MIDDLESEX COUNTY REPUBLICAN COMMITTEE BYLAWS
Adopted July 2, 2024 & Amended June 12, 2025
Contents
Section 1: Name 2
Section 2: Purpose 2
Section 3: Members 2
Section 4: Officers and Their Election 3
Section 5: Duties of Officers 3
Section 6: Meetings 4
Section 7: Screening Committee and County Convention 5
Section 8: Procedure 7
Section 9: Code of Ethics 8
Section 10: Certified County Republican Clubs 8
Section 11: Emergencies 10
Section 12: State Committeeman & State Committeewoman 10
Section 13: Adoption and Amendment 11
Section 1: Name
a) The name of this organization shall be the "Middlesex County Republican Committee", hereafter referred to as the "Committee" and the Committee may also use the name “Middlesex County Republican Organization”.
Section 2: Purpose
a) The purpose of this Committee shall be to espouse the principles and platform of the Republican Party.
b) This Committee shall represent the Republican Party of Middlesex County regarding views and policies of the party concerning issues and problems in the government of Middlesex County, the State of New Jersey and the United States of America.
c) This Committee supports the concept of open conventions in order to encourage all qualified individuals to seek public office.
d) This Committee shall support and direct the campaign of Republican candidates in the general election for the three above named levels of government. Such support and direction shall be coordinated with campaigns for local candidates in municipalities of Middlesex County which have local elections.
Section 3: Members
a) The voting members of this Committee shall be duly certified Republican County Committee members as prescribed in Title 19, who may be elected or appointed regardless of gender.
b) Commencing in 2024, Republican County Committee members shall be elected for two-year terms in even numbered years.
c) The non–voting members shall be the State Committeeman, State Committeewoman, Presidents of Certified County Republican Clubs, (as herein defined in Section 10), all Municipal Chairmen, all elected Republican officials from Middlesex County, and officers of the Committee who are not members of the Committee.
d) Those members designated in Section 3(c) as well as all Committee officers who are members of the Committee, shall meet at the call of the Committee Chairman to act as an Advisory Board in party policy. The Chairman shall have the privilege of inviting to any such meetings other persons such as chairmen of committees, Republican candidates or Republican experts on pending actions.
Section 4: Officers and Their Election
a) Officers of the Committee shall consist of the County Chairman, First Vice Chairman, Second Vice Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer who shall be elected as a slate. The Executive Board of the Committee shall consist of all of the elected officers and the two Republican members of the New Jersey Republican State Committee representing Middlesex County.
b) In order to run for election as officers of the Committee, a representative of a slate of candidates must notify the outgoing County Chairman, in writing, on or before the Friday following the Primary Election, that the slate intends to run for the Committee offices. In the event that two or more slates of candidates notify the outgoing County Chairman of their intention to run, then voting machines shall be used.
c) In any election where there are more than two slates running for the offices, the winning slate shall be the one receiving more than 50% of the votes cast. If none of the slates receive more than 50% of the votes on the first ballot, another ballot shall be taken between the two slates receiving the highest number of votes on the first ballot.
d) Each slate which is nominated may appoint one challenger for each machine.
e) In the event of a contest, the order of the slates on the ballot shall be determined by a drawing held promptly after the deadline for the notification to the Chairman that a slate of candidates intends to run for the Committee offices.
f) Election of officers shall be supervised by Republican members of the Middlesex County Board of Elections.
Section 5: Duties of Officers
a) The Chairman shall preside at all meetings and shall be responsible for the direction of the Committee.
i. The Chairman shall designate, on or before January 31 of each year, a campaign treasurer and a campaign depository, and shall file the name and address thereof with the Election Law Enforcement Commission. He may appoint chairmen of the following standing committees: public relations, finance, activities, registration, political action, vacancies and platform. He may also appoint a five member ethical standards committee, (the chairman to be elected from the membership) for the purpose of administering a code of ethics and reviewing and disposing of all matters pertaining thereto. He may appoint chairmen and members of any other committees which he deems necessary, and he shall be a member of any and all committees except the ethical standards committee.
ii. The Chairman shall call all meetings of the Committee and he shall instruct the Secretary to send notices of the same.
b) The First Vice Chairman shall preside in the absence of the Chairman and shall serve in his place in the event of a vacancy of the office of the Chairman until a new Chairman shall have been elected. In the absence of both the Chairman and the First Vice Chairman, the Second Vice Chairman shall assume such duties. Both Vice Chairmen shall assist the Chairman in the performance of his duties. In the event of a vacancy in any other officer position, the Executive Board shall appoint a replacement who shall serve until the next Committee reorganization meeting.
