Nominations from the Floor process for Board Members during Annual Membership Meeting

[NotSure]

Hello Everyone, hoping to get some help ion this semi-convoluted question.

Once a person nominates themselves to the board during an annual membership meeting, during elections, at the time nominations are called for, what else is required for them to become a board member? In my association, a single vote gets you in if we are talking about traditional ballot process if there is a space open. How does it work for Elections?

There don't seem to be any mention of floor nominations in our ByLaws, and Robert's Rules is the officially adopted Parliamentary Rules.

There is also no mention of ballots being required for a floor nomination anywhere, so can someone weigh in on that as well?

It seems if a candidate is eligible, and willing (nominating themselves indicates that), and there is a space open to be occupied, that eems to be enough, but is there something ele that happens in order for that process to be complete, is no process is outlined in the bylaws, and nothing mentioned in state law, on how to complete a floor nomination? Complete it meaning what else happens that will allow that person to occupy a board seat?

[Rob Elsman]

There is a whole chapter devoted to nominations and elections.  See RONR (12th ed.), Chapter XIV, pp. 408ff.

[NotSure]

Is it in approximately the same place in the 11th?

[Rob Elsman]

Yes.

[NotSure]

thanks

 

[George Mervosh]

Well it starts on p. 430 in the 11th Edition.  I guess the A-Team was lean and mean in the 12 Edition since they got to it in 22 fewer pages this time.

Edited November 6, 2020 at 08:25 PM by George Mervosh

[Rob Elsman]

We are doing "liquid publishing" in the 12th edition. 😊

[NotSure]

50 minutes ago, George Mervosh said:

Well it starts on p. 430 in the 11th Edition.  I guess the A-Team was lean and mean in the 12 Edition since they got to it in 22 fewer pages this time.

Thank you

[NotSure]

50 minutes ago, George Mervosh said:

Well it starts on p. 430 in the 11th Edition.  I guess the A-Team was lean and mean in the 12 Edition since they got to it in 22 fewer pages this time.

thank you

[NotSure]

19 hours ago, George Mervosh said:

Well it starts on p. 430 in the 11th Edition.  I guess the A-Team was lean and mean in the 12 Edition since they got to it in 22 fewer pages this time.

I did not find what I was looking for there, unfortunately.

Edited November 7, 2020 at 03:20 PM by NotSure

[NotSure]

Here's a simpler question.

 

If someone nominates a board member from the floor, does the chair call for a vote on the person, asking the other board members whether or not they want that person on the board?

[Gary Novosielski]

26 minutes ago, NotSure said:

Here's a simpler question.

 

If someone nominates a board member from the floor, does the chair call for a vote on the person, asking the other board members whether or not they want that person on the board?

No!  If the board is elected by the general membership, board members would have no role on who gets elected.(except by their individual votes, presuming they are members of the society).  During a general membership meeting, the board is not in session, and has no role in this, or for that matter, any other matters.

If you have a Nominating Committee, their report is read, and their selections are nominated.  At that point the Chair calls for nominees from the floor.  Any nominees or volunteers are then nominated, unless they are ineligible for some reason.  Seconds are not required.

It appears that you do a ballot vote in all cases (Is that true?).  Since, per RONR, no one is elected except by a majority, any nominee or any write-in (there must be room for write-ins) must receive a majority vote for election, i.e. more votes than all other candidates combined.  A single vote for a single candidate with no other votes would meet this condition.  Receiving no votes at all, would not elect someone.

[NotSure]

12 hours ago, Gary Novosielski said:

No!  If the board is elected by the general membership, board members would have no role on who gets elected.(except by their individual votes, presuming they are members of the society).  During a general membership meeting, the board is not in session, and has no role in this, or for that matter, any other matters.

If you have a Nominating Committee, their report is read, and their selections are nominated.  At that point the Chair calls for nominees from the floor.  Any nominees or volunteers are then nominated, unless they are ineligible for some reason.  Seconds are not required.

It appears that you do a ballot vote in all cases (Is that true?).  Since, per RONR, no one is elected except by a majority, any nominee or any write-in (there must be room for write-ins) must receive a majority vote for election, i.e. more votes than all other candidates combined.  A single vote for a single candidate with no other votes would meet this condition.  Receiving no votes at all, would not elect someone.

