How do I vote for chair?
Frequently asked questions about voting.
The Clayton for Carolina team is working to keep this page updated and current as voting eligibility information is released by NCDP. The time and date of the last update to this page is reflected at the top. If you have additional questions or need help addressing a voting-related issue that hasn't been addressed here, reach out to info@claytonforcarolina.com for assistance.
The chair of the North Carolina Democratic Party (NCDP) is elected every two years by members of the party's State Executive Committee (SEC). This takes place at a meeting in the winter following each even-year general election, and this year that meeting is on February 11th. A candidate for chair needs to receive a majority (over 50%) of all of the votes cast by members of the SEC. In elections with multiple candidates, sometimes multiple rounds of runoff voting will be required before a candidate will receive the magic number of votes to win.
In a runoff voting system, the candidate with the fewest votes in the first round of voting will be eliminated from the ballot and another round of voting will start without that candidate. If a candidate receives over 50% of the votes on the second round, they'll win, and if not, the process repeats until a candidate gets a majority.
The North Carolina Democratic Party's (NCDP) State Executive Committee (SEC) is comprised of party leaders of all types across our state. There are many ways folks find themselves on the SEC—some folks are automatically members because they're chairs of another important body within the party, like a congressional district committee, constituency caucus, or local county party.
The overwhelming majority of SEC members were elected to their seat at their local county party meeting. There are 450 seats elected in this way, divided among counties based on a formula which factors in the amount of votes each county cast for the most recent Democratic nominee for governor. In 2023, we're using the vote count for Governor Roy Cooper.
North Carolina's counties vary greatly based on party breakdown and population, so some counties like Wake and Mecklenburg have over 50 SEC members each, while others get two. It's important to know that every county is afforded at least two members, no matter how few votes that county might have cast for the governor. Those members are the chair of the county party and one elected SEC member.
Let's start with how most folks become SEC members: getting elected at their county convention. Every two years, after the chair of the state party is elected in the winter, county parties elect their leadership and SEC members in the spring. Members are elected with gender parity rules, meaning that there have to be an equal (or as close as folks can get) number of men and women as elected members. Gender is based on self-identification, and non-binary individuals can be elected to a seat designated for either binary gender identity.
Here's where it gets complicated: SEC elections have already taken place. The only way to become an SEC member before the election on February 11th is to fill a vacancy at a special election held by your county party. At this time, most counties have a vacancy which needs to be filled. If you're interested in filling a vacancy, or you're a party officer or SEC member who needs help filling vacancies in your county, fill out the form below.
If you're a member of the State Executive Committee, you can proxy your vote to another person who can then vote on your behalf. This person must be a registered Democrat in North Carolina who would be eligible to hold the office through which you were afforded SEC membership. For example, an SEC member elected at the Mecklenburg County convention can only proxy to another Democrat registered to vote in Mecklenburg County.
If you're the chair of or elected SEC member from one of the many counties with two total SEC members (the county chair and their elected friend) then you can proxy your vote to any registered Democrat in your congressional district.
If you need help coordinating with an eligible Democrat who can cast your vote for Anderson at the meeting, fill out the form below and mark that you're an SEC in need of a proxy.