging people to make their way to the shuttles.

Drop homemade banners (sheets and spray paint) from

highly visible buildings/windows remind people to vote
and where to go.

Hang tons of posters in front of your Elections HQ to

let people know that it is the headquarters and that they
should go and vote.

Wage a New Media visibility campaign. Create a

Facebook event for Election Day and share it on all of
your Facebook profiles. Consult the New Media
appendix to this manual for more information on how to
utilize social networking tools like Facebook and
MySpace.

You should send out emails to your clubs email list

reminding them that it is Election Day and providing
info on where/how to vote. Try to get all of the ally
groups on campus (i.e. environmental groups, GLBT
groups, choice groups, etc.) to do the same.

If you live on a very liberal campus, see if the college

will do a campus wide email from the President of the
college/university (or someone similar) encouraging
people to get out and vote. Also, see if you can arrange
for a robo-call to go out to every student on campus
encouraging him or her to vote.

If youve collected a lot of cell phone numbers through

your surveys or through Facebook, you may want to
send mass text messages reminding targeted voters to go
to the polls.

If you somehow have tons of extra volunteers with

nothing to do (this is a last resort use them for

38
 flushing/phone-banking/driving before this) you can give
them a bunch of rally signs and have them stand in very
visible places shouting and encouraging people to vote.

Poll Checkers In many states, you are allowed to place people at the polls
that can check people off of your targeted list of voters as they
vote. These people are called poll checkers and they can play
an important role. Then they can run this list back to HQ a
couple of times per day so that you can focus your efforts on
those individuals who havent voted yet while leaving alone the
people that have made their way to the polls already. Also,
you can see in what districts/precincts that you are matching
your expectations, and in what districts/precincts that you are
coming up short. So you can alter your strategy to target areas
that arent turning out as much. Check with your local or
county committee to see if Poll Checkers are allowed in your
community.

Celebrate Be sure to plan a victory party to celebrate a Democratic

victory after you are done working on Election Day!

39
STEP SEVEN: CDA ON CAMPUS

CHAPTER
FOCUS As an established chapter, the goals of the organization will
alter with the political climate. The chapter may focus on
electing Democratic candidates, lobbying elected officials, or
educating the campus on issues. Here are some ideas and
activities to keep in mind as the chapter strengthens and builds:

Getting the Word

Out about CDA As an officer of your chapter it is important to coordinate
officer changes with your state fed. In addition to keeping up
relations with your state federation using the name College
Democrats on campus will help students, and community
organizations identify with your organization.

Using organizing tools like Facebook, MySpace, or your

schools organization bank to post information about CDA and
the CDA National Convention will help students become more
involved with national events. If you have a list-serve in which
you regularly send out information it is important to include
some articles about CDA.

In addition to spreading the word about CDA to your chapter

participants it is also important to participate in CDA national
events/initiatives. Programming ideas are available on the
CDA website to give chapters ideas on fun events to hold.
Also, CDA regularly provides national events for students to
attend or programs for students to host on their campus.

Building coalitions with ally organizations is essential to

membership building and creating more awareness on issues.
Holding events with other organizations on campus on issues
like world hunger, aids, the environment, and a womens right
to choose will allow students to network within your campus.
Community
Service Democrats are people who care about their fellow Americans,
with the spirit of caring, chapters should consistently hold
service events. A few ideas for holding service events:

Have a Theme: December is a month for global AIDS

awareness, Earth Day is held in April, both events provide
reasons to provide service to your community. There are

40
 numerous other ways to get involved, contact your local food
shelter, or service organizations on campus and they can help
you get in contact with community service organizations.

Contact Local Democratic Elected Officials or the state party

headquarters for suggestions. The student activities office may
also be a resource for community service contacts. Many
elected officials have adopted a service project that he/she may
choose to participate in with the chapter.

Contact the Project Coordinator and Schedule the

Chapters Visit. Discuss the activities in which chapter
members will participate and any special provisions (i.e. dress
code) that the project may require.

Issue a Media Advisory alerting the media to CDAs

dedication to community service and the details of the
upcoming project. Check with the project coordinator to see if
the media is welcome at the site. A sample media advisory can
be found in the appendix.

Raise Money to Pay for Transportation and Food by

contacting the state party headquarters or local donors who are
likely to support this great cause. As is always the case with
fundraising, it is easier to raise it when you have a specific
event that it is going towards, and this event markets itself well
in terms of raising money.

Have incentives for students to participate. For example, keep

records of each members service hours and at the end of
every month provide a reward for the member who has the
most volunteer hours.

Dont forget that registering voters and providing information

about voting is also a civic service/duty for chapters to keep up.

Legislative
Activity College Democrats of America stands committed to
representing the interests of young Americans and promoting
youth activism at all levels of government. In the last few
years, College Democrats throughout the country have
organized petitions, letter writing campaigns and meetings with
elected officials to voice their support for student aid, equal
opportunity, affordable health care, and a cleaner environment.
In 2006, over 90 College Democrats marched on the Capitol in
Washington to meet with representatives to discuss the Raid on

41
 Student Aid. College Democrats of America stand committed
to fighting for students on the key issues and providing a voice
for students. Here are a few suggestions on legislative
organizing and campus lobbying:

Follow the Legislative Calendar and update the chapter on

current issues being debated in the State House, Congress and
the White House. Make sure if important legislation is on the
calendar to testify during committee hearings and meet with
your representatives. A list of suggested web sites that provide
legislative news and information is in the appendix.

Inform and Activate the Campus through an eye-catching

flyer or web page alert illustrating the impact of current
legislation on college students. Host a call-a-thon, during one
of your meetings provide students with the names and phone
numbers of representatives so they can call to voice their
opinions.

Have students contact the representative in the district

they vote in.
Hand out advocacy postcards which are addressed to
the representative of the district your school is located.
On the back provide wording indicating whether you
want them to vote for or against the legislation and
why.
Handout information about the legislation, or create a
legislative agenda to hand out to students on your
campus. Set up a table in your student union, dining
halls, or other highly trafficked areas where youre
likely to recruit a lot of students on campus to help your
cause.

Organize a Letter Writing Campaign for students to voice

their opinion on issues. Some helpful guidelines for effective
letter writing are in the appendix.

Devise a Lobbying Strategy and set up appointments with

local legislators. Lobbying can be very effective but requires
solid, thorough preparation. A guide to lobbying is in the
appendix.

Captivating
the Media Media attention is a very persuasive way to advance legislative
goals.

42
 Organize a Press Conference and announce the chapters
position on the issue. Ask prominent members of the
community and other campus organizations to join in the fight.
Helpful hints on organizing press conferences can be found in
the appendix.

Write an Op-Ed or Letter to the Editor and send it to the

campus and local newspapers. Encourage other students to
write a letter to the editor or op-ed by setting up a table in the
student union and providing the names and addresses of
legislators, background on the issue, and proposed text for the
letters. Some examples are included in the appendix.

Political
Campaigns Electing Democrats is the cornerstone of College Democrats of
America. Every November, College Democrats throughout
the country make a difference in countless local, statewide and
national campaigns. The CDA chapter is the campus link for
students wanting to get involved with Democratic political
campaigns. Here are some ideas on getting started (however
for more specifics about running strong campaigns on campus,
consult the elections section of this manual):

Contact the Local State Party Headquarters and obtain a list

of local races and candidates. Speak with the partys volunteer
coordinator and find out where manpower is needed. Have
students act as a representative for each local campaign. They
will be responsible for updating the chapter on the progress of
the race and for coordinating volunteering efforts for the race.

Speak with Local Campaign Campus Coordinators

regarding the campaigns strategy to target college students and
how the chapter can play an active role. Find out how to obtain
campaign paraphernalia for distribution on campus.

The CDA blog and National Headquarters are great places

to find updates on national campaigns.

Attending
CDA Convention Ever year in July CDA holds its national convention, a great
event for students to network with other young activists from
all over the United States. Before the semester ends, each
chapter should designate a convention coordinator to keep
members up to date on convention news and coordinate

43
attendance. It is important to remind students of the
opportunities available through attending convention. A
couple of selling points are: hot speakers, great national
trainings, networking with progressive activists, and memories
that will last until next convention.

Here are some important issues to remember in preparing for

convention:

Make sure you have transportation, possibly provided

for/ coordinated by the state federation. If
transportation is not provided, make sure that members
have a way to get to convention at an affordable price.
Have an excel sheet of all the members attending
convention with their means of transportation, time of
arrival and time of departure.
Make sure all members are aware of the opportunities
available during convention, and provide schedules of
the convention for members ahead of time.
Students will need financial assistance in attending
convention. Raising money is an essential
responsibility of the chapter to help pay for registration
fees and or provide scholarships. You can request
assistance from your University, your Congressional
Representative, or your State Democratic Party in order
to help pay for convention.
Coordinate a dinner for members of your chapter during
convention to share stories and provide more
information on people they have met.

44
 Appendix

45
A-1. Sample Constitution

Preamble

In order to promote a better America, with equality, opportunity, and freedom within a just and
strong society, we dedicate ourselves to organizing the participation of Democratic college
students at _____ College. In this mission, we call for full participation of all _____ students,
regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, physical handicap, socioeconomic
status, or sexual orientation.

Understanding the importance of participation in the Democratic Party to the preservation of our
values and principles, we, Democratic college students, do hereby associate ourselves and adopt
this Constitution as the _____ College Democrats.

Article 1: Name and Purpose

A: Name: The name of this organization shall be the _____ College Democrats, hereafter
referred to in this document as the College Democrats.

B: Purpose: The College Democrats pledges itself to support the philosophy and
candidates of the Democratic Party. Furthermore, the College Democrats declares its
intention to support all efforts to increase the participation of college students in
Democratic affairs. To these ends, the College Democrats shall educate and train its
members so that they may be better able to:

1. Educate students about the philosophy of the Democratic Party;

2. Assist in the election of local, state, and national Democratic candidates.

3. Affect political change on the local, state, and national level.

Article 2: Membership

A: Members: Membership in the College Democrats shall be open to any college student
currently enrolled in _____ College who wishes to be known as a College Democrat and
who has the best interests of the College Democrats and the Democratic Party at heart,
regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, physical handicap,
socioeconomic status, or sexual orientation.

Article 3: The Executive Board

A: Composition: The Executive Board shall be composed of the President, Vice

President, Treasurer, and Communications Director. All positions will be elected once
yearly at the General Elections. [This is only one possible Executive Board composition.

46
 Some chapters may prefer larger or smaller ones.]

B: The Executive Board shall determine the agenda and policy of the College Democrats
and coordinate all activities and events.

