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We had our elections earlier this month but no one was appointed to the secretary position or treasurer position. Can the President and Vice President handle these positions? If not, how long does the Board have to appoint someone to fill those positions?

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Nothing in RONR prevents one person from holding more than one office (though they can't just "handle" the positions, they'll have to be properly elected (or appointed).

Are these elections or appointments? And does the board usually elect/appoint officers or are you talking about filling vacancies due to an incomplete election?

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According to our constitution and by laws we have an election each January - this year no one accepted the nominations for Sec or Treas so the Board appoints someone to the empty positions. That being the case, is there a time frame to finalize those appointments?

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According to our constitution and by laws we have an election each January - this year no one accepted the nominations for Sec or Treas so the Board appoints someone to the empty positions. That being the case, is there a time frame to finalize those appointments?

Well, first make sure that your bylaws really do give your board the authority to complete an incomplete election. Typically (though certainly not always), a board might be authorized to fill mid-term vacancies but incomplete elections must be completed by the original voting body (e.g. the general membership).

In any case, these positions should be filled as soon as possible (and you should avoid having the same person serve as both president and secretary if at all possible).

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... so the Board appoints someone to the empty positions.

Is that power (to fill positions "left behind" by what RONR calls an "incomplete election", p. 444) spelled out in your bylaws?

Filling in after an incomplete election is NOT the same as filling intra-term vacancies caused by the departure of someone previously elected to the position.

Your bylaws may also have provisions (in the "Term of officers" section) that say that an incumbent stays in office until his/her successor is actually elected - p. 573, line 33 ff. If that is the case then the "old" secretary and treasurer are still in office (whether they like it or not!), at least until they resign.

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There is nothing in our by-laws about "incomplete elections". It does states that vacancies occurring on the Board or Officers during the year shall be filled until the next annual election by a majority vote of all the then members of the Board at its first regular meeting following the creation of such vacancy.

It also states that the offices of Secretary and Treasurer may be held by the same person.

If I understand correctly from what is stated in RONR, our Club will have to have another election to fill the positions that are currently vacant. The Secretary and Treasurer did in fact submit resignations before the January meeting.

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If I understand correctly from what is stated in RONR, our Club will have to have another election to fill the positions that are currently vacant.

Yes, although if your members think of it, not as another election, but as a continuation, and completion, of the same election, they'll be on the same page as the parliamentarians with letters after their names. I think this might help them (your members) better distinguish between an incomplete election and a mid-term vacancy.

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There is nothing in our by-laws about "incomplete elections". It does states that vacancies occurring on the Board or Officers during the year shall be filled until the next annual election by a majority vote of all the then members of the Board at its first regular meeting following the creation of such vacancy.

It also states that the offices of Secretary and Treasurer may be held by the same person.

If I understand correctly from what is stated in RONR, our Club will have to have another election to fill the positions that are currently vacant. The Secretary and Treasurer did in fact submit resignations before the January meeting.

Yeah, it's not really another election, it's completing the same election.

"Vacancies" are created when someone leaves an office during their term. That's not the same as electing new people after the old one's terms expire, so your board can't use its vacancy filling power to eliminate the need for an election.

But what the board can do, and without any more effort than it would take to beat the bushes and convince someone to accept an appointment, is to beat the bushes and convince someone to accept a nomination. And then let the members elect them.

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  • 5 months later...
Guest Robin Keirnan

My question is on our Board of Directors for a not for profit organization, we have members that hold offices outside of the BOD, can they also hold offices on the BOD, i.e our treasure of the main group holding VP or Sec of the BOD, or president of the main group holding any office on the BOD as per Roberts rules?

 

thank you

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