Convention rules

Agenda Determination

The Steering Committee is responsible for determining the draft agenda. Convention delegates will vote to adopt the agenda at the beginning of the Convention.

To inform Steering’s draft agenda, following delegate elections, all delegates will be sent a survey and asked to vote on the following components:

1. A yes/no question on each qualifying proposal asking “Do you want to discuss/debate this proposal at Convention?”
   1. This question will help determine agenda prioritization. Proposals with a lower “yes” vote will likely be placed lower in agenda prioritization and thus less likely to be discussed or debated at Convention.
   2. Only proposals with 50% or higher “yes” vote will be considered for the agenda.
2. A yes/no question on each qualifying proposal asking “At this time, do you support the passage of the proposal?”
   1. This question will be used to determine which proposals are on the Consent Agenda. The Consent Agenda will bundle proposals with the highest support into a single item to be voted on together.
   2. Only proposals with 75% support or higher will be eligible for the consent agenda.
   3. Proposals with (non-friendly) amendments are not eligible for the Consent Agenda.
3. A question asking delegates to identify their top three proposals (unranked) they want to discuss/debate.
   1. Given the large number of proposals and the limited time, it is possible that not every proposal on the agenda will be debated. This question will be used to help order proposals that clear the 50% threshold in question 1, with priority generally given to proposals that appear the most among delegates’ top three.

The results of the survey will be shared with all delegates prior to releasing the draft agenda.

Convention Debate Rules

The NYC DSA 2026 Convention shall use the following rules for agenda determination and for Convention debate. For matters not covered by these rules, the convention will follow Roberts Rules of Order.

1. General Procedures and Timing

1. Registration shall begin at 8:00 am. Delegates should arrive by 8:30 am to guarantee they will be seated. Alternate delegates can begin registration to fill seats for delegates who have not checked in or are not on line to check in at 8:45 am.
2. Any Delegate not registered by 8:45 am will be replaced by an Alternate Delegate from their branch selected by rank order. Only registered Alternate Delegates will be seated as Delegates. Seated Alternate Delegates will be given Delegate credentials at that time. Seated Alternate Delegates shall be treated as Delegates for sections 2 through 5 of these rules.
3. All Delegates and Seated Alternate Delegates must be registered by 8:45 am. The Convention will start promptly at 9:00 am.
4. Delegates and alternates cannot swap in and out. Once a Delegate or Alternate Delegate has been seated, they are expected to be present for the whole day.
5. Each session of the convention has pre-established time limits. All time limits will be strictly enforced. The only exception to the established time limits would occur if there is a motion to extend or reallocate time approved by ⅔ of the Delegates (required because changing the agenda means suspending the rules).
6. Quorum to conduct business and take votes is 50% + 1.

2. Motions

1. Procedural motions concern how to proceed with a matter such as moving to refer the matter to the steering committee or moving to extend or end discussion. Procedural motions may be made at the convention. Delegates should avoid interrupting the speaker with the floor. In order to be voted on, a procedural motion needs a second. If no other delegate seconds the motion, the motion dies.
2. When a procedural motion is made, the chairs will first make a visual inspection as to whether the majority of the room is in agreement. If so, the motion will proceed to an online vote. If not, the chairs can rule that the motion has failed.
3. Substantive motions concern changing the content or text of proposals. No substantive motions will be allowed as amendments from the floor. Time limits for amendments were established as part of the organization of the convention, explained in emails regarding the convention, and on the convention explainer on the website. Amendments received by the convention committee at the required times will be part of the discussion of that proposal.
4. Any motion to suspend these rules must be approved by ⅔ of the voting Delegates. This would be required to make a substantive motion from the floor.
5. If a delegate is considering making a motion to suspend the rules or other complex procedural motions, the delegate is encouraged to reach out in advance to the Convention Chairs to notify them so things can go as smoothly as possible.
6. Only seated Delegates may make a motion.

3. Debate on Proposals

1. Only seated Delegates will be able to speak on an issue. Discussion at each session shall occur by rounds. This means that no Delegate shall be allowed to speak a second (or third or fourth, etc.) time until every other Delegate who wishes to speak has spoken on that round. Discussion shall also be by progressive stack.
2. Each Proposal will first be motivated by its author or their designee for two minutes. If any delegate has a clarifying question, there will be three additional minutes for clarifying questions. Delegates asking questions will have 30 seconds to do so; authors responding to questions will have 60 seconds to do so. If a comment is not truly a clarifying question, it shall be ruled out of order.
3. If there are any amendments to the Proposal presubmitted by the relevant deadlines and that reached the requisite signatories, they will be motivated by their authors for ninety seconds each. If the amendment is taken by the author of the Proposal as friendly, it will be automatically adopted and the amended Proposal will proceed to consideration.
4. Each amendment to the proposal will then be discussed. No more than two rounds (a total of two speakers for, two against) of discussion shall be allowed for each amendment to the proposal. Each speaker on each round shall speak for no more than 90 seconds. Each amendment will be voted separately up or down at the end of its discussion.
5. Once any contested amendments have been considered and voted on, discussion will be had on the proposal, as amended, in rounds. Each speaker on each round shall speak for no more than 90 seconds.
6. Rounds will continue until there are no more delegates who wish to speak or until three minutes before time for the proposal comes to an end, at which point a vote will be taken on the proposal as amended.

4. Voting on Motions, Amendments to Proposals, and Proposals

1. A Proposal to amend the NYC-DSA Bylaws must be approved by 60% of voting Delegates.
2. A motion to call the question on a Proposal requires approval by ⅔ of voting Delegates.
3. Any motion to alter the time allocated to an agenda item must be approved by ⅔ of voting Delegates.
4. Any motion to remove an item from the Consent Agenda requires a simple majority vote. Items cannot be added to the Consent Agenda. Prior to the convention, proposal authors will already have accepted any friendly amendments, so any proposal on the consent agenda will be considered as amended.
5. All other Proposals must be approved by a simple majority of voting Delegates.
6. A motion to suspend these rules or to substantively alter the Agenda requires a ⅔ vote of voting delegates.
7. Voting will be done electronically. All delegates will be given 3 minutes to vote on Proposals and 2 minutes to vote on amendments.

5. Points of Procedure

1. Point of Personal Privilege — a seated delegate may raise a point of personal privilege at any time digitally. A point of personal privilege pertains only to issues of personal discomfort or needs such as not being able to hear the speaker, etc.
2. Point of Order — a seated delegate may raise a point of order during debate or speaker proceedings digitally. A point of order which calls into question whether the present proceedings are in order or allowed by the rules of parliamentary procedure.
3. Point of Information — a seated delegate may raise a point of information at any time digitally. A point of information is an incidental meeting motion that any member can raise while a main motion is in progress. It is used to ask for information from the authors or chairs regarding the business at hand. This is a non-procedural question that can’t be debated and does not require a second. It helps members acquire the information necessary to make informed votes. This motion is to ask for information, not offer it.
4. Delegates should avoid interrupting the speaker with the floor; they should instead wait until a speaker has finished to raise a procedural point on the floor if it’s time sensitive or detrimental to the majority of the delegation or use the digital tool.

Appendix/Reference

Table of Convention Thresholds

Delegate Survey

Convention Floor