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OLD SEMINOLE HEIGHTS NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION, INC. Suggested revisions for the BYLAWS |
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| Existing Bylaws | Proposed Changes (12-28-2009) |
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Article V Elections
Section 1. Time: The election of Officers shall be held at the fourth quarterly membership meeting of the calendar year.
Section 2. Eligibility: Any voting member in good standing of the OSHNA is eligible to hold any office. In order to facilitate the widest possible representation on the Executive Board a candidate for office may not be of the same household as another candidate nor may a candidate seek more than one office simultaneously.
Section 3. Voting: Voting shall be by written ballot or absentee ballot as provided for by the Elections Committee.
Section 4.
[1] Conduct of the Election: At the third quarterly membership meeting, the president shall appoint a chairperson of an Elections Committee. The chairperson cannot be a candidate in the forthcoming elections [2] Nominations for Office: The Elections Committee shall accept nominations for a period of thirty (30) days following the third quarterly membership meeting. [3] Notice to Members: No later than fifteen (15) days prior to the fourth quarterly membership meeting, the Elections Committee shall prepare and mail to all members a sample ballot. [4] The Election of Officers: The election of officers shall be held at the fourth quarterly General Membership meeting. The Elections Committee shall oversee the election by ensuring that only members in good standing cast ballots. The Election Committee shall be responsible for counting the ballots and reporting the results to the chairperson.
[5] Confirmation of Election: Any member can request a recounting of ballots when the results are reported. If no request is received the results shall be determined to be final. If a recount confirms the results the outcome shall be determined to be final.
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Section 2. Eligibility:
A. A candidate must have been a voting * member in good standing of OSHNA for at least one (1) year immediately preceding the election. B. In order to be eligible to hold the office of president, a candidate must have held an Executive Board position one (1) year out of the five (5) years previous to the election. If no candidate is eligible to run for the office of president under this provision then the eligibility requirements of Section 2: Subsection A and E shall apply C. A sitting president is not eligible to run for any position on the Executive Board other than that of president, and may not be appointed to any office on the Executive Board for a period of one (1) year after leaving office. D. In order to run for the office of treasurer, a candidate must be bondable. E. In order to facilitate the widest possible representation on the Executive Board a candidate for office may not be of the same household as another candidate nor may a candidate seek more than one office simultaneously. Section revised to encourage the selection of an experienced and diverse Board. Section 3. Voting: A. Voting shall be by written ballot or absentee ballot as provided for by the Elections Committee. B. To be eligible to vote a new member must have been a member as of September 30th prior to the election meeting. C. The chair of the Membership Committee shall provide the list of eligible voting members to the Election Committee chair by October
Section 4. Conduct of the Election: [1] Formation of the Election Committee: At the Board meeting prior to the third quarterly membership meeting, the president shall appoint, with the approval of the Board, a chairperson of the Elections Committee.
[2] Composition of the Elections Committee: The Elections Committee shall consist of a chair-person and not less than two (2) members. The chairperson and committee members may not be current officers or candidates and may not be living in the same household as current officers or candidates. Makes clear that neither officers nor candidates can be directly involved in managing the election. Paragraphs [3], [4], and [5] renumbered as [4], [5], and [6].
[3] Nominations for Office: The Elections Committee shall accept nominations from the third quarterly membership meeting through August 31st. The Committee shall post nominations on the OHSNA website after eligibility and acceptance has been confirmed. Makes consistent the ending date of the nomination period and provides for posting on the web site.
[4] Notice to Members: No later than fifteen (15) days prior to the fourth quarterly membership meeting, the Election Committee shall prepare and mail to all eligible voting members a sample ballot containing the names of all candidates for office, with space for write-in votes for each office being voted on.
[5] The Election of Officers: The election of officers shall be held at the fourth quarterly General Membership meeting. The Election Committee shall be responsible for counting the ballots and reporting the results to the Election Committee chairperson. Last phrase added to ensure proper reporting of the election results.
[6] Ties: In the event of a tie, a vote of the membership present shall determine the outcome. [7] Challenge: When the results are reported, any candidate can request a recounting of ballots related to his or her particular office. The outcome of the recount shall be final. [8] Extraodinary Circumstances: In the event that the fourth General Membership meeting cannot be held or must be adjourned due to extraordinary circumstances, the election shall be completed at the next General Membership meeting.
Expanded to provide clearer guidelines
[9] Completion: Upon completion of the election the Elections Committee shall automatically dissolve.
New paragraph added to make it clear that the Elections Committee is dissolved after the election is over
* The word "voting" was inadvertently left out. |
Article I - Name, Purpose and Membership
Article II - Meetings
Article III - Quorum
Article IV - Officers
Article V - Elections
Article VI - Executive Board
Article VII - Duties of Office
Article VIII - Committees
Article IX - Amendments to Bylaws
Article X - Non-Discrimination
Article XI - Non-Profit Provisions
Article XII -Control and Disbursement of Funds
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Section 4:
Part 5: It is unclear here if the Election Committee is to count and report the ballots to the Committee Chair or the Board Chair - it just states to the chairperson who then makes the vote count available to the membership.
