Board elections

[Guest Mr. G]

Situation/Question: Can you resign from one Board position and be elected to another?? The Presidents slot comes open when current term is completed. The members elected 3 people to fill the Presidents position, as well as 2 other open Board positions. The current Vice President has 1 additional year to serve on his current term, but thinks he would like to vacate his current position and be elected the new President. Our bylaws are not clear on how this could occur. If the VP resigned his office, he would no longer be a Board member, and would have to be reelected to the Board by the members in order to seek the office of President. Resignation seems to be the only way he could make this transition?

[Mr. J!]

Situation/Question: Can you resign from one Board position and be elected to another?? The Presidents slot comes open when current term is completed. The members elected 3 people to fill the Presidents position, as well as 2 other open Board positions. The current Vice President has 1 additional year to serve on his current term, but thinks he would like to vacate his current position and be elected the new President. Our bylaws are not clear on how this could occur. If the VP resigned his office, he would no longer be a Board member, and would have to be reelected to the Board by the members in order to seek the office of President. Resignation seems to be the only way he could make this transition?

Nothing in RONR would require resignation from an office simply because a member has been nominated to another office. If the VP is elected to and accepts the office of president, at that point you would have a vacancy in the office of VP.

Your own rules might differ. Check your bylaws carefully.

[Kim Goldsworthy]

The Presidents slot comes open when current term is completed. The members elected 3 people to fill the Presidents position, as well as 2 other open Board positions.

What do you mean, you elected three people to fill the president's position?

Do you have (or will you have) three presidents, simultaneously?

That's impossible.

Or, do you have a 1st president, 2nd president, 3rd president, just like some organizations have 1st VP, 2nd VP, 3rd VP?

The current Vice President ... thinks he would like to vacate his current position and be elected the new President.

Wait a minute. Reality check. Arithmetic check.

If you have elected 3 people, so far, to be president, then what is stopping you from creating a full house and and electing 4, 5, 6, ..., N presidents?

[hmtcastle]

What do you mean, you elected three people to fill the president's position?

Do you have (or will you have) three presidents, simultaneously?

That's impossible.

That got my attention as well but I suspect it's just a case of a misplaced comma and what was intended was: The members elected 3 people to fill the President's position as well as 2 other open Board positions.

It also seems that the general membership elects board members and then the board elects its officers. So the members didn't elect the president but, rather, a board member to the seat that was held by the president.

[Guest Mr. G]

What do you mean, you elected three people to fill the president's position?

Do you have (or will you have) three presidents, simultaneously?

That's impossible.

Or, do you have a 1st president, 2nd president, 3rd president, just like some organizations have 1st VP, 2nd VP, 3rd VP?

Wait a minute. Reality check. Arithmetic check.

If you have elected 3 people, so far, to be president, then what is stopping you from creating a full house and and electing 4, 5, 6, ..., N presidents?

[David A Foulkes]

Situation/Question: Can you resign from one Board position and be elected to another?? The Presidents slot comes open when current term is completed. The members elected 3 people to fill the Presidents position, as well as 2 other open Board positions. The current Vice President has 1 additional year to serve on his current term, but thinks he would like to vacate his current position and be elected the new President. Our bylaws are not clear on how this could occur. If the VP resigned his office, he would no longer be a Board member, and would have to be reelected to the Board by the members in order to seek the office of President. Resignation seems to be the only way he could make this transition?

Nothing in RONR would require resignation from an office simply because a member has been nominated to another office. If the VP is elected to and accepts the office of president, at that point you would have a vacancy in the office of VP.

Your own rules might differ. Check your bylaws carefully.

I think it's fair to say Mr. G needs to clarify a question or two.

1. Who elects the Officers - the Board or the general Membership? Does the general membership elect to the Board and then the Board elects its own officers? But your references above indicate the membership "elected...to fill the President's position" and that the membership elects to the Board as well, and that in order to hold an office, you must first be elected to the Board. Whew!

Mr. J - I don't believe the election to P for the VP automatically creates a vacancy in the VP-ship, perhaps unless the bylaws dictate no holding more than one office. Theoretically the VP could also be the P as well, since his VP term hasn't expired yet. True, this sort of arrangement can be problematic, but I'm not sure the vacancy is automatic, is it? And I'll take me answer of the air.

[Guest Mr. G]

Clarification: The owners elected 3 people to fill the new 3 open slots of President, Treasurer, and 5th Brd Member at Large. (one for each slot)

Now the VP with 1 year to go on his current term wants to be President, even though his term is not up for another year. He wants to throw his hat into the ring for voting. How can this occur, without him resigning his current office, and then having to stand for reelection to the Board, in order to run for President? I don't think you can simply resign one office with 1 yr. remaining, and decide to run for another office that just comes open?

[hmtcastle]

Clarification: The owners elected 3 people to fill the new 3 open slots of President, Treasurer, and 5th Brd Member at Large. (one for each slot)

Now the VP with 1 year to go on his current term wants to be President, even though his term is not up for another year. He wants to throw his hat into the ring for voting. How can this occur, without him resigning his current office, and then having to stand for reelection to the Board, in order to run for President? I don't think you can simply resign one office with 1 yr. remaining, and decide to run for another office that just comes open?

You said that the (general) members had already elected three members of the board.

Do the general members elect the president directly or is the president (and other officers) elected by the board members once the board members have been elected by the membership?

In any case, nothing in RONR requires that the vice-president resign in order to run for president. If he's elected he chooses which office he wants and you hold another election for the office he doesn't want.

[Guest Mr. G]

One more clarification: The members elect the new members of the Board. The Board elects their own officers.

[Rob Elsman]

Clarification: The owners elected 3 people to fill the new 3 open slots of President, Treasurer, and 5th Brd Member at Large. (one for each slot)

Now the VP with 1 year to go on his current term wants to be President, even though his term is not up for another year. He wants to throw his hat into the ring for voting. How can this occur, without him resigning his current office, and then having to stand for reelection to the Board, in order to run for President? I don't think you can simply resign one office with 1 yr. remaining, and decide to run for another office that just comes open?

No rule in RONR prohibits a currently-serving vice president from standing in an election for president. Unless the bylaws prescribe something else, a vice president who wins the election for president resigns as vice president, and the office of vice president is filled in the regular way of filling occasional vacancies.