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Nominations for Office


PKR

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I have been asked the following question: 

"At election time for units can a person nominate themself for an office  and if they do and no one runs against them but the  members are not wanting that person in the position  what would  happen?"

Our bylaws state that any member in good standing shall be eligible to hold a unit office.  The bylaws further state that each unit shall elect a Commander, Senior Vice Commander, Junior Vice Commander and Treasurer.

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On 2/15/2023 at 12:07 PM, PKR said:

"At election time for units can a person nominate themself for an office  and if they do and no one runs against them but the  members are not wanting that person in the position  what would  happen?"

 

For the first question, yes. For the second question, if there is one candidate and a member or members do not want that person to serve, the solution is to recruit a candidate to run against them. If the bylaws do not require a ballot vote, and there is only one candidate, and the assembly does not order a ballot vote, the candidate is elected. If there is a ballot vote, you can try to elect a write-in. But, as the saying goes, you can't beat something with nothing.

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We had that situation last year.  We have a Nominations Committee (3 people including myself) to gather nominations to elect into 22 roles.  we judged one self-nominated person unsuitable for a role no one else wanted.  To avoid a hole in the ballots, one of the committee nominated herself into that role -- with approval of the rest of the committee and a brief explanation to the audience.

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On 2/20/2023 at 3:46 PM, R.W. said:

We have a Nominations Committee (3 people including myself) to gather nominations to elect into 22 roles.  we judged one self-nominated person unsuitable for a role no one else wanted.  To avoid a hole in the ballots, one of the committee nominated herself into that role -- with approval of the rest of the committee and a brief explanation to the audience.

I find this rather intriguing... and also questionable from a RONR standpoint.  Do your bylaws give the nominating committee the authority to decide whether a candidate meets the requirements for holding office?   And are those requirements spelled out?

It is one thing for a nominating committee to not nominate someone because the committee believes that person is "unsuitable", but it is quite another thing to declare or "rule" that a member who has nominated himself is "unsuitable" and keep that person off the ballot if members are permitted to nominate themselves.  If the rules in RONR are controlling, members may indeed nominate themselves when nominations from the floor (or otherwise) are open.  There would have to be specific authority in your bylaws for the nominating committee to to rule that a member who nominates himself is ineligible or otherwise unsuitable for the office and keep that person off the ballot.

 

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On 2/20/2023 at 4:46 PM, R.W. said:

We had that situation last year.  We have a Nominations Committee (3 people including myself) to gather nominations to elect into 22 roles.  we judged one self-nominated person unsuitable for a role no one else wanted.  To avoid a hole in the ballots, one of the committee nominated herself into that role -- with approval of the rest of the committee and a brief explanation to the audience.

Well, after the nominating committee delivers its report, the chair must call for additional nominations from the floor, which would give your volunteer an opportunity to self-nominate anyway.  So it's not clear how that would have solved your problem.

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On 2/22/2023 at 4:06 PM, Gary Novosielski said:

Well, after the nominating committee delivers its report, the chair must call for additional nominations from the floor, which would give your volunteer an opportunity to self-nominate anyway.  So it's not clear how that would have solved your problem.

The nominating committee chose not to deliver a traditional report.  I do not remember the reason.  Instead they chose to offer some general remarks about the election process and the call for volunteers.  Then I proceeded to nominations from the floor -- because my agenda and slides had been structured around a "regular" nomination report.  Someone did point out they couldn't nominate from the floor without knowing who was already nominated, so we may have gone through the list anyways -- again I do not remember.  The unsuitable person was not in attendance, so could not have been re-nominated from the floor.

This year, I have asked (nicely) for a traditional recitation of the nominees.  And the unsuitable person has already been informed that he is not suitable for any position.  Let's hope we actually get some confirmed nominees -- volunteer apathy is pretty rampant  these days. 

Edited by R.W.
additional info
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On 2/27/2023 at 11:30 AM, R.W. said:

The unsuitable person was not in attendance, so could not have been re-nominated from the floor.

This is incorrect, unless your organization has some rule to this effect. No rule in RONR requires a person to be present to be nominated (or even elected).

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On 2/27/2023 at 11:30 AM, R.W. said:

The unsuitable person was not in attendance, so could not have been re-nominated from the floor.

Says who? Unless your bylaws specifically require that a nominee to be in attendance, they don't have to be. If they actually are elected, and have not agreed in advance to serve if elected, their election will nt be final until they are notified and then don't decline. But that does not affect their elegibilityy to be nominated.

On 2/27/2023 at 11:30 AM, R.W. said:

This year, I have asked (nicely) for a traditional recitation of the nominees. 

