The Young Democrats of America (YDA) is the

youth wing A youth wing is a subsidiary, autonomous, or independently allied front of a larger organization (usually a political party but occasionally another type of organization) that is formed in order to rally support for that organization from members ...

of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

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 primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. 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 defea ...

. 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 wit ...

. 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 In American politics, a superdelegate is an unpledged delegate to the Democratic National Convention who is seated automatically and chooses for themselves for whom they vote. These Democratic Party superdelegates (who make up slightly under 15 ...

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 to ...

*Executive Vice President: Terri Chapman of

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

*1st Vice President: Kolby Duhon of

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

*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 state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

*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 s ...

*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 U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

''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 Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

Past leaders

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

Warren Magnuson Warren Grant "Maggie" Magnuson (April 12, 1905May 20, 1989) was an American lawyer and politician who represented the state of Washington in Congress for 44 years, first as a Representative from 1937 to 1944, and then as a senator from 1944 to 1 ...

* Former U.S. Representative

Allan Turner Howe Allan Turner Howe (September 6, 1927 – December 14, 2000) was a U.S. Representative from Utah. Born in South Cottonwood near Murray, Utah, Howe attended public schools before receiving a B.S. from the University of Utah in 1952 and a J.D.L. f ...

* Former Mayor of Little Rock Mark Stodola * Former Mayor of New Orleans

Chep Morrison deLesseps Story Morrison Sr., also known as Chep Morrison (January 18, 1912 – May 22, 1964), was an American attorney and politician who was the 54th mayor of New Orleans, Louisiana, from 1946 to 1961. He then served as an appointee of U.S. ...

* 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 U.S. state, state of New Mexico. She is the 26th Secretary of State of New Mexico and a member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party. Prior to serving as Secr ...

* 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 Chris Anderson may refer to: Sports * Chris Anderson (baseball) (born 1992), American baseball player * Chris Anderson (cheese roller), 22-time winner of annual cheese rolling * Chris Anderson (footballer, born 1925) (1925–1986), Scottish footb ...

* Former Member of the

Texas House of Representatives The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature. It consists of 150 members who are elected from single-member districts for two-year terms. As of the 2010 United States census, each member represents abou ...

Lena Guerrero * Former Member of the Michigan House of Representatives Isaac Robinson * King County 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 Vegas ...

. 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