Nomination of Officers

[Guest Tammi Iams]

I am in a small nonprofit organization and we are getting ready for nominations/elections and our bylaws are very general and I need some help in understanding.

Our bylaws for nomination state: "Nominations for elections of officers will be taken from the floor or by ballot during the month of February." and

Our bylaws for election state: "A secret balot shall be held to elect officers in the month of March. However, if there is but one nomiee for any office, election for that office may be by voice bote. If one member of this organization request a secret ballot, that request will be honored."

so my questions are:

Can members be nominated through the entire month of February? If so, how can these nominations be presented to the board? Mail, email or how, it doesn't state at a meeting? (Also our meeting for February was scheduled for February 9th and we just got told yesterday that the meeting will now be held February 2, I think they are trying to keep new members from being nominated. Can they change meetings dates like this?)

And for elections it states in month of March how and when would we vote?

Also our bylaws state, When procedural questions arise during the course of any meeting, Parliamentary Procedure according to Robert's Rules of Order shall be followed. No one in the organization understands or can explain Parliamentary Procedure to me, that is why I am asking my questions here. Thanks for any help in this matter.

Please help in understanding.

Thanks

[Tim Wynn]

I am in a small nonprofit organization and we are getting ready for nominations/elections and our bylaws are very general and I need some help in understanding.

Our bylaws for nomination state: "Nominations for elections of officers will be taken from the floor or by ballot during the month of February." and

Our bylaws for election state: "A secret balot shall be held to elect officers in the month of March. However, if there is but one nomiee for any office, election for that office may be by voice bote. If one member of this organization request a secret ballot, that request will be honored."

so my questions are:

Can members be nominated through the entire month of February? If so, how can these nominations be presented to the board? Mail, email or how, it doesn't state at a meeting? (Also our meeting for February was scheduled for February 9th and we just got told yesterday that the meeting will now be held February 2, I think they are trying to keep new members from being nominated. Can they change meetings dates like this?)

And for elections it states in month of March how and when would we vote?

Also our bylaws state, When procedural questions arise during the course of any meeting, Parliamentary Procedure according to Robert's Rules of Order shall be followed. No one in the organization understands or can explain Parliamentary Procedure to me, that is why I am asking my questions here. Thanks for any help in this matter.

Please help in understanding.

Thanks

To determine the meaning of your bylaws would require reading them in their entirety, which is beyond the scope of this forum.

Generally, nominations are made in a meeting. It sounds like your bylaws may also allow for nominations outside of a meeting, perhaps by mail or some other form. The nominations from the floor would take place in a meeting, of course, and this would be in the February meeting, apparently.

Elections are generally held at the annual meeting, as indicated by the bylaws. Unless the bylaws specifically prohibit nominations at that meeting, any member can make a nomination when the election is pending.

The board should not have anything to do with the nomination and election process, unless the bylaws gives it some strange authority in the matter.

If the date of the meeting is set by the bylaws, it cannot be changed, outside of amending the bylaws. If the bylaws provide that the board sets the date, it is possible that the board could change the date by amending the previously adopted motion setting the date, however notice of the meeting must be sent to each member, and the number of days' notice required should be prescribed by the bylaws.

[Trina]

...

And for elections it states in month of March how and when would we vote?

...

Regarding this question, it is perhaps worth pointing out that an election must take place at a meeting, and that only the members present at the meeting can vote. Unless your bylaws specifically authorize some form of absentee voting, absentee voting is prohibited.

Is there no meeting scheduled in March? (I just wonder why the 'how and when' appears to be a mystery)

[Guest Tammi]

Thanks Everyone for your help. It appears that our by laws have some gaps in them. They cover some things but not all.

Tim, we don't have an annual meeting. The board doesn't even know what that is and it isn't mentationed in our bylaws. It just says under Meetings: Monthly meetings will be held when weather permits.

Trina, yes there is a meeting for March but it is not set to any specific day or time. They seem to just decide when the board is available and have a meeting. It is never published just announced the week of the meeting. Our bylaws only say that monthly meetings will be held when weather permits. I understand about the voting at the meeting but the officers do not, they let who ever vote when ever. The officers are not educated on Robert's Rule or Parliamentary Procedure, they haven't followed the bylaws for anything since they have been elected into office. They just amended our bylaws and at the last meeting just gave out a new copy of what they changed, no notice or vote. It seems as though my only option is to try and get people nominated and voted in that understand.

Thanks again for all the advise.

[Gary Novosielski]

… how can these nominations be presented to the board?

Why would nominations be presented to the board at all? Elections take place at a general membership meeting, not at a board meeting. Nominations would be presented to, and possibly added to by, the membership of the society, not the board.

There is no "board", as such. present during general membership meetings, since the board is not meeting then.

And as long as the bylaws say the meeting is held in March, then nobody, even by unanimous consent, can move it to February.