Asked nicely or demanded, it is you duty to conduct the nominations and elections as specified your bylaws and in RONR.

On 2/27/2023 at 11:30 AM, R.W. said:

Let's hope we actually get some confirmed nominees -- volunteer apathy is pretty rampant  these days. 

That could be a sign that your organization is moribund and should be dissolved. Sometimes the threat of dissolution is enough to motivate members to step up.

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There is no provision in RONR to keep someone off the ballot or make a member ineligible for election based on the belief that he or she is “unsuitable” for the office unless your bylaws specifically grant that right to someone or some body, such as you’r board or your nominating committee. The nominating committee, however, may decline to nominate someone based on the belief that the person is unsuitable for office, but mere unsuitability in the opinion of some members  is not grounds for keeping someone off the ballot or making a member ineligible for election. Such a rule would have to be in your bylaws.

it will help us if you can quote verbatim the provision in your bylaws that permits the nominating committee to keep someone off the ballot or from being nominated from the floor  based on the belief that the person is unsuitable for the office. The committee simply does not have that right unless the bylaws print that right.

Unsuitability for an office is grounds for not nominating someone and for not voting for someone, but it is not grounds for keeping someone off the ballot unless the bylaws grant that right.

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As requested by multiple folks.  Here, committees are officially called Ministries:


Nominations Ministry.
Responsibility. The Nominations Ministry shall have the responsibility to recommend people who are eligible, suitable, and willing to serve in positions in the Congregation. [...]
Freedom to Nominate from the Floor. While the Nominations Ministry can recommend one or more congregants to any position, the Congregation retains the right to nominate suitable candidates from the floor at the Congregational Meeting when elections will be held. Each person nominated from the floor must be present at the meeting, be eligible to hold the office in question, and accept the nomination for the position.

Duties and responsibilities for all the various positions are described elsewhere in the bylaws. 

The Nominations Ministry was established in December 2021 and first used to gather candidates for the 2022 ACM.  Mr. Unsuitable nominated himself for 3 roles.  For 2 of the 3 roles, he was up against well-established candidates and soundly defeated.  For the 3rd role that was uncontested, Mr. Unsuitable was deemed such  because he does not attend church (physically or virtually) , and he has been a no-show at volunteering in the past (e.g. day camp).  I don't know his story, those that know him (or of him) do not have nice things to say. 

Yes our bylaws (we call them the Handbook) are flawed and in need of a(nother) overhaul.  A project for the coming year.  One thing we need to look at is that directors and ministry leaders cannot serve more than 5 consecutive terms -- which means unless something changes a large chunk of the governing body must step down next year. 

p.s. We use Bourinot's Rules, not Robert's Rules, but AFAIK there is no forum to discuss Bourinot's Rules so I have been following along with you folks.

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On 2/27/2023 at 8:33 PM, R.W. said:

We use Bourinot's Rules, not Robert's Rules, but AFAIK there is no forum to discuss Bourinot's Rules so I have been following along with you folks.

I know of no such forum, either. But since this is a forum for RONR, what we have to say may not be at all applicable to Bourinot's. If Bourinot's is silent on a particular matter, what RONR has to say about the matter may be persuasive. But it certainly is not binding.

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On 2/27/2023 at 1:30 PM, R.W. said:

The unsuitable person was not in attendance, so could not have been re-nominated from the floor.

Why not? Being present is not a required condition for being nominated.  The only requirement is being eligible for election, from the point of view of the rules.

Edited by Gary Novosielski
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On 2/28/2023 at 10:49 AM, Atul Kapur said:

QED 😉

Wellll, yes, but I see I was not the only one to post a somewhat redundant reply on that point, which gives me a soupçon of solace that any damage I did was minor.  <whew> 😥

"If anyone disagrees with anything I say, I am quite prepared not only to retract it, but to deny under oath I ever said it."
--Tom Lehrer

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On 2/27/2023 at 10:33 PM, R.W. said:

p.s. We use Bourinot's Rules, not Robert's Rules, but AFAIK there is no forum to discuss Bourinot's Rules

On 2/27/2023 at 11:43 PM, Weldon Merritt said:

I know of no such forum, either.

The American Institute of Parliamentarians and its Opinions Committee accept and welcome questions based on Bourinot's. Members can use the Member's Forum. Non-members can use the Public Forum - you can find it on the menu bar.

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On 2/28/2023 at 9:14 AM, Atul Kapur said:

The American Institute of Parliamentarians and its Opinions Committee accept and welcome questions based on Bourinot's. Members can use the Member's Forum. Non-members can use the Public Forum - you can find it on the menu bar.

As a past AIP board member, I am embarrassed to say that I completely forgot about that resource.🙁 Thanks for mentioning it.

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