Procedures for VHTRC Election of Board Members (2020)

Club news, Board

The VHTRC Board adopted the following procedures for the election of the board members whose terms start on January 1, 2020.

Candidates

Starting on Oct. 20, potential candidates should contact the commissioner of elections, Rob Colenso, and indicate their interest. Informal discussion is encouraged at this point. (Those interested in serving on the Board are also encouraged to discuss the matter with any other current board member. To be an official candidate, however, the member must contact the commissioner)

A potential candidate should contact Rob as early as possible, but may wait until November 4 to declare his or her candidacy.

Candidates must state that they will have been a VHTRC member for two years as of Jan. 1, 2020. The commissioner, Rob Colenso, will resolve all eligibility issues.

Nominations

To be a candidate, a member must be nominated by two other members. Potential candidates should arrange to have their nominators e-mail the required nominations to Rob Colenso, commissioner of elections. The e-mail need only say “I nominate [John Smith] to be a member of the VHTRC board of directors.” or words to that effect. (Nominators need not agonize over the language, it won’t be public.)

Nominations are ineffective for any person who does not declare his or her candidacy. Candidates cannot be drafted and will not be placed on the ballot unless they have declared their candidacy.

We will not list the names of nominators on the Web site, but the commissioner will identify the nominators for any member who requests. In other words, nominators are not a secret but will not be publicized.

Here are the requirements from the bylaws on nominators:

Candidates: All candidates for any elective office must be nominated by two other members of the Club to whom they are not related by blood or marriage or with whom they do not reside. Any one member may not nominate more persons than there are vacant offices in the election.

List of Eligible Candidates

The commissioner will make an official list of candidates. That list will not be made public before Nov. 17.

Any member showing a serious interest in running may know the identities of other individuals who have shown a serious interest.

A candidate may withdraw his or her candidacy at any time before voting starts.

The commissioner may communicate with candidates informally as to the status of their nominations.

Closing of Candidate Period

The candidate declaration period closes at the end of Nov. 4.

Campaign Period

Starting Nov. 19, candidates may put a statement on the Web site. Candidates may change their statements through Nov. 25.

The Election

The voting period will start on Dec. 2 and continue one week, ending at 9 p.m. on Dec. 9. Members will vote on the VHTRC Web site in a manner that ensures the confidentiality of their votes. The mechanics of the election are explained on the ballot.

At the end of the voting period, all candidates will be notified of the results and the results will be on the Web site. For public purposes, the Web site will list only the five candidates with the most votes. Any candidate, winning or losing, may find out his or her vote and how it compared with others if he or she asks.

Voter Eligibility

All members of the VHTRC as of Oct. 20, 2019, are eligible to vote.

Key Dates

Oct 20: Candidacy declaration period opens
Nov 4: Candidacy declaration period closes
Nov 11: Nominations (two per candidate) are due
Nov 15: All candidates confirm whether they are running
Nov 18: Official list of candidates made public
Nov 19-25: Candidate statements may be made and updated
Dec 2-9: Voting