Thank you

[Dan Honemann]

"If only one person is nominated and the bylaws do not require that a ballot vote be taken, the chair, after ensuring that, in fact, no members present wish to make further nominations, simply declares that the nominee is elected, thus effecting the election by unanimous consent or 'acclamation.'"    RONR (12th ed.) 46:40

This is also on page 443 of the 11th ed.

[NotSure]

Thank you very much... and if this is a from the floor nomination, and this was in fact a nomination from the floor? There is no mention of any rule that a floor nominee be placed on a Ballot. 

Can you correct me if I am wrong...

Floor nominations and write in candidate is two different scenarios.

Write ins are when you write in a candidate name on a Ballot, and then submit the Ballot, and typically if that person is eligible to be on that board, they are "in" if they have at least one vote...

and a nomination from the floor is during an annual meeting when nominations are called for and a and if person nominates themselves, if there is a seat available, they are elected, as you noted above...

The people I am dealing with are citing a rule that does not exist in the bylaws nor in our state laws about the need for a ballot with my name on it having to be submitted, claiming I am a write-in candidate, and when I argued that this was a floor nomination they said it did not matter what I thought. I was on the phone as was available because of covid. They said I had not submitted it, so I was not elected. I told them I was going to check on this and they said something to the effect of "you do that" and hung up on me.

 

I am assuming that if there is no mention of floor nominations in the Bylaws, but if they call for floor nominations, then they must abide by the rules concerning floor nominations in RONR, since those are the officially adopted rules?

 

EDIT: Correction of a sentence...  and a nomination from the floor is during an annual meeting when nominations are called for, and if a person nominates themselves, if there is a seat available, they are elected, as you noted above...

Edited November 8, 2020 at 09:33 PM by NotSure
correction of a sentence, added info

[J. J.]

2 hours ago, NotSure said:

 

EDIT: Correction of a sentence...  and a nomination from the floor is during an annual meeting when nominations are called for, and if a person nominates themselves, if there is a seat available, they are elected, as you noted above...

Yes, if the vote is not required to be by ballot. 

[NotSure]

20 minutes ago, J. J. said:

Yes, if the vote is not required to be by ballot. 

There does not seem to be any mention of that requirement, nor does there seems to be mention of nominations from the floor, but since they asked for them (and they always do), do they need to abide by the rules about floor nominations from RONR, and not make up rules on the spot?

Floor nominations seem to be not the same thing as a write-in candidate.

Write-in candidates actually seem to be allowed only if the bylaws say they are allowed, if it does not mention them, they are assumed not allowed (according to what I see of CA state law), and have a specific description as to what they are.

[Guest Etudiant]

State law supersedes Robert's Rules and your bylaws, for that matter. You should consult an attorney on the application of public law.

It is not uncommon for amateur boards to assume more control than is granted them in the bylaws and to invent rules on the spot to impose their will on the assembly. Your best defense is to know your bylaws and the rules in RONR and to politely press for their enforcement.

The situation is often complicated with a variably-sized board. Many bylaws say something like "between 5 and 10 members." If the present number is below the minimum, then there are vacancies which must be filled and the acclamation rule operates. If the minimum number has been satisfied, then there is the additional question of whether the board should be expanded by adding a proposed candidate. I have seen answers here which suggest such a question is more akin to an ordinary main motion which may be voted up or down.

[Richard Brown]

3 hours ago, NotSure said:

There does not seem to be any mention of that requirement, nor does there seems to be mention of nominations from the floor, but since they asked for them (and they always do), do they need to abide by the rules about floor nominations from RONR, and not make up rules on the spot?

If RONR is the organization's parliamentary authority and doesn't have a rule of its own to the contrary, then you must permit (and call for) nominations from the floor per the rules in RONR.

3 hours ago, NotSure said:

Floor nominations seem to be not the same thing as a write-in candidate.

Correct.

3 hours ago, NotSure said:

Write-in candidates actually seem to be allowed only if the bylaws say they are allowed, if it does not mention them, they are assumed not allowed (according to what I see of CA state law), and have a specific description as to what they are.

