The Election

The chairman of the nominating committee reads the report of the committee. If a nominee has withdrawn prior to the election and another nominee has been selected, the chairman will read a revised report to inform the membership of the new nominee.

President (__Name___)
First Vice President (__Name___)
Second Vice President (__Name___)
Third Vice President (__Name___)
(name all vice presidents)
Recording Secretary (__Name___)
Treasurer (__Name___)
Financial Secretary (__Name___)
Auditor (__Name___)
Historian (__Name___)

The president restates the slate of nominees and asks each one to stand.

The president should thank the nominating committee for its report and states:
“According to our bylaws, nominations from the floor are now in order.”

The president then asks for each office “(___Name___) has been nominated for (___office___), are there further nominations for (___office___)?”

The president says, “Are there further nominations for any of these offices?” (Pause) “Hearing none, I declare the nominations closed. The bylaws state that where there is but one nominee for an office, the ballot may be dispensed with, and the election held by voice. Is there any objection to this procedure?”

VOICE VOTE

(Pause) “Hearing none, the following are presented for election
(__Name___) for president
(__Name___) for first vice president
(name all vice presidents)
(__Name___) for recording secretary
(__Name___) for treasurer
(__Name___) for financial secretary
(__Name___) for auditor
(__Name___) for historian

The president says “All those in favor say ‘aye,’ those opposed say ‘no.’” The president says “The ayes have it, and you have elected the following officers.” The president restates names and offices.
(__Name___) for president
(__Name___) for first vice president
(name all vice presidents)
(__Name___) for recording secretary
(__Name___) for treasurer
(__Name___) for financial secretary
(__Name___) for auditor
(__Name___) for historian

Congratulations to all.

Officers are elected by a majority vote of those present, providing the quorum as stated in the bylaws has been met.

BALLOT VOTE

• If it is known prior to the election meeting that there will be two or more nominees for any office, ballots may be distributed at a registration table as members arrive for the meeting and present their membership cards.
• The president appoints a tellers committee, including a chairman and at least two (2) tellers, whose duties are to distribute, collect, and count the ballots. Ballots may also be collected in a ballot box.
• The president requests all members eligible to vote to rise and be counted. This count will determine the number of ballots to be tallied.
• A nominee for an office cannot be involved in the election procedure as a teller who collects ballots and counts votes.
• Blank ballots are not counted.
• Illegal ballots are counted to determine the number of votes cast, but are not applied as a vote for or against any nominee. Ballots are considered illegal if:
  • unintelligible;
  • contain the name of a nominee who is not a member; or
  • Two or more filled out ballots are folded together. These are recorded as one illegal vote
• In a contested election, each nominee may designate a person as an observer at the time the ballots are counted.
• If another vote is necessary, the voting members must be recounted to establish the number of ballots to be tallied. If a member eligible to vote was not present when the original ballot was cast but arrives in time for another vote, the member is entitled to vote.
• The results of the voting are reported by the chairman of the tellers, in writing to the president, as follows:
  • Number of members eligible to vote __________
  • Number of votes cast __________
  • Number needed to elect __________
  • (Nominee)__________ Received __________
  • (Nominee)__________ Received __________
• This procedure is repeated for each contested office. The president announces who has been elected to office. Unless requested, the president does not have to announce the number of votes cast for each nominee, but the complete Tellers’ Report must be recorded in the minutes. Following the announcement of the vote, the chairman of the tellers moves that the ballots be destroyed.
• It is permissible to use these two procedures in one election by using voice vote for uncontested offices and a ballot for those that have two or more nominees.
• A challenge to the election procedure or outcome must be made during the election meeting.

VOTING RIGHTS OF OFFICERS

See the California State PTA Toolkit, Section 2.2 – Nominations and Elections, page 29, for more details.

Sue King
Council Parliamentarian 2003-2005