Section III

SECTION III

COUNTY CENTRAL COMMITTEE

  1. Organization: The County Central Committee of each county shall consist of the precinct committeeman and committeewoman from each precinct in the county, the county chairman, county vice chairman, secretary, treasurer, state committeeman, state committeewoman, Republican state legislators residing in the county and Republican elected officials of the county limited to county auditor, county treasurer, register of deeds, sheriff, state’s attorney, county coroner and county commissioners.  Those Republican legislators and Republican elected county officials shall be those duly elected and certified in the most recent general election regardless of whether they have been sworn in or those persons filling vacancies of these positions as prescribed by state law.  Each member shall be entitled to vote at any County Central Committee meeting.

 

  1. Precinct committeemen and committeewomen: One precinct committeeman and one precinct committeewoman from each precinct in the county shall be elected at the primary election pursuant to SDCL §§ 12-5-4 to 12-5-13, inclusive, and shall hold his or her office until the next primary election.  If no person is elected at the primary election, the position shall be deemed vacant and may be filled in the same manner as other vacancies.

 

  1. Officers: The elected officers of a County Central Committee are the county chairman and county vice chairman, who shall be of the opposite sex, a county secretary, a county treasurer, a state committeeman and a state committeewoman, who shall hold their offices for a term of two years or until their successors have been elected.  The office of secretary and treasurer may be held by the same person.  With the approval of the County Central Committee, the county chairman may appoint a deputy treasurer.

 

  1. Organizational Meeting: The County Central Committee shall meet at the county seat between November 15 following the general election and the following January 31 and proceed to form their party organization by electing officers.  A majority vote of the County Central Committee members present and voting shall constitute an election, which shall be certified to the county auditor, secretary of state, and state secretary of the State Central Committee.

5. Duties of Officers:

A. County Chairman: The county chairman, as head of the Republican Party in the county, has the following duties:

  1. Direct county Republican Party affairs as well as to conduct the political campaign in the county.
  2. Attend and serve as a voting member at meetings of the State Central Committee.
  3. Carry out the annual plan of party goals and objectives of the state chairman.
  4. Seek to obtain a full Republican slate for all county and legislative positions, including precinct committeemen and precinct committeewomen, in the primary election.
  5. Appoint a county finance director who works with the state finance director as well as the county chairman.
  6. Preside over meetings of the County Central Committee and County Executive Board.
  7. Direct the activities of the precinct committeemen and precinct committeewomen.
  8. Serve on the County Executive Board.

B. County Vice Chairman: The county vice chairman has the following duties:

  1. Discharge all duties of the county chairman in his/her absence or disability.
  2. Coordinate all Republican auxiliary activities in the county.
  3. Other duties as the county chairman may delegate.
  4. Serve on the County Executive Board.
  5. Attend and serve as a voting member at meetings of the State Central Committee.
  6. Assist the county chairman to obtain a full Republican slate for all county and legislative positions, including precinct committeemen and precinct committeewomen, in the primary election.

C. County Secretary: The county secretary has the following duties:

  1. Arrange meeting places.
  2. Send meeting notices stating agenda, time and place for meetings of the County Central Committee and County Executive Board.
  3. Keep minutes of the County Central Committee and County Executive Board.
  4. Maintain all records of the County Central Committee.
  5. Assist the county chairman to obtain a full Republican slate for all county and legislative positions, including precinct committeemen and precinct committeewomen, in the primary election.

D. County Treasurer: The county treasurer has the following duties:

  1. Pay all bills and serve as custodian of funds.
  2. File financial reports as required by law.
  3. Perform other duties as the county chairman may delegate.
  4. Certify the names of the county officers to the county auditor, secretary of state, and state secretary of the State Central Committee following the county organizational meeting and after a change in any of the county officers.
  5. Serve on the County Executive Board.
  6. Assist the county chairman to obtain a full Republican slate for all county and legislative positions, including precinct committeemen and precinct committeewomen, in the primary election.

