Dates, Rules and Requirements (Continued)
certified candidate becomes ineligible to hold that office, his/her name will not be included on the ballot. If ballots have already been printed or mailed, but before tabulation, any votes cast for an ineligible candidate shall be void and shall not be considered in establishing a majority or determining election results. Any vacancy occurring after the ballot count is certified will be filled by special election, according to PEF’s Constitution. In absence of a slate vote, individual votes for an office will be considered void if the votes cast are for more candidates than authorized for the office. Write-in votes are not allowed. Members receiving no ballot(s) or a ballot placing them in an incorrect Region or Executive Board constituency will be able to call the AAA hotline, 800-529-5218, for a ballot or substitute ballot. All such ballots will be held unopened by AAA until just prior to the ballot count, when their validity is determined by the PEF Elections Committee. Any significant number of ballot problems in any one constituency should be reported immediately to the Elections Committee at PEF Headquarters. Monday, June 1, 2015 – Ballots will be mailed by AAA to eligible voters. Monday, June 8, 2015 – Call AAA at 800-529- 5218 if no ballot(s) or incorrect ballot(s) have been received. Monday, June 22, 2015 – Ballots must be received at AAA in New York City no later than 5:00 PM. Tuesday, June 23, 2015 – Ballots counted by AAA. All candidates or their representatives are welcome to observe the count at their own expense. Call PEF Headquarters for information on the time and place for the ballot count. Policy on Ballot Recounts – Recounts will be held for any individual position only under the following circumstances:
1. 1000 or more total valid votes cast – Where the difference in the candidates’ tallies is less than 2% of the total.
2. 999 or less total valid votes cast – Where the difference in the candidates’ tallies is less than 20 votes. Pursuant to the PEF Constitution election will be by majority of valid ballots cast and if no majority is achieved, a runoff election will be held as soon as possible. In the instance of offices of President, Secretary/Treasurer, Regional Coordinator and Executive Board, if no majority is achieved on the first ballot, a runoff election shall be held between the two highest vote-getters. In the instance of offices of Vice-President and Trustee, the basis for establishing a majority shall be determined by the number of members voting for that office, regardless of the number of candidates for whom they vote. If all positions are not filled on the first ballot, a runoff election shall be held using the AAA rule of two to determine the winners. A complete list of the certified election results will be published in the August 2015 issue of The Communicator. At the request of a candidate or slate representative a copy of the scanned ballots (media to be determined by AAA) will be made available. Requests must be made in
www.pef.org
writing to the PEF Elections Committee within 30 calendar days following the certification of the election.
XI. Triennial Elections Debate May 21, 2015 Debate Rules and Format
The debate is scheduled to begin at 6:00 pm on Thursday, May 21, 2015. Candidates should arrive at 5:00 pm for further instruction on how the debate will be videotaped. (For example, where the candidates will stand, introduce candidates to Moderator, review equipment, and other set up issues).
The Moderator will be a representative from the NYS League of Women Voters.
Rules for the Audience 1. Visitors should arrive no later than 5:45 pm. Once a segment of the debate has started, no one will be allowed in the room.
2. Observers will not participate. 3. All observers will be silent - No questions or comments.
4. There will be no supporting of a candidate (No applause, cheering, booing).
5. Cell phones will be off. 6. No photography. 7. No campaigning.
Ground Rules 1. This is not a campaigning event. a. Candidates, observers and audience cannot wear buttons, shirts, or banners, etc, for the slate or candidacy.
2. Each slate will be allowed 10 guests, not including the debaters. A list of guests will be given to the Triennial Elections Committee at PEF Headquarters the day before the debate. No press will be allowed in the room.
3. Candidates should respect the instructions of the Moderator. a. A time keeper will assist the Moderator. b. This person will also be from the League of Women Voters.
4. Moderator will introduce the candidates by name and by slate. A reference will be made to the Candidate Directory to be printed in the June 2015 Communicator.
5. No derogatory comments. 6. If the moderator is not able to maintain order, they reserve the right to end the debate.
7. The scheduled debate will not be canceled. No open chair debates will take place.Time will be allowed for remarks by the unopposed debater for the President and Secretary-Treasurer offices.
Selection of Debate Questions 1. The questions are being solicited from the membership through the PEF website.
2. On the PEF website there is a link under Hot Topics titled, “Triennial Elections Debate.”
3. Information requested through this link includes the member’s first name, last name, and question. None of the fields are required.
4. This information will be held on a secure server. Access is limited to a third party selected by the
Elections Committee such as the League of Women Voters.
5. At the request of the Triennial Elections Committee Chair, these questions are to be downloaded by the third party into an Excel spreadsheet and sent to the Divisions Director. The Divisions Director then forwards this spreadsheet to the Committee Chair via hard copy or email.
6. Questions pertaining to the office position that could be asked to the competing candidates will be used. Questions that are biased toward an individual will be omitted.
7. Questions for the debate are to be reviewed by the Moderator prior to the debate. Questions that are an exception will be removed from the listing. 8. The Moderator will draw questions randomly.
Debate Format 1. President and Secretary-Treasurer a. Approximately 30 minutes are being planned for both the President and Secretary-Treasurer debates.
b. A coin flip will determine the starting order beginning with the opening remarks and alternating for the remainder of the debate. The coin flip will be conducted by the Moderator at the beginning of the debate.
c. These Candidates will each be allowed 2 minutes for opening remarks. This time can be used to further introduce themselves or explain the goals of their sought-after position.
d. Each Candidate will be allowed up to 2 minutes to answer the debate question.
e. Each Candidate will be allowed to answer each debate question asked.
f. The number of questions asked will be based on available time allowed.
g. Closing remarks will be limited to 2 minutes for each candidate.
2. Vice President and Trustee a. Approximately 40 minutes are being planned for both the Vice President and Trustee debates.
b. Prior to debate, each slate’s Vice President and Trustee candidates will draw by lot a rotation order number, e.g., 1, 2, 3. The numeric order will be followed in answering questions. Each question will be answered by one candidate from each slate by order of lot drawn. Slate starting order will be determined by coin flip and then alternate. Independent candidates, if any, may answer each question.
c. Each Candidate will be allowed up to 1 minute to answer the debate question.
d. The number of questions asked will be based on available time allowed.
e. Closing remarks will be limited to 1 minute for each candidate.
3. Conclusion Closing remarks by the Moderator and will include: a. Ballots will be mailed by AAA on June 1 and
The Communicator December 2014 - January 2015—Page 25
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