coleche Posted September 29, 2020 at 08:07 PM Report Share Posted September 29, 2020 at 08:07 PM Please help. This issue continues to come up in our organization. A couple of members are unhappy about the results of an election and they attack the integrity of the Nominating Committee. The committee used eligibility criteria that was stated in the bylaws and used that criteria to vet candidates as eligible or ineligible. They presented the slate (list of nominees) to the membership it was voted on however,The unhappy members demand to see Nominating Committee notes, documents, and ballots of how members voted. The President said that Nominating Committee meetings are confidential and that revealing ballots would deny membership secrecy and defeat purpose of ballot voting. She offered to have special committee to hear dispute and make a decision. My question is what does the Nominating Committee have to reveal about their committte deliberations when they are under attack about candidates? This particular Nominating Committee was appointed because no one would run for the office. Thank You! Cheryl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Elsman Posted September 29, 2020 at 08:26 PM Report Share Posted September 29, 2020 at 08:26 PM I see no reason why the unhappy members of the assembly cannot review the various work papers of the nominating committee. They should make a reasonable request to the secretary, who is the custodian of such work papers. See RONR (12th ed.) 47:36. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Martin Posted September 29, 2020 at 09:31 PM Report Share Posted September 29, 2020 at 09:31 PM (edited) 1 hour ago, coleche said: A couple of members are unhappy about the results of an election and they attack the integrity of the Nominating Committee. The committee used eligibility criteria that was stated in the bylaws and used that criteria to vet candidates as eligible or ineligible. They presented the slate (list of nominees) to the membership it was voted on however,The unhappy members demand to see Nominating Committee notes, documents, and ballots of how members voted. The President said that Nominating Committee meetings are confidential and that revealing ballots would deny membership secrecy and defeat purpose of ballot voting. She offered to have special committee to hear dispute and make a decision. My question is what does the Nominating Committee have to reveal about their committte deliberations when they are under attack about candidates? This particular Nominating Committee was appointed because no one would run for the office. No individual member has a right to see the notes and documents of the nominating committee, but the assembly itself may order that this information be released if it wishes to do so. The nominating committee also could voluntarily disclose some of this information if desired. The President has no say in whether or not these documents are disclosed. With regard to ballots, generally the same principle as above applies. No individual member has a right to view the ballots, although the assembly itself could order this. I would also note that if ballot voting is done properly, examining the ballots should not reveal how any member has voted. So if this is a concern, it seems the ballot voting was not done properly. I would also note that I am not entirely certain why there is so much concern about members seeing these workpapers if all the committee does is "use eligibility criteria that was stated in the bylaws and used that criteria to vet candidates as eligible or ineligible," and frankly I am not even certain why an entire committee is needed for this task. Are the eligibility criteria complicated or ambiguous? 1 hour ago, Rob Elsman said: I see no reason why the unhappy members of the assembly cannot review the various work papers of the nominating committee. They should make a reasonable request to the secretary, who is the custodian of such work papers. See RONR (12th ed.) 47:36. It does not seem to me that the rule in question grants members a right to view the work papers of a committee. Members have a right to view the committee's reports, but it would seem to me that the other papers of the committee may be viewed only by members of the committee, unless otherwise ordered by the assembly. "The same principles apply to records kept by boards and committees, these being accessible to members of the boards or committees (see also 49:17–19)." RONR (12th ed.) 47:36 Edited September 29, 2020 at 09:32 PM by Josh Martin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Elsman Posted September 29, 2020 at 09:57 PM Report Share Posted September 29, 2020 at 09:57 PM The rules in RONR seem more concerned with papers referred to the committee for the performance of its work than with work papers (other than reports) generated within the committee itself. My sense of it is that a committee's internal work papers belong to the committee's parent after the committee has gone out of business, so any member of that parent would be free to examine them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Novosielski Posted September 29, 2020 at 10:28 PM Report Share Posted September 29, 2020 at 10:28 PM 2 hours ago, coleche said: Please help. This issue continues to come up in our organization. A couple of members are unhappy about the results of an election and they attack the integrity of the Nominating Committee. The committee used eligibility criteria that was stated in the bylaws and used that criteria to vet candidates as eligible or ineligible. They presented the slate (list of nominees) to the membership it was voted on however,The unhappy members demand to see Nominating Committee notes, documents, and ballots of how members voted. The President said that Nominating Committee meetings are confidential and that revealing ballots would deny membership secrecy and defeat purpose of ballot voting. She offered to have special committee to hear dispute and make a decision. My question is what does the Nominating Committee have to reveal about their committte deliberations when they are under attack about candidates? This particular Nominating Committee was appointed because no one would run for the office. Thank You! Cheryl Did these unhappy members may any alternate nominations from the floor? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest coleche Posted September 30, 2020 at 05:27 AM Report Share Posted September 30, 2020 at 05:27 AM Thank you for responses! They have been very helpful. The unhappy members are purposely stirring up trouble and trying to discredit the Nominating Committee. I do see where many changes can be made to improve the process for all. Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Brown Posted October 3, 2020 at 03:20 AM Report Share Posted October 3, 2020 at 03:20 AM On 9/29/2020 at 4:31 PM, Josh Martin said: It does not seem to me that the rule in question grants members a right to view the work papers of a committee. Members have a right to view the committee's reports, but it would seem to me that the other papers of the committee may be viewed only by members of the committee, unless otherwise ordered by the assembly. "The same principles apply to records kept by boards and committees, these being accessible to members of the boards or committees (see also 49:17–19)." RONR (12th ed.) 47:36 I concur with Mr. Martin’s opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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