elect a candidate by acclamation

[peaches70]

our documents read as follows:

1. a motion to elect that candidate by acclamation is permitted as long as there are no objections. We have had the secretary do this unless, it is the secretary  that is to be elected

2. vote for candidates are to be by secret ballots.

 

question, the board wants to have someone move to allow this and wants a second to the motion. then a show of hands, I say it must be done by secret ballot since it is for candidates.  

.

[Hieu H. Huynh]

Ultimately it is up to your organization to interpret your rules. Generally when there is only one candidate and the bylaws do not require a ballot vote in that situation, the chair can simply declare the sole candidate elected.

Edited January 28, 2016 at 05:25 PM by Hieu H. Huynh
grammar

[peaches70]

THANK YOU

[Richard Brown]

1 hour ago, Hieu H. Huynh said:

Ultimately it is up to your organization to interpret your rules. Generally when there is only one candidate and the bylaws do not require a ballot vote in that situation, the chair can simply declare the sole candidate elected.

I agree, but will go a step further:  If the bylaws do require a ballot vote in elections, then you must vote by ballot vote regardless of the fact that there is only one candidate.  That rule in the bylaws cannot be suspended or ignored by any kind of custom or motion regardless of how that motion is voted on and regardless even of whether the vote on the motion is unanimous.  A requirement in the bylaws to vote by ballot cannot be ignored or suspended.  Period.

[Josh Martin]

3 hours ago, Richard Brown said:

I agree, but will go a step further:  If the bylaws do require a ballot vote in elections, then you must vote by ballot vote regardless of the fact that there is only one candidate.  That rule in the bylaws cannot be suspended or ignored by any kind of custom or motion regardless of how that motion is voted on and regardless even of whether the vote on the motion is unanimous.  A requirement in the bylaws to vote by ballot cannot be ignored or suspended.  Period.

Yes, but the bylaws can provide for an exception, and it seems that these bylaws do, since they say that "a motion to elect that candidate by acclamation is permitted as long as there are no objections."

[Richard Brown]

1 hour ago, Josh Martin said:

Yes, but the bylaws can provide for an exception, and it seems that these bylaws do, since they say that "a motion to elect that candidate by acclamation is permitted as long as there are no objections."

If that is indeed what the bylaws say, I agree... and that's what I said.  However, I'm not convinced that that is what the bylaws say.  Guest Peaches said, "Our documents read as follows:" (Emphasis added by me).  I don't know what document(s) Peaches is referring to.  The bylaws?  Special rules of order?  Standing rules?  Policies and procedures manual?  Some motion adopted somewhere along the line?  A set of guidelines prepared by someone for use by the society?

Also, for what it's worth, I'm not real clear on just what Peaches' question is or what she means when she says "The board wants to have someone move to allow this".  What is "This"?  Move to allow what, exactly?

Edited to add:  Also, I don't see where the fact that it is the secretary being nominated makes any difference.  Based on both RONR and on whatever rule it is Peaches quoted, it seems to me the secretary should be treated just like all other candidates.

 

Edited January 28, 2016 at 11:14 PM by Richard Brown

[Josh Martin]

2 hours ago, Richard Brown said:

Edited to add:  Also, I don't see where the fact that it is the secretary being nominated makes any difference.  Based on both RONR and on whatever rule it is Peaches quoted, it seems to me the secretary should be treated just like all other candidates.

I believe that all the OP is saying with the statement regarding the Secretary is that if the Secretary is the candidate, someone else makes the motion for acclamation.

[Gary Novosielski]

15 hours ago, peaches70 said:

our documents read as follows:

1. a motion to elect that candidate by acclamation is permitted as long as there are no objections. We have had the secretary do this unless, it is the secretary  that is to be elected

2. vote for candidates are to be by secret ballots.

 

question, the board wants to have someone move to allow this and wants a second to the motion. then a show of hands, I say it must be done by secret ballot since it is for candidates.  

.

What do you mean by "do this"?  Does the secretary move to elect the candidate by acclamation?  That's odd, and not supported by RONR.  Do your bylaws actually say that?  If not, drop the idea that the secretary has any special role here.  (When you say your "documents", we are talking about bylaws, right?)

In RONR, if there is only one nominee and the bylaws do not require a ballot vote, the chair simply declares the nominee elected by acclamation without any motion or vote. The only way to "object" to acclamation would be to nominate someone else. 

 Apparently your bylaws say that the acclamation can only happen by unanimous consent.   That is essentially the same as RONR, except this allows someone to object without nominating anyone, which seems odd, but the rule is what it is.

So, if there is only one nomination, the motion to elect by acclamation is essentially the only motion in order at that moment, so the chair should probably assume the motion and test for unanimous consent:  "Are there any more nominations?  ... <pause>   If not, the question is, Shall Mr. A be elected by acclamation.  Is there any objection?  <pause>   The chair hears none, and Mr. A is elected."   A show of hands would not be appropriate.

If there is objection, I think it would still be wise if the chair asked the objector if he wished to make a nomination before putting the matter of Mr. A's election to a ballot vote.

