SAMPLE 1 CIA ELECTION RULES OF PROCEDURE Appendix E (April 27, 2007) Document 207046 1 APPOINTMENT OF ELECTIONS COMMITTEE (ELEC) At least 18 weeks prior to the Annual General Meeting and, typically at its November meeting, the Board formally appoints the ELEC pursuant to Bylaw 11.05. The Executive Director of the CIA shall serve as Scrutineer during the election process. 2 DUTIES OF THE ELEC The ELEC s duties are as follows: At least 12 weeks before the Annual General Meeting from which the election is to be effective, adopt the CIA Election Rules of Procedure, not in conflict with the Bylaws, for the conduct of the election. Identify and encourage qualified candidates to allow their names to stand for election. Methods used may include the following: o Formally solicit suggestions from the Board, the councils and all committees; o Solicit members directly through the Bulletin and the Announcements e-mail listserver; o Solicit names from the actuarial clubs; o Solicit names from employers, associations, government bodies, etc.; and o Obtain a list of names from the Secretariat of those currently or recently in leadership positions (e.g., Board members, council members, committee/task force chairpersons and vice-chairpersons, based on criteria established by the ELEC); o Identify members on its own, in particular, in the event of under-representation by practice area and/or geographic location. Prepare a list of candidates, pursuant to Bylaw 11.04.1, for election to the positions of President-elect, Secretary-Treasurer and Director, as required, all of whom meet the nomination requirements (see Section 5 Nomination Requirements). Cause one election ballot containing the list of candidates to be made available to each Member at least five weeks before the Annual General Meeting from which the 1 This document is only a sample of possible Election Rules of Procedure that would be established under the new CIA Election process. It will be the responsibility of the 2008 CIA Elections Committee to develop and formally approve its Election Rules of Procedure annually, starting in 2008.
election is to be effective, with a requirement that, in order to be valid, it be duly completed and received before a date prescribed by the ELEC. Once the ballots are counted, contact the candidates with the results of the election. Prepare a report to the Board following the election, which may include recommendations for improvements to the election process in the future. 3 PREPARATION OF THE ELECTION PROCESS In February, the Director, Volunteer and Member Services prepares a timeline for the Election process. All activities are indicated on the timeline and assigned a target date. Once the ELEC is formally constituted by the Board, the ELEC reviews and approves the timeline, as well as the CIA Election Rules of Procedure. These Election Rules of Procedure are then publicized to the membership via the Bulletin and the Announcements e-mail listserver. 4 RECRUITMENT OF CANDIDATES The Secretariat identifies for the ELEC, the practice area and geographic location (for the purposes of establishing proportional representation) of all returning Board members in order to determine the need for particular candidates. The ELEC holds a meeting to discuss a recruitment strategy that may include any of the methods outlined in Section 2 above. An Announcement is sent to the membership highlighting the recruitment process identified in the CIA Election Rules of Procedure, focusing, in particular, on the Nomination Requirements (Section 5) for members who wish to let their name stand for election. This same information is also printed in the March edition of the Bulletin. The Secretariat provides administrative support, as required, in order to complete the recruitment process. The final list of candidates formally nominated for election shall normally contain two to three times the number of open positions on the Board. 5 NOMINATION REQUIREMENTS All eligible members who wish to let their names stand for election must submit the following: o Signatures of at least 15 Members indicating support for their candidacy; o A 500-word (maximum) position statement, which may address particular issues identified by the ELEC; o Requested biographical information, including a photo, as well as past CIA volunteer service (which is verified for accuracy in the CIA database). Note that photos are only posted to the website and not included in the paper version of the ballot. The Secretariat coordinates with the candidates to obtain, translate and submit the final documentation to the candidates for their review. 2
6 PREPARATION OF THE ELECTION BALLOT The Secretariat prepares the first draft of the text of the Election Ballot, including all of the candidate information, which is sent to the ELEC for review. The draft text is also incorporated into the electronic Election Ballot and a dummy voting system is set up and tested by the ELEC. 7 CAMPAIGNING Two weeks prior to the beginning of the voting period, the names and information (i.e., biography, photograph, position statement) of all the candidates are made available to the membership via the CIA Announcements listserver and also via a paper flyer to nonelectronic members. This launches the campaign period during which the candidates will be prepared to answer questions from the membership, typically via the CIA General discussion listserver. The ELEC will, as required to encourage communication and debate, pose questions to the candidates via the CIA General discussion listserver. The ELEC will monitor the General discussion listserver during the campaign period and address any issues that may arise. 8 THE ELECTION On the prescribed date the paper ballots are mailed to non-electronic members and the electronic voting system is launched at 12:00 noon (Eastern). An Announcement is immediately sent out via the CIA Announcements listserver advising members that the voting is open. o The paper ballots contain a notification that electronic voting is available to all members even though they have received a paper ballot, in an effort to encourage electronic voting. o The electronic voting system, including the various security and confidentiality measures that are in effect, is outlined in Appendix A. The paper ballots, when mailed to members, are sent with an inner and an outer return envelope for the purpose of maintaining confidentiality. When the ballots are returned to the Secretariat, the ballot should be placed in the sealed inner envelope, which has no place for identification of the member submitting the ballot. This inner envelope containing the ballot is then placed in the outer envelope and sealed. The outer envelope has a place for the member s name and signature. When the paper ballots are received by the Secretariat, they are delivered to the Member Services Department where the outer envelope is opened and both the inner and outer envelopes are numbered with the same number (beginning at 0001). They are also identified as belonging to an FCIA (from the name and signature on the outer envelope). The number is then entered in the CIA database in the FCIA s record. The inner and outer envelopes are then separated. At the end of the voting period, the inner envelopes containing the ballots will be opened and tabulated, along with the electronic ballots. 3
