ARTICLE III:
Organizational Structure

SECTION 1: National Organization

The American GI Forum of the United States shall be in the nature of a confederation composed of its own autonomy, as well as the autonomy of the various State AGIFs, of Local Chapters, At-Large Chapters, and any District and Regional AGIF Organizations, as presently existing at the time this Constitution is adopted, plus any new AGIF Organizations organized in the future.

State AGIFs shall be defined as a State AGIF Organization in the different states of the Untied Sates wherein three or more Charters have been issued to constitute GI Forum Chapters which remain viable, regardless of the existence of whatever number of the other type Chapters may exist in one or more cities of the respective state. All Chapters in a given state which do not have the required number of GI Forum Chapters At-Large, whether they be GI Forum Chapters, GI Forum Women Chapters or GI Forum Youth Chapters; except that the District of Columbia shall be recognized as a State AGIF Organization and shall be exempt from the requirement of having three GI Forum Chapters, but shall comply with all other requirements of a State AGIF Organization.

SECTION 2: National And Other Conferences Or Agif Gatherings

Composition - The National Conference of the American GI Forum of the United States shall be composed of the national officers of the AGIF - US, as hereinafter specified, plus the delegates from the State AGI F Organizations, the GI Forum, Women, Youth and the At-Large AGIF Organizations. The Conference shall be referred to as the National Conference.
Meetings - The National Conference shall meet at least once each year at a site selected by the National Conference two years prior to each respective Conference. In the event the host AGIF Organization is unable to meet its commitment to stage the Conference, a new site/host shall be selected by the National Conference held prior to said Conference, or if the National Conference held prior to said Conference has already adjourned, then a new site/host shall be selected by a two-thirds vote of the National Board either at a called meeting or with its consent expressed in writing or by written mailed ballot of two-thirds of the members thereof.

Voting Procedure - At the AGIF - US yearly National Conference each AGIF State Organization shall be entitled to three (3) delegate votes, one each corresponding to the States' Commander, the States' Chairwoman, and the States' Youth Chair. Each must be on the assembly floor in order to be eligible to cast his/her vote.

Additionally, each GI Forum Chapter, G.I. Women's Chapter, At-Large Chapter and GI Forum Youth Chapter from all over the United States shall be entitled to four (4) votes for the first eight (8) through ten (10) currently paid members in good standing, and one (1) additional vote for each additional ten (10 members in good standing.

The Washington, D. C. Chapter, pursuant to Article III, Section 1., shall be entitled to three (3) delegates votes as other State AGIF Organizations, but corresponding to its Commander, Vice-Commander and Recording Secretary, and shall further be entitled to four(4) votes for the first eight (8) through ten (10) currently paid members in good standing of each Chapter, and one (1) additional vote for each additional ten (10) members in good standing.

At any AGIF gathering, whether national, state, regional, district, local, At-Large chapters, Washington, D. C. Chapter, Board of Directors or Executive Boards (or whatever name designation is chosen by directors), there shall be no voting under the so-called "unit rule" in the entire AGIF Organization, and so every AGIF Organization in good standing shall have only as many votes at an AGIF gathering as it has duly registered delegates present and voting on the Conference or meeting floor, and shall be subject to the other provisions of this Subsection C.

Subject to Quorum requirements, voting strength at local chapter meetings shall be based simply on one vote for each member present on the floor, but all other AGIF Organizations assembled in any conference, or meeting, including board or executive gatherings, shall be subject to the same rules on voting procedure as stated hereinabove, Sub-section C.

Only GI Forum Chapter members, who so qualify, shall vote for their local, district, regional, state and national officers. The same rule shall apply in the case of G.I. Forum Women, G.I. Forum Youth, and At-Large AGIF Organizations.

The cut-off date for receipt of memberships by the National Executive Director to determine the voting strength of any AGIF Organization, at the National Conference or at any other conference or meeting, shall be thirty (30) days prior to the opening date of any Conference or meeting. Any membership application or application for Charter received after the cut-off date will not be counted in determining voting strength of any particular AGIF Organization. After the cut-off date, the National Executive Director shall compile and mail out a report of the potential voting strength of each AGIF State, At-Large or Local AGIF Organization.

Roll Call Vote - At the National Conference, it shall be mandatory that delegations from two State AGIF Organizations request a roll call vote before such vote is ordered by the presiding officer. At State AGIF Organization Conferences, it shall take the call of three (3) individual Chapters before a roll call vote may be so ordered, and at any Local conference or meeting it shall take the call of three members before a roll call vote is ordered.

