An election with no candidates?

[Jeff Hagan]

I hope you can help me figure out a way to deal with a problem I foresee in my organization.

I'm the president of a Toastmasters club. Our club officer election is scheduled next week. By custom (the officer guide published by our parent organization that our club has always followed, our seven officer positions are elected in a prescribed order, starting with president and working downward.

The problem we have is this: I expect that we won't be able to fill some of the officer positions. Our club size is only slightly larger than our prescribed number of officers and several members have said that they're unwilling to take on an officer role.

So what should we do when we get to a role that we just can't fill? Keep on holding ballot after ballot until it's time to adjourn (and then keep going at the next meeting)? Leave the role vacant and go on to the next one?

I've thought of one way to deal with the problem: elect absent members to end the deadlock. Even if we know that they'll refuse to take office, electing them now will let us move on to the elections for other positions that night, and we can try to fill those other positions once they give their explicit refusal and the election becomes incomplete. However, this option strikes me as a bit... "bad faith" even if technically valid.

Any suggestions? I'd like to leave next week's meeting with as many officer positions filled as possible and without wasting people's time any more than is necessary, but I also want to make sure that everything is valid and proper.

 

[Hieu H. Huynh]

Perhaps the absent members would change their minds when they find out they were elected.

[jstackpo]

[Boilerplate Alert]...  A more draconian approach:

First check the bylaws.  Officers (current ones) may be in office "until the election of their successors" - if no election, they STAY in (at least until they quit or you finally do complete the election).

Or....

Announce that because of a lack of leadership interest, the organization will dissolve itself and go out of business.  Really.  Organizations don't last forever, and it is much better to close up shop formally than just drift along, and then wonder what happened to the bank account, far too long after the fact to do anything about it.

Often enough a threat like this one will shake some people out of the woodwork who will be willing to serve after all.  But if it doesn't, there is a message there...

 

[Joshua Katz]

It's not a parliamentary answer, but I also think that electing absent people is a good idea.  Then, when they return, they can be told "either you're the Treasurer or the club folds!"

Anyway, what you need to do is convince people to take the Competent Leader track, so that they'll be required to serve as officers.

[Bruce Lages]

It seems to me that if you hold the election by balloting - or at least voting, if you don't use ballots - in the order prescribed by your parent organization's officers guide, you will have complied with that 'custom' even if no one is elected on some of those ballots. I don't see why you can't try to elect as many officers as possible on the first round of balloting, given that according to your scenario you will almost certainly need additional round(s) of balloting for some offices.

According to RONR it is perfectly proper to postpone an incomplete election to an adjourned meeting, preferably, or to the next session if absolutely necessary.

[Jeff Hagan]

8 minutes ago, jstackpo said:

[Boilerplate Alert]...  A more draconian approach:

First check the bylaws.  Officers (current ones) may be in office "until the election of their successors" - if no election, they STAY in (at least until they quit or you finally complete the election).

Or....

Announce that because of a lack of leadership interest, the organization will dissolve itself and go out of business.  Really.  Organizations don't last forever, and it is much better to close up shop formally than just drift along, and then wonder what happened to the bank account, far too long after the fact to do anything about it.

Often enough a threat like this one will shake some people out of the woodwork who will be willing to serve after all.  But if it doesn't, there is a message there...

 

The by-laws state that officer terms end on June 30, period. 

 

I don't really want to threaten to kill the club. Even though things could be better, they're improving compared to where we are. Right now, though, we have a mix of experienced officers who are burnt out and brand new members who are still learning what the organization is all about, so peole who want to put their names forward are scarce.