c) The Secretary shall record the minutes of each meeting of the Committee and shall keep permanent records of the same.
d) The Treasurer shall have custody of all Committee funds, shall maintain regular accounts thereof and shall report on the same at each Committee meeting and at any additional time that he is requested to do so by the Chairman. Committee funds shall be deposited at a bank to be designated by the Chairman. Funds are to be withdrawn only by checks signed by the Treasurer and countersigned by the Chairman or otherwise disbursed by the Treasurer with the approval of the Chairman as to each such disbursement. The Treasurer shall timely file with the Election Law Enforcement Commission such reports as may be required by “The New Jersey Campaign Contributions and Expenditures Reporting Act", New Jersey Statutes 19:44A–1 et seq. The Treasurer's report shall be audited by a qualified person, or persons designated by the Chairman. Such an audit shall be conducted during the month preceding the annual meeting month each year and the results of the same shall be reported each year at the annual convention. An audit must precede any change in the office of the Treasurer.
Section 6: Meetings
a) The Chairman may call meetings of the Committee for any purpose which in his judgment requires such a meeting.
b) The notice for the reorganization meeting shall be according to the provisions of Title 19.
c) The Chairman shall call a special meeting of the Committee upon his direction to do so by a petition signed by at least 150 members of the Committee and presented to the Chairman at least 20 days prior to the date of such meeting. Said petition and notices shall contain the purpose of the meeting and no other business shall be discussed at said meeting.
d) Notice of all Committee meetings shall be mailed or emailed by the Secretary at least ten days prior to the meeting date, or in the event of a notice for the reorganization meeting, as soon after the completion of the primary election voting as possible.
Section 7: Screening Committee and County Convention
a) Screening Committee:
i. Members of the Screening Committee shall be the County Chairman, County First Vice Chairman, County Second Vice Chairman, County Secretary, County Treasurer, State Committeeman, State Committeewoman and all elected County, State and National Republican officials from Middlesex County, Municipal Chairmen and Presidents of Certified County Republican Clubs, Municipal Chairmen or their representatives from affected municipalities outside Middlesex County, Republican members of the Board of Elections and bonus members as described hereafter. Middlesex County municipalities shall have bonus members on the Screening Committee based upon the Republican County Commissioner vote of the proceeding general election, based on the following formula:
1 Bonus Vote: 1,000–4,999
2 Bonus Votes: 5,000–7,999
3 Bonus Votes: 8,000–10,999
4 Bonus Votes: 11,000 or more.
Bonus votes are to be selected by the County Chairman based upon the recommendations from the affected Municipal Committee.
ii. In order to appear before the Screening Committee, a candidate wishing to be screened shall be required to notify the County Chairman, in writing, at least one week before the date of the scheduled Screening Committee meeting and complete and provide to the County Chairman, a candidate questionnaire on a form as may be provided by the Executive Board, no later than two days prior to the date of the scheduled Screening Committee. One or both of these requirements may only be waived by a majority vote of the Executive Board.
iii. The Screening Committee shall make recommendations to the county convention for candidates, not necessarily limited to one per ballot position.
iv. Those candidates receiving a two-thirds vote of the Screening Committee shall be recommended to the County Convention. When no candidate receives a two-thirds vote, the Screening Committee shall, on each ballot, drop all candidates who do not receive votes from at least 15% of the members of the Screening Committee present and voting, or the lowest vote getter, in the event each candidate received such 15% percent, until a candidate receives a two-thirds vote or until two candidates for each ballot position remain, both of whom shall be presented to the county convention.
v. Screening Committee members shall only be permitted to vote for candidates who will be on the ballot in their respective municipalities. This provision shall not apply to the County Chairman, County First Vice Chairman, County Second Vice Chairman, County Secretary, County Treasurer, State Committeeman, State Committeewoman, Republican members of the Board of Elections and Presidents of Certified County Republican Clubs.
b) County Convention:
i. The County Chairman shall be convention chairman and shall appoint tellers, sergeant–at–arms, parliamentarians and others necessary for the proper function of the Convention.
ii. All convention delegates must be registered Republicans.
iii. Convention delegates will be certified by their respective Municipal Chairman to the credentials committee by noon at least 10 days prior to the day of the convention. Procedures adopted by the Municipal Committee for recruiting excess delegates must accompany the certified list. Appeals may be heard within 5 days of submission of the certified list.