Article 4: Duties of the Executive Board Positions

A: All Executive Board members must maintain active involvement in all of the College
Democrats activities and endeavors.

B: Duties of the President. The President shall:

1: Be the Chief Executive Officer of the College Democrats;

2: Define the agenda of the College Democrats during his or her tenure;

3: Act as the official representative of the College Democrats to other groups and
the media;

4: Carry out the mandates, policies, an directives of the Executive Board;

5: Preside over all meetings of the College Democrats.

C: Duties of the Vice President. The Vice President shall:

1: Assist the President in the performance of his or her duties; including

brainstorming ideas and evaluating the progress of the Executive Board and
organization as a whole;

2: Act as President when the President is unable to perform his or her duties;

3: Assume the office of the President upon the Presidents death, resignation,
removal, or inability to perform duties;

4: Take on projects of his or her choosing.

D: Duties of the Treasurer. The Treasurer shall:

1: Direct fundraising activities and prepare all grants;

2: Manage the bank account and budget;

3: Perform such duties as the President may assign and take on projects of his or
her choosing.

E: Duties of the Communications Director. He or she shall:

47
 1: Coordinate all postering and publicity activities;

2: Notify media of all events of the College Democrats in an attempt to ensure

media coverage;

3: Perform such duties as the President may assign and take on projects of his or
her choosing.

Article 5: Elections

A: Elections shall occur [Once a year? Once a semester?].

B: Eligibility to run for a position and vote: [This depends on the structure of your
chapter - dues-paying members?]

C: Secretive ballots: One vote per person per election. Candidates cannot vote in their
own election.

D: Procedure: Candidates are nominated directly before their election.

1. Speech length: Pres - 4min; VP - 3min; Other - 2min

2. Q & A: Pres - 7min; Other - 5min

3. Supporting speakers: Pres - 5; Other - 3. Each supporting speaker has 45

seconds to support his candidate. Order of speakers will alternate among
candidates. They are forbidden to make any derogatory statements about any
candidate. Candidates are prohibited from the election room during the time of
supporting statements.

4. Vote counting and declaration of winner will occur directly after that election.

Article 6: Removal

A: Cause for removal: Cause for removal shall be defined as malfeasance or nonfeasance
of duties assigned by the Executive Board or delineated within this document, or as
ineligibility for Executive Board membership pursuant to Article 2. Cause for removal
shall also include grounds found by 3/4 members of the Executive Board to constitute
good and sufficient cause.

B: Process for removal: To begin the process for removal, another member of the
Executive Board must charge the officer with the reasons for his or her removal publicly
at a meeting of the Executive Board. The officer in question must be offered an
opportunity to defend himself or herself at that meeting. After a period of two weeks the
issue shall be put to a vote. Three-fourths members of the Executive Board must vote for
removal for an officer to be removed.

Article 7: Vacancies

48
 A: Declaration of vacancy: A vacancy shall be declared when a member of the Executive
Board dies, resigns, or is removed from office. If the vacancy occurs in an Executive
Board position other than the President, the President shall appoint a successor with a
2/3-majority consent of the remaining Executive Board. If the vacancy is the President,
then the Vice-President shall automatically be the replacement.

Article 8: Amendments

A: Procedure: The Constitution can be amended by a 2/3-majority vote of the Executive

Board with 2/3-approval by the dues-paying membership.

49
A-2. Media Advisories and Press Releases

The purpose of a media advisory is to alert the press of important news or an

upcoming event. The purpose of a press release is to communicate a message that
you want the media to pick up.

1. Both media advisories and press releases have headlines. The headline should be
written as it would appear in the newspaper.

2. In the body of the press advisory, include the "who, what, where, when and why."
Also include: the format, the name of the event, the date, the time and the
location. In both Media Advisories and Press Releases, definitely be sure to
include quotes from the public leaders in your chapter (i.e. President or
Communications Director).

3. Both should be no more than one page.

4. Be sure to have a contact name and phone number for the press to contact for
more information.

5. Dont convey the entire message in the media advisory.

6. Write the press release exactly like it would appear in the newspaper.

7. Remember, the press might be reluctant to read the entire release. Make the
important information clear and concise, and get to the point right away.

8. Always end the press release or media advisory with either 30- or ###.

50
A-3. Sample Media Advisory
*** MEDIA ADVISORY***

For Immediate Release

MONTH, DATE, YEAR

Contact: FIRST LAST (XXX) XXX-XXXX

College Democrats Announce All Star Line-Up of Speakers

"Training Today's Leaders for Tomorrow"

Washington, DC - College Democrats of America today announced an exciting line-up of

speakers for their annual convention on July 26-29 in Columbia, South Carolina. This year's
convention held on the campus of the University of South Carolina will be a valuable opportunity
for young activists to get involved in electing a Democratic President in 2008. Students will
participate in intensive trainings that center around grassroots organizing, communications and
getting other young people active in the Democratic Party.

Additionally, this year's participants will also hear from an exciting line-up of speakers including
several Democratic Presidential contenders from the strongest and the most diverse field yet.

"CDA has a great opportunity to help elect the next Democratic President of this country," said
College Democrats of America President Lauren Wolfe. "This convention will provide a great
springboard to empower young people to get geared up for the next election. We are enthusiastic
about a great line up of speakers and look forward to one of the most successful conventions yet."

This year's convention speakers include: (Specific date and times TBA)

DNC Chairman Howard Dean

DNC Secretary Alice Germond
House Majority Whip James Clyburn
Columbia Mayor Bob Coble
State Representative Bakari Sellers

Democratic Presidential Candidates:

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton*
Senator John Edwards
Senator Mike Gravel
Congressman Dennis Kucinich *
Senator Barack Obama
* denotes new confirmation

For press credentials please contact: FIRST LAST at (XXX) XXX-XXXX or

NAME@CHAPTER.com.

###

51
A-4. Sample Press Releases
For Immediate Release
MONTH, DATE, YEAR

Contact: FIRST LAST - (XXX) XXX-XXXX

Young People Agree: Democratic Party is the Future!

Washington, DC - A new poll released today by The New York Times, CBS, and MTV
reveals that young voters favor Democrats over Republicans. The poll conducted from
June 15 - 23rd shows that young Americans dramatically favor the Democratic
candidates over the Republicans in the 2008 presidential election by a spread of 54 to 32.
Furthermore, the poll also shows that young Americans are far more likely to agree with
Democratic positions on issues. Also evident from the polling is the fact that young
people are engaged early on in the 2008 election and are closely following the important
issues facing our country. [New York Times, 6/27/07]

"This poll is proof positive that the Democratic Party is the party of young people and the
party of the future" said The College Democrats of America President Lauren Wolfe.
"Young people have a lot at stake when it comes to the issues facing this country. While
the disastrous policies of the Bush Administration and the previous Republican Congress
left enormous national debt and made it harder for students to attend college, Democrats
are turning things around."

"Already the Democratic Congress has cut student loan interest rates in half and
introduced legislation to increase Pell Grants and Perkins loans so that more young
people have the opportunity attend college. Democrats have implemented 'Pay-Go'
measures that balance the budget and don't leave debt to future generations. This current
trend indicates that young people will play a critical role in helping Democrats keep the
House and the Senate and elect a Democratic President in 2008."

###

52
A-5. Writing an Op-Ed
An op-ed gives the writer an opportunity to express their personal views in a well-
organized and prepared format. It allows the writer to do adequate research and take a
strong position on a legislative issue. Be critical of your work and check your references.
Do not be afraid to share personal experiences in the article. Title your op-ed the way
you want to see it in print. Contact your local newspaper and identify the appropriate
individual to forward your article to. Be sure to send a copy to the CDA National
Headquarters so it can be included either in the newsletter or on the web page!

SAMPLE OP-ED:

Opening Up the American Dream for Everyone

The Democrats Will Make College More Affordable

The American Dream is built on the notion that anyone with decent intentions and
a willingness to work hard can achieve whatever they wish. Education is the essential
ingredient; while it doesnt guarantee success, graduation from a college or university
brings the American Dream that much closer to reality. Yet during their time in control of
Washington, D.C., the Republican Party has done nothing but shortchange our
generations capacity to acquire an education. In the face of skyrocketing tuition prices,
the Republicans have systematically cut student aid. Fortunately, the Democratic Party
plans to reverse the raid on student aid and make college more affordable for everyone.
All in all, recent Republican legislation will prevent two million students from
receiving a college education over the next decade. 1 Last February, Republicans in
Congress purged $12 billion from federal student aid programs. 2 $12 billion could send
230,000 students to a public university for four years. 3 As a result of Republican
legislation, on July 1st student borrowers encountered steep rises in their interest rates.
Students obtaining new Stafford loans now assume a fixed interest rate of 6.8%, up from
the previous rate of 5.3%.4 The latest stipulations put an even greater strain on parents.
If parents borrow from the Direct Loan programfunding straight from the Department
of Educationtheir fixed interest rate is 7.9%, up from 6.1%.5 Borrowing from
independent lenders through the Federal Family Education Loan program requires
parents to accept an 8.5% fixed interest rate, a hike of 2.4%.6
In response to these egregious attacks against college students and young people,
Congressman George Miller (D-CA) proposed the Reverse the Raid on Student Aid Act of
1
http://edworkforce.house.gov/democrats/pdf/reverseraid.pdf
2
Ibid.
3
I calculated this personally, dividing 12 Billion by the average 4 year cost (including
room and board) of a public university; statistics derived from
http://www.collegeboard.com/prod_downloads/press/cost05/trends_college_pricing_05.p
df
4
http://edworkforce.house.gov/democrats/pdf/July1stStudentLoanChanges.pdf
5
Ibid.
6
Ibid.

53
2006 (H.R. 5150). A complementary bill was introduced by Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) in
the United States Senate. Congressman Millers legislation would reduce interest rates
on college loans, alleviating the financial strain felt by students and their families.
Specifically, H.R. 5150 would slash the fixed interest rate on subsidized student loans
from 6.8% to 3.4%.7 H.R. 5150 would also assist families by decreasing the fixed
interest rate on parent loans from 8.5% to 4.25%.8 Congressman Millers proposal would
save the average student borrower a total of $5,600a much needed break.9
Certain people may question the extent to which higher education strengthens this
country, doubting its that integral to Americas continued preeminence. Despite the
skepticism of some, the university has proven its exceptional worth. Numerous
quantitative measures demonstrate the immense public and private benefit of college
education. On average, in comparison to their peers who possess only a high school
diploma, college graduates earn $19,000 more annually.10 This amounts to more than
$1,000,000 in greater lifetime earnings, making a college degree 73% more valuable than
a high school diploma.11
But the value of higher education isnt merely reflected by income rates. Higher
education is, in fact, a matter of national interest and security. Simply put, the American
economy cant maintain its power and prestige in the world without a sufficiently
educated workforce to match. As Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) emphasizes, Raising
interest rates on todays students shortchanges our children while threatening our
countrys ability to remain competitive in the global marketplace.12 Unfortunately,
analysts predict the U.S. will lack 12 million college-educated workers by 2020.13
In Americas early days, Thomas Jefferson argued that a vibrant democracy is
inseparable from an educated citizenry. The author of our nations founding document
concluded, Liberty can never be safe but in the hands of the people themselves, and that
too, of the people with a certain degree of instruction. For Jefferson, enlightening the
populace was the only way to preserve freedom and prevent lawmakers from governing
recklessly. The Republican Party seems to have missed this history lesson. The
Democrats plan to reverse the raid on Student Aid will open up the doors of higher
education to millions of people and lesson the tuition burden for everyone. The future, in
turn, will be brighter for all Americans.

