Section 1. Election Committee. The EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE shall, no later than March 1st of the fencing season, establish an Election Committee, consisting of one member from each member-club in the DIVISION, to administer the election of OFFICERS for the following fencing season. The Election Committee shall:
a. Designate one of the committee-members as Chairperson;
b. Ensure that no more than two (2) candidates from the same club are nominated for office.
c. Validate the submissions of all candidates nominated, and ensure that there is at least one candidate for each office;
d. Enforce such electoral rules not inconsistent with these By-Laws as the EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE may adopt;
e. Provide for the mailing and validation of ballots;
f. Conduct a public tally of the ballots between May 10th and May 31st, and submit the results of the tally to the SECRETARY no later than June 1st;
g. Arbitrate, after notice and an opportunity to be heard, the grievances of any interested party concerning electoral procedures. Each candidate for any EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE office may designate a representative to attend meetings of the Election Committee, and reasonable notice shall be given to said representative to provide for fair opportunity to attend all meetings of the Committee, but not at the expense of the DIVISION. The proceedings of the Committee shall be open, except for deliberations in arbitration and consultations with counsel concerning legal matters within the protection of the attorney-client privilege; and
h. Be precluded from candidacy for service on the EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE for the following fencing season.
Section 2. Nominations. Nominations for OFFICERS for the following fencing season shall be handled as prescribed herein:
a. Nominations shall be opened March 1st and closed March 15th;
b. The announcement of the opening of nominations shall be announced in the NEWSLETTER and on the website prior to March 1st of the fencing season; and
c. Candidates shall be considered nominated by notifying, by mail or e-mail, the SECRETARY of their intention to run for a desired office, or by any DIVISION member notifying, by mail or e-mail, the SECRETARY of their intention to nominate a candidate for the desired office.
Section 3. Ballots. When more than one candidate has been nominated for any office, the Election Committee shall provide for voting by secret ballot as follows:
a. Ballots for the election, with the names of the duly qualified candidates and indications of the offices being contested, shall be mailed to each member entitled to vote therein, no later than April 15th. Ballots may be accompanied by statements provided by the candidates at their option (the length of which may not exceed one page of 8 1/2 by 11 inch paper copied on one side), and a sealable return envelope;
b. The form of ballot and return envelope shall be prescribed by the Election Committee and shall be designed to minimize ambiguity and to allow easy and accurate validation;
c. To be valid, a ballot must be returned by first class mail to the address specified by the Election Committee. It must be postmarked no later than April 30th and must bear such proof of validity as may be determined and specified in advance by the Election Committee;
d. When ballots are tallied they shall be handled in a manner designed to protect the confidentiality of each member’s vote and that also allows ballots to be identified with the validating envelope in which they were received. Ballots and validating envelopes shall be retained for three months after the Election Meeting or longer if the Election Committee so requires;
e. In the case of a tie among candidates for any office, the Election Committee shall determine the outcome by lot; and
f. If only one (1) nomination is made for any office, the Election Committee Chairperson shall cast a unanimous ballot for the candidate nominated at the public tally.
Section 4. Campaign Materials. Due to the increasing attention to and enforcement of the Privacy Act all campaign materials will be distributed by the ELECTION COMMITTEE and included with the election ballot. Campaign materials may not exceed one page of 8 1/2 by 11 inch paper copied on one side and must be submitted to the ELECTION COMMITTEE no later than seven (7) days prior to the mailing of the ballot.
Section 5. Consent to Binding Arbitration by Election Committee. By accepting nomination for office, prospective candidates implicitly agree to binding arbitration by the Election Committee of all disputes arising out of the election as the sole, final and exclusive means of resolving such disputes.
Section 6. Should the election process fail to yield an elected officer for any office, the Executive Committee shall appoint an pro tem officer as prescribed in Article IV, Section 7.