Constitution / Elections
It is an obligation of responsible administration and a requirement
of Little League Baseball that every league spell out its operational
format in a document usually referred to as the Constitution. The
Constitution spells out the duties and responsibilities of the officers
of the board, definition of membership, election procedures, meeting
requirements such as quorum, etc. No part of the Constitution can
conflict with or supercede any Little League rule, regulation or
policy.
Every local Little League is required to have a valid Constitution
on file at the Regional Headquarters. Any subsequent amendments
or additions must be approved by the Regional Headquarters and on
file there before they become valid. The local Little League board
of directors must make a copy of the Constitution available to any
member of the local Little League for review and inspection if requested.
The Constitution of a local league remains in effect from year-to-year,
without requiring annual adoption by the membership or local Little
League board of directors. However, the local Little League board
of directors should review the Constitution annually for any possible
amendments it may wish to propose to the membership.
The responsibility for the conduct and validity of local Little
League elections belongs to the local Little League board of directors
and the membership of the local Little League. Disputes over the
validity of the elections must be resolved at the local Little League
level, although the league may wish to obtain the advise and counsel
of the District Administrator.
The Constitution is to be distinguished always from the local Little
League bylaws, local Little League local rules, and local Little
League ground rules. These documents expire annually at the end
of the fiscal year and must be renewed annually. They normally include
the local boards procedures for selection of Tournament Teams
(All Stars), specific ground rules for various divisions (such as
whether or not the 10-run rule will be used), etc. Because each
local Little League board of directors should have authority to
change these types of procedures, they require only board consent,
without the general memberships approval.
Download
a sample constitution. Many leagues adopt the Model Constitution
provided by Little League Baseball as a service to its local Little
Leagues.
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