NORTHEAST REGION OF THE NATIONAL BLACK LAW STUDENTS ASSOCIATION 2014-2015 Northeast Regional Convention Election Rules and Procedures Packet
Per Article III, Section 7 of the National Constitution, NBLSA election procedures are designed to help secure the opportunity for as many members of the Association as possible to participate in governance of the Association.
TABLE OF CONTENTS ELECTION RULES AND PROCEDURES POSITIONS ELIGIBLE FOR ELECTION .................................................................................... 3 CANDIDATE QUALIFICATIONS ............................................................................................... 3 CAMPAIGNING ............................................................................................................................. 4 ENFORCEMENT OF ELECTION RULES AND PROCEDURES............................................... 5 DEBATES AND ELECTION SPEECHES .................................................................................... 5 DELEGATE VOTING PROCEEDURES ...................................................................................... 6 BALLOT COUNT........................................................................................................................... 6 ANNOUNCEMENT OF 2014-2015 NEBLSA EXECUTIVE BOARD ........................................ 6 BALLOT INSPECTION ................................................................................................................. 6
2
ELECTIONS RULES AND PROCEDURES I.
POSITIONS AVAILABLE FOR ELECTION • • • • • • • • • • • • •
II.
POSITONS AVAILABLE FOR APPOINTMENT • • • • • • • •
III.
Regional Chair1 Regional Vice-Chair Regional Secretary Regional Treasurer Upstate New York Sub-Regional Director NY Metro Sub-Regional Director Connecticut Sub-Regional Director Combine Northern New England Sub-Regional Director Frederick Douglas Moot Court Competition Regional Director Thurgood Marshall Mock Trail Competition Regional Director Regional Community Service Director Regional Director of Programming Regional Attorney General
Regional Parliamentarian Regional Convention Coordinator Regional Job Fair Coordinator Regional Executive Director Regional Director of Membership Regional Director of the College Student Division Regional Director of Corporate Relations Regional Historian
CANDIDATE QUALIFICATIONS Advance Nominations
1 Signed acknowledgement of the duties and obligations of the position that you are applying for. 2 Letter certifying enrollment and good academic standing from your law school registrar or dean. 3 Statement of understanding of financial and travel obligations associated with regional board service. 4 Statement of intent including specific, measureable, attainable, and timely goals and your intended methodology and timeline for achievement of those goals for inclusion in the delegate packets. 5 Résumé for inclusion in the delegate packets.
1
Any Active Member seeking the candidacy for the position of Regional Chair must have served on the Regional Board, a Regional committee, as an assistant or staff to an officer or entity of NEBLSA, or on the National Board in order to qualify as a candidate for the Regional Chair position. If only one Active Member seeking the candidacy for the position of Regional Chair meets the qualification for Regional Chair prescribed in this Subsection, then the requirement shall be waived to allow candidates who would otherwise be unqualified for the Regional Chair position to run for office.
3
Submission of Materials All materials must be submitted on or before Saturday, January 18, 2014 at 11:59PM EST. Please submit application via web form or via email to neblsa.vicechair@nblsa.org. Nominations from the Floor •
Any registered delegate may nominate an active member at the Northeast Region Convention for a Regional officer position where no application has been submitted for said position.
•
The officer presiding will determine the exact time when such nominations would be appropriate.
•
To make a nomination, a delegate needs only to rise, wait to be recognized by the presiding officer and state the following motion: “I nominate _________________ for the position of ______________.” Self-nominations are permitted. The person being nominated must accept the nomination before he/she will be added to the slate.
•
In the event, that a candidate is nominated from the floor, the candidate must meet requirements 1, 3, 4, and 5 set forth above in the advance nomination requirements not later than 7:00 AM on Saturday, January 25, 2014.
•
All candidates who are nominated from the floor and elected must submit all documents required for nomination to the Regional Vice Chair at neblsa.vicechair@nblsa.org, on or before Friday, February 7, 2014, 11:59 PM EST.
Post-Election Meeting Information regarding the post-election meeting will be made available at the candidate information session on Friday, January 24, 2014, time TBD. Any candidate who wins election to the NEBLSA Board is advised to attend the NEBLSA Board Breakfast on Sunday, January 26, 2014 at 8:00 AM (time subject to change). Important Considerations •
III.
Serving on the NEBLSA Executive Board is a significant commitment which requires a substantial amount of travel and extracurricular work. Please take this into consideration when determining whether you will run for office. If you are uncertain about the amount of time or money that will be required to serve on the NEBLSA Executive Board, please contact the person who currently holds the office that you want to apply for or the regional chair.