Lauren Wolfe
President
College Democrats of America

7
http://edworkforce.house.gov/democrats/pdf/reverseraid.pdf
8
Ibid.
9
Ibid.
10
http://www.collegeboard.com/prod_downloads/press/cost04/EducationPays2004.pdf
11
Ibid.
12
http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/ed31_democrats/rel41306.html
13
http://edworkforce.house.gov/democrats/pdf/reverseraid.pdf

54
A-6. Tips for Organizing a Press Conference
PLANNING THE NEWS CONFERENCE
Participants

Maximize media attendance at your news conference.

* Invite at least one high profile spokesperson, either the mayor,

city council member, college presidents, the police chief, the
Governor, other state-level elected officials or candidates for local,
state or national office.

It is helpful to get a cross-section of people to participate in order to

demonstrate that the issue is of great concern to everyone. Strive for
ethnic and gender diversity among the participants. Inviting people with
real stories helps to personalize the story.

Location

Use a location that is easily accessible, but also visually interesting for the
media.

Time
DAY
Try to hold the news conference on a Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday.
Avoid Mondays and Fridays because its harder to prepare over the
weekend and newspaper readership is lowest on Saturdays.

TIME
If possible, hold the event between 10 am and 2 pm. Early morning is
difficult for reporters to attend and late afternoon conflicts with
preparation for the evening news. 10 am or 11 am are the best times
because many noon newscasts will include the event in their broadcasts.

ADVANCING THE NEWS CONFERENCE

Alert the Media!! This is the most important step!

PREPARE a Media Advisory which will serve as your announcement of

the event to the press. The advisory should basically include who, what,
when, where, and why. Keep it short! Make sure to include a contact
name and phone number.

THE Associated Press Daybook is the most important contact. It lists

press events for the following day, and goes to virtually every media

55
 outlet. By noon the day before the event, fax the advisory to the Daybook
Editor. It is a good idea to call and make sure the event is listed.

THE day before the event, all media outlets in the area should receive the
advisory on the news conference. Notify the newspapers (dailies,
weeklies, African-American and other specialty press), TV stations, radio
stations that have news departments, and wire services. It is best to email
the release directly to each outlet early in the morning.

IN the afternoon the day before the event, follow-up by phone with the
assignment editors at the news outlets to make sure they know about the
event. Talk it up as much as possible to encourage their attendance.
Many TV stations do not make their assignments until the day of the
event. Thus, it is probably worth calling the TV assignment editors
between 8:30 and 9:00 am the day of the event.

Follow-up

IF a news organization is notably absent, follow-up after the event. For

example, if a prominent member of the community calls a radio station,
the news director will often take a few quotes over the phone for a story.
Newspapers will often print a letter to the editor to add or clarify a point in
a story written about the event.

Set Up

MAKE sure that you have the correct equipment. If a microphone or

podium is necessary, make arrangements and plan ahead. Be sure a power
source is nearby if a sound system is needed.

OBTAIN the necessary permits required for the location you have
selected.

LOCATE easels for charts or other visual aids being used

BE sure to have a rain contingency plan if you are using an outdoor site.

HAVE all the participants stand together behind the microphone or

podium so that everyone is in the picture.

POSITION a banner behind the speaker or on the front of the podium.

ASSIGN a member of the chapter to greet media as they arrive.

Materials

56
 HAVE copies of your news release, participants statements, and a CDA
fact sheet available for the press. 10-15 packets should be more than
enough.

Visuals

A good backdrop/location will make your shot look better. Also having
real people in the shot adds to the appeal.

Speaking Order

DETERMINE the order of speakers in advance. To save time, have each

speaker introduce the next member of the program. Make sure each
participant begins their statement by introducing themselves.

Length

IT is important for each speaker to keep his or her remarks short. The
overall length of the news conference should only be 20-30 minutes
(including Q & A period). If there are a lot of speakers, each may only be
able to speak for 2 minutes.

NOT all participants need to speak. Groups may opt to send a non-
speaking representative to show support for the issue.

ENCOURAGE participating groups to distribute materials on their

organizations as well.

57
A-7. When Talking to a Reporter

1. Look confident. Strong eye contact is essential. Make sure you are dressed
appropriately and are well groomed.

2. Assume the microphone is on or the tape recorder is running at all times. Nothing
is off the record.

3. Be friendly and hospitable to members of the press TV technical crew support

staff, administrative staff.

4. Know your surroundings. If you are going to appear on TV, take a minute to
gather your thoughts before going on the air.

5. Talk slowly and use simple phrases and sentences.

6. Relax. Breathe. Enjoy the moment.

58
A-8. Radio

As college students, we have many avenues to get our voices heard on the radio. We all
know Rush Limbaugh, whose nationwide syndicated show is heard nightly. Dont think
only staunch conservatives like Rush can call in to his show and talk the talk with the fat
man. Make your voice heard. While Rush is nationally syndicated, there are many local
opportunities to express your views over the air waves.

Do you have a college radio station? Air a political debate between the College
Democrats and the College Republicans. If your station is popular outside your campus,
this forum would be an excellent source of visibility.

Each of the avenues listed gives college students the opportunity to get their voices on the
radio. If you build up the courage to call Rush or if you just want to talk about issues on
the air, the following list gives you some practical tips.

TALK RADIO TIPS WHEN ON THE AIR

1. Make sure the host announces your name and title on the air and what topic you
plan to address. Introduce yourself if the host forgot. If your name is difficult to
pronounce, make sure the host gets it right.

2. Conversely, know the hosts name. Say, Hi Bob, its an honor to be on your
show.

3. Know how long you are scheduled to be on the air. If the show is going really
well, the host or producer may ask you to stay on longer.

4. Keep in mind that you can do a radio show from any telephone. The host cant
see you so spread as many notes out on your desk as you like.

5. Use the daily newspaper. Quote pro-Democratic sources. Remember, many

Americans do not read the newspaper and only get their news from talk radio.
Use the opportunity to educate them.

6. Make sure you know and support the Democratic position on specific issues. If
you are unsure about an issue or a fact, say so and move on or ask for a callers
name and address and offer to send him/her the information requested.

7. Lastly, remember that practice makes perfect. It may take a few shows for you to
become comfortable in the talk radio format. You may want to start with a show
that isnt nationally syndicated or in a big market. Most of all, have fun!!!

59
A-9. Letter Writing
A personal letter is one of the most effective ways of contacting legislators, whether at
the state or national level. The following suggestions will make the letter most effective.

1. Address it properly. Know the legislators full name and correct spelling. Some
examples follow:

U.S. SENATOR U.S. Representative

The Honorable (full name) The Honorable (full name)
United States Senator United States Representative
Address Address
**** ****

2. Always include your last name and address on the letter (printed or typed).

3. Use your own words. Avoid form letters and petitions. They tend to be identified as
organized pressure campaigns, and are often answered with form replies. However, a
petition does let the legislator know that the issue is of concern to a large number of
people (addresses carry more weight than 100 form letters or post cards).

4. Time the arrival of your letter. Write to your legislator or the committee chairperson
while the bill is still in committee and there is time to take effective action. A letter
addressing a bill on the floor of the House or Senate may diminish the impact it could
have made if it were received during the bill drafting stage in committee.

5. Know the information on the issue you are addressing. Identify the bill or issue of
concern. If you write about a bill, try to give the bill number or describe it by popular
title, such as The Education Bill.

6. Be brief. Many issues are complex, but a single page letter presenting clear and
concise opinions, facts, and arguments is preferred and welcomed by most legislators.

7. Give reasons for your positions. Explain how the issue would affect you, your family,
business, or profession. Describe the impact of the issue on your community and state.

8. Be constructive with your criticism.

9. Groups and individuals should determine their priority concerns and contact the
legislator on those specific issues rather than on every issue. The pen pal who writes
every few days on every conceivable issue tends to become a nuisance, rather than an
effective voice of concern.

10. You may not always receive a long detailed response to your letter. Legislators are
very busy and usually cannot respond with long, personal replies to each correspondent.

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11. Write a letter of appreciation when you feel a legislator has done a good job.
Legislators are human and seldom receive thank you letters of encouragement.

Remember on any one issue, even a few letters to one legislator can have an important
impact. A general rule of thumb often used: for every personalized letter from one
person who took the time to write, it is believed that there are 100 people who feel the
same way who didnt write. That is why a letter with a new perspective or clear cut,
persuasive arguments can be a decisive factor in a legislators decision. If you want to
be further involved in the future of a particular bill, keep track of it. You may also want
to consider testifying on it before a committee, or commenting on it at a local public
hearing.

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A-10. Utilizing New Media
Building Your Viral Media Presence on Facebook:
1. Learn the power of Facebook sharing.

When it comes to viral sharing on Facebook, all successful

material is personalized, non-intrusive and spread
methodically through viral discipline that permeates as many
social networks within campus communities as possible.

2. Drag the button seen to the right onto your internet browser tab.

This button can be found under my shares in your Facebook account to the bottom
right of the page. The button enables you to share any website you visit. For YouTube,
MySpace and Google videos, they automatically include a preview page that when
clicked embeds the video into your Facebook profile.

A) Video:
Useful for all of the ads and videos that the College Democrats of America produce throughout
the year. For example, the Tuition Treadmill commercial from the 2006 election cycle would
have been sent out virally by a network of Facebook College Democrats communities so that it
would spread. Unfortunately, the share system wasnt in place until later. Now however, every
national message campaign will seek to build strong, local Facebook chapters so that videos
reach as many Facebook users in as many college communities as possible.

B) Photos:
Sharing photo albums on Facebook is tricky because shared albums cant be viewed by others
unless theyre also friends with or in the same network as the original poster. But always
remember to take pictures at College Democrats events and post them as albums on Facebook.
People always check their friends Facebook albums. Maintaining a strong presence will be
beneficial to building a community image online.