iv. Votes for legislative district candidates will be cast by those delegates from those municipalities comprising the district. Additionally, one vote each may be cast by the County Chairman, County First Vice Chairman, County Second Vice Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer, State Committeeman, State Committeewoman, Board of Election Commissioners and by any elected County official who resides in that district. These shall be known as "at–large" votes.
v. Votes for county–wide candidates will be cast by the delegates from all 25 municipalities. Additionally, at–large votes (one each) may be cast by the County Chairman, County First Vice Chairman, County Second Vice Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer, State Committeeman, State Committeewoman, Board of Election Commissioners, and any elected County official.
vi. Each candidate for office, or his duly appointed agent, wishing support of the County Convention must appear and request support at the convention. This includes all incumbents. The County Chairman must be notified of the candidate's intention one week before the convention. Nominations to offices may be offered from the floor, without prior notice to the Chairman, if the potential candidate presents a petition to the Chairman containing the names of at least 25% of the registered delegates.
vii. The Screening Committee shall report to the Convention.
viii. Ballot procedures:
i. Each Municipal Chairman will cast the vote of his delegation in direct proportion to the vote present within his delegation. No unit rule will be permitted. No delegate will cast more than one vote. No bullet voting will be allowed.
ii. On the first ballot a simple majority vote for any candidate wins. A candidate is dropped who does not receive the following percentage of the total vote:
Ballot #1 20%
Ballot #2 25%
Ballot #3 30% and up by 5% on each ballot.
iii. On multiple offices, after the first candidate is selected, each originally nominated candidate is eligible to re–enter the race for the next ballot position (for next candidate position).
iv. In the event of a deadlock (defined as 3 successive ballots with no change in vote) the lowest candidate is dropped.
ix. A quorum shall be a majority of the certified delegates present.
x. The convention rules shall be deemed adopted by the convention unless a majority of the registered delegates object in writing to the rules chairman at least 5 days prior to the convention.
xi. The latest revision available of Robert's Rules of Order will be the parliamentary authority on rules not governed by law, bylaws or rules adopted by the convention committee.
Section 8: Procedure
a) This Committee shall act in all matters provided for in Title 19 and the New Jersey Campaign Contributions and Expenditures Reporting Act, according to the same, to the extent required by law. In matters neither provided for in Title 19 nor prescribed in these bylaws, the latest revision available of Robert's Rules of Order shall prevail.
Section 9: Code of Ethics
a) In order to maintain public confidence in Republican principles and in elected and appointed officials, the Committee feels duty–bound to establish a set of guidelines (a Code of Ethics) to help direct the activities of its candidates, office holders and leadership.
i. Conflict of Interest: In order to ensure fairness and objectivity, elected or appointed officials shall not participate, by either word or action, in any governmental transaction involving a firm, organization or other entity in which he, his spouse, his child or relative by blood or marriage is an officer, director, trustee, partner, employee, or has a substantial economic interest.
ii. Indictments: No candidate for election or re–election who has been indicted by a grand jury shall receive the endorsement of the Committee or the line designation in a primary election of the Middlesex County Republican Organization, except if such candidate shall be found "not guilty". Financial and other support shall be withheld from any Republican candidate indicted after receiving the party's nomination. In addition, any elected or appointed public official indicted while in office shall be expected to move for a speedy trial.
iii. Misuse of Influence: No Republican officeholder or candidate shall accept or solicit, either directly or through some other person, firm, organization or entity, any gift, favor, service, employment, or promise of anything of economic or personal value which can be reasonably expected to be offered with intent to influence his public duties or vote on some governmental business.
iv. Accessibility to the Public: All elected officeholders are expected to encourage and adhere to the concept of public accessibility by setting and publicizing specific hours and locations when and where they will make themselves available for consultation with their constituency. Office holders are also expected to have listed telephone numbers in each telephone directory book covering their constituency.
v. Improper Use of Office: All Republican officeholders will be expected to utilize the utmost discretion and consideration regarding the privileges and accoutrements of their office.