I can't speak to what California state law might or might not require, but RONR is very clear that write-in candidates must be permitted unless expressly prohibited by the organization's own rules. RONR (12th ed.) 45:18, 45:25, 46:2, 54:23 and 56:26.

[Gary Novosielski]

7 hours ago, NotSure said:

I am assuming that if there is no mention of floor nominations in the Bylaws, but if they call for floor nominations, then they must abide by the rules concerning floor nominations in RONR, since those are the officially adopted rules?

That's correct.

[Josh Martin]

11 hours ago, Guest Etudiant said:

The situation is often complicated with a variably-sized board. Many bylaws say something like "between 5 and 10 members." If the present number is below the minimum, then there are vacancies which must be filled and the acclamation rule operates. If the minimum number has been satisfied, then there is the additional question of whether the board should be expanded by adding a proposed candidate. I have seen answers here which suggest such a question is more akin to an ordinary main motion which may be voted up or down.

If a society's bylaws provide that the board shall consist of "between 5 and 10 members," then the bylaws should also provide how the actual number of board members is set. Such a provision may be intended to grant the society's membership the power to set the exact size of the board as needed to fit current circumstances, and is not necessarily intended to grant the board that authority. In the absence of language clarifying this matter, I am generally inclined to think that the body which elects the board has the authority to determine its size. To the extent the board is granted this authority, then what is said here appears correct. On the other hand, if the membership has set the size of the board at, for example, seven members, then the board must act to fill vacancies until it has reached that size, notwithstanding that the bylaws only require a minimum of five members.

Additionally, even in the event that the bylaws include a range rather than an exact number of members, the board still remains able to act if it falls below the number set by the society or even if it falls below the minimum in the range, so long as the board can still meet the quorum requirement, although the vacancies should be filled as soon as possible.

[J. J.]

15 hours ago, NotSure said:

 

Write-in candidates actually seem to be allowed only if the bylaws say they are allowed, if it does not mention them, they are assumed not allowed (according to what I see of CA state law), and have a specific description as to what they are.

In terms of RONR, write-in votes, would have to specifically prohibit by the bylaws, if the vote is conducted by ballot. 

[NotSure]

52 minutes ago, J. J. said:

In terms of RONR, write-in votes, would have to specifically prohibit by the bylaws, if the vote is conducted by ballot. 

In the Bylaws, there is no mention of any rules regarding write-in candidates.

[NotSure]

1 hour ago, Josh Martin said:

If a society's bylaws provide that the board shall consist of "between 5 and 10 members," then the bylaws should also provide how the actual number of board members is set. Such a provision may be intended to grant the society's membership the power to set the exact size of the board as needed to fit current circumstances, and is not necessarily intended to grant the board that authority. In the absence of language clarifying this matter, I am generally inclined to think that the body which elects the board has the authority to determine its size. To the extent the board is granted this authority, then what is said here appears correct. On the other hand, if the membership has set the size of the board at, for example, seven members, then the board must act to fill vacancies until it has reached that size, notwithstanding that the bylaws only require a minimum of five members.

Additionally, even in the event that the bylaws include a range rather than an exact number of members, the board still remains able to act if it falls below the number set by the society or even if it falls below the minimum in the range, so long as the board can still meet the quorum requirement, although the vacancies should be filled as soon as possible.

 

The board is set at 7 people, and this time, there were only 5 on the ballot. When the called for nominations from the floor, I nominated myelf, and one other person "seconded" me, even though it was not needed, he chimed in saying he would vote for me, if a vote was needed.

So it is my understanding then, that if there was no more candidates to claim seats than there were seats available, that the chair should have just announced me as another candidate that was voted for, and therefore elected, same as everybody else who was actually on the ballot, Correct?

[Dan Honemann]

10 minutes ago, NotSure said:

 

The board is set at 7 people, and this time, there were only 5 on the ballot. When the called for nominations from the floor, I nominated myelf, and one other person "seconded" me, even though it was not needed, he chimed in saying he would vote for me, if a vote was needed.

So it is my understanding then, that if there was no more candidates to claim seats than there were seats available, that the chair should have just announced me as another candidate that was voted for, and therefore elected, same as everybody else who was actually on the ballot, Correct?

You keep referring to "the ballot". What, exactly, do you mean by that?