C) Audio:
Podcasts will be essential to the CDA new media strategy and now can also be shared easily on
Facebook as well. While learning to make campus podcasts is a process that will take more than
this manual to learn, always remember to share what the national communications office passes
down so that the national message spreads.

D) Causes:
The CDA cause is a project that can have a lot of potential. While not everyone has the causes
application, those who do have it care about the issues and many of them will be Democrats.
Please remember to join the CDA cause on Facebook (search College Democrats of America in
causes) and then invite your friends!

3. You are the viral hub for all College Democrats media on your college campus.

- Post all notes, videos, podcasts, articles and photos onto your mini-feed,
whether its media that your chapter has done or media that state and national
leaders have passed on for you to share.

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 - When sharing the item, send the file to the top 10 (max.) campus College
Democrats.

4. Determine 10 to 20 dedicated and dependable sharers (preferably those with the most
campus friends).

- Find 10 students for campuses below 5,000, preferably 20 for campuses above
5,000.

- Meet with these activists face to face to emphasize the potential of Facebook
sharing as a free and non-intrusive advertising tool. Email, call or Facebook
message these 10/20 individuals when material is circulating to make sure they
share the same material you shared on their news feeds.

5. Encourage that those 10/20 activists convince at least 5 of their friends to share.

- Encourage your campus College Democrats sharers to teach 5 of their political

friends about the potential of viral marketing for CDA and include them into your
system.

6. Not every item you share will appear on all your friends news feeds when they log in.

- They will most likely appear on a quarter of your friends news feeds, depending
on their personal preferences and when they sign on.

- But the more friends certain people have that share an item, the more the
likelihood of the same item appearing on their news feeds. The more an item
permeates through a campuss Facebook community the more likely the six
degrees phenomenon of a Facebook campaign can succeed.

7. Success is dependent on Viral Discipline, but dont overdo it.

A viral media campaign works only if the state leaders and campus leaders enforce a
kind of viral discipline. That means have face-to-face workshops where Facebook
advertising is stressed until everyone understands its importance. It means campus
leaders getting on peoples cases when an item needs to be shared. But dont overdo it
or else it borders on annoying, no matter how inspiring or famous the candidate. One to
two College Democrats-related items per week is enough, especially given that it will
take getting used to for this effort to truly come to fruition.

Remember: the average American ages 16-25 spends an average of 21 minutes a day
on Facebook, and many, many spend a lot more than that. Its the vicarious and
voyeuristic nature of Facebook. This is a golden demographic that a lot of traditional,
paid advertising campaigns give up on because of an attention-deficit assumption. If we
are constantly sharing with a conscious effort to virally and personally permeate as many
social networks as possible, we can take College Democrats on Facebook to a new level
that surpasses what most expensive youth advertising campaigns can do and not only
that, well get to do it for free. As long as we execute a non-intrusive, disciplined,
personalized and multimedia Facebook campaign, we can reach potentially millions of
students across the country.

63
Organizing on Facebook
Facebook Groups, Messaging & Events:

1. First and obvious step is to create a campus College Democrats group and
invite as many people as you can.

2. Optimize voter outreach: Send weekly or biweekly messages with updates from
your campus chapter or national news that is passed on to you. Facebook stops
all messaging capabilities after the group goes beyond 1,000 members, but that
should not be a concern for College Democrats chapter groups.

3. Dont send out Facebook messages unless its necessary. Its the closest spam
item to MySpaces comments advertising and its in many ways an intrusion.
Send it out only when there is a serious message campaign or when there is an
event, canvass or whatnot.

4. Since state State College Democrats groups are likely to be too scattered to
provoke true organizing, it is on the campus level where College Democrats
groups will be most effective. If there is a critical message that the national
communications team thinks should be directly sent to as many young people as
possible, the text will be sent to all state chapter leaders who alongside executing
the sharing campaign, will send the text to all campus chapter leaders who in
turn will send that message to their entire Facebook group. Again, the key is to
not overdo it. Given that there will most definitely be an influx of candidate
Facebook drives come late this year, it is best to keep when it is most needed.

5. Its always good to build a base. So always remember to friend people youve
met, but dont be a creep about it. Make your judgments wisely. Facebook used
to be a novelty item now, its a part of peoples lives. They take it seriously.

6. Use the groups messaging capability to remind people of events preferably

those that people in the group have already been invited when the event was
created on Facebook earlier.

7. Invite as many people to events as possible. The more someones mutual

friends are going to a specific event, the more likely that the news feed will pick it
up. When more than one of a persons friends is going to an event, the graphic
pops up, giving your event another opportunity to put a visual (logo, etc) in
someones line of sight.

ALWAYS REMEMBER: Viral Media and Facebook organizing are different. Viral
media is to increase your presence to mainstream Facebook users, while
Facebook organizing is to strengthen you already existent group. Dont get the
two mixed up and always treat their separate messages differently!

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A-11. Tips on Grassroots Lobbying
What is grassroots lobbying?

It is simple Communicating with decision makers about your views and the viewpoint
of your organization.

How do you lobby?

First, think strategically about who exactly has the power to make a decision concerning
your views. For example, if you want a grocery story to give a discount to people who
use their own bags, it would make sense to start with the store manager or owner, rather
than a clerk at the check-out stand. The manager/owner has the most authority to make a
change like that. If the store-manager says, I have to check with so and so, then ask to
be part of that conversation in some way. After you successfully determine your
target(s), there are a number of different ways to communicate with them. Here are a few
ideas:

- Call the decision maker(s)

- Write letters
- Ask the decision maker(s) to attend one of your meetings
- Write letters to the editor
- Ask others to lobby
- Send out a press release and make follow up calls with reporters to announce your
organizations view
- Meet personally with the decision maker(s):

1. Make your appointment in advance: Call the legislators office

and state the time needed for your meeting, who will be present for
the meeting, and the topic.
2. Prepare your presentation and know your issues: Select one
person from your group to be the primary spokesperson for each
issue. Each person should introduce themselves, state the group
they represent (if any), the issue, and what action the legislator is
being asked to take in their first sentence.
3. Do your homework: Research the background of your target
legislators. What arguments would appeal to them? What are the
legislators interests, backers, past votes, district, etc.?
4. Be concise, brief, and accurate while presenting your case:
Present the facts in an orderly manner. Do not present purely
emotional arguments. Demonstrate the impact of your issue. Use
illustrations, graphs, or charts when possible. Leave a one-page
fact sheet with the bill number and title, as well as your name,
address, and phone number.

65
 5. Allow time for questions: Encourage questions from the legislator
and answer them factually. If you do not know the answer, offer to
find the answer and get back to the legislator. Always follow
through with your promises to legislators.
6. Determine your legislators position: Specifically ask the decision
maker(s) for some action or commitment. How will they vote?
Will they stand for or against a proposal? Will they make a call on
your behalf? Be polite, but persistent.
7. Thank you: Follow-up by writing a thank you note and restate
your position.

How is your communication most effective?

- Be understanding, thoughtful, and realistic: Put yourself in the public officials

place. Recognize that there are legitimate differences of opinion. Remember to
thank legislators for a job well done. Be sensitive to your legislators other
political necessities.
- Speak from your heart: Use a personal situation to make your point while
sticking with the facts.
- Maintain contact: Keep in touch with key legislators year-round through
common issues and activities.
- Be polite and personable.

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A-12. Ideas for Off-Years
Even in off-years when there are few campaigns to work on, College Democrats play an important
role on campus. Student organizing is a marathon and not a sprint, and College Democrats should
spread the Democratic message on campus and work to recruit students into the party continuously.
Here are some ideas to help keep interest in your chapter and the momentum going in off-years.

Organize an activist event: This can be done through your statewide college Democrats organization
or on your individual campus. Focus on an issue or a bill of particular interest to your club, plan your
event, and then alert the campus and local media. Previous events put on by college chapters have
focused on student fee increases at state universities, the Bush Administrations atrocious
environmental policy, and the lack of adequate job opportunities for college graduates.

Plan a trip to your State Capitol: Road trips are a staple of college life, so why not head to your
state Capitol for a weekend? Most Democratic elected officials are great about meeting with clubs or
organizations that take the time to stop by, even with little notice.

Organize a campus debate: Either between local elected officials, municipal candidates, or the
leaders (or interested students) of campus organizations. Most schools are willing to provide a
gathering space and some advertising to the general student body if you host such an event.

Stay Involved With Your State Party Apparatus: State party conventions are great places to meet
with officials, solicit info for internship and job opportunities, and to keep your organization involved
off-campus. Theyre also good ways to let club members know that just because theres no election,
the party is still working to regain a Democratic majority.

Host Movie Nights: With the new West Wing DVDs out and movies like The American
President, theres no shortage of good Democratic movies you can show either just as a club or to the
student body at large. This is low-cost and fun!

Organize a Progressive Day: Bring together all of the progressive organizations on campus - your
Dems club, ACLU, Womens Forum (or equivalent), left-leaning newspapers or magazines, Sierra
Club, etc - and table together during an important school event, lunch or just out on the quad. Its a
great way to increase visibility, meet members of other progressive organizations, and strategize how
best to accomplish your common goals during a non-election year. It is incredibly important to build
relationships with affiliated organizations and recruit their members into your organization, and events
offer a great opportunity to do so.

Establish and maintain strong ties with local Democratic officials and clubs: Local elected
officials are a great resource for chapters, because they can provide invitations to Democratic
functions, internship opportunities, and serve as keynote speakers for meetings or potential events (i.e.
Debates) you may want to plan. Those resources become even more important in off-years, as you
want to make sure you have interesting and engaging programming to keep marginal members
interested in activism. Local Democratic clubs also provide similar resources. Additionally, local
Democratic clubs are often actively seeking youth involvement, providing your members with more
ways to get involved in the party outside of campus.

Host Social Events: College Democrats work hard, but lets not forget that were in college. A big
part of the idea is having fun, so dont forget to sponsor some social events.

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A-13. Hosting a Speaker/Event on Your Campus
PHASE ONE: RECRUIT A SPEAKER
Recruiting a speaker to campus is a difficult process, especially if you have specific speakers
in mind you would like to participate. Here are some key tips to keep in mind:

Invite as many speakers as possible to your event. Members of Congress and local
elected officials have very busy schedules, and they get many more requests than they
can possibly accommodate. Invite speakers of every category to be safe from those you
think that will be hard to recruit to those you think will be easy to recruit. Even if your
event is very promising, many speakers simply will not have time in their schedule.