Vote and Election Results – Unless otherwise specified in this Constitution, or in Robert's Rules of Order, if applicable, only a simple majority vote shall be required to determine any issue which is voted on at any AGIF Organizaiton gathering. Only members of legally constituted chapters and/or constitutionally authorized officers shall vote. Understandably, in all elections held in any AGIF Organization, whether the process is done by paper ballot (which would be advisable) or otherwise, the winning candidate must carry the election by 51% of the vote taken, which in some instances the election process may require a run-off between the two highest vote getters. In any event, the Commander or Chair shall see to it that the votes are tabulated and recorded. The Commander or Chair shall announce the ultimate winner without giving numbers, but, if any candidate or his/her representative calls for announcement of vote number results, they shall be orally given to the assembly, or privately given to the candidate, as the candidate or his/her representative may request, and if any candidate calls for a canvassing of the votes, they shall be canvassed before him/her immediately and in the most expeditious manner.

Limited Vote of National Chairs – In keeping with the tradition of giving the Chair an aura of impartiality before the assembly, the National Commander, the National Chairwoman, and the National Youth Chair shall not vote on any issue or election at the National Conference and National Board meetings, unless it is to break a tie vote.

A delegation for the purpose of the voting process, except for voting at the local chapter level, is defined as follows:

The AGIF State Organization delegation to the National Conference shall consist of the State Commander, State Chairwoman, and the State Youth Chair. Further, each duly chartered and currently paid Chapter of the American GI Forum of the U.S. is a separate delegation, which includes each separate GI Forum Chapter, GI Forum Women Chapter, At-Large Chapter and GI Forum Youth Chapter.

Delegations For State AGIF Gatherings - Delegations to State AGIF, Regional, District or Board Conferences or meetings shall consist of the Chapter members including At-Large Chapter delegations from within the particular geographic area. Numeric representation and voting strength shall follow the rules set out in Section 2C hereof.

Powers - The National Conference shall be the supreme legislative and governing body of this AGIF-US and, except as may be restricted by this Constitution, shall have all powers necessary to administer its affairs and to promote the objectives set forth in the Purpose Clause of this Constitution, Article I, Section 2.

The National Conference shall understandably be empowered to make fundamental and basic policy decisions for the AGIF-US, and shall have the power to veto or modify any action or decision of the AGIF - US Mid-Year Conference of the Board of Directors, except for any action taken by such Conference or Board on administrative, ordinary and perfunctory matters, as more specifically set out hereinafter at Section 3 D. Pursuant to the powers herein granted, all resolutions and other actions of the National Conference shall be binding upon all officers and members of this AGIF-US Organization, on the National Board, on all AGIF State Organizations, on local Chapters, District and Regional AGIF Organizations, and At-Large AGIF Organizations.

Income - Expense - Progress –
To guarantee that there shall be no financial loss in respect to a planned National Conference, the National Board shall have veto power over the host AGIF Chapter, Chapters or AGIF State Organizations on matters affecting said Conference with respect to the amount of the registration fee, the related cost of said Conference, and shall impose itself on the state of progress with regard to projected readiness. The National Commander, National Vice Commander, the National Chairwoman, along with the National Recording Secretary and National Treasurer, by concurrence of any three of them, shall, if they have reasonable grounds to believe that the particular National Conference is headed to failure, represent the entire National Board, whereby they may institute procedures to ensure progress and sound management, and if need be, on their own motion, may go as far as to wrest away control of the entire situation form the State and Local AGIF Organizations, but if the Local Chapter(s) or the AGIF State Organization involved protest and call for a decision of the entire National Board on the matter, same, if not in session, shall be polled as stipulated in Article III, Section 2 B, except that a simple majority shall govern. The whole National Board shall then pass on whether the Board shall take over the staging of the Conference completely or allow the State and Local AGIF Organizations involved to continue in control, or partial control, of staging the Conference.

In the event a profit is made on staging the National Conference, the same shall be divided on the basis of one-third to the AGIF-US Organization, one third to the host AGIF State Organization, and one third to the local Chapter or Chapters hosting the Conference. Any loss is to be assumed by the same AGIF Organizations in the same proportions as stipulated above on profit.

No income generated from any local contest or other AGIF National contest culminating at the National Conference shall be considered as Conference income in determining profit or loss from the Conference.

Unless the National Conference bills have been paid in full by a hosting Chapter or Chapters prior to the following National Conference, the State Organization wherein the local Chapter or Chapters are situated shall be ineligible to bid further on National Conference sites within its geographic area until such bills and reasonable interest are paid in full.

In keeping with the voting procedures at the AGIF National Conference level, such matters being fundamental, voting procedures and/or vote representation at all AGIF State Conferences, AGIF State Board of Directors Meetings, as well as in all AGIF Regional and District meetings, the same rules on voting representation and procedures shall apply, as stipulated in Article III, Section 2 hereof.