Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party

Are you already a part of a party unit or are you interested in organizing a DFL party unit? Below are documents that you can use to in your party unit and to organize your own party unit!

Can't find a specific document here? Questions?

Contact Party Affairs Director David Weinlick at dweinlick@dfl.org

Attention: All documents are property of the Minnesota DFL and may only be reprinted for DFL Party purposes.

Party Events - DFL Calendar and Insurance Requests

Interested in placing an event on the DFL calendar? You can send the event information to: minnesotadfl@gmail.com

If you are using Outlook or Google Calendar to manage your events, simply use your system to send an invitation to that address. If you need to get proof of insurance for your event, use the Proof of Insurance Request form.

Proof of Insurance Request (doc)

Precinct Caucus Documents

Precinct Caucuses (pdf) - An informational guide to your DFL precinct caucus
Attendee Handout (pdf) - Rules and Agenda, with Resolution Form
Convenor Instructions - Short Form (pdf)
Convenor Instructions - Long Form (doc)
Unit Chair Instructions (doc) - How to prepare your precinct packets
Precinct Caucus Report Form (doc)
Precinct Caucus Registration Coversheet (doc)
Precinct Caucus Registration Forms for New Attendees (Version 1)(pdf) (Version 2)(pdf)

Preference Ballot Information

Preference Ballot Guidelines (pdf)
Reporting Instructions Sheet (doc)
Online Reporting Manual (doc)
Preference Ballot Envelope (pdf)
Pre-printed Ballots (pdf)

Model Documents for Party Units

Model Convention Rules

The model rules provide guidance for developing local party units for upcoming conventions.

Organizing Units that are complete senate districts (doc)
Organizing Units that follow geographic county boundaries (doc)
Senate District endorsing conventions held separately from Organizing Unit conventions (doc)

Model Constitutions

The model constitutions for party-unit provide guidance for developing local party units and their party policies. (Note that the 2010 State Convention amended the DFL constitution to consolidate Article V and Article VI and replace the term County Unit with Organizing Unit. Despite this change, these models still provide a useful template for developing local unit constitutions)

Model Constitution: Article V County Units (doc)
Model Constitution: Article V Senate Districts (doc)
Model Constitution: Article VI Counties (doc)
Model Constitution: Article VI Senate Districts (doc)

Party Unit Officer Roles

Information about the roles and duties of part unit officers of the DFL party.

Party-Unit Officer Roles (doc)

Other Commonly Used Forms

The Resolution Form is used for submitting amendments to the DFL Platform.
Resolution Form (pdf)
Resolution Form (doc)

The Challenge form is used for filing a challenge to a violation of party rules.
Challenge Form (pdf)
Challenge Form (doc)

The Letter Nomination is for those who cannot attend a caucus or convention but want to be nominated for an elected party unit position.
Letter Nomination Form (pdf)
Letter Nomination Form (doc)

Changes in Party Unit Officers

If your party unit has changed any of its officers, please report changes to the Party Affairs Director, David Weinlick at dweinlick@dfl.org

Disability Accommodations

The DFL Accommodations Program is a resource for party units that provide assistance and advice to help create accessible and inclusive DFL events for our diverse community members.

The DFL Accommodations Hotline is also available for members to request access accommodations or materials in alternative formats for State Party Events and Party Business.

Please leave a detailed message with your name, phone number, email, and party unit related to your request or comments. All messages will be confidential and treated with respect and dignity.

The DFL Accommodations Hotline
Phone Number: (651) 251-6380
Email: accommodations@dfl.org

Sample Handbooks and Manuals for Chairs

Unit Chair Handbook Resources

As a unit chair these documents will act as useful starting blocks when building your district resource manual.

Chairing a Local Party Unit (pdf)
Organizing & Running a DFL Convention (pdf)
Parliamentary Law in Real-Life Meetings (pdf)
Organizational Chart of the DFL (pdf)
Two-Year Local Unit Timeline (pdf)Organizing and Outreach Material for Local Units

Constituency Caucus Brochures

DFL event brochures with useful information about the many communities and caucuses that make up our state.

Constituency Caucus Brochure 1 (pdf)
Constituency Caucus Brochure 2 (pdf)

Precinct Caucus Brochures

Resources to use in precinct caucus training and other local party unit event.

Beyond the Conventions (pdf)
A brief overview on participation within the MN DFL Party and events after the conventions.

ABC's of the DFL (pdf)
A quick guide to frequently used terms in the DFL Party.

Bilingual Caucus Flyer (English & Spanish) (pdf)
A very resourceful bilingual caucus flyer.

Helpful External Links

Robert's Rules of Order Online

Robert's Rules of Order are the rules that the Minnesota DFL Party and all party units use to run caucuses, meetings and conventions impartially and efficiently.

ADA Toolkit

Guidance from the Federal government on making your meetings accessible to people with disabilities.

Minnesota Statutes

Chapter 202A of Minnesota Statutes provides the legal rules governing the party caucus and convention system in Minnesota.

Interfaith Calendar

When planning events, check what religious holidays might cause conflicts.