 

[DWNtown]

On 1/28/2016 at 9:33 PM, Gary Novosielski said:

What do you mean by "do this"?  Does the secretary move to elect the candidate by acclamation?  That's odd, and not supported by RONR.  Do your bylaws actually say that?  If not, drop the idea that the secretary has any special role here.  (When you say your "documents", we are talking about bylaws, right?)

In RONR, if there is only one nominee and the bylaws do not require a ballot vote, the chair simply declares the nominee elected by acclamation without any motion or vote. The only way to "object" to acclamation would be to nominate someone else. 

 Apparently your bylaws say that the acclamation can only happen by unanimous consent.   That is essentially the same as RONR, except this allows someone to object without nominating anyone, which seems odd, but the rule is what it is.

So, if there is only one nomination, the motion to elect by acclamation is essentially the only motion in order at that moment, so the chair should probably assume the motion and test for unanimous consent:  "Are there any more nominations?  ... <pause>   If not, the question is, Shall Mr. A be elected by acclamation.  Is there any objection?  <pause>   The chair hears none, and Mr. A is elected."   A show of hands would not be appropriate.

If there is objection, I think it would still be wise if the chair asked the objector if he wished to make a nomination before putting the matter of Mr. A's election to a ballot vote.

 

So, if there is objection to elect by acclimation, and Mr. A does NOT win by ballot vote, And no other nominations are made, can the position/office stay vacant? Is a vote by acclimation mandatory at this point? 

[Richard Brown]

7 hours ago, DWNtown said:

So, if there is objection to elect by acclimation, and Mr. A does NOT win by ballot vote, And no other nominations are made, can the position/office stay vacant? Is a vote by acclimation mandatory at this point? 

If Mr. A is the only nominee and there is a ballot vote, how would he not win unless there is not a single vote for him or there are enough write-in candidates that he fails to get a majority? On a ballot vote in an election, you do not vote Yes or no. You vote only for people. There is no "NO" vote.

If there is only one person who votes for him, and no write in votes, he wins.

However, if he fails to receive a majority of the votes cast, you just keep voting. You can also reopen  nominations. If the group still fails to elect someone, then you have no election for that office. You then try again at the next meeting. At some point, depending on your bylaws, that might turn into a vacancy which is to be filled according to your method of filling vacancies. You should not just leave the position vacant. You find a way to fill it. But, until it is filled, it may indeed be vacant unless your bylaws provide that officers serve until their successors are elected.

Edited February 20, 2018 at 01:42 PM by Richard Brown
Typographical correction

[Josh Martin]

14 hours ago, DWNtown said:

So, if there is objection to elect by acclimation, and Mr. A does NOT win by ballot vote, And no other nominations are made, can the position/office stay vacant? Is a vote by acclimation mandatory at this point? 

I concur with Mr. Brown, and I would add that our previous responses were based specifically on the facts presented by the OP, who stated that his organization’s bylaws require a ballot vote, and that they also permitted the chair to declare an uncontested nominee elected by acclamation, if there was no objection. Since I suspect you are not from the same organization as the person who posted this thread over two years ago, it would be helpful to know whether your bylaws require a ballot vote and, if they do, whether they permit the chairman to declare an uncontested nominee elected by acclamation.

Edited February 20, 2018 at 07:55 PM by Josh Martin

[Gary Novosielski]

On 2/20/2018 at 12:53 AM, DWNtown said:

So, if there is objection to elect by acclimation, and Mr. A does NOT win by ballot vote, And no other nominations are made, can the position/office stay vacant? Is a vote by acclimation mandatory at this point? 

No, but an election is still required.  If necessary, pass out blank ballots and have people write in names.  Keep it up until someone gets a majority.

This is apparently a two year old question, so you might want to ask one in a new topic to ensure it's applicable to your situation.  I suspect you have different bylaws than the original poster, so the advice given above is unlikely to apply to you.

Edited February 21, 2018 at 06:30 PM by Gary Novosielski

[DR Stockley]

Our normal procedure for when a candidate is running unopposed is for a member to move that the adjutant cast one unanimous ballot for the candidate, second followed by a voice vote.  If there are two or more candidates for the office, the election is handled by ballot. 

[Dan Honemann]

15 minutes ago, DR Stockley said:

Our normal procedure for when a candidate is running unopposed is for a member to move that the adjutant cast one unanimous ballot for the candidate, second followed by a voice vote.  If there are two or more candidates for the office, the election is handled by ballot. 

Three things you may want to keep in mind:

"Whenever a vote is to be taken by ballot, it is out of order to move that one person—the secretary, for example—cast the ballot of the assembly." (RONR, 11th ed., p. 413)

"If the bylaws require the election of officers to be by ballot and there is only one nominee for an office, the ballot must nevertheless be taken for that office unless the bylaws provide for an exception in such a case. In the absence of the latter provision, members still have the right, on the ballot, to cast "write-in votes" for other eligible persons.  (RONR, 11th ed., pp. 441-442)

"If only one person is nominated and the bylaws do not require that a ballot vote be taken, the chair, after ensuring that, in fact, no members present wish to make further nominations, simply declares that the nominee is elected, thus effecting the election by unanimous consent or 'acclamation'."  (RONR, 11th ed., p. 443)