Code of Election Procedure
This Code of Election Procedure (the "Code") has been adopted
by the Board of Directors of the Capital PC User Group, Inc.
(CPCUG).
Rule I: Elective Offices
The offices for which nominations shall be sought and for which
elections shall be conducted are:
President
1st Vice President
Capital Area Vice President
Maryland Vice President
Virginia Vice President
Secretary
Treasurer
Rule II: Nominating Committee
A. No later than October 15th of each year, the President
shall, subject to the approval of the Board of Directors, appoint
a Nominating Committee consisting of at least three members,
noneof whom shall be then serving in an elective office. To the
extent practicable, members of the Nominating Committee shall
be chosen to represent a broad spectrum of the membership,
with regard to both geography and general views.
B. No later than November 30th of each year, the
Nominating Committee shall nominate one or more candidates for
each of the elective offices identified in Rule I. Preference
for nomination shall be given to active members of the Board of
Directors, and preference for Regional Vice Presidents shall
be given to those residing in the designated areas. The Nominating
Committee shall report its nominations, in writing, to the Board
and to the Election Committee.
C. No member of the Nominating Committee shall be eligible
for any office at the election concerned.
Rule III: Election Committee
A. No later than November 15th of each year, the President
shall, subject to the approval of the Board of Directors, appoint
an Election Committee consisting of at least three members, none
of whom shall be a member of the Board of Directors then in
office. The members of the Election Committee shall be
individuals not directly interested in the outcome of the
election and selected for their ability to assist in the conduct
of the election.
B. The Election Committee shall be responsible for the
conduct of the election, including the preparation of ballots and
other written materials, distribution of the ballots, tallying
the votes on the ballots properly cast, and the publication of
the election results.
Rule IV: Mailing Address
Communications intended for the Nominating Committee or the
Election Committee may be addressed to the respective committee
in care of the CPCUG office at 51 Monroe Street, Rockville,
MD 20850, or to the Chairman of the Committee at his/her home
address.
Rule V: Publication and Distribution of Code of Election
Procedure
It is not necessary to publish the full text of this Code in the
Capital PC Monitor or to make other general publication.
A. Notwithstanding the foregoing general exemption, those
rules which affect the rights of all members in their capacity as
voters shall be published in the Capital PC Monitor;
B. Published notices concerning elections shall contain a
reference to the Code and to its availability to any member who
requests the same; and
C. Copies of this Code shall be provided to each member of
the Election Committee, to each individual requesting petition
forms, to each candidate, to each election observer and to each
member who requests a copy.
Rule VI: Nominations by Petition
A. Deadline. The deadline for receipt of nominations by
petition is December 31 of each year. Because the time for
processing petitions and preparing publication and election
materials after that date is very short, the Election Committee
urges petition candidates to get their petitions in as
early as possible.
B. Signatures and form. Petition candidates must obtain
at least twenty-five (25) supporting signatures of members who
are in good standing as of the date of their respective
signatures. For a nominating petition to be valid, all
signatures shall be on the CPCUG Petition Candidate Form,
copy of which will be provided by the Election Committee. The
candidate's own signature on a CPCUG Petition Candidate Form
shall count as a supporting signature. A failure to supply all
of the information required on this Form in a legible manner
shall invalidate the supporting signature.
C. Petitions received earlier than one week prior to the
close of the nominating period which do not comply with the
foregoing will be returned as soon as practicable to the sender
(if the sender is identified) in order to give him or her an
opportunity to remedy the defects. This will be done as a
courtesy and the Election Committee incurs no responsibility
thereby. The fact that a non-complying petition has been
received and returned to the sender for remedying of the defects
shall not serve to extend the nominating period, and petitions
shall be deemed to have been filed only if and when they are
complete and correct in all respects.
Rule VII: Qualification of Candidates
A. Each candidate shall have paid his/her dues for the
fiscal year (March 1 through February 28) during which he or she
would serve if elected in sufficient time for the CPCUG office
staff to have received and verified the renewal by January 2nd.
No other qualifications are required. It is each candidate's
responsibility to meet his/her obligations by the deadlines and
to allow for unforeseen contingencies.
Rule VIII: Submission of Biographical Material and Campaign
Statement by Candidates
A. Each candidate may submit to the Election Committee
chairman at the address in Rule IV a biographical statement not
to exceed 150 words, a campaign statement not to exceed 200 words
and a black-and-white photograph suitable for publication. If
submitted, these materials must be received no later than
December 31 of the year prior to the election year.
B. No paid political ads shall appear in the Capital PC Monitor.
Rule IX: Right of the Election Committee to Edit Material
A. The Election Committee shall have the right to edit or
cut the material submitted by candidates pursuant to Rule VIII in
the following cases:
1. Libelous or obscene material
2. Material which exceeds the word limits provided in
the appropriate bylaws or in the instructions to candidates.
