Membership
For most, serving as an associate member is the best place to start!
Associate members of the Democratic Party of Sacramento County (DPSC) can serve as voting members of standing committees, subcommittees, or ad-hoc committees. Associate members may speak at Central Committee meetings, but they are not entitled to vote. In addition, associate members are eligible to be appointed as DPSC Central Committee delegates to the California Democratic Party state convention. They may also serve as proxies for the Central Committee’s delegates to the state convention.
Associate membership is open to all registered Democrats in California. Individuals who are younger than 18 years old but have pre-registered to vote, or individuals who are ineligible to vote, may become associate members if they pledge to register as a Democrat as soon as they are eligible to register to vote.
If you are eligible, you can become a DPSC associate member by completing both of the following steps:
- Fill out an associate member sign-up form, which can be found here.
- Pay the $25 associate membership dues online here.
The DPSC Central Committee is comprised of three different types of voting members:
Elected members serve four-year terms that begin at the January Central Committee meeting after each presidential election.
Alternates: Democrats appointed by elected members, ex-officio members, and chartered clubs as alternates may vote in the absence of the appointing member. The alternate must meet the same eligibility requirement as the appointing member.
1) Elected members (30): Six individuals are elected by Democratic voters in each of the five supervisor districts in Sacramento County. These members are elected by publicly-administered elections during the state’s presidential primary every four years.
2) Ex-officio members (10): If the highest vote-getting Democratic candidate in the most recent election for the following offices is registered to vote in Sacramento County (regardless of whether they win or lose), they are entitled to be an ex-officio voting member of the Central Committee:
President of the United States, Vice President of the United States, U.S. Senator, Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Attorney General, Controller, Treasurer, Insurance Commissioner, Superintendent of Public Instruction, Member of the State Board of Equalization, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives, State Senator, and Member of the State Assembly.
Any California Democratic Party regional director for any region that includes Sacramento County may also serve as an ex-officio member if they are registered to vote in Sacramento County.
Ex-officio members serve two-year terms that begin during the January Central Committee meeting after each November election.
3) Club Representatives: Each of the twenty-one (21) Democratic clubs chartered by DPSC is entitled to have a vote at the Central Committee.
How do you become an Elected Member?
Six elected DPSC members are elected from each of the five supervisorial districts in Sacramento County. To be eligible, an individual must be a registered Democrat residing in the supervisorial district in which they are running.
In order to run, an individual must gather nominating signatures from at least twenty registered Democrats in their supervisor district, and file to run by the county-set deadline. Candidates running to be elected members of DPSC appear on the presidential primary ballot, and the top six vote-getters in each district take office at the January meeting after the November election.
Elections to be an elected DPSC member occur every four years, during presidential election cycles.
How do you become an Ex-Officio’s appointee?
Each ex-officio member gets to appoint one registered Democrat as their voting representative to the Central Committee. Some appoint one of their staffers or a volunteer from their campaign. Others may appoint a well-regarded member of the community or a Democratic party activist.
In order to be an appointee for an ex-officio, an individual must be a registered Democrat in Sacramento County. Ex-officio appointees need not live in the same district that the ex-officio represents.
How do you become a Club Representative?
The other way to get a vote on the Central Committee is to be the representative of a club by DPSC. Each chartered club is entitled to one vote on the Central Committee, and appoints a representative and an alternate.
How do you become an alternate?
Alternate members may vote at Central Committee meetings if the voting member for whom they are an alternate is absent. Alternate members may also serve as committee vice chairs, chair an ad-hoc committee, and voting members of all standing committees.
Elected members may appoint an alternate who is a registered Democrat residing in the supervisor district represented by that elected member.
Ex-Officio members may appoint any registered Democrat in Sacramento County to be their alternate, even if the alternate does not reside in the district they represent.
Alternates of club representatives are usually chosen by the club’s president or elected by the club itself, depending on the club’s rules. However, the alternate must be a member of the Club making the appointment.
What are the annual membership dues?
The dues for membership are as follows:
| Associate Member | $25 |
| Alternate Voting Member | $50 |
| Club Chartering Fee | $150 |
| Elected Member | $100 |
| Ex-Officio Member | $125 |
| Assemblymember | $150 |
| State Senator | $200 |
| Member of Congress | $300 |
| OTUS/VPOTUS/Statewide elected | $400 |
| Immediate Past Chair | $100 |
Pay dues online by clicking here.
Annual membership dues, except for chartered clubs, are due in January, or at the time of joining, and payable by the March membership meeting, or 60 days after joining, whichever occurs later.
Club dues are paid during the club rechartering process, which occurs each summer.