Send a formal invitation to start the dialogue. If you are inviting an elected official
with an office staff, you will usually be asked to fax your request to the office. Your
request should be brief and concise but should include: information about the event
(clear language about where and when it will take place if possible, how big the audience
will be, who will be in the audience); information about your organization (describe past
successful events, volunteer work you have done for campaigns, what you do on campus,
the size of your membership, etc); and general information about your college or
university.

Follow-up with the potential speakers scheduler. By calling to follow-up on your

formal request, you can make sure that you are not lost in the shuffle or forgotten. Make
sure to remind them about your event, and ask when they expect to make decisions on the
schedule.

Recruit key allies to help you recruit speakers and work every angle. If your chapter
has done a large amount of campaign work for a local state representative or town
official, have them call your member of Congress to encourage his or her participation.
Having the request come in from as many angles as possible is very effective.

Consider what budgeting is available from your campus. Federally elected officials
(and many local ones) are unable to accept speaking fees, but if your student government
has a large programming budget, consider trying to obtain funding to pay for a surrogate
through a speaker agency. There are many surrogates that can help promote your
message on campus and do campus tours but not for free.

Once you have recruited a speaker, make sure their experience is a good one. If you
cannot build a crowd for a state representative, it will be harder to get him or her to come
back or to make the argument why you need a Member of Congress on campus. Make
sure that all your events are well-organized that there is a good crowd, that you offer
water to the speaker, that you stay on schedule, that you have a well-prepared
introduction and you can help make sure your chapter gets future speakers in the future.
Also, make sure to send follow-up thank you notes and personally thank schedulers, key
allies, or other staff who helped make this happen, so they are inclined to help again in
the future.

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PHASE TWO
Secure space
o The number one priority is filling the space you select. Pick a room you KNOW
that you can fill. Whether your event is perceived as a success will depend
ENTIRELY on how full the room is.
Inform affinity groups to help recruit for the event
o Ensure campus affinity groups (NAACP, Asian/Hispanic/GLBT/Jewish groups),
environmental groups, community service groups, etc. are aware of your
activities and invite them to attend. You know your community best be
inclusive and politically savvy with this.

PHASE THREE
Publicize event on campus
o Make flyers to publicize event. Phone bank and email all your core supporters to
encourage participation. In 7-10 days before the event organize visibility
sponsor tabling, wave rally signs, distribute flyers, etc.
Recruit key organizers
o Recruit organizers for: Outside Visibility, Inside Visibility, Sign-Up Table, and
Voter Registration Table.
Target allied groups
o Make sure to target allied groups, the political science office, the administration,
fraternities/sororities, and everyone who can possibly help you build crowds.
GIVE THEM NUMBER GOALS We need you to get 20 people.
! To reach your goal, you need to have a plan A, plan B, plan C, and plan
D for getting there. If you want 150, you should be planning your
recruitment for around 300.
RSVP system
o RSVP does not need to be mandatory, but it is a crucial way to start getting hard
numbers early and leaving as little up to chance as possible in terms of turnout.
You might also want to set up a system for distributing tickets this can be a
good way for people to remember when and where the event is.
! Make sure to follow-up with everyone who RSVPed in the last 24 hours.
Send email reminders, phone bank, and send Instant Messages if
possible.
Earned media
o Assign members to write op-eds / letters to the editor to campus publications and
media. This can be a great way not only to publicize the event, but to also have a
hook to get the Democratic message pushed in your local publications. Contact
local and campus media to pitch the event. Also work on any other ways you can
think of to promote the event using communication networks on your campus
email lists, radio stations, etc.
36-hour out plan:
o For the last 36 hours, make sure flyers are plastered everywhere on campus, and
have volunteers personally distribute hundreds of copies. Chalk sidewalks across
campus about the event.

PHASE FOUR: THE DAY OF THE EVENT

Recruit as many volunteers as possible to work the event.

69
 OUTSIDE VISIBILITY: As many people as possible should be stationed outside the
event waving signs for visibility. This will counteract any College Republicans
protestors outside the event and is very important. Most should have rally signs. One or
two can have on costumes to attract attention to your message. Also, if you want to
attract attention from protestors, get creative: buy a huge sheet and paint a message on it.
INSIDE CROWD BUILDING Make sure the crowd is flowing in smoothly and
filling the space. Also, prep the crowd to start chants during the events and to wave
signs. If you put people behind the speaker for camera shots, make sure to ensure
diversity. Make sure your members raise their hands and are prepared to ask good
questions!
SIGN-UP TABLE: You should have a sign-up table outside the event and make sure
that EVERYONE who comes in signs up on a list. This can be a great way to build your
chapters membership.
VOTER REGISTRATION TABLE: Make sure you have a voter registration table
outside the event if the deadline has not passed, as well as information about early and
absentee voting where appropriate.
MEDIA GREETING: Have a couple of volunteers on hand to sign in media, reserve
space for them, and make sure they have no major logistical problems. You should make
sure that some seats have Reserved for Press signs on them and that you tape off room
in the back for cameras. You should also have press packets with information about your
chapter.
DOOR GREETING: Have a couple of volunteers at the entrance. One should give a
sticker to everyone who comes into the event. The other should hand out a flyer on
What to do next.
GUEST GREETING: A couple of volunteers should be ready to greet special guests.
STAGE MANAGEMENT: Have College Democrats officers on-hand to determine
who is on the stage when and to introduce any speakers. MAKE SURE THEY HAVE
BIOS AND ARE PREPARED TO MAKE GOOD INTRODUCTIONS.

PHASE FIVE: AFTER THE EVENT

Encourage your members to send op-eds / letters to the editor to local and campus
publications about the success of the event and why they support the Democratic
message.
Process all the new members you received into the College Democrats Student Corps
thank them for coming to the event and add them to your email list.
Thank all your core supporters and everyone who helped recruit for their hard work and
support.

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A-14. Responding to Protests
When you sponsor an event, there is always a risk that another group will organize
visibility or protests outside or inside your event. Here is what you should keep in mind
when dealing with protestors:

- Outside Visibility: The trick to responding to outside visibility is to counter it.

As long as you have your people outside with signs, you have no problem. When
you host an event, make sure that you assign volunteers at your event to wave
signs outside -- and if protesters arrive, send more. Make sure your members
surround the protestors, so that they can never get on camera without your signs
there too. Also, if you expect outside visibility by opposition groups, get creative.
Send someone outside with a George Bush or Dick Cheney mask holding a sign
saying, "Mission Not Accomplished," or with other Democratic messaging.
Lastly, consider buying a huge sheet and painting on it with a pro-student, pro-
Democrat message. This can be a great way to block other protestors from getting
on cameras and to blur their message, as well as to distract attention. Lastly, in
advance, you should talk to campus security or other appropriate groups and
consider looking into how to keep protestors as far away from the event as
possible.

- Inside Visibility: The best approach you can take with inside visibility is
preemptive: make sure your crowd is filled with College Democrats and
supporters. If College Republicans or other opposition groups chant something
inside, there is no problem if your chant is louder. If they wave signs, there is no
problem if you surround them by your members and your signs. As long as you
put on a good event and have good turnout, the problem can solve itself. Just
make sure to get your members to the event!

- Q&A Session: If you have a speaker on your campus, you should make sure your
reliable members are prepared to ask questions during the Question and Answer
session. If there are College Republicans or others in the audience looking to
embarrass your speaker, their impact will be diminished if your members raise
their hands too.

- Hecklers: It is extremely difficult to control hecklers at an event. As long as you

have your members and activists in the audience, you should usually be able to
silence them with other chants. And, if you have a good speaker, they will be
good at disarming a heckler as well. If a heckler disrupts an event to the point it
cannot continue, security intervention may be necessary in order for the program
to continue - but you should avoid it wherever possible.

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A-15. Election Registration Deadlines
This list is accurate as of July 2007. Please contact your Chief Election Official to
confirm that this information is still accurate.
STATE VR DEADLINE
Alabama 10 Days before election
Alaska 30 Days before election
Arizona 29 Days before election
Arkansas 30 Days before election
California 15 Days before election
Colorado 29 Days before election
14 Days before election
(by mail) 7 days before
Connecticut election in person
24 Days before election (4
Saturdays before the
Delaware election)
District of
Columbia 30 Days before election
Florida 29 Days before election
Georgia 29 Days before election
Hawaii 30 Days before election
Idaho 25 Days before election
28 Days is the last day for
registration or transfer of
registration in the office of
the election authority.
EXCEPTION: grace period
registration and transfer of
Illinois registration.
Indiana 29 Days before election
Iowa 10 Days before election
Kansas 15 Days before election
Kentucky 29 Days before election
Louisiana 30 Days before election
No deadline for in person
registration. By mail-20
Maine business days.
Maryland 21 Days before election
Massachusetts 20 Days before election
Michigan 30 Days before election
20 Days before election
but there is also election
Minnesota day registration at polls
Mississippi 30 Days before election
Missouri 28 Days before election
Montana 30 Days before election
Mailed in or sent in person
by second Friday before
Nebraska an election.
By mail- 30 days before
election, In person-20
Nevada days before election
New Hampshire 10 Days before election
New Jersey 21 Days before election
New Mexico 28 Days before election
New York 25 Days before election
North Carolina 25 Days before election
Does not have voter
North Dakota registration
Ohio 30 Days before election
Oklahoma 24 Days before election
Oregon 21 Days before election
Pennsylvania 30 Days before election
Rhode Island 30 Days before election
South Carolina 30 Days before election
South Dakota 15 Days before election
Tennessee 30 Days before election
Texas 30 Days before election
By mail- 30 days before
election, 15 days in person
Utah before election
Wednesday preceding
Vermont election before 5pm
Virginia 29 Days before election
30 Days before election,
brand new registrant- 15
days before election hand
delivered to county clerk's
Washington office.
West Virginia 21 Days before election
Wisconsin 20 Days before election
Wyoming 30 Days before election
72
A-16. Chief Election Official Contact Information
STATE CONTACT PHONE NUMBER
ALABAMA Elections Division Director 334-242-7220
ALASKA Division of Elections 907-465-4611
ARIZONA Division of Elections 602-542-8683
ARKANSAS Election Services 501-682-5070
CALIFORNIA Division of Elections 916-657-2166
COLORADO Elections Division 303-894-2200
CONNECTICUT Legislation and Elections Administration Division 860-509-6100
DELAWARE Commissioner of Elections 302-739-4277
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Board of Elections and Ethics 202-727-2525
FLORIDA Director's Office-Division of Elections 850-245-6218
GEORGIA Elections Division 404-656-2871
HAWAII Elections Division 808-453-8683
Division of Elections, Campaign Disclosure, and
IDAHO Lobbyists 208-334-2852
ILLINOIS Board of Elections and Ethics 217-782-4141
IOWA Elections Division 515-281-0145
KANSAS Elections and Legislative Matters Division 785-296-4561
KENTUCKY State Board of Elections 502-573-7100
LOUISIANA Elections Division 225-922-0900
MAINE Bureau of Corporation, Elections, and Commissions 207-624-7736
MARYLAND State Board of Elections 410-269-2840
MASSACHUSETTS Office of Director of Elections 617-727-2828
MICHIGAN Office of Director of Elections 517-373-2540
MINNESOTA Elections Division 651-215-1440 or 1-877-600-8683
MISSISSIPPI Elections Division 601-359-2550 or 800-829-6786
MISSOURI Elections Division 573-751-2301 or 800-NOW-VOTE
MONTANA Office of Secretary of State 406-444-4732
NEBRASKA Election Administration 402-471-2555
NEVADA Elections Division 775-684-5705
NEW HAMPSHIRE Elections Division/Administration 603-271-3242
NEW JERSEY Division of Elections 609-292-3760
NEW MEXICO Bureau of Elections 505-827-3600
NEW YORK State Board of Elections 518-474-6220
NORTH CAROLINA State Board of Elections 919-733-7173
NORTH DAKOTA Elections Division 701-328-4146
OHIO Secretary of State 614-466-2585
OKLAHOMA State Election Board 405-521-2391
OREGON State Elections Division 503-986-1518
PENNSYLVANIA Bureau of Commissions, Election 717-787-5280
RHODE ISLAND Board of Elections 401-222-2345
SOUTH CAROLINA State Election Commission 803-734-9060
SOUTH DAKOTA Secretary of State 605-773-3537
TENNESSEE Elections Office 615-741-7956
TEXAS Elections Division 512-463-5650 or 800-252-VOTE
UTAH Office of Director of Elections 801-538-1041 or 800-995-VOTE
VERMONT Elections Division 802-828-2464
VIRGINIA State Board of Elections 804-864-8901 or 800-552-9745
WASHINGTON Elections Division 360-586-5629 or 800-448-4881
WEST VIRGINIA Elections Division 304-558-6000
WISCONSIN Elections Division 608-266-8005
WYOMING Elections Officer 207-777-7186

