Recommended Election Procedure

 

CONTENTS

 

A. Basic guidelines

B. Nominations and Ballot Preparation

c. Ballot Mailing

D. Ballot Counting

E. Potential Problems to be Avoided

 

A. BASIC GUIDELINES

 

1.  All members in good standing must be given an equal opportunity to vote. This includes members who join after the ballot mailing date, and up to the election date. This requirement is fulfilled if ETRC mails ballots on time to an up to date mailing list, and accommodates last minute new members

2.  No member must be allowed an opportunity to vote more than once.

4.  No member is required to vote.

5.  ETRC is not responsible for actions outside our control, that interfere with a members vote, including mail delivery of ballots to and from the member.

 

B. NOMINATIONS and BALLOT PREPARATION

 

1. Establish a cutoff date for the nominations. This should be within few days of the September board meeting, approximately September 15. In the past tentative nominees were listed on the white board in the barn. The cutoff date was listed there also. Members may nominate themselves, or other members. The list should be monitored carefully for name removals. A name should only be removed from the preliminary list by that person. It may be better to use poster board for the posted list, so that a written record is made of who is on and who is off the list.

 

There are six positions to be filled: four officers, (President, Vice President, Treasurer, and Secretary), who serve for one year; and two directors who serve for two years. The Directors elected in October 2006 serve until October 2008.

 

2. Prepare a sample ballot, with the nominees grouped by elected position. Candidates should be listed in a neutral order, for example alphabetically by last name.

 

3. Ballots should be copied on paper that is distinctive, and preferably easily identifiable.

 

C. BALLOT MAILING

 

1. Post a list of member addresses, with a notice that ballots will be sent to the current mailing address of each member. An effort should be to notify each member of the election, and to request that the mailing address be verified. Establish a cutoff date for verifying the correctness of the addresses. This could be the same as the cutoff date for nominations. The membership list should be carefully reviewed by the committee to make sure that all listed members are active, and in good standing

 

2. Members who no longer live in the area, but who are otherwise in good standing, must be allowed an opportunity to vote. The membership list should be reviewed by the committee to make sure that the mailing address is current for the member.

 

 

3. Write simple instructions for the voting procedure, that correspond to the description given in the ETRC constitution.

            For example:

            a. Please read these instructions carefully.

            b. Mark your ballot.

            c. You may return your ballot in person at the October election meeting.

d. If you will not be the meeting, you may submit an absentee vote. To do this, you must seal your ballot in      the "Ballot for Election" envelope enclosed. Place the "Ballot for Election" envelope inside the addressed envelope provided, and place it in the mail. It is your responsibility to mail it in time to reach ETRC by the election date. You may also hand deliver the sealed absentee ballot to the secretary.

 

4. Ballots must be mailed to members (other than last minute new members, see below). Mailing ballots to members is prescribed by the constitution. Handing out ballots is risky, as it opens the possibility of a member receiving more than one ballot.

 

D. BALLOT COUNTING

 

1. By constitutional direction the ballots are to be delivered to the Secretary, who will certify the ballots that have been correctly submitted, and hand them to a designated members for counting.

 

If a member will, or may be, absent from the election meeting, ballots must be returned in sealed envelopes as prescribed in the ETRC constitution. The ballots must be received by the Secretary no later than the beginning of ballot counting at the election meeting. Absentee ballots may be mailed to the ETRC post office box, or hand delivered to the Secretary by the October election meeting.

 

2. A ballot returned without the member being present at the meeting, must conform to the absentee ballot instructions, or the ballot must not be counted. Note that there is no requirement that a member remain in attendance at the election meeting, once ballots have been collected. A member may be present long enough to hand in their ballot, and then leave, without being required to follow the absentee voting procedure.

 

E. POTENTIAL PROBLEMS

 

1. New Members: Members who join after the ballot mailing date and up to and including the night of the election must be given  the opportunity to vote. One way to accommodate them is to give hand them a ballot as soon as possible after they have been voted in as members. This should be done by an election committee member in the presence of at least one other election committee member and/or a board member. New members must be informed about the procedure for returning ballots.

 

2. Seated mid-term Directors who run for an officer position: A member cannot hold two elected positions at the same time. If a seated mid-term Director runs for an officer position, there is a possibility that they could be elected. They would then hold an officer position, and a Director position, which makes up an un-constitutional board. A solution is to require that a mid-term director who wishes to run for an officer position, submit a resignation from the Director position, effective on the date of the election. This allows that Director to remain on the board until the election, but makes the position vacant and open to be filled at the election as an interim, one year position.