The Nomination Committee is chaired by the Past-President. Although the members of the Nominating Committee are appointed by the President, these appointments must be approved by the Council.
The Nominations Committee is charged with soliciting nominations for the Society's officers, composing a slate of candidates for election, overseeing the election procedure and tallying of votes, and announcing the results of the election.
Relevant Bylaws
Article II.
13. VOTING.
Voting for the election of Directors and Officers may be conducted by mail. If such elections are conducted by mail, a mail ballot shall be sent to the entire Membership of The Society no more than one hundred (100) days prior to the Annual Meeting. Members shall have not less than thirty (30) days from the date of the ballot postmark in which to cast their ballot. The Secretary of The Society shall be responsible for the conduct of all elections and for reporting the results to the Membership. Candidates for each office and Directorship shall be nominated by a nominating committee or by nomination of any two Members regardless of class, of The Society. Votes taken at any meeting for any purpose shall be taken by ballot upon the demand of any member.
Article III.
10. EXECUTIVE AND OTHER COMMITTEES.
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The Nominating Committee shall consist of the immediate Past-President, who shall serve as its Chairperson, at least one other Director or Officer of the Corporation, and other members of the Society as the President shall appoint, which appointees shall be approved by the Council.
Procedures
Nomination
Members may also nominate a candidate directly. If two or more members nominate the same person for the same office, then that person will be considered nominated, according to our bylaws. Any person nominated for an office will be contacted by the Nominations Committee and notified of their nomination. Nominees must accept their nomination before appearing on the ballot.
The Council decided in 1999 that candidates cannot run for two offices: There was at least one candidate for President-Elect AND Council in that cycle, and the decision was not to allow that again. A second issue, before the Council in 2003, is whether the Nominations Committee could nominate a single person for Program Officer: The decision was yes.
Nominations Committee constructs preliminary slate
With suggestions from the membership and members of the committee, the Nominations Committee chooses prospective nominees, contacts them about their willingness to serve, and solicits brief (about 100 word) biographies. A preliminary slate of nominees is constructed consisting of nominees for President-Elect, Program Officer, Secretary, Treasurer, and Council members (three elected each cycle).
Announcing the preliminary slate and soliciting additional nominations
The preliminary slate of candidates from the Nominations Committee is announced in the spring on the Society email list. Members are invited to review the slate and submit their own nominations, if they desire to do so (in accordance with the Bylaws). The procedure to nominate others (or yourself) for any of the elected positions includes sending the name of the nominee, the position for which that individual is being nominated, a brief (100 word) biography, and the nominee's statement that she or he is willing to stand for election to the Chair of the Nominating Committee. To be included on the final slate, each nominee must receive two nominations for the same position from current members of the Society. The final date for such nominations and supporting material is announced with the preliminary slate of candidates. The deadline must allow for the printing of the ballots and biographies in time to comply with election deadlines, as specified in the Bylaws.
Balloting
The Society normally conducts its biennial election using email and appropriate survey software, with the Secretary responsible for administering the voting procedure.
A three-or-more candidate election has been handled in the past by using a preferential ballot, a device that virtually ensures that the president who is elected will receive a majority of the votes cast. The ballot could be set up as follows in case of 3 candidates: Vote for 0, 1, or 2 candidates, 1 for your first choice, 2 for your second. If there is no one with a majority on the first round (counting 1s only), eliminate the third place person and distribute that individual's second-place votes between the two remaining candidates. If there is another nominee from the membership, vote for up to 3 and do the same elimination drill starting with elimination of the 4th place person.
Collecting and Tallying Votes
Although the Secretary is charged with overseeing the election, the Secretary is elected each year. Hence it has become the practice for the Secretary to delegate to the Past-President the task of receiving the ballots and tallying the votes.
Announcing the Results
Candidates will be informed (by the Secretary) of the outcome, and in case of success the duties of their office; as well as what times and dates to meet during the Conference. The Past-President announces the election results at the General Business Meeting of the Conference and prepares and sends to the Secretary an announcement for the following Fall newsletter.