Two years ago when I served as Convention Credentials Chair I noticed a couple of common chartering mistakes in the applications from our state and territorial units. Here is a list of five of those mistakes and how to avoid them.

Remember that Charter Applications must be received, not postmarked by, July 7th, 2009.

  1. Not having enough members with complete information in membership list – A chartered unit’s membership list needs to have twice as many members as votes. For example, Arizona with 100 votes needs to submit a list of at least 200 members with full information. For a member to count they must have their full name, address, city, state, zip code, date of birth (including month, day and year), phone number and email address. If a member is missing any of those fields they will not count. Always double check your member list to make sure you have all their information and submit extra members to be careful. Members must be younger than 36 at the time of convention.

  2. Chartering fee not paid by certified check or money order – The chartering fee of $5 per vote must be paid by certified check or money order. Do not send cash, personal checks, or checks from your unit’s bank account.

  3. President and National Committee forms not notarized – The certification forms signed by your unit’s President and National Committeeman and Committeewoman must be signed and stamped by a notary public in your state/territory.

  4. Not including full information for unit officers – You are required to submit a list of your unit’s officers, including names, addresses, phone numbers, date of election, date of term expiration, and date of birth. Make sure that you have all that information included for each of your officers.

  5. Not submitting a delegate selection plan – You are required to include your rules governing the process for the selection of Delegates and Alternates that shall encourage the full participation of all members of the unit, especially historically under-represented groups in the Young Democrats of America.

My best advice is to thoroughly read the chartering packet and ask for help from people that know the process. It always helps to have someone with chartering experience take a look at your packet before you send it in to double-check that everything is complete.