Is the Nominating Committee Required to Notify a Candidate That Someone Will Be Running From the Floor Against Them?

[Guest Doreen G.]

Our members were sent notification of the Nominating Committee’s proposed slate of officers. Per bylaws, someone notified the Nominating Committee chairperson that they intend to run from the floor for a particular position. Is the chairperson required to inform the other candidate that they are now running against someone else for the same position?

[Richard Brown]

On 3/22/2024 at 3:19 PM, Guest Doreen G. said:

Our members were sent notification of the Nominating Committee’s proposed slate of officers. Per bylaws, someone notified the Nominating Committee chairperson that they intend to run from the floor for a particular position. Is the chairperson required to inform the other candidate that they are now running against someone else for the same position?

No rule in RONR requires it.

[Josh Martin]

On 3/22/2024 at 3:19 PM, Guest Doreen G. said:

Our members were sent notification of the Nominating Committee’s proposed slate of officers. Per bylaws, someone notified the Nominating Committee chairperson that they intend to run from the floor for a particular position. Is the chairperson required to inform the other candidate that they are now running against someone else for the same position?

It seems to me this is a question concerning the meaning of your own bylaws. I concur with Mr. Brown that nothing in RONR requires the Nominating Committee to inform their nominated candidates of persons known to them who are intending to run from the floor (nor does anything in RONR prohibit this).

But I think important context for this is that there is also nothing in RONR which requires candidates to notify the Nominating Committee of their intent to run from the floor. 

Your organization, for whatever reason, does require the Nominating Committee to be notified of persons intending to run from the floor. I suppose your organization will need to interpret its bylaws to determine for what purpose this is required, and what (if anything) the Nominating Committee is supposed to do with this information.

Edited March 23, 2024 at 01:19 PM by Josh Martin

[Gary Novosielski]

On 3/22/2024 at 4:19 PM, Guest Doreen G. said:

Our members were sent notification of the Nominating Committee’s proposed slate of officers. Per bylaws, someone notified the Nominating Committee chairperson that they intend to run from the floor for a particular position. Is the chairperson required to inform the other candidate that they are now running against someone else for the same position?

That's an unusual bylaw provision, especially since it does not say what it expects the bylaws committee to do with that information.  Perhaps it was intended to allow the bylaws committee, when informed that someone intends to run, to inform them that they are already being considered?  

Anyway, the report of the Nominating Committee is not properly called a slate, but rather a list of individual nominations.