The 2023 YDSA Convention will be held in person in Chicago, Illinois from Friday, August 1 – Sunday, August 3. Check this page for updates!
Who can attend the convention?
The YDSA convention is open to elected delegates from official YDSA chapters. The national DSA office will inform each official YDSA of the size of the delegation they can send to the convention. Delegation sizes will be proportionate to the number of dues-paying members in each chapter. Chapters will then hold elections to decide which members will represent them at the August convention. All delegates must be dues-paying members of DSA.
If your chapter wants to send a delegation to the convention but you are not an official chapter, you can apply for chapter status until March 31 by filling out this form. If you aren’t sure whether or not your chapter is official please check the chapter list here.
What happens at the convention?
At the convention, delegates will debate and vote on pre-submitted resolutions and changes to the national YDSA constitution. Resolutions are directives for the national organization – adopt a national priority, organize a campaign, create a resource to support chapters, etc. The best resolutions are not just statements, they direct the organization to do something. Each resolution requires a simple majority vote of seated convention delegates to pass.
Constitutional changes are edits or additions to YDSA’s national constitution. Our constitution outlines our national leadership structure, membership requirements and much more. Each constitution change requires a 3/5 vote of seated convention delegates to pass.
After the primary submission deadline on May 15, the national office will send out a bulletin containing all the submitted resolutions and constitutional changes that will be considered at convention. Members will then be able to submit amendments to these resolutions and constitutional changes.
Also at the convention we will elect a new National Coordinating Committee, or NCC. The NCC is comprised of 9 students from YDSA chapters who lead the organization outside the convention. They will create committees, run campaigns, plan national events, and do much more to sustain the national organization over the next year. The NCC has two co-chairs who also sit on DSA’s NPC, and seven at-large members. Submit NCC nominations by Monday, June 12
Pre-Convention Timeline
Please note that these dates may be subject to change
Monday, March 6
- Primary Submissions open
- NCC nominations open
Friday, March 31
- Final deadline for chapter applications and renewals
Monday, May 1
- Final deadline for official chapters to submit membership list updates. All updates must be submitted through the chapter affiliation form.
Monday, May 8
- National office sends out delegate apportionment (the max number of delegates each chapter can send to convention based on membership number) to all official chapters.
Monday, May 15
- Primary Submissions Close
Monday, May 22
- First convention bulletin
- Secondary submissions open
Monday, June 12
- Deadline for chapters to submit the results of their delegate elections
- Secondary submissions close
- NCC nominations close
Monday, June 26
- Final convention bulletin
- Convention registration deadline
Friday, August 1 – Sunday, August 3
- 2023 YDSA Convention