E. State Central Committeeman and Committeewoman: The state central committeeman and committeewoman have the following duties:

  1. Attend and serve as voting members at meetings of the State Central Committee and the County Executive Board.
  2. Carry into effect the policies of the State Central Committee in cooperation with the county chairman.
  3. Prior to the regular meetings of the State Central Committee, they shall cooperate with the county chairman in arranging a county meeting to review the problems, programs, and prospects of the county, or they shall take other procedures to determine the situation so that they may report thereon at the following meeting of the State Central Committee.
  4. Assist the county chairman to obtain a full Republican slate for all county and legislative positions, including precinct committeemen and precinct committeewomen, in the primary election, in raising funds, in conducting county political campaigns, and in general party matters.

F. Precinct Committeemen and Committeewomen: The precinct committeemen and committeewomen have the following duties:

  1. Under the supervision of the county chairman, they have the complete responsibility to conduct the political campaign in their precinct, such as compiling and updating voters lists; contacting voters; registering non-voters; and general voter contact activities.
  2. Serve as voting members of the County Central Committee.

6. Vacancies:

  1. Events Causing Vacancy: The following events shall cause an officer of the County Central Committee or a precinct committeeman and committeewoman to forfeit his or her office and the office declared vacant:  death, resignation, failure of an officer to reside in the county, failure of a precinct committeeman and committeewoman to reside in the precinct, failure to be a registered Republican voter, filing any document with the Secretary of State or a county auditor to be an independent candidate in a general or special election in a race for a partisan public office in which a Republican has been nominated or has filed a petition for the Republican nomination, or conviction of a felony.
  2. County Chairman: The county vice chairman shall automatically become county chairman whenever a vacancy shall occur in that office and shall serve the remainder of the term.
  3. Other Officers and Precinct Committeemen and Committeewomen: Any vacancy occurring in the offices of county vice chairman, county secretary, county treasurer, state committeeman, state committeewoman, precinct committeeman or precinct committeewoman shall be filled by an election held at the next regular or special meeting of the County Central Committee.  A majority vote of the County Central Committee members present and voting shall constitute an election, which shall be certified in the same manner as an election at the biennial organizational meeting.  If no person has filed to run for precinct committeeman or precinct committeewoman in a precinct and the filing deadline has passed, the County Central Committee may, prior to the primary election, fill the vacancy for the term of office that begins after the primary election.  If a deputy treasurer was previously appointed, he or she shall perform the duties of the county treasurer until the vacancy is filled.  No elections may be held to fill a vacancy from the day of the primary election through the closing of the state convention.

7. Meetings:

  1. Regular and Special Meetings: The County Central Committee shall meet at least twice each year on call of the county chairman.  The county chairman may call a special meeting at any time.  One-fifth of the members of the County Central Committee or two officers may call a meeting in writing.
  2. Notice: Five-days notice must be given for any meeting, excluding weekends and holidays.  Notices may be sent by mail or email.
  3. Quorum: A quorum shall consist of one-fifth of the members of the County Central Committee (not including vacancies), including at least two officers.  For the purposes of determining the number of members needed to have a quorum, Republican state legislators and county elected officials shall not be considered as members of the County Central Committee; however, when present they shall be counted when determining whether a quorum is present.  This provision shall not affect the rights of said members to participate and vote at meetings.
  4. Rules of Order: The rules contained in the current edition of Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised shall govern the County Central Committee in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with these bylaws and any special rules of order the County Central Committee may adopt; however, unless any member objects, the committee may act informally at the discretion of the county chairman.
  5. Electronic Meetings: A meeting of the County Central Committee may be held electronically.

 

8.  County Executive Board: A County Executive Board consists of the county chairman, county vice chairman, county secretary, county treasurer, state central committeeman, state central committeewoman, county finance director, and at least three others appointed by the county chairman from the registered Republicans in the county.  The County Executive Board conducts party business between regular meetings of the County Central Committee.  The county chairman calls the meetings of the County Executive Board and presides over such meetings. The county secretary keeps the minutes.  Three members of the County Executive Board may call a meeting in writing.  A meeting of the County Executive Board may be held electronically.

9.    Inactive Counties:

A.  Definition: If more than four years have passed since the state secretary has received a county election certification from a county, then that county is deemed an inactive county and the offices of all county party officers are deemed vacant.

B.  Reorganization: The state chairman or the state chairman’s designee may call and preside over a meeting of the county central committee of the inactive county for the purpose of electing officers.  A quorum for a meeting held in this manner shall be two members of the county central committee.  Notice of the meeting must be given as required by Section III.7.B.