73
A-17. Democratic Websites
Democratic Party Links:
Democratic National Committee http://www.democrats.org/
Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee http://www.dscc.org/
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee http://www.dccc.org/
Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee http://www.dlcc.org/
Democratic Governors http://www.democraticgovernors.org/
College Democrats of America www.collegedems.com
Young Democrats of America http://www.yda.org/

Government Links:
The White House http://www.whitehouse.gov/
The House of Representatives http://www.house.gov/
The United States Senate http://www.senate.gov/
The Official Site for the U.S. Government http://www.usa.gov/

Miscellaneous Links:
21st Century Democrats http://www.21stdems.org/
ACLU http://www.aclu.org/
AFL-CIO http://www.aflcio.org/home.htm
AIPAC http://www.aipac.org/
Ballot Initiative Strategy Center http://www.ballot.org/
Campaign for America's Future http://www.ourfuture.org/
Campaign Corps http://www.campaigncorps.org/
Campus Progress http://www.campusprogress.org/
Childrens Defense Fund http://www.childrensdefense.org/
Center for Democracy in Technology http://www.cdt.org/
Center for Tax Justice http://www.ctj.org/
Common Cause http://www.commoncause.org/
Democratic Campaign Management Program http://www.campaignschool.org/
Electronic Frontier Foundation http://www.eff.org/
Electronic Policy Network http://www.epn.org/
Emily's List http://www.emilyslist.org/
Families USA http://www.familiesusa.org/
Human Rights Campaign http://www.hrc.org/
Kids for Democracy http://www.kidsfordemocracy.org/
League of Conservation Voters http://www.lcv.org/
NAACP http://www.naacp.org/
NARAL Pro-Choice America http://www.naral.org/
National Education Association (NEA) http://www.nea.org/index.html
National Committee for an Effective Congress http://www.ncec.org/
National Organization for Women (NOW) http://www.now.org/
People for the American Way http://www.pfaw.org/
Planned Parenthood Federation http://www.plannedparenthood.org/
Rock the Vote http://www.rockthevote.org/
SEIU http://www.seiu.org/
Sierra Club http://www.sierraclub.org/
True Majority http://www.truemajority.com/
Smackdown Your Vote Coalition http://vote.wwe.com/
State PIRGs http://www.pirg.org/
Working America http://www.workingamerica.org/

74
A-18. State Party Contact Info
This list is accurate as of July 2007. Contact CDA National Headquarters if you have trouble contacting your State Party

Alabama Arizona

Joe Turnham, Chair David Waid, Chair

501 Adams Avenue 2910 North Central Avenue
Montgomery, AL 36104 Phoenix, AZ 85012
334/262-2221 Fax 334/262-6474 602/298-4200 Fax 602/298-7117

Nancy Worley, Vice Chair Donna Branch Gilby, Vice Chair

8352 Brittany Place 3027 N. Gaia Place
Montgomery, AL 36117 Tucson, AZ 85745
334/213-6499 520/743-9153

Alabama Democratic Party Arizona Democratic Party

501 Adams Avenue 2910 North Central Avenue
Montgomery, AL 36104 Phoenix, AZ 85012
334/262-2221 or toll free 800/995-3386 602/298-4200 or toll free 877/298-6837
Fax 334/262-6474 Fax 602/298-7117
Exec. Dir. Jim Spearman Exec. Dir. Maria Weeg
www.aladems.org www.azdem.org

Alaska Arkansas

Jake Metcalfe, Chair Bill Gwatney Chair

2602 Fairbanks Street * 1300 West Capitol
Anchorage, AK 99503 Little Rock, AR 72201
907/258-3050 Fax 907/258-1626 501/374-2361 Fax 501/376-8409

Patti Higgins, Vice Chair Karla Bradley, Vice Chair

9140 Granite Place 3300 Cherokee Drive A-3
Anchorage, AK 99507 Fayetteville, AR 72701
907/360-2561 479/582-3036 h

Alaska Democratic Party Democratic Party of Arkansas

2602 Fairbanks Street * 1300 West Capitol
Anchorage, AK 99503 Little Rock, AR 72201
907/258-3050 or toll free 866/258-3050 501/374-2361 Fax 501/376-8409
Fax 907/258-1626 Exec. Dir. Bruce Sinclair
Exec. Dir. Mike Coumbe www.arkdems.org
www.alaskademocrats.org

American Samoa California

Dr. Oreta M. Togafau, Chair Hon. Art Torres, Chair

P.O. Box 353 888 South Figueroa Street, Ste. 400
Pago Pago, AS 96799 Los Angeles, CA 90017-5440
684/633-1372 213/239-8730 Fax 213/239-8731

Dr. Tuiasina S. Laumoli, Vice Chair Alexandra Gallardo-Rooker, Vice Chair

P.O. Box 6968 1225 8th Street, Ste. 485
Pago Pago, AS 96799 Sacramento, CA 95814
684/633-1195 916/447-7500 Fax 916/447-7511

Democratic Party of American Samoa California Democratic Party

P.O. Box 5169 1401 21st Street, Ste. 200
Pago Pago, American Samoa 96799 Sacramento, CA 95814
684/633-4656 Fax 684/633-1638 916/442-5707 Fax 916/442-5715
Exec. Dir. Barry Rose Exec. Dir. Kathy Bowler
www.cadem.org

75
 Colorado Democrats Abroad

Patricia Waak, Chair Christine Schon-Marques, Chair

4225 County Road 1 !
Erie, CO 80516
303/623-4762 Fax 303/623-2443
Dan Slater, Vice Chair
1440 Chestnut
Canon City, CO 81212
719/269-3315 Fax 719/269-3317
Colorado Democratic Party
777 Santa Fe Drive
Denver, CO 80204
303/623-4762 Fax 303/623-2443
Exec. Dir. Sherry Jackson
www.coloradodems.org
107,ch de Saint-Maurice
1245 Collonge-Bellerive
Geneva Switzerland
4122 752-2725
Chair@democratsabroad.org
Toby Condliffe, Vice Chair
1 Rose Park Crescent
Toronto, ON M4T IP8, Canada
416/410-6321 (o)
Vice-Chair@democratsabroad.org
Democrats Abroad
P.O. Box 15130
Washington, D.C. 20003
202/388-5073*
Exec. Dir. Lindsey Reynolds
www.democratsabroad.org

Connecticut District of Columbia

Nancy DiNardo, Chair Anita Bonds, Chair

61 Suzanne Circle 202 Bates Street, N.W.
Trumbull, CT 06611 Washington, D.C. 20001
203/268-5272 Fax 203/459-4545 202/550-0619 *

Steve Fontana, Vice Chair Jeffrey Richardson, Vice Chair

23 Angel Place 718 5th Street, N.E.
North Haven, CT 06473-2402 Washington, D.C. 20002
860/240-8500 Fax 203/985-8024 202/547-4156

Connecticut Democratic Party D.C. Democratic Party

179 Allyn Street, Ste. 301
Hartford, CT 06103
860/560-1775 Fax 860/560-1522
Exec. Dir. Justin Kronholm
www.ctdems.org
1341 G Street, N.W., Ste. 720
Washington, D.C. 20005
202/737-3367 Fax 202/737-3368
Exec. Dir Anita Bonds
www.dcdsc.org

Delaware Florida

John Daniello, Chair Karen Thurman, Chair

2326 Jamaica Drive 214 South Bronough Street
Wilmington, DE 19810 Tallahassee, FL 32301
302/475-4942 Fax 302/328-9386 850/222-3411 Fax 850/222-0916

Harriet Smith-Windsor, Vice Chair Rudolph Parker, Vice Chair

106 Sussex Court 4400 Rudolph Parker Lane
Lewes, DE 19958 Perry, FL 32347
302/645-0596 Fax 302/328-9386 850/584-9656 p/fax

Delaware Democratic Party Florida Democratic Party

19 E. Commons Blvd. 2 nd Floor
New Castle, DE 19720
302/328-9036 or toll free 800/685-5544
Fax 302/328-9386
Exec. Dir. Molly Jurusik
www.deldems.org
214 South Bronough Street
Tallahassee, FL 32301
850/222-3411 Fax 850/222-0916
Exec. Dir. Leonard Joseph
www.fladems.com

