President won't act on calling election

[Guest Oldsman68]

Our organization holds elections by the general membership every four years for the Board of Directors positions including Zone Directors and the Executive Committee (president, vice president, secretary, and treasurer). In the election held in 2010 there was not a candidate for secretary so when the term of the past secretary expired the organization was left with an unfilled position.

During recent communications with RONR members on the unfilled position it was determined that, according to the bylaws and Robert’s Rules of Order, the organization needs to hold another election to fill the position of secretary. This information was presented to the Board of Directors and was accepted by a majority of the Board Members. The dissenting positions were the president, the vice president and one of the Zone Directors. (Total voting members on the Board = 19)

After the information regarding the need for an election to fill the position of secretary was provided to the Board Members the president made a statement saying that he has found a person willing to take the position and wanted to appoint her as the organization secretary under his authority to fill a vacancy on the Board. (It has been determined that we have an unfilled position, not a vacancy.)

The Zone Director made a motion to accept this appointment, but there has been no second to the motion. When the motion was made a Point of Order was called that the motion is not valid since there is a requirement that the person who will fill this unfilled position must be elected by the membership, not the Board of Directors.

Other communications from Board Members have called on the president and Executive Committee to move forward with the election announcement in our national magazine to seek nominations for the position of Secretary. There are Bylaws regarding nominations, candidate profiles, and a membership voting procedure in place.

To date there is: 1.) a motion without a second and 2.) a called Point of Order that has not been ruled on, and 3.) no further communication from the president on moving forward with the election process.

What is the proper procedure for the Board Members to cause the election process to begin? What can be done by the Board to cause the president & Executive Committee to schedule the election for the unfilled position?

Thank you,

Gene

[hmtcastle]

What is the proper procedure for the Board Members to cause the election process to begin?

Why involve the board at all?

What can be done by the Board to cause the president & Executive Committee to schedule the election for the unfilled position?

Leave the board out of it. Call a special meeting of the association, if possible, or wait until the next regular meeting. Then proceed. Without the cooperation of the president, if you must.

[Guest Oldsman68]

Why involve the board at all?

Leave the board out of it. Call a special meeting of the association, if possible, or wait until the next regular meeting. Then proceed. Without the cooperation of the president, if you must.

This is a nationwide organization that meets only once per year for a convention. The business of the organization is handled through the Executive Committee and voting by the Board of Directors during the rest of the year. The next General Membership Meeting will be at the annual convention in July of 2011. The meeting of the Membership will take place after the Board of Directors meeting at the same convention. If possible the majority of the Board would like to have the position filled before the convention.

Does Robert's Rules of Order address the method of calling an election that results in a nationwide election by mail-in ballots?

Thanks,

Gene

[hmtcastle]

Does Robert's Rules of Order address the method of calling an election that results in a nationwide election by mail-in ballots?

Absentee (mail-in) voting is prohibited (by RONR) unless authorized by your bylaws (or some superior rule or law). RONR describes a "double-envelope" method but, aside from that, the details of absentee voting are left to each organization to figure out.

Since you meet only once a year, you might want to figure out a way to prevent incomplete elections (such as the recent one for secretary). You also might want to figure out why no one is willing to serve as secretary. Of course that won't solve your immediate problem.

[Guest Oldsman68]

Our organization does have a process in place to have mail-in ballots. It is probably not a sophisticated as the "double envelope" procedure, but until this year it has worked well for us.

The issue now is that the need for an election to fill the unfilled position must be announced in the monthly publication, followed by nominations, with opportunities for the nominees to provide a bio in the national magazine. Then the membership at large is asked to vote their preference.

Getting the announcement into the organization magazine is the next step. Is a motion to require the election to be held following the organization's procedure to fill the unfilled position in order?

Thanks,

Gene

[Josh Martin]

To date there is: 1.) a motion without a second and 2.) a called Point of Order that has not been ruled on, and 3.) no further communication from the president on moving forward with the election process.

Do your Bylaws provide for the board to conduct business outside of meetings (as that is what appears to be happening)?

What is the proper procedure for the Board Members to cause the election process to begin? What can be done by the Board to cause the president & Executive Committee to schedule the election for the unfilled position?

Do the Bylaws grant the board the authority to call a special meeting of the general membership? That would be one way.

Our organization does have a process in place to have mail-in ballots. It is probably not a sophisticated as the "double envelope" procedure, but until this year it has worked well for us.

Okay, but does that procedure apply to elections? It might or might not. Read your Bylaws carefully.

The issue now is that the need for an election to fill the unfilled position must be announced in the monthly publication, followed by nominations, with opportunities for the nominees to provide a bio in the national magazine.

I think it could be reasonably argued that these requirements don't necessarily apply here, since this isn't a new election but a continuation of an incomplete election, although this is ultimately a question of Bylaws interpretation. Some procedure of gathering nominations will need to be followed, of course.

Is a motion to require the election to be held following the organization's procedure to fill the unfilled position in order?

I have no idea. There are too many unknown variables that rely on the exact wording of your organization's Bylaws. I think your problem is rapidly exceeding the bounds of RONR (and therefore, this forum), as more and more of your questions rely on the rules of your Bylaws. You might need a professional parliamentarian to help you sort out this mess. Both the National Association of Parliamentarians and American Institute of Parliamentarians provide referrals.