B. If time permits, candidates may be informed of proposed
editing and given an opportunity to submit revised material.
C. The Election Committee will not correct typographical,
grammatical, spelling, or other errors in a candidate's
material. It will, however, have all such materials set in a
standard type and format.
D. The Election Committee shall have no responsibility for
the accuracy of the contents of the biographies of the candidate
nor for the candidate's election statements, and the ballot
material shall so state.
Rule X: Official Publication of the Names of Candidates
A. The Election Committee shall publish the names of the
nominees of the Nominating Committee in the Capital PC Monitor.
B. The Election Committee shall advise the Board of
Directors and all candidates of the names of petition candidates
as soon as possible after the close of the period for nominations
by petition.
C. There shall be no other official publication of the
names of candidates. The foregoing is without prejudice to the
right of the editor of any CPCUG publication to publish
information concerning any or all candidates as a part of his/her
editorial responsibilities.
Rule XI: Availability of the Membership List
A. A printed copy of the membership list will be provided,
upon written request, without charge, to candidates as follows:
1. Nominating Committee candidates, after designation
by the Nominating Committee.
2. Petition candidates after approval of their
petition by the Election Committee.
B. Candidates may purchase membership labels for the
purpose of campaigning. A request to purchase labels must be
made in writing to the CPCUG office.
Rule XII: Arrangement of Names on Election Materials and on the
Ballot
The names of candidates shall be arranged on the election
materials and on the ballot in an order determined by lot by the
Election Committee.
Rule XIII: Authority of the Nominating and Election Committees in
Case of Withdrawals or Disability of Nominating Committee
Candidates
A. If a candidate proposed by the Nominating Committee
withdraws from the election or is unable to stand for election
for any reason after the date on which the Nominating Committee
is required to report, and there is at least one other qualified
candidate for the office in question, no further action shall be
taken.
B. If there is no qualified candidate, and if, in the
judgement of the Election Committee, there is still time to
include a new candidate in the election materials and on the
ballot, the Chairman of the Election Committee shall request the
Nominating Committee chairman to re-assemble the committee to
nominate a new candidate for the position. The chairman of the
Election Committee shall designate a deadline by which the name
and other necessary information concerning the belated
candidate must be received in order to be included in the
election materials and on the ballot.
C. If there is no qualified candidate and if, in the
judgement of the Election Committee, there is insufficient time
to include a new candidate in the election materials and on the
ballot, the office shall remain unfilled. At the first meeting
of the new Board after the conclusion of the election, the vacant
office shall be filled in accordance with Article 4 of the
Bylaws.
Rule XIV: Mailing Out Ballots; Return Date for Ballots
A. The Election Committee shall distribute the ballots
using one of the following options:
Option #1
The ballots shall be mailed as a part of the February issue
of the Monitor. The design of the ballot and all accompanying
materials such as instructions and candidates' statements shall
be the sole responsibility of the Election Committee. The Editor
of the Monitor shall have no editorial responsibility regarding
the election materials, but may advise the Election Committee
regarding matters of production and mailing. The Election
Committee shall superintend the printing of the mailing labels
for the issue of the Monitor that will carry the ballot, shall
deliver the mailing labels to the company that affixes the labels
to the copies of the publication, and shall remove or void the
ballots from any issues not mailed to members eligible to vote.
Option #2
The ballots and accompanying materials (as above) shall be
mailed under the supervision of a member or designee of the
Election Committee; and the fact of mailing shall be attested to
by an appropriate certification. Ballots for members residing in
the continental United States shall be sent by second class mail;
ballots for members residing in Alaska, Hawaii, at APO or FPO
addresses, or outside the United States shall be sent by First
Class Mail to destination post offices. The address to which the
ballots are sent shall be the latest address of record of the
qualified members, who shall be members in good standing as of
January 1 of each election year.
B. Ballots postmarked after the mailing of the election
materials to the membership and received by February 28 of each
election year shall be deemed cast during the election period for
the purposes of Article 11 of the Bylaws.
Rule XV: Identification of Voters on Ballot Return Envelopes
The ballot mailing shall include a specially prepared envelope,
pre-addressed to the Election Committee. The outside of the
envelope shall contain spaces and instructions requiring the
voter to either:
Legibly print on the ballot envelope:
his/her name
address
membership number
OR
Affix his/her mailing label from the CPCUG Bulletin.
Illegibility and/or failure to either provide all required
information or affix the mailing label shall invalidate that
ballot. Prior to counting, the envelopes shall be separated from
the ballots to ensure that individual voters cannot be
identified.
Rule XVI: Counting and Disposition of Ballots
The Election Committee shall:
A. Receive directly the ballots returned by the voting
members.
B. Compare the identification on the return envelope with
the membership list furnished by the CPCUG staff, in order to
identify those eligible to vote.
