Endorsement Timeline
| Event | Date |
|---|---|
| Endorsement Application Opens | March 1st |
| Candidate Questionnaire Deadline | March 15th |
| Candidate Consideration from Membership Deadline | March 28th |
| Membership Q&As with Candidates | March 29th – April 12th |
| Steering Committee Screening | April 14th |
| Endorsement Meeting | April 27th |
| Voting Period | April 28th – May 4th |
Why Seek Endorsement?
Twin Cities DSA members will organize canvasses, phone banks, text banking, press releases, and more to help our endorsed candidates win their race! Our endorsements are meant to be more than a recommendation to our members to vote for a particular candidate — instead, they are a commitment to fight to get that candidate elected and enact change, while helping to build the broader movement for socialism. Once you’re in office, we will engage with you and continue to push the policies and projects that helped propel you to victory!
Step 1: Questionnaire
The period to submit questionnaires has ended.
The first step to apply as a candidate is to view, study, and respond to the 2024 Candidate Questionnaires. You can find the State Representative Questionnaire here, and the School Board Questionnaire here. There are also PDF versions of the questionnaire you can read: (State Representative, School Board). After submission, questionnaire responses will be made available to members to review.
Step 2: Candidate Consideration
All questionnaire responses are sent to our Electoral Committee and forwarded to the Steering Committee. Members of the chapter are then informed that we have received an application for endorsement. To be considered, a candidate will need to demonstrate support for consideration from 1% of TCDSA members — roughly 12 people as of Feb. 2024 — who have been members for longer than 6 months.
Step 3: Chapter Leadership Meeting
Candidates who meet this level of support will be invited to a meeting with our Steering Committee and Socialists In Office Committee. The purpose of this meeting is to introduce candidates to the SIO structure, allow candidates to ask questions about DSA, and talk about what our collaboration over their term can look like.
Step 4: Candidate Q&A Session
After completing the questionnaire and being supported by the required number of chapter members, candidates will be invited to an optional, but highly encouraged, Question-and-Answer meeting with Twin Cities DSA’s general membership.
Step 5: Endorsement Meeting and Vote
We will consider our endorsements at the April General Membership meeting, scheduled for April 27. Each candidate will be given a few minutes to state why they should receive a TCDSA endorsement. Following that, membership will engage in a facilitated debate on the endorsements being considered.
Following the conclusion of this Meeting, an OpaVote ballot will be emailed to TCDSA membership. To be endorsed, a candidate must receive at least 60% of votes on a ranked “Single Transferable Vote” (STV) ballot — defeating any competing candidates as well as “No Endorsement”.
A Note on Candidate Filtering
To help inform the general membership and Steering Committee of any important considerations, the TCDSA Electoral Committee will conduct basic research on candidates and the offices being sought for endorsement. This will most likely relate to the viability of a candidate’s campaign to win, or alignment on important issues if findings differ greatly from the submitted questionnaire. However, this research will not make recommendations for or against endorsement.
Based on this information — or for example, if an overwhelming number of candidates seek endorsement, making the Endorsement Meeting untenable — the chapter Steering Committee has the ability to decide who proceeds to the Endorsement Meeting and appears on the endorsement ballot.
Also Good to Know
If not endorsed: If it should happen that you don’t get endorsed, this will not prevent TCDSA members from working for your campaign, as long as nothing either you or they do would give the impression that TCDSA has endorsed you.
Building support with chapter members for consideration: As soon as your questionnaire is submitted, you can post on your own social media, ask in person, or ask other members to advocate for you in their networks! If you are also a member, you can ask your comrades on Slack or via other open channels to support Twin Cities DSA considering your candidacy for endorsement.
Have questions? Please email electoral@twincitiesdsa.org.
Solidarity Forever!