Section 10: Certified County Republican Clubs
a) The Committee, in the manner as hereinafter set forth, shall certify and/or recertify Republican Clubs based in Middlesex County as "Certified County Republican Clubs", for the purpose of determining which such clubs are entitled to participate and/or vote at various activities of the Committee.
b) Requirements and Guidelines for Certification:
i. The following criteria shall be used to determine if a club should be certified or recertified as a "Certified County Republican Club":
ii. The club's membership must be open countywide, with members coming from at least 5 different Middlesex County municipalities and with no more than 75% of the membership coming from any one Middlesex County municipality.
iii. The club must have at least 25 dues paid members at the time of each annual certification. To be counted for certification purposes, members may not be included for certification purposes as members of any other club seeking certification or recertification. (For purposes of certification, a membership roster is to be submitted to the Executive Board but is not to be circulated further.)
iv. The club must consist of registered Republican voters.
v. The club must have been in existence for at least the two year period prior to the time the club applies for its annual certification.
vi. The club must hold public functions and/or meetings at least 6 times a year, with notification or event calendar of the same given to the Committee in advance.
vii. The club should have a representative/liaison who regularly attends the meetings of the Committee and the Committee's periodic, usually monthly, Advisory Board meetings.
viii. The club should not duplicate the function of a presently certified club, provided such presently certified club requests, qualifies for, and obtains, recertification.
c) Method of Certification or Recertification:
i. A club which feels it meets the requirements and guidelines for certification shall forward its written request for certification, containing appropriate proof of its qualifications, to the Secretary of the Committee no later than October 1st prior to the calendar year for which it seeks certification or recertification. A club must submit a request for recertification annually.
ii. The Executive Board shall review and make the initial determination as to whether or not a club has met the necessary criteria for certification or recertification for the subsequent calendar year.
iii. If the Executive Board feels that a club has not met the criteria, or if it appears to the Executive Board that the club duplicates in some way the function of another previously certified club, the Executive Board may deny the club certification for the subsequent calendar year. In the event that two clubs with duplicate functions both apply for certification, and neither one is presently certified, the Executive Board shall give preference to the club with a longer active tenure.
iv. Notice of the determination of the Executive Board shall be given to the affected clubs by no later than Nov 1st.
v. In the event a club is denied certification for the subsequent calendar year, it may appeal the denial at the following meeting of the Advisory Board of the Committee, on prior written notice to the Executive Board, to the Committee's Counsel, and to each of the 25 Municipal Chairmen. If such an appeal is made from the certification decision of the Officers of the Committee, an affirmative vote, by secret ballot, of at least 13 municipal chairmen shall be required for certification or recertification.
Section 11: Emergencies
a) In the event the State of New Jersey declares a state of emergency or other laws, regulations or orders are in place which would preclude the compliance with any of the terms or provisions of these bylaws, the Chairman may modify them during such period as he or she may deem necessary, subject to the agreement of a majority of the Executive Board.
b) In the event any candidate or candidates to be selected at a County Convention, as referenced above, are not selected at such Convention, for any reason, the County Chairman shall have the right to select a candidate to fill such a position, subject to the approval of a majority of the Executive Board.
c) In the event that at any time there are no functioning members of the Republican County Committee from a municipality, then the Executive Board may appoint one or more Republican County Committee members in election districts in that municipality who otherwise qualify to fill such positions.
Section 12: State Committeeman & State Committeewoman
a) One male, (“State Committeeman”) and one female, (“State Committeewoman”) who are registered Republicans residing and registered to vote in Middlesex County, who shall represent Middlesex County as its representatives on the New Jersey Republican State Committee (“State Committee”) shall be elected by a majority vote of the elected and appointed members of the Committee present at a duly noticed meeting of the Committee in each year in which the Governor is to be elected, no later than the date that the official results of the primary election are required to be certified.
b) The State Committeeman and State Committeewoman shall take office on the date that the official results of each such primary election is required to be certified and shall hold office for a term of four (4) years thereafter, or until the later of such required certification date or the date their successor is elected.
c) The Secretary of the Committee or any other officer thereof, shall provide the Secretary of the State Committee with a written statement certifying the results of the election of the State Committeeman and State Committeewoman no later than fourteen (14) days of said election.
d) A vacancy in the office of State Committeeman and/or State Committeewoman, howsoever caused, shall be filled for the then unexpired term by a majority vote of the elected and appointed members of the Committee who are present at a duly noticed meeting of the Committee. In the event an election to fill a vacancy occurs, the Secretary of the Committee or any other officer thereof, shall provide the Secretary of the State Committee with a written statement certifying the results of the election of the State Committeeman and/or State Committeewoman no later than fourteen (14) days of said election.
Section 13: Adoption and Amendment
e) These bylaws shall take effect immediately upon adoption by a majority of Committee members voting on the same at a Committee meeting.
f) These bylaws may be amended by a two–thirds vote of Committee members voting on the same, provided that said amendment shall have been submitted to the County Chairman and Committee in writing.
g) Should any provision of these bylaws be ruled invalid, all other provisions shall stand.
Revised on June 12, 2025