BCA-USA MIRROR
REPORT FROM THE CEC COMMITTEE Ba Gwankudvalla, Nubea Lima CEC Chairperson
T
he upcoming convention in May 2022 will be the first in-person meeting of the general assembly since 2019 and it will be highlighted by BCA-USA general elections. The Constitution and Electoral Committee (CEC) of BCA-USA is the committee responsible to conduct the elections. The CEC also serves as a reference and consultant for constitutional inquiries. The committee will periodically solicit input from the membership, review them and propose amendments to the constitution and Bylaws as required. The CEC developed a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) document that details the work of the committee and provides a cadence of CEC meetings. The first pass document was accepted by the Board of Directors (BOD) and the National Executive Committee (NEC). The plan is for the document to be returned to the CEC and others as required for cleanup and editing/ clarification of any conflicts based on feedback received. To prepare transparent and fair elections that comply with the constitution of BCA-USA, the CEC must undertake much legwork in advance of May 2022. The following are some of the activities that the CEC has been engaged in: • The CEC identified the positions to be contested and sent out a call for nominations that included a deadline for receipt of nominations. The CEC extended the deadline to allow ample time for people to respond. • The CEC determined the minimum qualifications required for each position in accordance with the constitution and evaluated the information submitted by the candidates. The CEC evaluated all responses received by April 19, 2022, when the spreadsheet of candidates was compiled. • The CEC notified the candidates of their eligibility status to stand for elections after completing the vetting process. The CEC will publish a complete list of eligible candidates
for all contested positions along with a brief bio of each candidate based on the information received, prior to the elections date. • The CEC’s intent of vetting candidates in advance of the convention, as corroborated by the BCA-USA’s NEC is to limit floor nominations at the convention to only positions that do not have a vetted candidate (i.e., vacant positions). The CEC will have to vet these limited cases at the convention. The vetting process is an important step that requires diligent work to gather information such as membership records, convention attendance records, leadership Summit attendance records, and BCA-USA committee and local chapter service records. • The CEC wants to encourage candidates to carefully contemplate the decision to stand for BCA-USA elected positions rather than making impulsive decisions on the convention floor about such important matters. The Association has grown beyond a small family reunion when that may have been acceptable. In the same vein, the CEC will require self-nominations by candidates for “vacant” positions, instead of having people nominate others and possibly coercing people into positions when they may not be ready to hold office. • The CEC seeks to streamline the voting process by preparing a single ballot sheet with names of the candidates for all contested positions. Electors will make their choices and turn in the single ballot sheet in the same way as is done in the US presidential elections. Prior to elections, candidates for the same position will be required to answer the same question in an alternating manner. The CEC will carefully explain and clarify the voting procedure as required prior to handing out the ballots. The CEC looks forward to conducting free and fair elections in May 2022. Please note that eligibility to cast votes in the May 2022 elections is BCA-USA membership for the last two consecutive years.
BCA-USA.ORG
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