C. Physically separate the return envelope containing the
voter's identification from the ballot, so as to ensure the
anonymity of the vote.
D. Rule on the validity or invalidity of individual
ballots.
E. Tally the votes in the presence of election observers.
F. Retain physical custody of the ballots from their
receipt until they are counted and the vote is announced, and
until the Election Committee determines that the time for
contesting the election has lapsed.
Rule XVII: No Write-in Votes
There shall be no provisions for marking and counting write-in
votes.
Rule XVIII: Preferential Voting System
When there are more than two candidates for an office, the
preferential voting system known as "acceptance voting" shall be
used. Under that system, the maximum number of candidates
members may vote for is equal to one less than the total number
of candidates for the office.
Example: If there are three candidates, members may vote for no
more than two of the candidates. If there are four candidates,
members may vote for no more than three of the candidates.
Members may vote for fewer than the maximum number of candidates.
The candidate receiving the highest number of votes is elected.
Rule XIX: Tie Vote
In the event of a tie vote, the winner shall be determined by a
coin toss, unless the candidates involved shall otherwise agree.
The candidates involved shall have the right to be present at the
coin toss.
Rule XX: Election Observers
Candidates will be informed of the location, date, and time of
the ballot counting and may designate election observers. The
Election Committee shall have the right to limit the number of
election observers to a manageable number and to request election
observers serving on behalf of one candidate to function also as
election observers on behalf of candidates for other offices. In
the event that candidates do not avail themselves of their right
to designate election observers, the Election Committee shall
designate disinterested individuals to act as election observers
on behalf of all candidates.
Rule XXI: Election Disputes
Election disputes shall be handled in the following manner:
A. Any candidate for office or any person aggrieved by
what he/she considers to be an irregularity or defect in the
election procedure may bring the matter to the attention of the
Election Committee.
B. All complaints shall be in writing, shall be as
specific as possible, shall state the grievance, and shall
contain specific requests for remedial action.
C. Complaints must be received by the Election Committee
within thirty (30) days after notice of election results has been
mailed to the candidates.
D. The Election Committee shall consider each complaint as
quickly as practicable, and shall take such remedial action as it
may consider necessary or desirable; the Committee's decision
shall be communicated to the complainant and to all others
affected.
E. Election irregularities which cannot affect the outcome
of the election for any office shall be corrected if possible, if
this can be done without substantial expenditure, but the failure
to correct irregularities of this type shall not affect the
validity or outcome of the election.
F. If the party complaining is not satisfied with the
actions of the Election Committee, he/she may appeal to the Board
of Directors which shall have authority to order such remedial
action as it may deem necessary, including the modification of
election deadlines, recounting ballots, allowing those who may
have been deprived of the opportunity to vote to send in ballots
and have them counted, etc. If the Board of Directors believes
that the only way to remedy a situation which is likely to have
materially affected the outcome of the election for any office is
to hold a new partial or full election, it may order the same.
In the event a new election is ordered, the Board of Directors
shall appoint an individual to fill, on a temporary basis, the
office being re-balloted .
Rule XXII: Publication of Election Results
The Election Committee shall make a full written report of the
results of the election as soon as possible after the votes have
been counted, and (unless prevented from doing so by the fact
that the outcome as to one or more offices is still uncertain at
that stage) before the general meeting which follows the
election. This report shall be reproduced by the fastest means
available within reason and shall be sent simultaneously to the
following:
A. All candidates for office,
B. All members of the Board of Directors then in office, and
C. The editor of the Capital PC Monitor and any other
publication designated by the Election Committee or by the Board.
Rule XXIII: No Balloting Where no Contest
If only one qualified nomination is received for an office, the
Election Committee shall declare the nominee in question elected,
and the election materials shall contain a statement to that
effect. If there is one qualified nominee for each of the
offices, the Election Committee shall declare each of the
nominees elected and no ballot shall be required.
Rule XXIV: Unofficial Campaign Material
The Election Committee shall not be responsible for an
unofficial campaign material, whether issued by candidates or by
others on behalf of candidates.
* * * * * * * * * * Rescinded * * * * * * * * * *
Rule XXV: Restriction on Access to the Member Information
Exchange (MIX) BBS
The Director of the MIX shall take appropriate action to ensure
that no nominee for elective office has system-wide ability to
read so-called "private" messages during the months of December
through February. Nominees who serve as Conference Moderators
may continue to have access levels within their respective
Conferences sufficient for them to perform their customary
duties.
Rule XXVI: End of Term of Office of the Election Committee
The Election Committee shall remain in office until:
A. Completion of the election and announcement of the
results as set out in Rule XVIII; and
B. Resolution of any election disputes.
The Election Committee shall attempt to complete the foregoing
steps by March 31 of the election year.
—— END ——
Adopted by the Board of Directors: November 4, 1991
Rule XXV rescinded: December 6, 1992
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