Elections

[Guest Sam]

I was recently tasked with conducting officer elections for a charity board and my only guidance is a set of very generic Bylaws.

We have a 12 member board with four officer positions to elect, but we often struggle to have a quorom for our monthly meetings.

Absent of any other option that was available to me, I sent out an electronic request for members to provide me names of nominees for our four positions. To date, I have received no responses and our elections are to be held next week.

I am used to participating in elections that have officers and several hundred voting members, but this small structure confuses me to some degree.

Has anyone else had this type of situation before?

Thank you for your time,

Sam

[Mr. J!]

The rules for small boards, of about a dozen or fewer, are less formal. See RONR, pages 470-471.

However, the bylaws must be followed and a quorum must be present to conduct business. If this is always a struggle, a bylaw revision should be considered. The services of a parliamentarian may be helpful with that.

[Chris Harrison]

When the meeting is called to order open the floor to nominations for each office. People will make their nominations and then you would vote on each office (if there is only one nominee for an office and the bylaws don't require a ballot vote the Chair can declare the sole nominee elected-RONR p. 428). If no nominations are forthcoming you all will have to do it the hard way by passing out blank pieces of paper and having people write down who they want in each office (though this could take a while). Another option is to use a nominating ballot where hopefully people will submit some names (RONR pp. 422-423).

It probably is just as well that no one submitted any nominations electronically because nominations can't be validly made except at a properly called meeting.

[hmtcastle]

I am used to participating in elections that have officers and several hundred voting members, but this small structure confuses me to some degree.

The principles are the same.

[Josh Martin]

It probably is just as well that no one submitted any nominations electronically because nominations can't be validly made except at a properly called meeting.

An assembly may have nominations by mail or by petition, either by rule, or in the absence of any controlling rule, by adoption of a motion. (RONR, 10th ed., pg. 417, lines 6-17) Since a nomination is simply a suggestion, it seems the "at a meeting rule" is less strictly applied than in other cases.