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Lack of Nominee


DMarie

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25 minutes ago, DMarie said:

Our organization cannot find candidates for open officer positions during this nomination period...  What is our alternative?  Do we have current office holders remain in their offices?  How do we handle the first VP position who is moving up to President?

For starters, it should be noted that the elections must be held even if there are no nominees - there could be write-in votes. In the event that the assembly fails to complete the elections, what happens next depends on whether the bylaws provide that officers serve until their successors are elected.

As for the position of President, the first VP does not automatically move up to President unless your bylaws so provide. An election would be held for the position. If this person is the only nominee, and the bylaws do not require a ballot vote, the chairman may declare the candidate elected by acclamation.

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  • 1 year later...
42 minutes ago, JohnP said:

Can anyone suggest or provide examples of how an organization (not wanting to dissolve) dealt with a lack of nominee situation for the offices of President and President-Elect?  The current President does not wish to continue in office; and the President-elect position is vacant.

Does the society also have a Vice President? The person in that role (or the persons running for that role) would seem to be logical choices to move up in the ranks. I would also note that under the rules in RONR, the Vice President automatically becomes President in the event of a vacancy in that office. Societies with a President-Elect often add a provision in their bylaws to make that position first in line, but then the Vice President is frequently next in line after that.

Failing that, if the society is unable to find persons willing to serve in these roles, the society can attempt to "limp along" without a President for now. A Chairman Pro Tempore may be elected at each meeting (or for a longer period with previous notice), although such a person will only take on the duties of presiding and will not assume any administrative or executive authority the bylaws grant upon the President.

In the long run, the solution to this problem is to find people who are willing to serve. So start talking to as many people as possible about serving in these roles. When people refuse, it may be prudent to ask them why they are unwilling to serve to see if there is anything the society might do to help with that. For instance, if a frequent complaint is that the office of President is too busy and time-consuming, the society might look at amending its rules to reassign some duties of the office to others, or providing persons to assist the President in those duties.

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