Guest Lynn Posted October 1, 2012 at 05:12 PM Report Share Posted October 1, 2012 at 05:12 PM We are a 7 member board with a vacancy (mid-term vacancy), that is members currently. Our by-laws state that the chair must nominate the candidate.He is insisting on nominating his candidate. We are voting by email and already have 3 no votes.So best case for the chair is that the vote will be tied.What is the next step? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Lynn Posted October 1, 2012 at 05:18 PM Report Share Posted October 1, 2012 at 05:18 PM typo above = we have "6 members currently" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnR Posted October 1, 2012 at 05:28 PM Report Share Posted October 1, 2012 at 05:28 PM You will keep going through the nomination-voting cycle until the majority of voters support a candidate. Nominations are debatable, so perhaps you should meet face-to-face and work a bit of persuasion.Edited to add: This is the normal procedure with multiple nominees. Normally, a lone nominee is automatically elected by acclamation when there are no other candidates. This doesn't seem to be the case with your bylaws, since they give the chair power of nomination and not appointment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sMargaret Posted October 1, 2012 at 10:55 PM Report Share Posted October 1, 2012 at 10:55 PM I assume that your bylaws specifically allow you to vote by email? If they don't give you that ability, you can't do so by email.Also, if you're voting "no", that's not actually an option in an election - to vote against someone, you vote for someone else. Is this more of a motion? Why does your chair have to nominate someone, can someone else be nominated, and is it only the board that gets to vote? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Edgar Posted October 1, 2012 at 11:00 PM Report Share Posted October 1, 2012 at 11:00 PM Why does your chair have to nominate someone . . . Also, if you're voting "no", that's not actually an option in an electionOur by-laws state that the chair must nominate the candidate.As I think about it, it seems more like a situation where the chair appoints and the board confirms. So not really an election and a "no" vote (on the confirmation) would seem to be in order. But I'm just speculating here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Novosielski Posted October 2, 2012 at 02:04 AM Report Share Posted October 2, 2012 at 02:04 AM We are a 7 6-member board with a vacancy (mid-term vacancy), that is members currently. Our by-laws state that the chair must nominate the candidate.He is insisting on nominating his candidate. We are voting by email and already have 3 no votes.So best case for the chair is that the vote will be tied.What is the next step?There may be more than one step.FIrst, make sure that your bylaws authorize voting by e-mail. It's prohibited by RONR unless they do.Second, if this is actually an election, the only way to vote against a candidate, even if only one is nominated, is to vote for someone else, i.e., a write-in. Voting "No" in an election is not an option. In fact, ballots which do not indicate a preferred candidate (and I would suggest that No votes fit that description) should be counted as blank ballots (abstentions, non-votes). Therefore, you might not have a tie at all. But this may depend on exactly what your ballot looks like. Was there a name with a check box next to it, or did your ballot actually (and incorrectly) have spaces labeled "Yes" and "No"?Third, in the case of a bona fide tie vote, or any other situation in which no candidate achieves a majority, you vote again, until a candidate does achieve a majority (i.e., more votes than all other candidates combined.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Lynn Posted October 2, 2012 at 06:14 AM Report Share Posted October 2, 2012 at 06:14 AM This is the exact wording:"Vacancies that arise in the Membership of the School Board between elections will be filled by majority vote of the School Board on the candidate nominated by the chairman or chairman pro-tem."The problem we have is that 7 candidates submitted their bios and the chair is insisting on nominating someone who works for him (which we perceive as a conflict of interest). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Edgar Posted October 2, 2012 at 11:22 AM Report Share Posted October 2, 2012 at 11:22 AM "Vacancies that arise in the Membership of the School Board between elections will be filled by majority vote of the School Board on the candidate nominated by the chairman or chairman pro-tem."The problem we have is that 7 candidates submitted their bios and the chair is insisting on nominating someone who works for him (which we perceive as a conflict of interest).Well, you don't really have seven "candidates" since this isn't really an election. It appears the chair is free to "nominate" (i.e. appoint) whomever he chooses (subject to any eligibility requirements of course) and the board's role is limited to either accepting (i.e. confirming) or rejecting his "nominee". So reject his first choice and he'll be forced to come up with someone else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sMargaret Posted October 2, 2012 at 02:31 PM Report Share Posted October 2, 2012 at 02:31 PM Wipe away all thoughts of an "election" - this is not an election. This is the board needing to confirm, by majority vote, a recommendation made by your chair. I'm suggesting you think of it as a recommendation, rather than a nomination, because nomination makes people think of elections - which this is not. So anyone the chair recommends for this position must be approved by majority vote - they must have at least 4 votes in favour at the board meeting (or possibly by email, IF YOUR BYLAWS ALLOW EMAIL VOTING). If you already have 3 votes against the person the chair recommended, they're not going to get in, even if there are 3 votes in favour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Honemann Posted October 2, 2012 at 03:18 PM Report Share Posted October 2, 2012 at 03:18 PM Wipe away all thoughts of an "election" - this is not an election. This is the board needing to confirm, by majority vote, a recommendation made by your chair. I'm suggesting you think of it as a recommendation, rather than a nomination, because nomination makes people think of elections - which this is not.So anyone the chair recommends for this position must be approved by majority vote - they must have at least 4 votes in favour at the board meeting (or possibly by email, IF YOUR BYLAWS ALLOW EMAIL VOTING).If you already have 3 votes against the person the chair recommended, they're not going to get in, even if there are 3 votes in favour.How many did you say there are? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Lynn Posted October 2, 2012 at 05:36 PM Report Share Posted October 2, 2012 at 05:36 PM 6 voting to fill spot 7. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Novosielski Posted October 6, 2012 at 11:51 PM Report Share Posted October 6, 2012 at 11:51 PM 6 voting to fill spot 7.Then get three votes to oppose the president's "nominee" and he'll have to try another name. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Edgar Posted October 7, 2012 at 12:03 AM Report Share Posted October 7, 2012 at 12:03 AM Then get three votes to oppose the president's "nominee" and he'll have to try another name.We are voting by email and already have 3 no votes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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