Officer Resignation/Bylaws unclear on replacement

[ConfusedandQuestioned]

My organization consists of a President; a President-Elect; Secretary, Treasurer, and a couple of other "executive" positions.  The President-Elect is elected every 2 years.  Once the person serves their 2 year term, they automatically move into the President position.  In August 2023, there will be an election to vote on a new president-elect.  However, the existing president-elect just resigned her position so currently, we have no one moving into the President position in the fall.   According to the bylaws: 

Terms of Office: 

a. The President shall serve for one (1) two (2) year term.
b. The President-elect shall serve for one (1) two (2) year term. The President-elect will be elected in odd numbered years. If for any reason the President is unable to fulfill his/her obligation, the President-elect will assume the duties of the President. The President-elect will assume the office of the President upon completion of the President-elect’s term. 

 

Vacancies of Elected Officers

1. A vacancy in the office of President shall be filled by the President-elect.

2. A vacancy in any of the other office positions of shall be filled by a special election called by the Executive Committee.

So my question is how should we proceed?  According to the bylaws, the call for nominations should be posted for two months prior to the election. We can't hold a special election to fill the office because the regular election will take place in August.  There just simply isn't enough time to hold that special election.  If we hold the regular election in August, would that person immediately move to the president position and then we are forced to hold a special election for another president-elect?  There is no other language in the bylaws that address this issue.  Could the nominating committee or executive board appoint a new president and keep the person that will be elected in August as the President-Elect so they can get the two years of experience prior to becoming president?  Is there a rule to address this that I can take to my board?

 

[Josh Martin]

On 6/29/2023 at 10:10 PM, ConfusedandQuestioned said:

So my question is how should we proceed?  According to the bylaws, the call for nominations should be posted for two months prior to the election. We can't hold a special election to fill the office because the regular election will take place in August.  There just simply isn't enough time to hold that special election.

Assuming for the sake of argument that, under your bylaws, it is impossible to fill the vacancy in the office of President-Elect in time, then it seems the positions will need to be filled in the regular election.

You do say, however, that the bylaws say the call should be posted for two months prior to the election. That seems to suggest some latitude, but it's difficult to tell from a paraphrase. What is the exact wording in the bylaws on this matter?

On 6/29/2023 at 10:10 PM, ConfusedandQuestioned said:

If we hold the regular election in August, would that person immediately move to the president position and then we are forced to hold a special election for another president-elect?

No, that would be rather silly.

It would seem to me that what should be done in the unusual circumstance that the office of President-Elect is vacant at the time of elections is that an election should be to elect a President and then elect a President-Elect.

I suppose what could be done in the alternative would be to elect a President-Elect, for that person to immediately become President, and then to immediately elect another President-Elect, but since it amounts to the same thing in the end, this seems unnecessary.

On 6/29/2023 at 10:10 PM, ConfusedandQuestioned said:

Could the nominating committee or executive board appoint a new president and keep the person that will be elected in August as the President-Elect so they can get the two years of experience prior to becoming president?

No. The bylaws do not authorize the Nominating Committee or the Executive Board to appoint the President.

Elections should be held both for the office of President and President-Elect.

Edited June 30, 2023 at 11:23 AM by Josh Martin