CAMPAIGNING
Demeanor Prior to Commencement of Convention Campaign Meeting •
After a Candidate has received notification from the 2014 Election Committee that his or her application has been accepted, he or she may use Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, a blog, website, or any other electronic method to advertise his or her candidacy.
Campaign Material Approval •
Candidates may not use any Regional or National Listserv and may not post any campaign material to the NBLSA regional, national or local chapter Facebook group or other social networking sites.
4
•
Candidates may not use pictures that include any current Regional or National Executive Board members as a part of their campaign materials.
Candidate Endorsement •
Local chapters may not publicly endorse a candidate prior to the Regional Convention. Local chapters may endorse candidates after the commencement of the Regional Convention.
•
Current National and Regional Board members are prohibited from endorsing any candidate for Regional office at any time prior to or during convention. This includes posting any pictures of them and candidates up for election on any of their social or professional websites. Officers may respond to any questions about a candidate’s specific work performance if the candidate is currently serving on the board, insofar as the officer worked directly with the candidate in question.
Demeanor after Commencement of Official Campaigning •
Candidates may wear and distribute campaign materials (flyers, buttons, etc.) to attendees at the Regional Convention.
•
No campaigning may occur inside of plenary. As such, no delegate may wear or prominently display any campaign materials within 30 feet of or inside of the room where plenary sessions will be held.
•
Candidates will not engage in an unfair campaign practice including, but not limited to: infraction or contempt of any campaign rule; libeling or slandering another candidate; and/or maliciously disrupting another campaign.
•
Each candidate is responsible for activity that another undertakes on his or her behalf, as if the candidate is undertaking the activity himself or herself, unless the candidate sincerely and affirmatively discourages such activity.
Termination of campaigning • IV.
V.
All campaign materials and solicitation of votes must be taken down and cease not later than 7:00 AM on Saturday, January 25, 2014.
ENFORCEMENT OF ELECTIONS RULES PROCEDURES •
These rules will be enforced and violations will be investigated by the Elections Committee. If any violation is found to have merit, then the offending candidate will be disqualified immediately. The rules will be enforced in an effort to achieve adherence to the goals and principles of NEBLSA.
•
Any person registered for the Regional Convention may file a complaint with the National Parliamentarian for violation of elections rules and procedures by sending an email to parliamentarian@nblsa.org
•
Any decisions made by the National Parliamentarian that result in the disqualification of a candidate are final and may not be appealed.
•
The Elections Committee reserves the right to amend or add to the election procedures at any time before the annual meeting not withstanding those specific procedures set out in the Regional Constitution and Bylaws.
DEBATES AND ELECTION SPEECHES
5
•
•
VI.
All candidates for office are required to give a speech, which should last for no longer than five minutes, and stand for questions during the Plenary Elections session, to be held on Saturday, January 25, 2014 at 8:00AM. The order of Candidates Speeches and Questions and Answers will be determined by the Elections Committee and announced at the Plenary Session to be held on Friday, January 24, 2014 at 8:00 AM.
DELEGATE VOTING PROCEDURES
Chapters in attendance Any active chapter with a registered delegate for the Regional Convention who attends one of the two plenary sessions during the Regional Convention is entitled to participate in the election of 2014-2015 NEBLSA Executive Board Officers. Plenary Sessions are scheduled for: - Friday, January 24, 2014 (8:00AM – Board Reports, Constitution and Bylaw Amendments Pt. 1, Announcement of candidates and floor nominations) - Saturday, January 25, 2014 (8:00AM – Constitution and Bylaw Amendments Pt. 2, Speeches & Elections) VII.
VIII.
BALLOT COUNT •
The election of officers will utilize a secret ballot voting method.
•
Proxy voting is allowed, pursuant to the Regional Constitution and Bylaws.
•
The candidate that receives the largest percentage of votes for the position will be declared the winner of the position.
•
If a candidate is unopposed, he or she must receive a majority of the votes in order to be declared the winner of the position.
•
In the event of a tie, a run-off election shall be held via electronic voting. Delegates will be notified of the need for a run-off vote, via email.
ANNOUNCEMENT OF 2014-2015 NEBLSA ELECTED OFFICIALS •
IX.
All candidates who are elected to office will be announced during the Regional Awards Gala to be held on Saturday, January 25, 2014 in Albany, NY.
INSPECTION OF BALLOTS •
A candidate has a right to inspect all of the physical ballots submitted for the position to which he or she was a candidate before the close of the Regional Convention.
6