Nomination requirements

[Guest Kim Chepey]

If nominations are scheduled for a timeframe to allow email nominations prior to voting, but the acceptance of the nomination is not received until after the nomination deadline, is the nomination valid?

Example: nominations set by Chair that were sent to all members end at 5pm on a Thursday and voting begins at 5pm on Friday, but the nominee does not submit his acceptance until 5:11pm on Thursday, after nomination window ends. Is the nominee still eligible for the voting process? 

[Joshua Katz]

This whole procedure will be found in your bylaws, as it's a customized rule for your organization. What does the relevant bylaws provision say?

[Guest Kim Chepey]

It doesn't say specifically, and that's our problem. It states that the voting parameters are set by the Chair, but doesn't specifically state that the acceptance needs to be made before the close of the nomination time. However, if the nominee does not accept before the end of the specified time, does that make them an eligible nominee? In this case, another member nominates an individual without their previous knowledge or commitment to accept.  The Elections Committee notifies the nominated party who has also previously received the timeframe for nominations. The nominee doesn't respond until after the cutoff time has ended for nominations. Therefore, the question asked is did the meet the designated timeframe for nominations?

[Joshua Katz]

Do the bylaws authorize this nomination by email at all?

[Atul Kapur]

On 6/30/2024 at 6:16 PM, Guest Kim Chepey said:

It states that the voting parameters are set by the Chair

Well, if the Chair is designated to make those decisions, that's who to ask.

On 6/30/2024 at 4:55 PM, Joshua Katz said:

This whole procedure will be found in your bylaws, as it's a customized rule for your organization.

I don't believe that these need to be in the bylaws themselves and, further, believe it would be an error to encumber the bylaws with all this detail. That is not to say that they shouldn't be codified and adopted, just that they do not need to be in the bylaws. 

[Joshua Katz]

On 6/30/2024 at 3:48 PM, Atul Kapur said:

I don't believe that these need to be in the bylaws themselves and, further, believe it would be an error to encumber the bylaws with all this detail. That is not to say that they shouldn't be codified and adopted, just that they do not need to be in the bylaws. 

i would disagree, to a point. Nominations are business. Conducting business by email requires bylaw authorization. If you mean it needn't go into great detail, that's something different. But some authorization is needed.

To a point, you could maybe work around that. But a limited point. 

[Atul Kapur]

I responded to you saying "this whole procedure"

On 6/30/2024 at 6:51 PM, Joshua Katz said:

If you mean it needn't go into great detail

That is indeed what I meant when I said

On 6/30/2024 at 6:48 PM, Atul Kapur said:

it would be an error to encumber the bylaws with all this detail

 

Edited June 30, 2024 at 11:28 PM by Atul Kapur

[Joshua Katz]

Okay. By "whole procedure" I meant that of nominating by email. Sorry for any confusion.

[Drake Savory]

And what is the wording?  "Nominations shall be made by ..." and "Nominations shall be received by ..." are two very different standards.

[Gary Novosielski]

Oh, I don't know.   If there is a rule that nominations shall be made by radiotelegraph, there is an assumption that that is how they will be received.

[Atul Kapur]

On 7/1/2024 at 6:59 PM, Drake Savory said:

And what is the wording?  "Nominations shall be made by ..." and "Nominations shall be received by ..." are two very different standards.

Which of those does the organization prefer? Personally, I would use received, because that is what the organization can verify and sets a firm deadline. If you use the alternative, "nominations must be made by [deadline]," then there is uncertainty because the organization does not control the speed of transmission of the various routes and doesn't know how long to wait after the deadline to account for transmission of the nomination. As well, there is the possibility of an unnecessary complication if a nomination is lost in transit; if the wording is "received" then this uncertainty is removed.