No president and vice president nominees identified at last regularly scheduled meeting

[Guest PTIA - Okma Treasurer]

The last regularly scheduled meeting was in May at which time we did not have a president or president-elect (this position remained vacant all last year). After recruiting, we now have nominees for these open positions. Our next regularly scheduled meeting isn't until September. We have business to attend and would like these positions filled as soon as possible. Our by-laws do not consider that there may be openings that span over the summer. How do we proceed to have the nominees presented/elected? Can we hold a special meeting to appoint these individuals and then confirm at the next regularly scheduled meeting? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[Josh Martin]

The last regularly scheduled meeting was in May at which time we did not have a president or president-elect (this position remained vacant all last year). After recruiting, we now have nominees for these open positions. Our next regularly scheduled meeting isn't until September. We have business to attend and would like these positions filled as soon as possible. Our by-laws do not consider that there may be openings that span over the summer. How do we proceed to have the nominees presented/elected? Can we hold a special meeting to appoint these individuals and then confirm at the next regularly scheduled meeting? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

If your Bylaws provide for special meetings, then you may fill the positions at a special meeting. If you meet the notice requirements and a quorum is present, there is no need to confirm the positions at a regular meeting. An assembly may conduct any business at a special meeting that it can conduct at a regular meeting (so long as notice of the intended business is provided in the call of the meeting).

The one caveat to this is that I would check your Bylaws to see whether you have any customized procedures for filling vacancies, although I am a little unclear on whether this is a vacancy or an incomplete election... did you hold elections in May and fail to elect a President or President-Elect, or are these positions vacant due to resignations or something of that nature?

[Guest PTIA Treasurer Okma]

Our by-laws do provide for special meetings. We will schedule a special meeting with the appropriate amount of notice and proceed. The positions are vacant positions. The 2011/12 President's daughter graduated and we were unable to fill the President-Elect during the school year. Therefore, we ended up with two openings at the May elections. We currently have only the secretary and treasurer positions filled.

[Guest Edgar]

Just to be clear, you normally would never vote for president, correct? Each year you'd vote for a president-elect and that person would automatically become president next year. I'll also assume that the president-elect acts as a vice-president in that he presides at meetings if the president is absent. Is this correct? I only ask because I've never been a fan of having an office of president-elect but I imagine there are situations (perhaps yours) where it makes sense.

[Rev Ed]

Did the President resign? When is the term of office for the President expire? Does the President (and/or any other Board member or Officer) has to have a child in school to serve on the Board of this organization? Is that requirement actually in the By-laws?

It sounds like you have an incomplete elction with regards to the President-elect position. However, as seen above, I am not sure you really have a vacancy with the President's position.

[Trina]

Our by-laws do provide for special meetings. We will schedule a special meeting with the appropriate amount of notice and proceed. The positions are vacant positions. The 2011/12 President's daughter graduated and we were unable to fill the President-Elect during the school year. Therefore, we ended up with two openings at the May elections. We currently have only the secretary and treasurer positions filled.

Did the President resign? When is the term of office for the President expire? Does the President (and/or any other Board member or Officer) has to have a child in school to serve on the Board of this organization? Is that requirement actually in the By-laws?

It sounds like you have an incomplete elction with regards to the President-elect position. However, as seen above, I am not sure you really have a vacancy with the President's position.

I think it's clear from what Treasurer Okma says that the organization has been working without a President-Elect throughout the past school year, but that they did have a President. That President will be leaving (or has already left office) at the end of current (2011/12) school year. No one ran for either office at the May election. So, maybe if one were being hyper-technical, one might say that the organization should first complete the incomplete election for Pres-Elect from May 2011, the Pres-Elect could then step up immediately to be President for 2012/13, and then they should complete the incomplete election for Pres-Elect from May 2012.

However, I don't see much point to the added rigamarole -- if you now have willing candidates for both positions, and have the ability to call a special meeting to hold the election, just go ahead and vote the candidates in. To do that, of course, it would have to be a special meeting of the body that conducts officer elections (the general membership, in most organization that we encounter on this forum). Is such a meeting possible (with summer vacation upon us)?

As for the question about temporarily appointing someone to fill the open positions, I wonder whether you are thinking about a special meeting of the board, to make such appointments? Even if the board is given vacancy-filling authority in your bylaws, that wouldn't mean that the board can fill a position that is open because of an incomplete election -- a vacancy (when someone leaves office) is different than an incomplete election (office empty because no one was elected in the first place).