deactivation of board of election member

[gregory]

Just recently, one of our 3 board of election officials was "deactivated" from her elected position by our President.

Our bylaws do not speak to anything regarding deactivating any elected official, or member or Officer for that matter. This term is completely out of left field.

Our International constitution DOES allow any member to file charges against anyone, it also allows any member to be found in bad standing, but nothing there about deactivation.

I found nothing in RONR about deactivation of a elected Board of Election official or anyone else. Does any one have any clue where this concept might come from and what can she do about this to remedy the problem.

[hmtcastle]

Does any one have any clue where this concept might come from and what can she do about this to remedy the problem.

Why not ask your president [a] what he meant by the term and where he gets the authority to do whatever it means?

It might have sprung from his over-active imagination, in which case the "deactivated" person can simply ignore it.

And see FAQ #20 if you want to deactivate your president.

[Gary Novosielski]

Just recently, one of our 3 board of election officials was "deactivated" from her elected position by our President.

Our bylaws do not speak to anything regarding deactivating any elected official, or member or Officer for that matter. This term is completely out of left field.

Our International constitution DOES allow any member to file charges against anyone, it also allows any member to be found in bad standing, but nothing there about deactivation.

I found nothing in RONR about deactivation of a elected Board of Election official or anyone else. Does any one have any clue where this concept might come from and what can she do about this to remedy the problem.

Nope, there's nothing in there anything like that. Find out what the president is smoking.

..oh, and this probably means that there is no problem. Bogus pronouncements should usually be ignored.

[Tim Wynn]

Just recently, one of our 3 board of election officials was "deactivated" from her elected position by our President.

No, she wasn't (I've already read further.)

Our bylaws do not speak to anything regarding deactivating any elected official, or member or Officer for that matter. This term is completely out of left field.

It's out of left field, and yet, you are repeating it as if it were a fact. This phenomenon is the problem. I've seen it before. Someone will waltz in, declare something, and the entire assembly will go along with it under protest.

Our International constitution DOES allow any member to file charges against anyone,

That sounds like bad policy to me.

I found nothing in RONR about deactivation of a elected Board of Election official or anyone else.

You won't.

Does any one have any clue where this concept might come from

Check the Left Fielder's Guide to Common Occurrences.

and what can she do about this to remedy the problem.

She can continue to serve in her capacity as an elected official. Also, she or any member can raise a point of order if the president tries to treat her as any different than the elected official that she is.

If someone tells you that you can't come to meetings anymore and you stop attending because of it, how was that person wrong? If no one stands up for the rules, this president will be able to declare anything and get away with it.

[Josh Martin]

That sounds like bad policy to me.

But not an unusual policy for large professional organizations with standing committees on discipline. (RONR, 10th ed., pg. 641, lines 16-24) Generally the act of "filing charges" simply means that such a committee will initiate an investigation into the matter.

If you are interpreting "filing charges" as equivalent to "preferring charges," then yes, I would agree with your statement, but I hope that is not what the poster meant.