Falcons Elections Process

1. Who can serve on the Election Committee?

The individual should:

1. Be a current year Falcons Member
2. Have the ability to work in a small group (2+ people) and meet deadlines
3. Have ability to access the internet several times a week
4. Not running for a board position
5. Be able to commit to the (approximately) 2 month duration of service^[1] 

2. How many Elections Committee members are required?

In past experience, it has been best to have 2-4 members and to keep it diverse e.g. Male/Female.

Ideally, one member should have served on the election committee previously.  If not, at least one member should feel comfortable communicating with prior election committee members about issues that may arise.  

In past years, the Board has always tried to have a Falcons veteran on the election committee to keep the balance between past and present.

3. How are election committee members selected?

The current Executive Board asks for volunteers (2-4 members) for the Election Committee. It is usually on a first come first served basis.  If an individual on the Election Committee is nominated and they decide to run for a position, they must remove themselves from the Election Committee and another individual may be selected to replace them.

4. What are the main tasks of the Election Committee members?

1. Follow the Board’s election committee policy and Bylaws
2. Administer a valid and reliable election for the new Executive Board
3. Respond to all questions/emails regarding the election including communicating with candidates and nominees, and the membership at large about the process
4. The Election Committee has the power to resolve disputes/interpretations of by-laws, etc. to the extent those issues are not provided for in the by-laws and in the Falcons Elections process document. For any issues that cannot be resolved, the Election Committee may ask the President to recommend an independent Falcons member to help resolve the issue.
5. Attend a Board meeting (if necessary)

5. What are the positions and responsibilities of each Board Member?

A brief description of each board position is to be included on the ballot.

See HERE for details

6. What are the timelines for the Election?  

Timelines are flexible so long as the election is completed by January 31st.  Following is a tentative timeline:

• November 15th: Solicit Nominations

• Email the current membership list nomination survey (Click HERE for sample). People can nominate themselves or be nominated by a member.
• Individuals who nominate themselves must be members for the current year.
• Individuals nominated by another Falcons member do not have to be a member for the current year.  If these nominees choose not to become a member for the current year, they will remain on the ballot but cannot vote in the election or if they choose to become a member immediately for the current year, they will remain on the ballot and be able to vote in the election.

• November 22th: Solicit Nominations Follow-Up
• November 29th: Nominated Period ends (AND final Solicit Nominations email)
• November 15-29th: Confirm Falcons’ Board Candidates

• Request nominees to submit their Candidate Bio by November 29th

• Confirm with all nominees individually that they will accept the position if they win as all nominees should be willing to accept the position for their name to appear on the ballot
• Avoid mass emails to nominees as the ballot should remain private until voting begins.

• Verify with the membership person that all self-nominated individuals are current members.

• If not, these nominees must become a member for the current year to remain on the ballot (e.g. if the election is being held for Board members for the year 2022, all nominees must be a member for 2021 - current year).  
• The Election Committee will also check whether any individuals nominated by another member want to become a member for the current year so they can vote in the election or not become a member, therefore not having a vote in the election.

• December 1st: Deadline for Candidates’ Bios
• December 3rd: Send Falcons Ballot via Survey Monkey

• Create election survey in Survey Monkey^[2]
• Note: The election survey will also include voting for Falcons’ Annual Awards. Those survey pages will be created by the Board.

• December 10th: Reminder to Vote

• Survey Monkey allows you to directly email those who have not completed the survey

• December 17th: Voting Closes

• Confirm with winners that they will accept the position

• December 20th: Provide results to current Executive Board

• Determine the need to conduct a second nomination process and election for vacant Board positions

• January 2nd: Email results to the membership

• This task to be done via email with the assistance of the Communications Officer

Note: It is required to have the new Executive Board in place by the end of January.

7. What is a bio?
   
   A bio is a short statement by the nominee describing who they are and why they are running for the Board. Each nominee must email their bio to the election committee by the specified date.  Otherwise, their name will appear on the ballot without their bio.

8. How is the Election administered to the membership?

Survey Monkey is used to administer the election survey. The board will inform the election committee how to proceed with Survey Monkey prior to the start of the process.

9. What are tips in building the survey in Survey Monkey?

1. If the Election Committee does not have experience with Survey Monkey, then contact the President to make a request to the general membership as somebody should have the expertise.
2. Each position has to have a write-in option
3. Each position should have its own page as this makes it cleaner and easier to read.

10.  How to handle positions that do not have nominees?

If positions don’t have any nominees, the survey for those positions can still be administered as there is a write-in option for each position.

11. Can an individual who is on the Election Committee be written-in as a candidate, win the position and accept it?

Yes. Provided that the write-in is not campaigning for themselves before the ballot is issued. 

12. How is the membership list obtained?

The member list is obtained from the Membership Board member.  The number of total members should be compared against the number of ballots sent.

13. How can questions be asked by the members to the Election Committee?

All questions can be emailed to the Election Committee at elections@phillyfalcons.org        

14. What if a member didn’t receive the survey?

The Election Committee should verify that the email address in Survey Monkey is correct. If not, then update it and send a reminder to the member to complete their survey. If the email address is correct, then ask the member to check whether the email is in their Spam folder. If the Election Committee is unable to determine why the member didn’t receive the survey, then the survey can be administered to the member via email by providing the options and obtaining their email response.

15. What are ‘incomplete’ surveys and are they counted?

In Survey Monkey, surveys may be marked as ‘complete’ or ‘incomplete’.  Complete have a green star and incomplete have a yellow star.  Members may have started the survey but did not finish it, therefore being ‘incomplete’.  Both ‘complete’ and ‘incomplete’ surveys do count towards the final results.

16. How is the winner for each position determined?

Whoever receives the most votes wins the election, whether nominated or write in. For example, if the nominee’s name listed for President receives 50 votes and a write-in vote receives 100 votes then the write-in wins the position.

If an individual doesn't accept, the individual with the next highest vote will be asked whether they want the position and if they decline, the individual with the next highest vote will be asked and so on until all nominees (nominated/write-ins) for that position have been asked.

1. If there is a tie, the Election Committee will contact the nominees to verify they will accept the position. If the nominees are still interested, then another survey for those ’tied’ positions is administered to the members.
2. If a position is still not filled, the Election Committee emails the Board along with the following suggestions to help them determine how to proceed.

• One last email to membership asking if anybody wants to apply for it
• If more than one interested, then ballot via survey monkey
• If just 1, ballot for membership to approve.
• If none, then board member could reorganize themselves to fill role or ask somebody to do the role on a temporary basis.

17. How are updates to this document handled?

During the election process the election committee handles all issues by majority vote.  If the committee feels that an amendment should be added to the overall process, the general bylaws process will be followed.