76
 Georgia
Hon. Jane V. Kidd , Chair
1100 Spring Street NW Suite 408
Atlanta, GA 30309
678/278-2008 * Fax 678/278-2099
Hon. Michael L. Thurmond, Vice Chair
148 Andrew Young Intl. Blvd., Ste. 600
Atlanta, GA 30303
404/232-7300 Fax 770/270-0323
Democratic Party of Georgia
1100 Spring Street NW Suite 408
Atlanta, GA 30309
678/278-2008 Fax 678/278-2099
Exec. Dir. Matt Weyandt*
www.democraticpartyofgeorgia.org
Guam
Antonio Charfauros, Chair
142 Carlos Lane, Carlos Heights
Upper Tumon, Guam 96913
671-646-1100
Cecilia Mafnas, Vice Chair
239 Redondo Luchan
Dededo, Guam 96929
671/477-8001
chilmafnas@hotmail.com
Guam Democratic Party
P.O. Box 2344
Hagatna, Guam 96910
671-653-8161
Exec. Dir. William Murphy
jnone@ite.net
Hawaii
Michael McCartney, Chair
1314 S. King Street, Ste. G-4
Honolulu, HI 96814
808/596-2980 Fax 808/596-2985
Beverly Jean Withington, Vice Chair
P.O. Box 4818
Hilo, HI 96720
808/966-4583
Hawaii Democratic Party
1314 S. King Street, Ste. G-4
Honolulu, HI 96813
808/596-2980 Fax 808/596-2985
Exec. Dir. Florence Kong Kee
www.hawaiidemocrats.org
77
Idaho
Hon. Richard Stallings, Chair
2288 Elmore
Pocatello, ID 83201
208/238-9859
Jeanne Buell, Vice Chair
P.O. Box 245 *
Worley, ID 83876
208/686-1963 Fax 208/686-5701
Idaho Democratic Party
988 South Longmont, Ste. 110
Boise, ID 83706
208/336-1815 or toll free 800/542-4737
Fax 208/336-1817
Exec. Dir. John Foster
www.idaho-democrats.org
Illinois
Hon. Michael Madigan, Chair
P.O. Box 518
Springfield, IL 62705
217/546-7404 Fax 217/546-8847
Hon. Constance Howard, Vice Chair
8729 S. State Street
Chicago, IL 60619
773/957-3534 Fax 773/651-1878
Democratic Party of Illinois
1201 South Veterans Parkway
Springfield, IL 62704
217/546-7404 Fax 217/546-8847
Exec. Dir. Tim Mapes
www.ildems.org
Indiana
Dan Parker , Chair
1 North Capitol , Ste. 200
Indianapolis, IN 46204
317/231-7100 Fax 317/231-7129
Cordelia Lewis Burks, Vice Chair
2943 North Kenwood Avenue
Indianapolis, IN 46208
317/926-2686 Fax 317/924-2653
Indiana Democratic Party
1 North Capitol , Ste. 200
Indianapolis, IN 46204
1317/231-7100 1800/223-3387 Fax 317/231-7129
Exec. Dir. Jenny Hill Weiser
www.indems.org
 Iowa Louisiana

Scott Brennan State Chair Chris Whittington, State Chair

5661 Fleur Drive 835 Louisiana Avenue
Des Moines, IA 50321 Baton Rouge, LA 70802
515/244-7292 Fax 515/244-5051 225/346-8777 FAX 225-346-0009

Sarah Swisher, Vice Chair

102 2nd Avenue
Coralville, IA 52241
319/530-8364 Fax 515/244-5051
Iowa Democratic Party
5661 Fleur Drive
Des Moines, IA 50321
515/244-7292 Fax 515/244-5051
Exec. Dir. Mike Milligan
www.iowademocrats.org
Mary Lou Winters, Vice Chair
310 Rue St. Peter
Metarie, LA 70005
504/838-7223 Fax 504/838-5764
Louisiana Democratic Party
701 Government Street
Baton Rouge, LA 70802
225/336-4155 Fax 225/336-0046
Exec. Dir. Danny Ford
www.lademo.org

Kansas Maine

Larry Gates, Chair Hon. Ben Dudley, Chair

10990 Quivira 16 Winthrop Street
Overland Park, KS 66210 Augusta, ME 0430
913/661-0222 207/622-6233 ext. 101 Fax 207/622-2657

Teresa Krusor, Vice Chair Marianne T. Stevens , Vice Chair

7 Braid Hills Drive P.O. Box 489
Winfield, KS 67156 Kingfield, ME 04947
620/221-0595 207/265-5628

Kansas Democratic Party Maine Democratic Party

700 SW Jackson Street, Ste. 706 16 Winthrop Street
Topeka, KS 66603 Augusta, ME 04330
785/234-0425 Fax 785/234-8420 207/622-6233 Fax 207/622-2657
Exec. Dir. Mike Gaughan Exec. Dir. Arden Manning
www.ksdp.org www.mainedems.org

Kentucky Maryland

Jonathan Miller, Chair * Michael Cryor Chair *

190 Democrat Drive 188 Main Street, Ste. 1
Frankfort, KY 40602 Annapolis, MD 21401
502/695-4828 Fax 502/695-7629 410/269-8818

Jennifer Moore, Vice Chair * Lauren Dugas Glover, Vice Chair

190 Democrat Drive 1905 Parkside Drive
Frankfort, KY 40602 Mitchellville, MD 20721
502/ 695-4828 301/717-5633

Kentucky Democratic Party

P.O. Box 694 * Maryland Democratic Party
Frankfort, KY 40602 188 Main Street, Ste. 1
502/695-4828 Fax 502/695-7629 Annapolis, MD 21401
Exec. Dir. 410/269-8818 Fax 410/280-8882
www.kydemocrat.com Exec. Dir. Maya Goines
www.mddems.org

78
 Massachusetts
John Walsh, Chair
56 Roland Street, Ste. 203
Boston, MA 02129
617/776-2676 Fax 617/776-2579
Debra Kozikowski, Vice Chair
34 White Street
Chicopee, MA 01013
413/592-5027 Fax 413/598-0902
Massachusetts Democratic Party
56 Roland Street, Ste. 203
Boston, MA 02129
617/776-2676 * Fax 617/776-2579
Exec. Dir. Stacey Monahan
www.massdems.org
Michigan
Mark Brewer, Chair
606 Townsend
Lansing, MI 48933
517/371-5410 Fax 517/371-2056
Arthenia Abbott, Vice Chair
419 S. Washington Avenue
Lansing, MI 48933
517/487-5966 Fax 517/487-5213
Michigan Democratic Party
606 Townsend
Lansing, MI 48933
517/371-5410 Fax 517/371-2056
Exec. Dir. Sylvia Perkins
www.mi-democrats.com
Minnesota
Brian Melendez, Chair
255 East Plato Blvd.
St. Paul, MN 55107
651/293-1200 Fax 651/251-6325
Donna Cassutt, Vice Chair
255 East Plato Blvd.
St. Paul, MN 55`07
651-293-1200 Fax 651/251-6325
Minnesota DFL Party
255 East Plato Blvd.
St. Paul, MN 55107
1800/999-7457 or 651/251-6312
Fax 651/251-6325
Exec. Dir. Andy OLeary
www.dfl.org
79
Mississippi
Wayne Dowdy, Chair
301 Cherokee Street
McComb, MS 39648
601/783-6600 Fax 601/783-3670
Carnelia Pettis Fondren, Vice Chair
835 Highway 6 West
Oxford, MS 38655
662/236-1480 wk 662/236-1460 home
Mississippi Democratic Party
832 North Congress Street
Jackson, MS 39202
601/969-2913 or toll free 888/674-3367
Fax 601/354-1599
Exec Dir. Keelan Sanders
www.msdemocrats.net
Missouri
John Temporiti, Chair
208 Madison Street
Jefferson City, MO 65102
314/721-1552 Fax 314/721-1335
Yolanda Wheat, Vice Chair
c/o Missouri Dem. Party
208 Madison Street
Jefferson City, MO 65102
816/931-8111
Missouri Democratic Party
208 Madison Street*
Jefferson City, MO 65102
573/636-5241 Fax 573/634-8176
Exec. Dir. Ken Franklin
www.missouridems.org
Montana
Dennis McDonald, Chair
303 N. Ewing
Helena, MT 59601
406/442-9520 Fax 406/442-9534
Tracy Velazquez, Vice Chair
503 West Olive
Bozeman, MT 59715
406/587-7774 wk
Montana Democratic Party
303 N Ewing
Helena, MT 59601
406/442-9520 Fax 406/442-9534
Exec. Dir. James Farrell
www.montanademocrats.org
 Nebraska New Jersey

Steven Achelpohl, Chair Hon. Joseph Cryan, Chair

1823 Harney Street 985 Stuyvesant Avenue
Omaha, NE 68102 Union, NJ 07083
402/346-1900 Fax 402/346-1925 908/624-0880 Fax 908/624-0587

Audra Ostergard, Vice Chair Dana Redd, Vice Chair

6833 Stonebrook Parkway
Lincoln, NE 68521
402/742-7232
Nebraska Democratic Party
1327 H Street, Ste. 200
Lincoln, NE 68508
402/434-2180 or toll free 800/677-7068
Fax 402/434-2188
Exec. Dir. Matt Connealy
www.nebraskademocrats.org
New Jersey Democratic State Committee
196 West State Street
Trenton, NJ 08608
609/392-3367 Fax 609/396-4778
New Jersey Democratic State Committee
196 West State Street
Trenton, NJ 08608
609/392-3367 Fax 609/396-4778
Exec. Dir. Robert Angelo
www.njdems.org

Nevada New Mexico

Jill Derby, Chair Brian S. Colon, Chair

1210 South Valley View Blvd. Robles, Rael & Anaya, PC
Las Vegas, NV 89102 500 Marquette Avenue, N.W., Ste. 700
775/782-3949 Fax 702/735-2700 Albuquerque, NM 87102
505/242-2228 Fax 505/242-1106

Sam Lieberman, Vice Chair

1210 South Valley View Blvd. Annadelle Sanchez, Vice Chair
Las Vegas, NV 89102 920 Denton Street
702/737-8683 Fax 702/735-2700 Espanola. NM 87532
505/753-4869 or toll free 800/624-2457
Fax 505/747-9022
Nevada State Democratic Party 505/469-0893 cellphone
1210 South Valley View Blvd.*
Las Vegas, NV 89102 New Mexico Democratic Party
702/737-8683 Fax 702/735-2700 1301 San Pedro Blvd.
Exec. Dir. Travis Brock Albuquerque, NM 87110
www.nvdems.com 505/830-3650 Fax 505/830-3645
Exec. Dir. Matt Farrauto
www.nmdemocrats.org

