Election write ins

[Guest Billy]

Our Little League board election is being held this week. A message was sent to the entire league stating which positions are up for election and any interested nominees must submit their name and bio by a specific date. This date has passed, do we have to accept write-ins at the election?

The current board's thought is that if someone is truly interested in running for the board they would make the effort to give it some thought and put in there nomination prior to the election. Our by-laws do not mention anything regarding write-ins (for or against).

Thanks in advance for any advice.

[Chris Harrison]

Who decided that there was a deadline for nominees to throw their hat in the ring and what authority can they cite to make that decision? Also, what do the bylaws say about nominations from the floor?

[Tim Wynn]

Our Little League board election is being held this week. A message was sent to the entire league stating which positions are up for election and any interested nominees must submit their name and bio by a specific date. This date has passed, do we have to accept write-ins at the election?

The current board's thought is that if someone is truly interested in running for the board they would make the effort to give it some thought and put in there nomination prior to the election. Our by-laws do not mention anything regarding write-ins (for or against).

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Not only is it in order to write in the name of a candidate who has not been nominated; nominations are in order, unless your rules say otherwise, which you say they do not.

[Guest Billy]

The current board agreed to the provisions of the nominees. By-laws do not state anything regarding nominees from the floor.

[Guest Nancy N.]

The current board agreed to the provisions of the nominees. By-laws do not state anything regarding nominees from the floor.

But Billy, the board has no say in how membership elections are run, unless your club's rules say it does. Mind what Tim Wynn says (which is always a good idea).

1.

[Guest Billy]

The membership includes anyone affiliated with the league (coach, manager, volunteer, parent of a player, etc). However, despite our efforts very little if any come to the meetings so the board ends up making decisions as mentioned above.

So is Tim saying that if any member, in good standing, wants to run the night of the election we need to include them on the ballot? For the future we need to spell out all election criteria in our by-laws?

[David A Foulkes]

The membership includes anyone affiliated with the league (coach, manager, volunteer, parent of a player, etc). However, despite our efforts very little if any come to the meetings so the board ends up making decisions as mentioned above.

"A society has no executive board, nor can its officers act as a board, except as the bylaws may provide; and when so established, the board has only such power as is delegated to it by the bylaws or by vote of the society's assembly referring individual matters to it." (RONR 11th ed., p. 482 ll. 25-29)

I'd question whether your board has the authority to make such decisions as you've noted.

So is Tim saying that if any member, in good standing, wants to run the night of the election we need to include them on the ballot? For the future we need to spell out all election criteria in our by-laws?

Per RONR, at the election meeting, nominations from the floor are allowed, as are write-in votes. (RONR 11th ed. p. 431 ll. 1-6; l. 31ff) If your rules don't provide restrictions on either, nor explicitly require nominations to be submitted by a specified deadline prior to the election meeting, then both procedures are available to the membership. Most likely, floor nominations will not be included on any pre-printed ballot. Adequate space should be provided to allow members to write the names of floor-nominated candidates or write-in votes.

[Gary Novosielski]

Our Little League board election is being held this week. A message was sent to the entire league stating which positions are up for election and any interested nominees must submit their name and bio by a specific date. This date has passed, do we have to accept write-ins at the election?

The current board's thought is that if someone is truly interested in running for the board they would make the effort to give it some thought and put in there nomination prior to the election. Our by-laws do not mention anything regarding write-ins (for or against).

With all due respect to the current board, who cares what their thought process is? Elections are matters for the membership, not the board, and the bylaws, not the "thoughts" of the board, are what governs them.

Unless your bylaws prohibit them, nominations are allowed at any time, right up to the election. And write-in votes are allowed in any election done by ballot unless the bylaws say otherwise.

[Guest Billy]

In a perfect world some % of the membership would show up for meetings, but they don't. Basically its just the board who puts the time in, as volunteers, to keep the league going.

Thank you everyone for your insight.

[Guest Edgar]

In a perfect world some % of the membership would show up for meetings, but they don't. Basically its just the board who puts the time in, as volunteers, to keep the league going.

A few things to keep in mind:

This week's meeting, where members of the board will be elected, will be a meeting of the general membership of the league, not a meeting of the board. So the board, as a board, won't be able to do anything at the meeting. And the individual board members who might be there will have no more (and no less) status than any of the other members of the league.

You'll also need to determine whether enough members (a "quorum") show up. If not, you can't hold the elections (or do much of anything else). How many members you need for a quorum should be found in your bylaws (often as a percentage of the total membership).

Remember that most people don't join little leagues so that they can attend meetings. Which is why most only attend once a year, if that, and why the annual meeting is often combined with something else (such as an awards dinner).

[Trina]

In a perfect world some % of the membership would show up for meetings, but they don't. Basically its just the board who puts the time in, as volunteers, to keep the league going.

Thank you everyone for your insight.

The practical effect of that is that, at the election meeting, you'll see pretty much the same familiar faces you see at board meetings. Those people are there, however, not as board members but as general members of the organization. If some of the other general members show up and want to make additional nominations from the floor, that's a membership right (a nomination doesn't even require a second). If the majority of the electorate at the meeting turns out to be board members, I suppose it's not too likely that last-minute nominee(s) or write-in candidate(s) will be elected.