What business may be transacted at a special state meeting

[Beverly Przybylski]

The bylaws require a candidate must be endorsed at the state convention by May 1, and not more than 18 months before the election. The member wants to be endorsed this year and run this year, but the state convention is after May 1.

 

Endorsement is done by a ballot election; no exception, and because the bylaws do not allow for remote voting or remote meetings, the vote to endorse must be done at an in-person meeting.

 

The bylaws permit the calling of special state meetings and identifies that the delegates are the same ones from the previous state convention.

 

Questions: Could a properly called special state meeting be held for the purpose of voting to endorse even though the bylaws require that this be done at a state convention? If the bylaws require that certain things be done at a state convention, can all of these 'certain things' instead be done at a special state meeting? If not, what can be done at a special state meeting?

 

Thank you,

Beverly Przybylski

[Richard Brown]

Beverly, I'm afraid the answers to your questions will have to be found in your own rules and bylaws (and possibly state law).  These issues are not covered by RONR.  It is up to your organization to interpret its own bylaws and rules.... we cannot do that for you.

Keep checking  back.  Someone might have a useful suggestion.

[Guest Who's Coming to Dinner]

The advice we recently received on another election topic was that the rules cannot be suspended to take mandated business out of the hands of a future meeting (the state convention) and dispose of it at an earlier meeting (a state special meeting).

[George Mervosh]

1 hour ago, Guest Who's Coming to Dinner said:

The advice we recently received on another election topic was that the rules cannot be suspended to take mandated business out of the hands of a future meeting (the state convention) and dispose of it at an earlier meeting (a state special meeting).

Sage advice, to be sure, but I think Ms. Przybylski is also concerned the state convention may have taken it out of their own hands by scheduling the convention after May 1, and I wouldn't blame her for being concerned about it.

Edited March 13, 2018 at 09:07 PM by George Mervosh

[Guest Who's Coming to Dinner]

But they have an 18-month window, which means the bylaws contemplate more than a year elapsing between the May 1 deadline and the election. So this year's convention can endorse candidates in anticipation of the May 1, 2019 deadline.