\documentclass[oneside]{procmanr} \usepackage{latexsym} % to be added to procmanr.sty \def\TTN{{\sl \TeX{} and TUG NEWS\/}} \long\def\ccb#1{\comment{bb: 18Nov91}{#1}} \long\def\ccba#1{\comment{bb: 17Jul92}{#1}} \long\def\ccbb#1{\comment{bb: 18Jul93}{#1}} \long\def\ccbd#1{\comment{bb: 31May95}{#1}} \long\def\ccbe#1{\comment{bb: 14Jan96}{#1}} \long\def\ccbf#1{\comment{bb: 15Jul97}{#1}} \DRAFT %\adopted{fill in date} \title{TUG Election Procedures} \mantopic{TUG Election Procedures} \begin{document} \maketitle \tableofcontents \newpage \section{Background and history} Prior to 1991, elections were held during the business meeting of the TUG annual meeting. According to the Bylaws in effect at the beginning of 1991, elected positions comprised four officers: President and Secretary (to be elected in one year of a two-year cycle), Vice~President and Treasurer (to be elected in the alternate year). Members of the Board of Directors were appointed by the Board, not elected. Discussion began in September 1990 concerning the possibility of having all Directors elected by the full membership, and conducting elections by mail to ensure equal rights for all members. At the March~1991 Board meeting, several changes to the Bylaws were approved, among them \begin{enumerate} \item reduction of the size of the Board to 15 elected Directors, plus the President, plus the non-elected (international) \0{Vice Presidents} \9{Special Directors}; \item a requirement that the Vice~President, Secretary and Treasurer be current Directors, and a provision that they be appointed by the Board rather than elected by the membership; \item provision for election of these 15 Directors and the President by written mail ballot. \end{enumerate} %\ccba{Updated to reflect experience with 1991 election.} An Election Procedures Committee was appointed to develop procedures for TUG elections and to devise a plan for implementing the first by-mail election in 1991. The first draft of the procedures in this document was the result of that Committee's work. \ccbd{Originally planned for July 1, 1994, but consideration and approval of these procedures were dropped from the 1994 Board meeting on account of time constraints.} After the first election and board meeting, some flaws in the procedures and weak points in the underlying philosophy became obvious. An ad hoc committee was assigned to propose revisions based on current experience. Two principal changes were made. The first was to provide for a full Elections Committee rather than one with responsibility only for Election Procedures. The second change was to the schedule, moving the start of the term of office from January~1 to the beginning of the annual meeting of the \BoD, permitting the first meeting of the incoming Board to occur at the annual meeting. Interim procedures, to span the two years needed to complete the terms of incumbent officials, were provided. Although approval of the procedures failed to be placed on the Board agenda for several years, the procedures were followed and further modified to deal with previously unforeseen contingencies that did occur during election cycles through 1995. \ReplaceAll These steady-state procedures, upon adoption by the Board, are expected to become fully operational July 31, 1995. \StartNew \ccbf{Updates to institute 2-year cycle, fallback procedure for election of president.} The procedures that governed the 1995 election were adopted by the Board at the 1995 meeting (Motion 95-7). At that same Board meeting, the proposal was set forth to change from an annual to a biennial election schedule, in part to decrease the expense, and to change the length of the Board term to four years, with the term of the President remaining at two years. After discussion, it was decided to remain with the annual schedule for the 1996 election, and include a referendum on that ballot to adopt the change or not. In the event, not enough candidates came forward in 1996, and no referendum was held. At the 1996 meeting, and by e-mail following the meeting, the intention to institute a biennial schedule was affirmed, and the 1997 election was announced on that basis. The present draft of the procedures is expected to become operational on July 31, 1997, upon adoption by the Board. \EndNew %%%% %\newpage %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% \section{Introduction} These election procedures are empowered by Article~VII, Section~5, of the \TUG{} Bylaws. \9{Changes to} \0{T}\unskip\9{t}hese procedures \0{must be approved}\9{require approval} by the TUG \BoD{} in order to take effect. %\ccb{Most specifics of these procedures were approved in outline form % by the Board on 14 July 1991; suggestions for improvements, based % on experience with the first election, are noted as marginal % comments, with more extensive commentary in \ref{ap:suggest91}.} \ccbd{Additional comments have been added through the 1995 election.} %\ccbd{Paragraph on interim procedures will be removed upon approval.} %\RemoveAll %Some interim procedures are required to effect a change in the %election schedule as initially established. These interim procedures %are isolated in \ref{ap:newsched} for ease of excision after the %transition has been accomplished. %\EndRemove \subsection{Scope} \ccbf{Fallback procedures added.} These procedures shall govern all aspects of elections for those TUG offices for which a written mail ballot is mandated by the Bylaws, and for any other purpose (such as referenda) for which a mail ballot is required. Aspects covered include scheduling, announcements, \9{nomination} requirements \0{for nomination} \0{of candidates}\unskip, ballot preparation, qualifications for voting, tallying of ballots, \0{and} certification and announcement of results\9{, and fallback procedures in the event of an insufficient number of candidates}. These procedures must conform to the TUG Bylaws; in case of conflict between these procedures and the Bylaws, the Bylaws govern. \subsection{Definitions} The following definitions apply: \begin{description} \item[Ballot form] This form contains, for each office to be voted on in the current election, a list of candidates, ordered by lot, with a box by each candidate's name to be marked with an ``X'' by the voter. \9{The form may also contain a list of referenda, with two boxes for each referendum listed, one labeled ``Accept'' and the other ``Reject'', to be marked with the voter's preference.