Convergence Events Board of Directors Election Rules

Effective 12/31/2017

Introduction & Timeline

A term for a member of the Board of Directors is three years in length, with a training period beginning after the elections (held in January) through August 15th. Once a person is elected to a Board position, they are expected to attend and participate in all Convergence Events and CONvergence affairs appropriate to the position-elect during their training period. Full voting rights as a Board Member activate when their term officially begins.

A member of the Board of Directors has multiple duties: Overseeing the overall operation and visioning of Convergence Events, providing responsible corporate governance for the organization, hands-on work of coordinating and facilitating the efforts of the volunteers who create and operate the CONvergence Convention and other events, and serving as community ambassadors to our partners, our attendee communities, and the civic community at large.

In every standard election, two or three positions will be up for election for a term starting the following August 16th.

Eligibility and Running for Office

The following are requirements for running for a position on the Board per the By Laws:

  1. Be a member with current voting rights
  2. The candidate must be 18 years of age or older on the day of the election.
  3. Have been eligible to vote for no less than two years preceding the current election

Further to this:

  • Only self nominations are accepted
  • The deadline for candidacy nomination and acceptance is 11:59 PM, November 15 of each year.
  • Declaration must be made to the current Convergence Events Board via written notice; electronic notice is acceptable.
  • When stating intent to run, the candidate must specify which of the available Board positions he or she is seeking.

If the candidate is deemed ineligible to run for office (by failing to meet any of the above requirements), he or she will be informed of their ineligibility no later than December 1st of the same year. A protest may be filed by December 10th if the candidate wishes to contest that decision. A final decree on the matter would then be made by January 5th by the Board of Directors.

Informing the Constituency

All candidates who have submitted intent to run, eligible or not, will be listed on the Convergence Events website no later than 30 days before the election. If ineligible, the reason will be listed.

Candidates have the opportunity to post a current photograph, submit a biography, and other brief information. Candidates must submit all information no later than 30 days prior to the election.

Meeting the Candidates

The election committee shall describe each open position and then introduce candidates for that position to the constituency.

  • Each candidate, or an appointed representative of that candidate (if the candidate cannot attend), will be given up to three minutes to describe their qualifications.
  • If the candidate does not use the entirety of their time, the time shall not be extended to the other candidates.
  • Each candidate, or an appointed representative, will be given five minutes to answer questions from the constituency.
  • If, at the end of the five minutes, the membership still has questions to ask, it is up to the Elections Judges of the meeting to determine whether the time will be extended.

Voting Eligibility

Voting rights requirements per the Bylaws:

  1. Volunteer for a minimum of 30 hours on activities of the corporation within the preceding cycle
  2. Attend at least two official committee meetings during the preceding cycle (Note: Attendance at official meetings is solely determined by the member being signed in at that meeting)
  3. Be 14 years of age on or before the date of the Annual Meeting

The Secretary will provide a final list of eligible voters to the election committee no later than December 15.

At the January meeting, if a member believes they are eligible to vote, that member may petition the judges to verify their status with two Board members who are not up for election.

Per the By Laws, proxy voting is not allowed.

Ballot Requirements

  1. The election committee will have the responsibility of preparing and handing out the ballots to eligible voters, determining the validity of, and counting the ballots.
  2. All ballots must contain
    1. Directions on how to properly fill out and submit the ballot.
    2. No write-in candidates are allowed.
    3. Statement that non-legible votes will be considered invalid.
    4. A choice for voter to decline to vote for listed candidate(s) and for none of the above as a non-confidence vote in all candidates.
  3. Name of open positions and candidates will be listed in alphabetical order (by last name).
  4. Referendums, if any, will be listed after the candidates.

Determining Results

  1. Completed ballots shall be collected by the Election Judges, who will then retire to count them.
  2. The winner shall be determined by a simple majority of the votes cast.
    1. If a section of a ballot is not marked in a manner defined as acceptable by a majority of judges, it will be ruled a non-vote and will not be counted for the race in question.
    2. If one third of the votes cast are a vote of no confidence or none of the above it will trigger a board review. The board of directors will hold a meeting for the voting membership within 45 days to address the vote of no confidence for the director in question.  The director in question may be present at the meeting. After this meeting the board of directors will meet and discuss meeting notes. The board of directors will then create an action plan to address issues as needed. A statement of the board’s review be issued to the voting membership within 30 days.
  3. The results will be announced before the close of the election meeting.

Ballots will be archived in the Convergence Events Office for a minimum of six months by the Convergence Events Secretary.