2023 DSA National Convention Timeline
DSA Observer will be updating this post with resources and links as they become available
Timeline for 2023 DSA Convention
From August 4-6, 2023, DSA delegates will vote on Constitutional and Bylaw changes, Resolutions, Platform Amendments, and our new NPC in Chicago IL. We will be updating this post with resources and links as they become available.
2023 DSA Convention rules and dates can be found here.
2023 DSA Convention timeline found here.
2023 DSA Convention page found here.
“The National Convention shall be the highest decision-making body of the organization. All decisions of other bodies may be appealed to the Convention according to guidelines defined in the Bylaws. The Convention shall accept a detailed financial report.” - Article V. National Conventions - DSA Constitution
February 20th - Constitutional & bylaw changes, resolutions, and platform amendments submission window opens. The threshold for consideration is a minimum requirement of support from 300 members in good standing as of February 20th.
Request to list your DSA Convention Proposals on the Proposal Hub - updated
Proposal Hub - updated
February 28th - Deadline to request to be considered at-large for delegate purposes (application form here).
March 1st - Recommended deadline for membership asks and renewals to be counted towards apportionment.
After March NPC Meeting - the NPC will release a description of the NPC and its members’ duties.
March 15th - Apportionment for delegates based on membership numbers on this date.
Delegates will be distributed among chapters using a delegate-to-member ratio of 1-to-75 (one delegate per 75 members).
Apportionment of Alternates shall be at a ratio of 1:10 (1 alternate per 10 delegates) for chapters with more than 10 delegates. Chapters apportioned 10 delegates or less shall be allowed one alternate for the convention.
March 17th - The National Office will inform locals of their delegate counts.
April 4th
Nomination for delegates open.
Last day for National Office to inform membership of registration fees or other costs, if any.
National Political Committee (NPC) candidate questionnaire opens.
Any DSA member in good standing may be nominated as a candidate for the NPC elections through a nomination resolution passed by a majority vote of either: (1) the chapter or OC (Organizing Committee/Pre-chapter formation) of which they are a member; (2) any recognized National Working Group or Committee; or (3) a majority of vote of the NPC. Chapters and OCs are strongly encouraged to make decisions on nomination in a way that includes the broadest number of members as the chapter shall determine is practicable, such as at membership meetings or through membership-wide online votes.
Nomination should not be seen as an endorsement of a candidate or their politics, but as an affirmation that the member is active in the work of DSA and is constructive and comradely towards their fellow members.
A call for candidates for at-large delegates shall be sent to all at-large delegates no later than this date.
Any member in good standing of a local may run for delegate and vote in their local’s delegate election.
An individual must be in good standing as a DSA member through the end of convention in order to be seated as a delegate or alternate delegate.
To check your membership status visit: proof.dsausa.org
To renew your dues visit: act.dsausa.org/donate/membership
April 14th - Submission window closes for constitutional & bylaw changes, resolutions, and platform amendments.
To be considered for debate at the Convention, proposed changes to the Constitution or Bylaws must have a minimum of 300 signatures of support from DSA members who are in good standing as of February 20th.
May 4th - At-large delegate nominations close (deadline to be considered an at-large delegate closes February 28).
Candidates for delegate may submit a brief statement to be made available to voters. If at the close of nominations the number of candidates is less than or equal to the number of positions (taking into account the diversity requirements), the candidates will be considered elected by acclamation.
May 13th - Convention Registration opens.
May 18th
Last day for the National Office to administer an online at-large delegate election (if required).
At-large delegates must be members in good standing by this date in order to receive a ballot to vote in the at-large delegate election. Voting closes on June 6th.
To check your membership status visit: proof.dsausa.org
To renew your dues visit: act.dsausa.org/donate/membership/
June 6th
Deadline for delegate roster submitted to National Office.
Deadline to vote for at-large delegates.
June 14th
Amendments to Constitutional & bylaw changes, resolutions, and platform amendments due. Threshold to be in consideration for debate requires 300 members in good standing as of February 20th, 2023.
Window closes for NPC nominees to officially accept nomination.
June 30th
Deadline for the compendium of proposed resolutions and bylaw changes to be sent out to members.
Deadline for the Voting and Elections Committee will release a compendium of candidate questionnaires via email and on the Convention website.
July 13th - 2023 Convention registration window closes.
July 14th - The Voting and Elections Committee will host a candidate forum.
July 24th
Final compendium of proposed Constitutional and Bylaw Changes, Resolutions, and Amendments released via email to all members and on the Convention website.
Temporary roster of delegates and alternate delegates sent to delegates, alternate delegates, locals, commissions, and officers of DSA.
July 26th - Deadline to challenge the credentials of any delegate or alternate delegate.
We will update this as information becomes available.
July 28th - Amendments to NPC recommendations due July 28th.
This date came from the January 27th NPC call. We will update this as information becomes available. More information on this topic should become available after the April NPC Meeting - updated
August 4th - Convention begins in Chicago, IL.
August 6th - Convention ends.
A special thanks to Sebastian FG from NC Triangle DSA for sharing his Unofficial 2023 DSA Convention Guide on the internal DSA Forum.
DSA Observer is a service provided by New Majority for the benefit of DSA members, by DSA members. If you enjoy our content and want to support more reporting on self-organization and strategy, please consider subscribing and supporting us on Patreon. You can reach us through our contact form or email us at contact@new-majority.org if you have suggestions for topics you’d like us to cover in the future or have any other inquiries. Suggestions and ideas for how the organization should operate should be directed towards the National Political Committee at npc@dsausa.org.