The Young Democrats of America (YDA) is the youth wing of the Democratic Party of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. YDA operates as a separate organization from the Democratic National Committee; following the passage of the

Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (, ), commonly known as the McCain–Feingold Act or BCRA (pronounced "bik-ruh"), is a United States federal law that amended the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, which regulates the financing o ...

, it became an independent

527 organization A 527 organization or 527 group is a type of U.S. tax-exempt organization organized under Section 527 of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code (). A 527 group is created primarily to influence the selection, nomination, election, appointment or de ...

. The group's membership consists of Democrats from ages 14 to 35, and its political activities include an emphasis on increasing the voter turnout of young people.

Leadership

YDA membership elects seven national officers on a biennial basis at the organization's National Convention in odd-numbered years and two DNC representatives in even-numbered years. These officers maintain the day-to-day management of the organization. Most recently, officers were elected at the 2021 YDA National Convention in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line w ...

. Between national conventions, the governing body of YDA is the National Committee which is composed of the president and two national committee representatives from each chartered unit, along with the chairs of the twelve constituency caucuses, eight regional directors, eight chairs of select committees, and the nine individually elected officers. The President, Democratic National Committeeman, and Democratic National Committeewoman are members of the Democratic National Committee, and superdelegates to any Democratic National Convention occurring during their terms.

2021–2023 National Officers

*President: Quentin Avola Wathum-Ocama of

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over t ...

*Executive Vice President: Terri Chapman of

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = " Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,7 ...

*1st Vice President: Kolby Duhon of

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

*2nd Vice President: Nnedi Stephens of

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

*3rd Vice President: Spencer Dirrig of

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

*Secretary: Arielle Brandy of

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th ...

*Treasurer: Mohammed Tazbir Akber Alam, Esq. of New York

2022–2024 Democratic National Committee Members

*Democratic National Committee Representative: Steph Campanha Wheaton of New York *Democratic National Committee Representative: Dunixi Guereca of

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

''Ex officio'' National Officers

* Chair of the Association of Chartered Unit Presidents: Jovan Richards of New York * Chair of the Council of Region Directors: Christopher Clevenger-Morris of

* Chair of the Council of Caucus Chairs: Becky Beaver of Georgia

Past leaders

Democratic party leaders and Democratic elected officials who are former YDA National Officers include: * U.S. Representative

Steny Hoyer Steny Hamilton Hoyer (born June 14, 1939) is an American politician and attorney serving as the U.S. representative for since 1981 and as House Majority Leader since 2019. A Democrat, Hoyer was first elected in a special election on May 19, 19 ...

* Former U.S. Senator Warren Magnuson * Former U.S. Representative Allan Turner Howe * Former Mayor of Little Rock

Mark Stodola Mark Stodola (born May 18, 1949) is an American politician and lawyer. First elected in 2006, he served as the Mayor of Little Rock, Arkansas, from January 2007 through December 2018. Stodola won re-election to a second, four-year term in Nove ...

* Former Mayor of New Orleans Chep Morrison * Former Secretary General Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe

R. Spencer Oliver R. Spencer Oliver (born 1937) was the first Secretary General of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe's Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA). A lawyer by training, Oliver previously served 22 years as a staff member in the U.S. Con ...

* Secretary of State of New Mexico

Maggie Toulouse Oliver Maggie Toulouse Oliver (born ) is an American politician from the state of New Mexico. She is the 26th Secretary of State of New Mexico and a member of the Democratic Party. Prior to serving as Secretary of State, Toulouse Oliver was the cou ...

* Former Chattanooga City Councilman and

Tennessee Democratic Party The Tennessee Democratic Party (TNDP) is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in Tennessee. The party was founded in 1826 and is headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. The Tennessee Democratic Party began alongside President Andrew Jack ...

State Executive Committee Member Chris Anderson * Former Member of the Texas House of Representatives

Lena Guerrero Lena Guerrero Aguirre (November 27, 1957 – April 24, 2008) was a Texas political figure who served in the Texas House of Representatives, and was later the first woman and first non-white member of the Texas Railroad Commission, which regulat ...

* Former Member of the Michigan House of Representatives Isaac Robinson *

King County King County is located in the U.S. state of Washington. The population was 2,269,675 in the 2020 census, making it the most populous county in Washington, and the 13th-most populous in the United States. The county seat is Seattle, also the st ...

Councilmemeber Joe McDermott

National Convention, National Committee, and chartered units

The YDA organization is composed of "chartered units" with one from each U.S. state or territory. YDA holds a National Convention every two years during the summer of odd-numbered years with complex rules for how many votes each chartered unit may cast. The YDA National Committee meets at least two times per year and consists of the President of each chartered unit, two representatives of differing gender identities from each chartered unit, and a number of other officers and committee and caucus chairs.

National Convention locations

The 2023 National Convention will take place in

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vega ...

. Past YDA National Conventions were held in the below venues: * 2021: Cincinnati, OH * 2019: Indianapolis, IN * 2017: Dallas, TX * 2015: Los Angeles, CA * 2013: San Antonio, TX * 2011: Louisville, KY * 2009: Chicago, IL * 2007: Dallas, TX * 2005: San Francisco, CA * 2003: Buffalo, NY * 2001: Tucson, AZ * 1999: Little Rock, AR * 1997: Miami, FL * 1995: New Orleans, LA * 1993: Merrillville, IN * 1991: St Louis, MO * 1989: Columbus, OH * 1987: Phoenix, AZ * 1985: Miami, FL * 1983: Charleston, WV * 1981: Philadelphia, PA

References

External links

Young Democrats of AmericaPast YDA Officers 1967–2015
{{Authority control 527 organizations Democratic Party (United States) organizations Factions in the Democratic Party (United States) Youth wings of political parties in the United States Youth wings of liberal parties Youth-led organizations 1932 establishments in the United States