|
Adopted as
policy by the SEJ board on April 5, 1997.
As amended on July 3, 1999; September 15,
1999; January 25, 2003; and March 20, 2004.
These policies do not
supersede any election rules contained in
the SEJ
bylaws. See bylaws for additional
guidance.
CONTENTS
General
Provisions
Election
Preparation
Election Process/Mail
Ballots
Election Process/Regular
Election
Miscellaneous
Provisions
General Provisions
1. Form of Election.
The election of SEJ board members and representatives to the board for academic and associate members, and
votes on bylaws amendments (proposed by
the SEJ board) are accomplished by a
combination of live balloting at the
SEJ Annual Membership Meeting and mail
(absentee) ballots returned prior to
the annual meeting.
2. Quorum. Ballots
returned by mail shall count towards
establishment of a quorum at the annual
meeting, but only with regard to those
election matters included on the mail
ballots. If any issues are brought to
the floor for a vote at the annual
meeting, a quorum (10 percent of
members eligible to vote) must be
established at said meeting for a vote
to be valid.
3. Election
Committee. The election shall be
supervised by a three-member SEJ
Elections Committee (the "committee")
appointed annually by the SEJ Board of
Directors (the "board") at the first
board meeting of the calendar year. One
member shall be an employee of the
society and shall be primarily
responsible for assuring that all
notices and ballots are properly
prepared, mailed in a timely fashion,
and kept secure upon receipt at the SEJ
office. The other two committee members
shall be members of the society who are
not currently serving on or running for
the board. All committee members must
be able to attend the annual membership
meeting.
4. Duties of
Secretary. The board secretary shall be
an ex-officio member of the Elections
committee and is responsible for
assuring that the actions of the
committee are consistent with the
requirements of the bylaws. The
secretary serves as liaison between the
committee and the board. In the event
the secretary is standing for
re-election to the board, the secretary's designee
for that election cycle shall serve as the board's
ex-officio representative on the
Elections committee. This shall not
preclude the secretary from performing
duties required by the bylaws, such as
issuing notice of the time and location
of the annual meeting or alerting the
board to any actions of the Elections
committee that may be inconsistent with
the bylaws.
Election Preparation
1. Call for
Candidates. The Elections committee
shall issue a call for candidates no
less than 90 days prior to the date set
for the annual membership meeting at which
the election will be completed. The committee
shall provide electronic notice to those SEJ members
who are eligible to hold office as board members
and as academic and associate member
representatives, and who elect to be notified
solely by e-mail. This
notice shall be given by First Class
mail to all members eligible to hold
office, and also may, at the designation of the elections committee, be mailed to members who have also been notified electronically.
The e-mail transmission will be delayed
so it arrives at approximately the same
time as the mailing, although the
delayed transmission shall not exceed
three working days. Said notice shall
list the number and terms of the
positions expiring, the requirements of
holding office, filing procedures and
campaigning policies (see Election
Process/Regular Election, Section 3,
regarding spending.) In years when the
academic and associate member
representatives are elected, a separate
letter or electronic notice, as set
forth earlier, may be used to issue a
call for those candidates, but in any case the entire membership shall be informed of any and all vacancies in the active, academic and associate categories as part of the call for candidates. The filing
deadline shall allow at least 45 days
for candidates to respond, but permit
sufficient time for the committee to
prepare and deliver mail
ballots.
2. Electronic Notice. Members will have a choice between electronic notification of the Call for Candidates and notice by regular, First Class mail. Members who do not indicate a preference will be notified by First Class mail. The Elections committee will follow up the e-mail or regular mail notice with two subsequent notices on the SEJ-Announce listserv before the deadline for filing a notice of the candidate's intention to run for elective office.
3. Candidate Filings.
Qualified members shall file as a
candidate by submitting to the
committee, care of the SEJ office, a
brief, signed letter declaring their interest in
representing a specific membership category
(regular, academic, associate) on the board. Candidates must also submit
a signed statement, limited to a single side
of an 8.5 by 11 inch sheet of paper,
outlining their qualifications and
objectives for holding office. The
one-page statement may take any printed
form but must be easily reproducible
for distribution with the mail ballots.
Failure to comply with said policies
will result in disqualification.
Candidates' original filings must be submitted
by First Class mail or other delivery service because of the need for an original signature. E-mail, facsimile, or other electronic filing will disqualify the submission.
4. Voter List. The
committee shall prepare a list of
eligible voters who as of 60 days prior
to the annual membership meeting are
members in good standing. Ballots shall
be mailed only to persons on the
eligible voter list.
Election Process/Mail
Ballots
1. Ballots. The
committee shall prepare a ballot for
each category of director listing
candidates in alphabetical order with a
box next to each name for casting a
vote. In the event the board has
proposed a bylaws amendment, the
appropriate language shall be included
on the ballots sent to active members,
with boxes for both "yes" and "no"
responses. Instructions shall be listed
at the top of the ballot. To protect
against the counterfeiting of ballots,
the Elections committee may employ
appropriate means such as the selection of
certain papers having unusual colors or
watermarks.