The Secretariat also enters the identification number of the FCIAs who voted on a paper ballot into an online database that is linked to the electronic voting system, thus preventing the FCIA from voting both on paper and electronically. When an FCIA votes electronically, the Secretariat receives an e-mail containing the identification number of the FCIA, numbers it as if it were a ballot, and enters the information into the CIA database. On the prescribed date (generally three weeks after the ballot is made available to members), the electronic voting system is disabled at precisely 3:00 p.m. (Eastern). Paper ballots received until the close of business that day will be considered valid. If it appears that normal methods of communication may be interrupted, the President may, at the request of the ELEC, approve an extension of no more than two weeks to make the election ballots available or to receive the completed ballots. 9 COUNTING THE BALLOTS The Director of Volunteer and Member Services, along with at least two other staff members, tallies both the paper and electronic ballots that were received prior to the close of the voting period. The following process is used to determine the successful candidates: o For the position of President-elect, the number of first place votes received by each candidate is tabulated. In a situation where there are three candidates, if one candidate does not receive over 50 percent of the first place votes, the ballots belonging to the third place candidate are redistributed to the candidate who received a second place vote on the third place candidate s ballots. Since only two candidates would remain, one would obtain over 50 percent of the votes and thus be declared the winner. If more than three candidates were on the ballot, this same system would be applied eliminating the candidate with the lowest number of votes each round, until a candidate receives a majority. In case of a tie between the remaining two candidates, the candidate with the most first place votes would be declared the winner. If there is still a tie, a random method of selection (e.g., roll of the dice) would be used to establish the successful candidate. o This same system applies for the position of Secretary-Treasurer, if necessary. o For the position of Director, if four directors are required to fill four vacancies on the Board, the four candidates who obtained the highest number of votes would be elected. If five are required, the top five would be elected, etc. o In case of a tie between two or more candidates for Director, the candidate in a geographic or practice area that was under represented on the Board would be selected by the ELEC. If neither candidate involved in the tie would assist in reaching proportional representation in either category or if BOTH candidates would assist in reaching proportional representation in either category, a random method of selection (e.g., roll of the dice) would be used to establish the successful candidate. o Pursuant to Bylaw 11.13, if any Director whose term of office has not expired is elected an Officer, the Elections Committee will fill this additional vacancy created among the Directors (for the remainder of the unexpired term), with the 4
candidate having the next highest number of votes from among the candidates for Directors. o In a case where a vote is very close, a recount of the ballots in question will be done. A summary of the results of the voting is prepared by the Director of Volunteer and Member Services. This report is reviewed by the Executive Director (Scrutineer) and submitted to the ELEC. 10 VACANCIES ON THE BOARD In the case of a vacancy in the position of Director, the ELEC will recommend a candidate for the Board to appoint, as follows: 11 FINAL STEPS o If the vacancy occurs with more than one Board meeting remaining in the year, the candidate for Director receiving the next highest number of votes in the previous year s election would typically be asked to serve on the Board for the remainder of the unexpired term. o If the vacancy occurs with only one Board meeting remaining in the year, the position would typically be filled by a candidate from the upcoming election. The candidate receiving the next highest number of votes after the other full-term positions are filled would thus be asked to serve on the Board for the remainder of the unexpired term. The Chairperson of the ELEC will contact the successful President-elect and Secretary- Treasurer candidates as well as the unsuccessful candidates for these positions prior to an official announcement being published. Each candidate will be informed of the following results of the first round (first place votes) on the Election Ballot: o his/her rank; o the number of first choice (i.e., before redistribution) votes he/she received; o the number of first choice (i.e., before redistribution) votes received by the successful candidate; and o the total number of ballots received in the election. The Vice-Chairperson of the ELEC will contact the successful and unsuccessful candidates to the position of Director prior to an official announcement being published. Each candidate will be informed of the following results of the Election Ballot: o his/her rank; o the number of votes he/she received; o the number of votes received by the lowest ranking successful candidate (normally the 4th place finisher); and o the total number of ballots received in the election. 5
Once the candidates have been notified, the Secretariat will publish on the CIA Announcements listserver and website, the list of successful candidates. No numerical information on the Election Ballot results will be provided to the membership at large. The new Board members will be invited to attend the June Board Meeting and Annual Meeting. The Chairperson of the ELEC will prepare, on behalf of the ELEC, a report to the Board identifying the activities of the ELEC during the year s election process, as well as any recommendations the committee may have regarding changes to the process in future years. The Secretariat will maintain the election records, in accordance with its Privacy Policy, until the following year s election is completed. 6
Appendix A To be developed once the new electronic voting system is established in late 2007. 7