New Hampshire New York

Hon. Raymond Buckley, Chair June ONeill, Chair

24 Gabrielle Street 461 Park Avenue, South 10th Fl. *
Manchester, NH 03103 New York, NY 10016
603/225-6899 Fax 603/225-6797 212/725-8825 Fax 212/725-8867

Hon. Martha Fuller Clark, Vice Chair Dave Pollak, Co-Chair

152 Middle Street 461 Park Avenue, South 10th Fl. *
Portsmouth, NH 03801 New York, NY 10016
603/431-6626 212/725-8825 ext. 235 Fax 212/725-8867

New Hampshire Democratic Party New York Democratic State Committee

2 ! Beacon Street 461 Park Avenue, 10th Fl. *
Concord, NH 03301 New York, NY 10016
603/225-6899 Fax 603/225-6797 212/725-8825 ext. 235 Fax 212/725-8867
Exec. Dir. Jennifer Kuzma * Exec. Dir. Edna Ishayik
www.nh-democrats.org www.nysdems.org

80
 North Carolina Oklahoma

Jerry Meek, Chair Dr. Ivan Holmes, Chair *

220 Hillsborough 9908 Mashburn
Raleigh, NC 27603 Oklahoma City, OK 73162
919/821-2777 Fax 919/821-4778 405/204-5902 Fax 405/427-1310

Dannie Montgomery, Vice Chair Kitti Asberry Vice Chair*

P.O. Box 563 617 NW 118th Street
Lilesville, NC 28091 Oklahoma City, OK 73114
704/694-4150 405/401-6970 Fax 405/427-1310

North Carolina Democratic Party Oklahoma Democratic Party

220 Hillsborough Street 4100 N. Lincoln Blvd.
Raleigh, NC 27603 Oklahoma City, OK 73105
919/821-2777 ext. 218 Fax 919/821-4778 405/427-3366 Fax 405/427-1310
Toll free 800/229-3367 Exec. Dir.
Exec. Dir. Caroline Valand www.okdemocrats.org
www.ncdp.org

North Dakota Oregon

David Strauss, Chair Meredith Wood Smith, Chair

1902 East Divide Avenue 2211 NE 21st Avenue
Bismarck, ND 58501 Portland, OR 97212
701/255-0460 or 701/471-1621 503/318-5043 cell

Mary Wakefield, Vice Chair Jesse Cornett , Vice Chair

3701 15th Avenue South 826 NE Hancock
Grand Forks, ND 58201 Portland, OR 97212
701/775-8864 503/319-6867

North Dakota Democratic NPL Party Democratic Party of Oregon

1902 East Divide Avenue 232 NE 9th Avenue
Bismarck, ND 58501 Portland, OR 97232
701/255-0460 Fax 701/255-7823 503/224-8200 Fax 503/224-5335
Exec. Dir. Jamie Selzler Exec. Dir. Trent Lutz
www.demnpl.com www.dpo.org

Ohio Pennsylvania

Hon. Chris Redfern, Chair Hon. T. J. Rooney, Chair

271 East State Street 300 North Second Street, 8th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215 Harrisburg, PA 17101
614/221-6563 Fax 614/221-0721 717/920-8470 Fax 717/901-7829

Hon. Jean A. Milko , Vice Chair

Hon. Rhine McLin, Vice Chair 2934 McKelvey Road
23 N. Paul L. Dumbar Pittsburgh, PA 15221
Dayton, OH 45408 412/241-0111 Fax 412/241-7711
937/333-3653 Fax 937/461-0012
Pennsylvania Democratic Party
Ohio Democratic Party 300 North Second Street, 8th Floor
271 East State Street Harrisburg, PA 17101
Columbus, OH 43215 717/920-8470 Fax 717/901-7829
614/221-6563 Fax 614/221-0721 Exec. Dir. Mary Isenhour
Acting Exec. Dir. Doug Kelly www.padems.com
www.ohiodems.org

81
 Puerto Rico South Dakota

Roberto Prats, Chair Jack Billion Chair

P.O. Box 19328 P.O. Box 1485
San Juan, PR 00910-3939 Sioux Falls, SD 57101 - 1485
787/622-3939 Fax 787/622-3940 605/224-1750 Fax 605/224-1759

Luisette Cabanas , Vice Chair Deb Knecht, Vice Chair

MSC 602, Ste. 105 40193 112 th Street
89 Avenue De-Diego Houghton, SD 57449
San Juan, PR 00927 605/ 885-6365 Fax 605/224-1759
787/453-2946
South Dakota Democratic Party
Puerto Rico Democratic Party 1100 S. Phillips Avenue, Ste. 4
P.O. Box 19328 Sioux Falls, SD 57105
San Juan, PR 00910-3939 605/271-5405
787/274-2921 Fax 787/759-9075 Exec. Dir. Rick Hauffe
Exec. Dir. Liza M. Ortiz-Camacho , Esq. www.sddp.org

Rhode Island Tennessee

William J. Lynch, Chair Gray Sasser, Chair

35 Pequot Road 223 8th Avenue, Ste. 200
Pawtucket, RI 02861 Nashville, TN 37203
401/351-7700 Fax 401/331-6095 615/327-9779 Fax 615/327-9759

Edna O'Neill Mattson, Vice Chair Elisa Parker, Vice Chair

74 Maplewood Drive 1208 Carnton Lane
North Kingstown, RI 02852 Franklin, TN 37064
401/825-2391 home 401/884-2699 615/371-2474 Fax 615/591-3887

Democratic Party of Rhode Island Tennessee Democratic Party

249 Roosevelt Avenue, Ste. 202 223 8th Avenue, Ste. 200
Pawtucket, RI 02860 Nashville, TN 37203
401/721-9900 Fax 401/724-5007 615/327-9779 Fax 615/327-9759
Exec. Dir. Tim Grilo Exec. Dir- Kim Sasser -Hayden
www.ridemocrats.org www.tndp.org

South Carolina Texas

Carol F. Fowler, Chair Boyd Richie, Chair

1521 Glenwood Road 707 Rio Grande , Ste. 100
Columbia, SC 29204 Austin, TX 78701
803/799-7550 * Fax 803/771-7442 512/478-9800 Fax 512/480-2500

Wilber Lee Jeffcoat , Vice Chair Roy LaVerne Brooks, Vice Chair
810 Huckabee Mill Road P.O. Box 331893
Swansea, SC 29160 Fort Worth, TX 76163
803/568-2697 817/294-2518

Texas Democratic Party

South Carolina Democratic Party 707 Rio Grande , Ste. 100
1529 Hampton Street, Suite 200 Austin, TX 78701
Columbia, SC 29201 512/478-9800 Fax 512/480-2500
803/799-7798 or toll free 800/841-1817 Exec. Dir. Ruben Hernandez
Fax 803/765-1692 www.txdemocrats.org
Exec Dir. Joe Werner *
www.scdp.org

82
 Utah
Wayne Holland, Jr., Chair
455 S. 300 E. Ste. 301
Salt Lake City, UT 84111
801/328-1212 Fax 801/328-1238
Hon. Karen Hale, Vice Chair
2564 Maywood Drive
Salt Lake City, UT 84109
801/918-6642
Utah Democratic Party
455 South 300 East, Ste. 301
Salt Lake City, UT 84111
801/328-1212 Fax 801/328-1238
Exec. Dir. - Todd Taylor
www.utdemocrats.org
Vermont
Ian Carleton, Chair
21 Calarco Court
Burlington, VT 05401
802/951-8837 Fax 802/229-1784
Judy Bevans, Vice Chair *
383 Page Pond Road
Craftsbury Common, VT 05857
802/755-6280
Vermont Democratic Party
29 Main Street, Ste. 3 *
Montpelier, VT 05602
802/229-1783 Fax 802/229-1784
Exec. Director - Jill Krowinski
www.vtdemocrats.org
Virginia
C. Richard Cranwell, Chair
1108 East Main Street, 2nd Fl.
Richmond, VA 23219
804/644-1966 Fax 804/343-3642
Jennifer L. McClellan, Vice Chair
1722 Floyd Avenue
Richmond, VA 23220
804/340-2629 Fax 804/772-2143
Democratic Party of Virginia
1108 East Main Street, 2nd Fl.
Richmond, VA 23219
804/644-1966 Fax 804/343-3642
Exec. Dir. Amy Reger
www.vademocrats.org
83
Virgin Islands
Cecil R. Benjamin, Chair
P.O. Box 222848
Christiansted, St. Croix, US VI 00822
340/778-5513 * Phone & Fax
Marylyn Stapleton, Vice Chair
P.O. Box 303739
Charlotte Amelia, St. Thomas, US VI 00803-3739
340/714/9529 Fax 340/777-7832
Virgin Islands Democratic Party
P.O. Box 502578
St. Thomas USVI 00805-2578
340/643-4600*
Exec. Dir. Simon Caines
Washington
Dwight Pelz, Chair
615 Second Avenue, Ste. 580
Seattle, WA 98104
206/583-0664 Fax 206/583-0301
Eileen Macoll, Vice Chair
1165 South Grand Avenue #58
Pullman, WA 99163
509/334-3742
Washington State Democratic Central Committee
615 Second Avenue, Ste. 580 *
Seattle, WA 98104
206/583-0664 Fax 206/583-0301
Exec. Dir. Jaxon Ravens
www.wa-democrats.org
West Virginia
Nick Casey, Chair
P.O. Box 1746
Charleston, WV 25326
304/345-2000Fax 304/343-7999
Belinda Biafore , Vice Chair
1006 Gaston Avenue
Fairmont, WV 26554
304/363-1362 Fax 304/363-1363
West Virginia Democratic Party
717 Lee Street, Suite 214
Charleston, WV 25301
304/342-8121 Fax 304/342-8122
Exec. Dir. Tom Vogel
www.wvdemocrats.com
 Wisconsin Wyoming

Joe Wineke, Chair John Millin, Chair

222 West Washington St., Ste. 150 308 Stetson Drive
Madison, WI 53703 Cheyenne, WY 82009
608/255-5172 Fax 608/255-8919 307/634-2020

Hon. Lena Taylor, Vice Chair Nancy Drummond, Vice Chair

222 West Washington, St., Ste. 150 1427 Spaulding
Madison, WI 53703 Sheridan, WY 82801
414/344-4529 Fax 414/344-1566 307/672-7707

Democratic Party of Wisconsin Wyoming Democratic Party

222 West Washington St., Ste. 150
Madison, WI 53703
608/255-5172 ext. 405 Fax 608/255-8919
Exec. Dir. Jason Stapheny
www.wisdems.org
254 North Center Street, Suite 205
Casper, WY 82602
307/473-1457 or toll free 800/729-3367
Fax 307/473-1459
Exec. Dir. Brandon Owens*
www.wyomingdemocrats.com

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