Contested election

[PurpleDiva]

The membership voted for President, Vice President, Secretary and Sergeant at Arms. The President lost by 2 votes (4 votes were from Proxy). The loser contested the Vote based on Proxies. Proxies are not mentioned in the by-laws, however, Proxies have been accepted for voting for 25 years! The membership voted to only revote for the Presidency. The President (the loser) appointed a nominating committee. This committee has RECOMMENDED that the entire election be trashed and revote all officers! They also recommend entertaining new nominees for each office! Does this appointed committee have the power to set the guidelines for the new election? Shouldn't this be approved by the Executive Board?

[Robert B Fish]

The membership voted for President, Vice President, Secretary and Sergeant at Arms. The President lost by 2 votes (4 votes were from Proxy). The loser contested the Vote based on Proxies. Proxies are not mentioned in the by-laws, however, Proxies have been accepted for voting for 25 years! The membership voted to only revote for the Presidency. The President (the loser) appointed a nominating committee. This committee has RECOMMENDED that the entire election be trashed and revote all officers! They also recommend entertaining new nominees for each office! Does this appointed committee have the power to set the guidelines for the new election? Shouldn't this be approved by the Executive Board?

Even if you have used proxies for 25 years, unless the bylaws allow proxy voting, you cannot do it and it must be discontinued when any member raises a point of order about this violation of your bylaws and the basic principles of parliamentary procedure (i.e. that you must be physically present in order to vote). If your organization wishes to continue this, you must amend your bylaws.

The actions after the election are all improper. Someone could make a pont of roder that the number of illegal votes could have affected the election for president and that position must be revoted. A nominating committee has no power to make such a ruling.

-Bob

[hmtcastle]

Shouldn't this be approved by the Executive Board?

What's your executive board got to do with an election by the general membership and of the general membership?

Though I find it funny that the former president, who should have known that proxies were never permitted, only complains about them when they may have affected the outcome of an election he didn't win. I suppose the last time, when he won, proxies were fine.

[PurpleDiva]

What's your executive board got to do with an election by the general membership and of the general membership?

Though I find it funny that the former president, who should have known that proxies were never permitted, only complains about them when they may have affected the outcome of an election he didn't win. I suppose the last time, when he won, proxies were fine.

Yes, the last election he won with the assistance of Proxies. Proxies were incorporated into the "standard practices" because we did not have a quorum to vote1

[hmtcastle]

Proxies were incorporated into the "standard practices" because we did not have a quorum to vote1

So you (not you, personally) not only allowed proxies when they weren't permitted, but you (not you, personally) counted them towards the quorum requirement when the members weren't present. I think that's known as a daily-double. And not in a good way.