Officer nominations

[Mike6453]

I have a few questions about nominations for our church officers. A little background first: Our bylaws state that the election of officers occurs at a business meeting. The Nominating Committee presents its report of nominations to the church in a newsletter one week prior to the business meeting. And the bylaws state: Additional nominations may be made from the floor at the business meeting. As long as I've been a member, our church has never called for nominations from the floor, but I think we need to start following the bylaws or change them. Also, we've always just done a voice vote for the slate of officers rather than individual officer positions (there are many).  My questions:

- After the Nominating Committee presents its report, is it correct that the Moderator (who presides over the business meetings) then calls for any nominations from the floor?

- Do these nominations from the floor require a second?

- How would voting occur? Could the church vote on the slate except for the officer position(s) that had someone nominated from the floor and then vote by ballot for the contested officer position(s)? 

Thanks!!!

Mike

[Dan Honemann]

7 minutes ago, Mike6453 said:

After the Nominating Committee presents its report, is it correct that the Moderator (who presides over the business meetings) then calls for any nominations from the floor?

Yes.

 

8 minutes ago, Mike6453 said:

Do these nominations from the floor require a second?

No.

 

8 minutes ago, Mike6453 said:

How would voting occur? Could the church vote on the slate except for the officer position(s) that had someone nominated from the floor and then vote by ballot for the contested officer position(s)? 

In each instance in which there is only one nominee for an office, the chair should simply declare that nominee elected. No vote is required. In each instance in which there is more that one nominee for an office, a vote may be taken either by voice vote or by ballot (the latter being preferable).

[Mike6453]

Thank you!

[Richard Brown]

1 hour ago, Daniel H. Honemann said:

In each instance in which there is only one nominee for an office, the chair should simply declare that nominee elected. No vote is required. In each instance in which there is more that one nominee for an office, a vote may be taken either by voice vote or by ballot (the latter being preferable).

Don’t you think it is first important to know whether the bylaws require the elections to be by ballot? I do not see where the original poster has mentioned whether the bylaws require that the election be by ballot.

is the statement there but I’m just not seeing it? 

 

[Dan Honemann]

18 minutes ago, Richard Brown said:

Don’t you think it is first important to know whether the bylaws require the elections to be by ballot? I do not see where the original poster has mentioned whether the bylaws require that the election be by ballot.

is the statement there but I’m just not seeing it? 

 

 

2 hours ago, Mike6453 said:

Also, we've always just done a voice vote for the slate of officers rather than individual officer positions (there are many

Well, let's hope that the bylaws do not require the elections to be by ballot.

[Mike6453]

2 hours ago, Daniel H. Honemann said:

 

Well, let's hope that the bylaws do not require the elections to be by ballot.

Thank you both for your dialogue! You prompted me to re-read the bylaws. They just refer to the officers being elected; they do not specify the method of voting. Thank you!!!

[Guest Jose Valdez]

This is not a response to the issue being discussed, but rather a question that arose because of some general restrictions imposed due to COVID-19. Because of the virus, one year of the organization was basically dormant.  The organization had already installed the new officers.  So the following year, the organization unanimously elected the same officers as the year before. The parliamentary question is, does the organization have to go through the officer's installation process again, since no new officers were elected?

[Joshua Katz]

So far as RONR is concerned, there is no need for an installation process, since an officer takes office upon election.  If your rules provide for a process, then you will need to consult your rules to see if it is needed when everyone stays in the same role.

[Weldon Merritt]

38 minutes ago, Guest Jose Valdez said:

The parliamentary question is, does the organization have to go through the officer's installation process again, since no new officers were elected?

So far as RONR is concerned, you wouldn't have to go through an installation process even if an entirely new set of officers had been elected. In other words, an installation ceremony is merely a formality that has no effect on the validity of the election or when the officers assume office. 

Of course, if you bylaws require that the officers be installed before they assume office (an unwise requirement IMO), then that requirement would prevail. And it would apply to anyone elected to a new term, whether it is the same officer being reelected or a brand new officer.

Finally, In my experience (for whatever it may be worth), most organizations that conduct installation ceremonies do it for reelected officers as well as newly elected ones. But that's just custom, and again does not affect the validity of the election.

[Richard Brown]

48 minutes ago, Guest Jose Valdez said:

This is not a response to the issue being discussed, but rather a question that arose because of some general restrictions imposed due to COVID-19. Because of the virus, one year of the organization was basically dormant.  The organization had already installed the new officers.  So the following year, the organization unanimously elected the same officers as the year before. The parliamentary question is, does the organization have to go through the officer's installation process again, since no new officers were elected?

Guest Jose, next time please post your question by starting a new topic.  The forum works better that way, even if your question seems to fit in with an existing topic.  We try hard not to mix different questions or topics in a thread.