Postponing a Regularly Scheduled Election

[Warren]

Can a regularly scheduled election be postponed to the next meeting because there aren't enough nominees? We require advanced nominations, published one week ahead of the election, but allow for nominations from the floor, all with the consent of the nominee. We have two out of three nominees. Are we required to hold the election, even if there are no nominations from the floor? Or, can we postpone the election with the anticipation of getting more nominees? What is the best way to proceed?

[Atul Kapur]

You declare the nominees elected by acclamation. The election is still incomplete, as apparently you have a third position but no nominee. You should complete this election as soon as possible, likely your next meeting. 

But it's not an all-or-nothing situation, so you should elect as many people as you have nominees.

[Warren]

Thank you for your advice, Atul. Would you be able to give me the references from RONR that support your opinion?

[Atul Kapur]

See 46:40 regarding acclamation and 46:44-45 regarding completion of an incomplete election. In fact, all of §46 is worth reading and will likely have other information relevant to the details of your situation.

[Warren]

Thank you, Atul. I neglected to say that we require election by ballot. So, that seems to rule out acclamation. We allow nominations from the floor with the consent of the nominees. So, it is likely we will get the necessary number of nominees. But if we don't get enough nominees, someone has suggested that maybe we move to postpone the election, i.e., fix the time which to adjourn, until we have enough. §14:12 seems to prohibit that except under extreme circumstances, like weather or very low attendance. Not having the total number of nominees necessary doesn't seem to qualify as an extreme circumstance. It seems RONR supports having a regularly scheduled election with what nominees we have, and then if the election is incomplete, we either fix the time to adjourn, adjourn but have a called meeting at a later date, or wait until our next meeting which would be three months later. What do you think?

[Josh Martin]

On 10/11/2021 at 4:19 PM, Warren said:

Thank you, Atul. I neglected to say that we require election by ballot. So, that seems to rule out acclamation. We allow nominations from the floor with the consent of the nominees. So, it is likely we will get the necessary number of nominees. But if we don't get enough nominees, someone has suggested that maybe we move to postpone the election, i.e., fix the time which to adjourn, until we have enough. §14:12 seems to prohibit that except under extreme circumstances, like weather or very low attendance. Not having the total number of nominees necessary doesn't seem to qualify as an extreme circumstance. It seems RONR supports having a regularly scheduled election with what nominees we have, and then if the election is incomplete, we either fix the time to adjourn, adjourn but have a called meeting at a later date, or wait until our next meeting which would be three months later. What do you think?

I would not go so far as to say that 14:12 prohibits postponing the election except under extreme circumstances. The text "on a stormy night when, although a quorum is present, the attendance is abnormally small" is just an example. Ultimately, it is at the assembly's discretion what circumstances warrant postponing the election.

With that said, I personally agree that it is preferable to conduct the election with the available nominees. If the election remains incomplete, it is correct that the assembly could either 1) fix the time to which to adjourn and complete the election at its adjourned meeting, 2) adjourn the meeting and complete the election at its regular meeting in three months, or 3) adjourn the meeting, and at some point call a special meeting (if so authorized under your rules) for the purpose of completing the election. I would suggest the options which complete the election sooner would be preferable.

[Warren]

Thank you, Josh. I appreciate you and Atul helping me with this issue.