Existing Text With Mark Up

Section 1 2: There Nominating Committee shall nominate, by shall be an annual mail ballot, election candidates for the offices of president, president-elect; a Division vice-president; and members of the Ddivisionsal Committee, member of the, Nominating Committee, and elected member of the  Committee on Committees; and the unexpired term of any elected position that is vacant. On the annual ballot the Nominating Committee shall, except as hereinafter provided, present one name for the office of president, two names for the office of president-elect, and two or more names for each office of vice-president which shall be prospectively vacant, and two or more names for each position on the Council, on the Nominating Committee, on the Committee on Committees, and on the Divisional Committees, where like prospective vacancies shall exist, and the names of any persons nominated by petition as specified in Section 3 of this Article. But the Council may, in its bylaws or by resolution, provide for additional nominations to be made by the Nominating Committee for any position where there is a vacancy through death or by resignation of a candidate.

Section 3: Nominations may also be made by petitions carrying in each case the signatures of one hundred or more members of the Association in good standing and indicating in each case the particular vacancy for which the nomination is intended. Nominations by petition must be in the hands of the chairman of the Nominating Committee at least three months before the annual meeting. In distributing the annual ballot by mail to the members of the Association, the Nominating Committee shall present and identify such candidates nominated by petition along with its own candidates, having first ascertained that all candidates have consented to stand for election.

Section 4 2: The annual ballot shall be distributed mailed to the full membership of the Association at least six weeks before the annual meeting. No vote received after the due date specified on the ballot shall be valid. Election shall be by plurality of the votes cast for each vacancy. The votes shall be counted and checked in such manner as the Nominating Committee shall prescribe and shall then be sealed in a box and deposited in the headquarters of the Association, where they shall be kept for at least one year. The results of the election shall be announced at the business meeting and in the publications of the Association. In the case of a tie vote, the choice among the tied candidates shall be made by the business meeting a coin flip shall determine the winner.

Section 3: The Nominating Committee shall act as the supervisor of any election and all issues relating to any election shall be referred to it for final decision. The Nominating Committee shall keep all records of elections in a secure place for a period of not less than one year.

Article IX

There shall be a Board of Trustees, five in number, consisting of a chairman and four other members, nominated by the Council and elected at the business meeting of the Association. Election shall be for a term of five years except in the case of an election to complete an unexpired term. The Board of Trustees, acting by a majority thereof, shall have the power, under the policy direction of the Council, to invest and reinvest the permanent funds of the Association with authority to employ such agents, investment counsel, and banks or trust companies as it may deem wise in carrying out its duties, and with further authority to delegate and transfer to any bank or trust company all its power to invest or reinvest. Neither the Board of Trustees nor any bank or trust company to whom it may so transfer its power shall be controlled in its discretion by any statute or other law applicable to fiduciaries, and the liabilities of the individual members of the board and of any such bank or trust company shall be limited to good faith and lack of actual or willful misconduct in the discharge of the duties resting on them. The Finance Committee of the Council shall meet at least once each year with the Board of Trustees of the Association to discuss investment policies and the financial needs of the Association.

Proposed Revised Text

Section 1 : There shall be an annual election for the offices of president, president-elect; a vice-president; and members of the divisions, Nominating Committee, Committee on Committees; and the unexpired term of any elected position that is vacant.

Section 2: The annual ballot shall be distributed to the full membership of the Association at least six weeks before the annual meeting. No vote received after the due date specified on the ballot shall be valid. Election shall be by plurality of the votes cast for each vacancy. The results of the election shall be announced at the business meeting and in the publications of the Association. In the case of a tie vote, a coin flip shall determine the winner.

Section 3: The Nominating Committee shall act as the supervisor of any election and all issues relating to any election shall be referred to it for final decision. The Nominating Committee shall keep all records of elections in a secure place for a period of not less than one year.

Explanatory Notes

This Article replaces parts of items formerly in Article VIII.





























































Section 2: This removes the choice in tie votes from the business meeting, which seemed subject to abuse given the small portion of the membership who usually attend the business meeting. This substitutes a random method of chance (a coin flip) to determine the winner. This appears to be the standard method among association, and was recently used by the Association of College and Research Libraries to determine the presidency.

AHA Member's Comments on Article IX: Elections

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as of 9:56:55 AM 5/21/13
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