2. Ballot Mailing.
The ballot mailing,
to be sent no more
than 50 days nor less than 30 days
prior to the annual membership meeting,
shall include at a minimum:
A. The appropriate
ballot for that category of member
receiving the ballot.
B. Instructions for finding the
one-page candidate statement submitted by each
candidate on the SEJ World Wide Web site; or, if
the member has requested, a photocopy reproduction
of the one-page candidate statement submitted by
each candidate.
C. An explanation of the basis
or rationale for any bylaws amendment
proposed by the board. The president
of the society, or his or her designee, shall draft such
explanation. In the event the board
of directors is split on a bylaws
issue, the mailing may include more
than one explanation/argument
reflecting the differing
perspectives.
D. Instructions and materials
necessary to return a valid secret
ballot (see Section 3 below) within
the specified deadline. The
instructions shall also advise
members not to cast a mail ballot if
they intend to attend the annual
membership meeting.
E. A letter from the secretary
satisfying the bylaws requirement for
announcing the date, time and
location of the annual membership
meeting. Said letter may, as deemed
appropriate by the committee, contain
additional information about the
annual meeting or contents of the
ballot mailing. The bylaws require
that said notice be delivered not
less than 10 nor more than 50 days
prior to the annual membership
meeting.
F. All ballot mailing will be via
First Class mail and the return of ballots will be
via First Class mail. The balloting procedures
will not be conducted by electronic means.
3. Secrecy. The
committee shall take care to assure
that all members can cast a secret
ballot. With regard to mail ballots,
the ballot mailing should include a
"ballot" envelope and pre-addressed
"return" envelope. Members will be
instructed to place their completed
ballot in the envelope stamped "ballot"
and seal it. That ballot envelope is to
be placed in the pre-addressed return
envelope. The return envelope shall
contain an area on the back on which
the member is instructed to both
legibly print and sign their name. The
purpose is to both determine
eligibility and to preserve the secrecy
of the ballot.
4. Additional
Materials. In keeping with the SEJ
board's intent to keep all members
fully informed regarding the business
of the society, the ballot mailings
should contain a separate packet of
information regarding election matters,
in addition to that which a member
would automatically receive based on
their membership category. Said packet may
be printed on a different color paper to
distinguish it from official election
materials and should include a cover
note from the president, or his or her
designee, explaining what is attached
and that it is included for
informational purposes only. Examples
of information that would be included
in the informational packets:
A. Active members would
receive copies of the one-page
statements of candidates for the
academic and associate representatives to
the board (in those years when such
elections are conducted.)
B. Associate members would
receive copies of the statements of
candidates for active and academic
representatives to the board, and complete
information regarding any proposed
bylaws amendment. (Note: Even in
years in which academic and associate
members do not cast any ballots, they
would receive the secretary's letter
notifying all members of the annual
membership meeting. Thus, these
informational packets could be
included with that mailing.)
C. Academic members would
receive copies of the statements of
candidates for active and associate
representatives to the board, and complete
information regarding any proposed
bylaws amendment.
D. Honorary members would, in
addition to the annual meeting
notice, receive copies of all
candidate statements and complete
information regarding any proposed
bylaws amendment.
5. Review. Prior to
mailing of the ballot packets, the
board secretary shall review the ballot
and other materials contained therein
to assure the mailing complies with the
bylaws and election policies.
6. Processing Mail
Ballots. The Elections committee shall
designate a member of the committee to
collect the returned mail ballots at
the designated mailbox. That person
shall check the eligibility of the
voter, confirming it against the master
voter list and marking that member as
having voted. Once eligibility is
determined, the outer envelope will be
opened and the "ballot" envelope inside
will be placed, unopened, in a secure
ballot box. If the name appearing on
the outside of the envelope is deemed
to be illegible by a majority vote of
the Elections committee, the ballot
shall not be counted.
7. Security. Both the
election list and the ballot box shall
remain in a secure place under
supervision of the designated committee
member, who will be charged with
bringing both to the annual
meeting.
Election Process/Regular
Election
1. Live Ballots. The
committee shall prepare ballots for use
during the live election held at the
annual membership meeting. Said ballots
shall be identical to those used for
the mail ballot, except for the
instructions regarding the return of
the mail ballot.
2. Official Postings.
The committee shall see that the
one-page candidate statements and
information regarding any proposed
bylaws amendment are conspicuously
posted near the location of the annual
meeting no less than one hour prior to
the start of the meeting. Said material
may also, at the committee's
discretion, be posted at other
locations when the annual meeting is
conducted in conjunction with the SEJ
annual conference.
3. Campaigning. The
committee may but is not required to
designate other locations at the site
of the annual meeting or annual
conference at which candidates may post
other election materials. In the spirit
of SEJ and its non-profit status,
candidates are encouraged to keep
campaign spending at a minimum.
Independent mass mailings of campaign
materials by candidates or their
surrogates are discouraged.
