election of officers

[tpeterlein]

I want to make sure I am correct in my understanding, therefore I'm turning tot he experts for advice.   We are having an election of officers in a few week.   Our bylaws read:  The new Administration shall be elected by secret written ballot.  A candidate must receive a majority (at least 51%) of the votes of those present and eligible to vote." 

It is my understanding that because our bylaws do not specifically mention it, those who wan to run for an office must be present and verbally accept (or deny) the nomination.   It seems I have read somewhere in the past that if voting or nominations were to be done outside of the day of the elections, it must state in the bylaws that it is allowed.   If not, then those who want to run for a position must be present?

 

Will someone pleae confirm I am correct, or tell me what I am saying is wrong, and what the correct wording should be?

 

thank you for your help. 

[Hieu H. Huynh]

22 minutes ago, tpeterlein said:

those who want to run for a position must be present?

No.

[Richard Brown]

35 minutes ago, tpeterlein said:

I want to make sure I am correct in my understanding, therefore I'm turning tot he experts for advice.   We are having an election of officers in a few week.   Our bylaws read:  The new Administration shall be elected by secret written ballot.  A candidate must receive a majority (at least 51%) of the votes of those present and eligible to vote." 

It is my understanding that because our bylaws do not specifically mention it, those who wan to run for an office must be present and verbally accept (or deny) the nomination.   It seems I have read somewhere in the past that if voting or nominations were to be done outside of the day of the elections, it must state in the bylaws that it is allowed.   If not, then those who want to run for a position must be present?

According to RONR, a member need not be present for election nor must he consent in advance nor must he verbally (or in writing) accept.  It may be advisable, but it is not required. 

Per RONR, any member can be nominated or elected (write in ballots must be permitted unless your bylaws prohibit them).  If he is present when elected, the election is final unless he declines. If he is not present, and has not previously consented to serve, his election becomes final when he is notified of his election unless he immediately declines to serve.  Here is the precise language from page 444 of RONR:

TIME AT WHICH AN ELECTION TAKES EFFECT. An election to an office becomes final immediately if the candidate is present and does not decline, or if he is absent but has consented to his candidacy. If he is absent and has not consented to his candidacy, the election becomes final when he is notified of his election, provided that he does not immediately decline. If he does decline, the election is incomplete, and another vote can be taken immediately or at the next meeting without further notice. After an election has become final as stated in this paragraph, it is too late to reconsider (37) the vote on the election.

35 minutes ago, tpeterlein said:

It seems I have read somewhere in the past that if voting or nominations were to be done outside of the day of the elections, it must state in the bylaws that it is allowed.

If any type of absentee voting or nominating is to be permitted, it must be expressly authorized in the bylaws.  Voting by mail is a form of absentee voting.

35 minutes ago, tpeterlein said:

Our bylaws read:  The new Administration shall be elected by secret written ballot.  A candidate must receive a majority (at least 51%) of the votes of those present and eligible to vote." 

The portion which I have highlighted is problematic.  A majority means, simply, "more than half".  It is not 50 percent plus one  or 51 percent.  When your rule specifies "a majority (at least 51%)", it is making a contradictory statement because a majority is NOT 51 percent.  It will be up to your organization to interpret that provision and to decide whether the rule means "majority" or "51 percent".  I suggest your organization amend its bylaws to clarify that issue.  Just remove the 51% language. 

I also note that according to your bylaws the vote must be based on the members PRESENT rather than the usual "present and voting".   And that presents still another issue because of the wording used in your bylaws.  If the intent is that in order to be elected a member must receive the votes of a majority of the members present, use that language:  "To be elected, a candidate must receive the votes of a majority of the members present".  If the intent is to require a regular majority vote, use this language:  "To be elected, a candidate must receive a majority vote" (or "a majority of the votes cast").   The language in your bylaws about the vote requirement is very confusing and contradictory.

Edited July 31, 2019 at 04:00 PM by Richard Brown
Added the underlined language in the first sentence of the last paragraph

[Richard Brown]

Here is a bit more information about the difference between a "majority" and "51%":  Assume you have 200 members present.  A majority (more than half) would be 101 members, but 51% would be 102 members.  Likewise, if you have 99 members, a majority would be 50 members (or votes), but 51% would be 51 members (or votes).

[Gary Novosielski]

4 hours ago, tpeterlein said:

I want to make sure I am correct in my understanding, therefore I'm turning tot he experts for advice.   We are having an election of officers in a few week.   Our bylaws read:  The new Administration shall be elected by secret written ballot.  A candidate must receive a majority (at least 51%) of the votes of those present and eligible to vote." 

It is my understanding that because our bylaws do not specifically mention it, those who wan to run for an office must be present and verbally accept (or deny) the nomination.   It seems I have read somewhere in the past that if voting or nominations were to be done outside of the day of the elections, it must state in the bylaws that it is allowed.   If not, then those who want to run for a position must be present?

 

Will someone pleae confirm I am correct, or tell me what I am saying is wrong, and what the correct wording should be?

 

thank you for your help. 

You are incorrect.  Being present or verbally accepting a nomination are not required. If it should happen that a person who is not present is elected, then the election is not complete until the person is notified, and does not immediately decline the office.

