Bylaws Article 5 Elections

Article V. Elections.

Section 1. Annual Election. The election of Officers and directors shall be conducted by secret written ballot, except that if no nominations are received by the Secretary as provided in Article V, Section 2.4, no ballot will be necessary. In this case, the persons selected by the Nominating Committee will be declared elected by the Secretary at the annual meeting of the Association. If additional nominations have been made as provided in Article V, Section 2.4, the Chairperson of the Tally Committee shall report the results of the election at the annual meeting. The nominated candidate receiving the greatest number of votes for each office or position on the board shall be declared elected.

Section 2. Nominations. No person may be a candidate for an office or position on the Board who has not been nominated. Nominations cannot be made at the annual meeting or in any manner other than as provided in this section.

Section 2.1 Nominating Committee. Before November 15th, the Board shall select a Nominating Committee, consisting of three members and one alternate, all members in good standing, none of which shall be a member of the current Board of Directors. The board shall name one member of the committee to serve as Chairperson, who shall be responsible for setting times and dates for Committee meetings and for reporting results to the Association Secretary. The Nominating Committee may conduct its business in person or by use of mail, fax, telephone or other electronic communication, provided that all decisions must be confirmed in writing to all members of the Committee within 10 days.

Section 2.2. Tally Committee. At the same time it selects a Nominating Committee, or immediately before submitting a proposed amendment to the Constitution or Bylaws to the Secretary, the Board of Directors shall select three Association members, living within reasonable driving distance of one another, to serve as the Tally Committee, in the event that it becomes necessary to hold an election or vote on a proposed amendment to the Constitution and Bylaws, and count ballots. The board shall name one member of this committee as Chairperson, who shall receive all mail-in ballots and who shall report the results of the election to the Association Secretary.

Section 2.3. Candidates. The Nominating Committee shall nominate from among the eligible members of the Association, one candidate for each office and for each other position on the Board of Directors and shall procure acceptance of each nominee. The Committee should consider geographical representation of the membership when selecting nominees to the extent that it is practicable to do so. No person shall be nominated for more than one position. The Committee shall submit its slate of candidates to the Secretary not later than January 15th. The Secretary shall mail the list, including the full name of each candidate and the state in which the candidate resides, before February 1st, so that members may make additional nominations, if they so desire.

Section 2.4. Additional Nominations. Additional nominations of eligible members may be made by written petition signed by ten percent of the Association members in good standing, addressed to the Secretary and received at the Secretary’s regular address on or before March 15th, accompanied by a written acceptance of the nomination from each additional nominee. No person shall be nominated for more than one position.
a. If no valid additional nominations are received by the Secretary on or before March 15th, the Nominating Committee’s slate of candidates shall be declared elected at the time of the annual meeting and no balloting will be required.
b. If one or more valid nominations are received by the Secretary on or before March 15th, the Secretary shall mail to each member in good standing a ballot listing in alphabetical order all of the nominees for each position, together with an envelope addressed to the Chairperson of the Tally Committee. Ballots may be mailed with the March/April newsletter.

Section 2.5. Counting The Ballots. Ballots must be returned by U.S. mail to the Chairperson of the Tally Committee not later than May 1st. Ballots postmarked after that date shall be invalid. The Chairperson shall set a meeting time for the Tally Committee as soon as practicable after May 1st and a place convenient to all committee members, at which meeting the committee shall count the ballots. The Chairperson shall report the election results to the Association Secretary not later than June 1st. All ballots and the envelopes in which they were received shall be given to the Secretary who shall keep them for two years as part of the Association’s official records.

Section 2.6. Election Results. Election results will be announced by the Secretary at the annual meeting of the Association.

Section 2.7. Change of Officers and Board Members. The newly-elected Officers and board members shall take office at the conclusion of the annual meeting at which they were elected. Each retiring Officer and board member shall turn over to his/her successor in office all properties and records relating to that office within 30 days after the election.