4. Presiding Officer
and Assistants. The committee shall
designate a committee member to preside
over the live election at the
appropriate time during the annual
membership meeting. The committee may
also select a limited number of
assistants to help with tasks other
than the direct handling or counting of
ballots.
5. Candidate Oral
Statements. Each candidate present for
the election shall have the opportunity
to make a brief statement, limited to 2
minutes, regarding his or her
qualifications and reasons for seeking
election. In the event that a candidate
for office is unable to attend the
annual meeting, the candidate may
request another active member in good
standing to read a two-minute statement
prepared by the candidate on behalf
of the absent candidate. However, the
candidate who is unable to attend the
meeting and makes such a request must
notify the chair of the Elections
committee 48 hours in advance of the
annual meeting providing a bona fide
reason for the absence such as
sickness, family problems, work
assignments or other reasons preventing
such attendance. This statement will
become part of the record of the annual
meeting. Once the polls are open, there
will be no campaigning in the room
designated for balloting.
6. Floor Nominations.
All candidates for election to the
board positions must file as
candidates as provided in the Election
Policies process enabling the
Elections committee to review both their
status and eligibility for election in
active, associate, or academic
categories as well as their current
status as members in good standing
through payment of dues. There will be
no exceptions to this rule. The
Elections committee will not entertain
floor nominations.
7. Distribution of
Ballots. Once the presiding election
official announces the opening of the
polls, the other two committee members,
seated at an appropriate place, shall
direct the distribution of the ballots
and record who has received a ballot.
Members shown to have voted by mail
will not be entitled to receive a
ballot.
8. Opening of Polls.
The polls shall remain open for 30
minutes or until all those waiting to
vote are served. Each voter shall place
their ballot in the official ballot box
containing the unopened mail ballots.
The presiding election official shall
give 5 minutes advance notice of the
closing of the polls, after which the
committee shall retire to count the
ballots.
9. Tabulation
Process. Prior to tabulating the vote,
the committee shall count the total
number of ballots against the number of
names checked off the master voter list
to make sure the two coincide. Any
discrepancy must be resolved before the
returns are certified. The committee
shall employ vote-counting procedures
that assure true and accurate results,
and shall permit up to two independent
observers to watch the vote tabulation.
Any election in which the margin
between a winner and loser is fewer
than 10 votes should be automatically
recounted before results are
announced.
10. Tie Votes. In the
event of a tie vote for the election of
directors or election of academic and associate representatives, the tie will be broken by a
secret ballot of the sitting directors.
The losing candidate shall for a period
of one year be given first priority
should the SEJ board need to fill a
vacancy on the board on an interim
basis. (See bylaws for related election
provisions regarding vacancies and
un-expired terms.) In the event of a tie
vote regarding a proposed bylaws
amendment, the amendment would
fail.
11. Un-expired Terms.
When one or more of the open director
positions is an un-expired term, the
shorter-term position(s) will be filled
by the winning candidate(s) with the
lowest vote total(s). The winning
candidates with the higher vote totals
will fill the regular, three-year
terms.
12. Announcement of
Results. The results of the election,
signed by the committee, will be
submitted to the board secretary (or
the secretary's designee, if the secretary is a
candidate) and the names of the winning
candidates announced during the annual
membership meeting, if feasible. If not
feasible, the winners should be
announced during a subsequent general
attendance event at the annual
conference. The winners will also be
published in the society newsletter.
The secretary, or the secretary's designee, if the
secretary is a candidate, will post
election results on the SEJ web site as
soon as is possible. Vote totals are
not announced at the annual meeting,
but for all candidates shall be posted
during the annual conference and
recorded in the minutes of the annual
membership meeting.
Miscellaneous
Provisions
1. Protests. In the
event of a formal protest or challenge
to the election, the committee shall
review the matter and submit its
recommendation to the board for action.
If the outcome of an election is
changed materially, the board may call
a special election.
2. Adoption. The
election rules shall be adopted by the
board and may by revised as necessary
by a majority vote. The membership of
the society shall receive due and
adequate notice before the board adopts
any significant and material changes to
the election rules.
3. Powers. The
Elections committee is empowered to make
such decisions as required to assure
the smooth conduct of the election, but
it must advise the board of any
material changes in the way the
election is conducted. The secretary or
designee of the board shall act as
liaison between the board and the
committee.
4. Terms. Members of
the Election committee are appointed at
the first board meeting of each
calendar year and serve for one regular
election cycle, with their terms
automatically expiring one month after
the completion of the regular election.
The terms of committee members may be
temporarily extended by vote of the
board should the committee need to
review a protest or challenge. Members
of the committee may be reappointed in
subsequent years.
5. Removal. The
members of the Elections committee serve
at the pleasure of the board but during
the course of an election can only be
removed by a three-fourths majority
vote of the board members in attendance
at an official board meeting.
6. Elections Committee Guidelines. Members should be aware that in addition to this document that has been adopted by the SEJ board, there is in addition a document called "Election Guidelines." This document is prepared by the Elections Committee to supplement, but not supplant, the Policies and serves as a document to assist the committee in the conduct of the election. It is an advisory document only.
Back to the top
|