Part 6: This section does not make provisions for a situation where the facts cannot be determined at that very meeting and may require further research as has already happened and could happen again. It does not allow the Election Committee the complete autonomy it needs to serve the membership. This would not be an unprecedented situation. Robert's Rules provides, "If an assembly wishes to adjourn when an election is incomplete, an adjourned meeting should be provided for. If such an adjourned meeting is impossible or impractical and the organization will hold another regular business session before a quarterly time interval has elapsed, the election is completed at the next regular meeting.
Part 7: Completion does not exist until the autonomous Election Committee has discharged their duty to certify the election.
These are good points. the section on elections has been amended to provide more clarity and structure
Anyone involved in the election committee should not passionately support a particular candidate and should present the image of being unbiased. They should not promote any specific candidate at their home or business.
I would also add to S.Lindsey's version, that anyone involved in the election committee should not be a member of OSHNA, have property,or be a renter within OSHNA's boundaries. The committee should be totally unbiased with individuals who are not invested with OSHNA in any way. Committee members should be from outside of OSHNA.
The Bylaws Committee agrees with this position but felt that this policy would be more appropriate as part of the policies and procedures manual (which will be coming this year) than in the bylaws.
I agree with Larry's comment about Robert's Rules and the need for flexibility to address a situation like this year, were it properly put at issue.
First, with respect to Section 5, I propose breaking up the sentence for clarity.
[5] The Election of Officers: The election of officers shall be held at the fourth quarterly General Membership meeting. The Election Committee shall be responsible for counting the ballots and reporting the results to the chairperson. The chairperson, who shall make the final ballot count available to the General Membership prior to the conclusion of the meeting at which the elections were held.
Second, Section 6 should narrow the scope of any challenge to a particular race, and have the proper logic raised by Larry's observation. If a race has no challenge raised, it is final. Then we need another (new) section to address what happens if there is a challenge, either a simple recount, or something bigger.
[6]. Confirmation of Election: Any member can request a recounting of ballots ^for a particular race^ when the results are reported. If no request for a recount ^in a particular race^ is received prior to the adjournment of the meeting at which the elections were held, the results shall be final.
A number of these suggestions were taken into account as the Committee rewrote the elections section for better clarity and structure.
New section
"Challenge: If a challenge to the results of a particular race is made pursuant to this Section, the chairperson shall immediately undertake a recount. The chairperson shall report the final results to the membership prior to the adjournment of the meeting at which the elections were held. In the event of a tie, the winner of the race shall be determined by a coin flip. No candidate or member shall have standing to challenge the outcome of a particular race after the adjournment of the election meeting."
I am concerned about the identifying the circumstances which would lead to walking out of the election meeting without a winner. This language addresses the manner of recount and a tie. If the membership committee properly certifies the list of eligible voters (addressing Dirk's concerns this year about Steve and David), and the voting itself is conducted such that all votes are counted correctly, and recounted per a challenge, what's left to cause an election not to be finalized? If, under extraordinary circumstances, the meeting has to adjourn - think emergency - bomb scare, fire next door, whatever - then Robert's Rules as cited by Larry would be the correct thing to do. I'm not sure that including such a provision as part of a Challenge (inviting future candidates to postpone a result) is a good idea.
I am also interested in others' views about why a member gets to ask for a recount, instead of the candidate. This is one of the main sticking points I had with the election this year - the candidate who lost by a vote didn't object. There is such a thing as being gracious in defeat, or demanding a recount, and the results turning out differently. I think it should be up to the interested party individually, and not their campaign chairman, financial backer, or best friend, to raise the issue. If it isn't worth fighting over for the affected individual, that should be up to them, not a loudmouth out to pick a fight. The outcome should be clear and withstand scrutiny, but the outcome should not drag on. The election night should run to its conclusion, and the winner announced.
"I am also interested in others' views about why a member gets to ask for a recount, instead of the candidate."
If any member is aware of something that might question the tally, then let them ask. -Myself and several other candidates weren't aware of questions being rasied until much later. Some candidates weren't present that night.
A number of Brad's suggestions were taken into account as the Committee rewrote the elections section for better clarity and structure.
Regarding challenges - After careful consideration the Committee concluded that the candidates are those who would be most appropriate to make any challenge to the results of an election and we altered the suggested changes to show this. We also made some changes to add more structure to the conduct and reporting of an election.
A. There should not be a 1 year minimum membership requirement to be a candidate.
B. Nor should there be the reuirement to have "held an Executive Board position one (1) year out of the five (5) years previous to the election."
Exclusionary tatcics? There are plenty of neighbor activist who might not be members, or committee chairs that aren't on the board. Why exclude them? There are some talented individuals who may have not been OSHNA activate for a few years.
Over the last 20 years OSHNA has grown into a large and complex organization. These guidelines were added to ensure that those who run for office have at least some experience with and knowledge of the organization.
If someone is interested in becoming involved and working towards OSHNA's goals here are many opportunities for becoming involved besides Board positions.