Your rules differ from those in RONR in an important way. They state that to be elected a candidate must receive a majority, not of those present and actually voting, but rather of those present and merely eligible to vote.  This makes it impossible to abstain without affecting the result of the election.  The vote count necessary to elect, in your rules, is not a majority of ballots cast as would be the case in RONR, but rather of people present.  Therefore, an abstention, although technically not a vote, would have the same effect as a vote against all candidates on the ballot.  

Also, your rules appear to define majority as "at least 51%", while the actual definition is "more than half".  

Your rules supersede the rules in RONR, where the two do not agree.

[tpeterlein]

thank you for your comments...I'm very sorry to bother you again,  but I am still receiving questions regarding our election.....we have posted (see below) that all nominees MUST be present, in person to verbally accept the nomination if so desired.   That being said, and based upon your answers earlier, what do we follow?   Our posted requirements, or RRO which says you do not have to be present to be elected.   thank you!!! 

 

 

GENERAL MEMBERSHIP ELECTIONS – AUGUST 13, 2019 – ALL POSITIONS OPEN

To be eligible to be elected to office, one must be a member in good standing for at least one year, and physically able to do the job as described below.  Nominations are accepted on the floor and all nominees must be present, in person, to verbally accept the nomination, if so desired.

 Election of officers of the Society will be held at a special meeting on the 2^nd Tuesday (August 13^th), during the month of August bi-yearly (every two years).  The newly elected officers immediately take their oath of office, administered by the Chairperson of the Election Committee. The new administration takes office on September 1^st, and has the authority to conduct all business of the Society for the next 2 years.

 

 

[Richard Brown]

8 minutes ago, tpeterlein said:

thank you for your comments...I'm very sorry to bother you again,  but I am still receiving questions regarding our election.....we have posted (see below) that all nominees MUST be present, in person to verbally accept the nomination if so desired.   That being said, and based upon your answers earlier, what do we follow?   Our posted requirements, or RRO which says you do not have to be present to be elected.   thank you!!! 

You follow the rule in RONR that nominees do not need to be present unless you have a special Rule of Order or bylaw provision to the contrary. Merely posting something, if it is not in the by-laws or your Special Rules of Order or standing rules, is not binding. Anybody can put anything on a poster or in a newsletter or an email. 

[Chris Harrison]

Who is responsible for posting those requirements and under what authority do they believe they can make such requirements?  Do the Bylaws say it?  Did the General Membership previously adopt a Special Rule of Order specifying the member must be present to accept the nomination?  Also, is the requirement about having to be a member in good standing for a year in order to hold office in the Bylaws?

[tpeterlein]

yes, the member in good standing for one year is in our bylaws......

 

thank you for the other information - it has been very helpful!!!

[Atul Kapur]

32 minutes ago, tpeterlein said:

To be eligible to be elected to office, one must be a member in good standing for at least one year, and physically able to do the job as described below

Unless this condition is in your bylaws, it has no validity at all. Under RONR, officers don't even have to be members of the association. [Edited out objection to "good standing for at least one year" as that is apparently in the bylaws]

And I agree with Mr. Brown and Mr. Harrison's responses above regarding the need for a candidate to be present at the meeting.

Just posting something on the wall / corkboard does not make it correct or give it authority. But your organization wouldn't be the first to try to do that 😀

Edited August 9, 2019 at 04:37 PM by Atul Kapur

[Gary Novosielski]

49 minutes ago, tpeterlein said:

thank you for your comments...I'm very sorry to bother you again,  but I am still receiving questions regarding our election.....we have posted (see below) that all nominees MUST be present, in person to verbally accept the nomination if so desired.   That being said, and based upon your answers earlier, what do we follow?   Our posted requirements, or RRO which says you do not have to be present to be elected.   thank you!!! 

 

 

GENERAL MEMBERSHIP ELECTIONS – AUGUST 13, 2019 – ALL POSITIONS OPEN

To be eligible to be elected to office, one must be a member in good standing for at least one year, and physically able to do the job as described below.  Nominations are accepted on the floor and all nominees must be present, in person, to verbally accept the nomination, if so desired.

 Election of officers of the Society will be held at a special meeting on the 2^nd Tuesday (August 13^th), during the month of August bi-yearly (every two years).  The newly elected officers immediately take their oath of office, administered by the Chairperson of the Election Committee. The new administration takes office on September 1^st, and has the authority to conduct all business of the Society for the next 2 years.

 

 

You follow the rule in RONR.  Just posting some made-up rule that the membership never approved doesn't make it binding.  Unfortunately, some people may believe it and decide not to run because they'll be out of town on that date.

In fact you should probably publish a retraction before the meeting, before somebody claims that you were trying to pull some improper candidate-suppression maneuver.. 

It's nice if potential nominees are present, but there's nothing in RONR that requires it.  Often if a potential nominee can't be present, they will supply a written note to the secretary or to a friend, saying they would agree to serve if elected, to be read to the assembly if and when it becomes appropriate, but although it can save time, this is not required by any rule either

[tpeterlein]

I am very glad I came to  you and learned how we are supposed to move foward. .   You have helped us in the past too, when a question needed more clarification.   We are a small nonprofit with a few volunteers that serve on an executive board.  We try very hard to follow ROR when something is not covered in our bylaws - you guys really have been helpful over the years...thank you!!