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Elected officer does not take office; is the result an incomplete election or fill a vacancy?


Beverly Przybylski

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An election was properly held at the designated time and all of the officers were present and accepted the results of their election. They assume office about two months after the election, which hasn't occurred yet. The bylaws state that in the event that the office of president becomes vacant, the vice president will automatically fill the vacancy.

All the current officers are still serving until the end of their terms in about three weeks.

A few weeks after the election, but before the newly elected officers assume office, the president resigned. The person who was elected to be president, although accepted the results of the election, did not assume office and never actually became president. They were essentially president-elect, although there is no position in the bylaws called president-elect.

Is this now a situation to fill a vacancy and the person elected vice president moves up to the position of president-elect and we follow the bylaws to fill the office of vice president?

Or is it an incomplete election and notice and a special election is now held for the office of president and the incoming vice president just stays as vice president-elect?

Your insight and thoughts on the problem will be both helpful!

Thank you,

Beverly Przybylski, PRP

 

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On 5/26/2023 at 4:29 PM, Beverly Przybylski said:

An election was properly held at the designated time and all of the officers were present and accepted the results of their election. They assume office about two months after the election, which hasn't occurred yet. The bylaws state that in the event that the office of president becomes vacant, the vice president will automatically fill the vacancy.

All the current officers are still serving until the end of their terms in about three weeks.

A few weeks after the election, but before the newly elected officers assume office, the president resigned. The person who was elected to be president, although accepted the results of the election, did not assume office and never actually became president. They were essentially president-elect, although there is no position in the bylaws called president-elect.

Is this now a situation to fill a vacancy and the person elected vice president moves up to the position of president-elect and we follow the bylaws to fill the office of vice president?

Or is it an incomplete election and notice and a special election is now held for the office of president and the incoming vice president just stays as vice president-elect?

Your insight and thoughts on the problem will be both helpful!

Thank you,

Beverly Przybylski, PRP

 

Based upon what you have posted, it appears that the person who has been serving as vice-president automatically became president when the president's resignation was accepted and you have a vacancy in the office of vice-president. You may or may not have time or want to fill this vacancy before all the newly elected officers assume office in about three weeks.

But perhaps I have misunderstood the facts.

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On 5/26/2023 at 5:28 PM, Dan Honemann said:

You may or may not have time or want to fill this vacancy before all the newly elected officers assume office in about three weeks.

I read it to say that the person who was elected president, but whose term has not yet begun, was the person who resigned between the time of election and the beginning of their term.

In other words, I read the OP's third paragraph as starting:

"A few weeks after the election, but before the newly elected officers assume office, the [person who won the election as new president] resigned [before assuming the office of president]."

My initial thought is: I don't believe this is an incomplete election. The election became final (= complete) when the person who was elected president did not decline. Therefore I believe Mr. Honemann's answer still applies. The person who was elected vice-president will ascend to president when the terms turn over and you will have a vacancy in the office of vice-president.

Edited by Atul Kapur
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On 5/26/2023 at 8:46 PM, Atul Kapur said:

I read it to say that the person who was elected president, but whose term has not yet begun, was the person who resigned between the time of election and the beginning of their term.

In other words, I read the OP's third paragraph as starting:

"A few weeks after the election, but before the newly elected officers assume office, the [person who won the election as new president] resigned [before assuming the office of president]."

The more I think about it, the more I think that your reading of the facts is correct.

On 5/26/2023 at 8:46 PM, Atul Kapur said:

My initial thought is: I don't believe this is an incomplete election. The election became final (= complete) when the person who was elected president did not decline. Therefore I believe Mr. Honemann's answer still applies. The person who was elected vice-president will ascend to president when the terms turn over and you will have a vacancy in the office of vice-president.

I agree. The only difference is that in this case, as you have noted, the vacancy exists or will exist in the office of the newly elected vice-president when the resignation of the newly elected president became or becomes effective. 

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I need a proofreader or a mind reader. My apologies. I misstated an important part of the equation, but Atul correctly picked up on what I meant to say - that the person elected president (but not yet serving as president) - decided not to assume the office of president.

There is presently no vacancy in any office, but when the new term begins in a few weeks, there will be a new vice president, new secretary, new treasurer, etc., but no new president. 

Do I read your replies correctly, that this could be handled one of two ways?

1 - When the term officially begins there will be an installation ceremony and at that time everyone will be installed, except for the office of president (since there is no person elected to be the next president). Then immediately after, the vice president will automatically ascend to president and the organization can proceed to fill the vacancy in vice president, all this according to their bylaws.

or

2 - If there's time, notice could be given that due to the decision of the person elected to serve as president for the upcoming term to not serve, a special election would be held to elect a new president for the upcoming term.

The current executive board might find the first process easier to manage since it they can easily fill the vacancy, but the second one gives the decision to the members just like a regular election.

So, in your opinions is either process correct?

Thank you so much for your responses. You've been very helpful.

Beverly Przybylski, PRP

 

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Thank you, Dan; the first choice does seem to be the best course. I appreciate you weighing in.

To answer your questions, there is about two months between the election and assuming office. The person elected as the new president resigned as president elect about one month before they were expected to take office.

The bylaws say nothing about a resignation. The bylaws say that a vacancy in the office of president will automatically be filled by the vice president if the vice president has been installed (which is the official indication that the new term has begun). 

If this had been a situation where everyone was already in office, there is a clear path. I'm befuddled because this is about members who have been elected, but not yet in office.  

Bev

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For clarification, this is a state organization that has an annual state conference that includes elections every two years.

The president accepted the president-elect's resignation immediately (about one month after the election).

The bylaws empower the president with many specific duties (accepting resignations is not one of those specific duties) but includes the following: chief executive officer, the official spokesperson, and has general supervision of the affairs of the organization. 

There is an executive committee that has no power to act.

There is a board of directors which is empowered by the bylaws with "general supervision and control of the work during the interim between meetings of the state organization." The board also has power to fill vacancies, but this isn't a vacancy in office.

I do think a solution has been found. The president elect will be asked to accept the office of president through the point of installation (when the term begins), then resign. I think they will be agreeable. 

Thank you for your comments and questions as it gave me the opportunity to think in different ways.

Bev

 

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If the president does not have the power to accept resignations, which would need to be stated in the bylaws, then the resignation has not yet been accepted.  I agree that no vacancy yet exists, but it is the case that the body that has the power to fill vacancies (the board) has the attendant power to accept resignations.  And there has already been a resignation (a request to be excused from a duty) which can and should be accepted by the board.  

Personally, I don't see any reason why the VP-elect shouldn't be considered president-elect as soon as that acceptance happens, as it is clear that a vacancy will exist as soon as the current term ends.  So, I see no impediment to installing the (currently) VP-elect as president when installation ceremonies take place.  Note that RONR considers such ceremonies to be strictly, well, ceremonial, but your bylaws may vary.

A special election for president would not be in order, even if there were time to hold one.  It might make more sense to hold a special election for vice president in anticipation of the vacancy that will occur, but since the board has the power to fill vacancies, that would not be necessary.

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