Officer Election

[David Sale]

Here is the scenario: John Doe is currently an At-Large member in mid term (2-year term) on the executive board and has been nominated for Vice President of the organization. His nomination is contained on an official slate of nominees that has been sent to the general membership of the organization in advance of an upcoming meeting when the election will occur. He is unopposed on that official slate, but nominations will be permitted from the Floor at the meeting for his position. The slate contains the names of other nominees who, since they realize that John is running for Vice-President, are vying for his seemingly vacated At-Large seat. What happens to John at the meeting if he is not elected to the Vice President position?

 

1. Does he automatically revert or default back to his At-Large position, which is still in mid-term, and thereby displace or bump the other nominees for his At-Large position?

 

2. Does he have to run against the other nominees for the At-Large position to recover his former office?

 

3. Does he drop off the executive board altogether, having taken his chances on the Vice President position and lost--the price he has to pay?

 

I could not immediately find the answer in Robert's Rules. Thank you for an authoritative and expeditious response.

[jstackpo]

RONR does NOT require any officer to resign one position to run for a second one.

 

If he wins, he should probably resign (again RONR would let him hold two offices); when he resigns, there will be an "At-Large" vacancy to fill  --  check you bylaws for how to do that.

 

If he loses, he just continues in his present office.

 

You shouldn't run election for non-empty positions.

[Guest Edgar]

Firstly, RONR doesn't prohibit a person from holding more than one office. Do your bylaws?

 

Secondly, it's premature for anyone to "vie for his seemingly vacated seat" since he hasn't vacated it (and might not). If he is elected vice-president and if your rules prohibit him from also being a member-at-large, you would then need to hold an election for the vacant seat on the board (or follow any mid-term vacancy-filling provisions in your bylaws).

[David Sale]

Thank you for your responses above. It appears that to follow your advice, the election would have to be conducted by the time consuming process of balloting for each office immediately following nominations from the Floor (if any) for that office, rather than the organization's customary "single ballot" approach. There is yet another At-Large member who is in the identical situation as John Doe and who is also seeking a higher office on the executive board. So that process will be time consuming in a large meeting.  Our bylaws do in fact prohibit an officer from holding more than one office. Because a departure from our customary "single ballot" procedure seems indicated, would you recommend that the departure be approved by a motion before the election is held?

[Guest Madarka]

Banning simultaneous offices is not the same as banning an office holder from seeking another office, yes?

[Guest Edgar]

Banning simultaneous offices is not the same as banning an office holder from seeking another office, yes?

 

Yes, it's not the same.

 

(Alternatively: No, it's not the same.)

[Guest Edgar]

Because a departure from our customary "single ballot" procedure seems indicated, would you recommend that the departure be approved by a motion before the election is held?

 

I don't think a motion is required in order to do what the reality of the situation dictates. You can still have a single ballot for all seats that are available. Then have another single ballot for any seats that have become available. But note that this second election might require previous notice. Whether you could, in advance, give previous notice for a potential election is a question I'll leave to the experts here.

[Josh Martin]

Whether you could, in advance, give previous notice for a potential election is a question I'll leave to the experts here.

 

It's fine by me.