} Ballot forms are to be returned by voters in the return envelopes provided. Marks on these forms will be tallied by the teller to determine the outcome of the election. The ballot form as mailed will not carry any means of identifying a particular voter. \item[Ballot materials] The ballot materials consist of a ballot form, an information brochure and a return envelope,. \item[Candidate] A candidate for TUG office is a current member of TUG who meets the qualifications for the office sought and has been nominated for that office in accordance with these procedures. % \ccba{Added oversight of elections, restriction on membership.} \item[Committee] An Elections Committee, appointed by the TUG \BoD, is responsible for overseeing the conduct of elections, for maintaining these procedures, and for other tasks as specified herein. No person may be a member of this Committee whose name is on the ballot in the current election. \ccbe{New definition.} \item[Committee chair] The chair of the Elections Committee may delegate responsibilities to any other member of the committee, including that of acting chair, as appropriate to assure that a task is carried out on schedule. Any duty ascribed to the chair may be carried out by such an appointee. \item[Current member] A current member of TUG is a named individual whose dues are fully paid for the year in which the election is held. \9{Institutional members must have named specific individuals in order for those individuals to be eligible to participate in elections or referenda. A name such as `Library' on the roster of an institutional member does not qualify as a current member.}\linebreak Current membership is a minimum requirement for eligibility to be nominated for office or to receive a ballot. \ccbf{New definition} \item[Fallback procedure] \9{In the extraordinary event that no candidate for President comes forward to be placed on the ballot, voting for Directors will proceed as planned, but the period for announcing candidacy for President will be continued through the beginning of the annual meeting. Candidates for President will then make their statements in person to the membership at the business meeting, after which the voting will take place.} \item[Information brochure] The information brochure is a brochure \9{or information sheet} mailed to members as part of the ballot materials. It is intended to provide sufficient information about each candidate \9{and/}or referendum to permit voters to make an educated choice. For each candidate it identifies the office sought and contains a \9{passport-style} photograph, a biography and a personal statement provided by the candidate. Specific requirements concerning the biography and statement appear elsewhere in these procedures. \9{For each referendum, the brochure contains the full statement of the question to be voted on along with the statement of support submitted with the question and a statement giving the position of the board, if different.} % \ccba{Change needed after schedule shift.} \item[Nomination petition] A completed nomination petition is \Remove{one of the two} \Remove{acceptable methods} \Replaceby{the method} by which a candidate may be nominated for office. \Remove{(The other is nomination from the floor at the annual} \Remove{business meeting.)} A nomination petition form will be made available for every election. % \ccba{New definition.} \item[Office] TUG elective offices are those of President and Director. Other offices (Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer) are appointed by the Board of Directors. (Bylaws, Article~VII, Section~4.) \ccbd{This may be unworkable; consider whether the label is sufficient.} \item[Return envelope] An envelope addressed to the teller will be provided as part of the ballot materials. On the back of this envelope will be affixed a label identifying the member to whom the ballot was sent, a short statement certifying that the votes are the member's own choice, and a space for the member's signature. \item[Teller] The teller for an election is the disinterested person or organization that certifies and counts the ballots, tallies the votes, and delivers the results to the proper authority for notifying the candidates and announcing the results to the membership. \ccbe{New definition.} \item[TUG journal of record] \TTN, if it is in existence at the time when announcements are to be made, otherwise \TUB. \end{description} %%%% \newpage %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% \section{Frequency and timing} \label{sec:timing} \ccba{After schedule shift, remove this first paragraph only.} This draft of these procedures incorporates a change in the election schedule, affecting the beginning and ending dates of terms of office. The ``final'', steady-state schedule is stated below. %; the procedures % by which the schedule is to be normalized appear in \ref{ap:newsched}. An election will be held every \9{odd-numbered} year. The President's term will be no more than two years. (Bylaws, Article~VII, Section~4.) % The President will be elected in % odd-numbered years. %\ccba{Steady-state, beginning 1996; staggered terms recommended by % the Committee; see \ref{ap:suggest91}.} %\ccbb{Change to 3-year terms requires a Bylaws amendment; proposal % before the Board.} \ccbd{3-year terms approved, July 1993. Terms must be concurrent with the annual Board meeting.} \ccbf{4-year terms accepted by consensus for 1997 election; Bylaws amendment before the Board.} \9{The number of Directors will be no more than fifteen (15). (Bylaws, Article~IV, Section~2.) However, the actual number may be less, as long as it does not fall below 50\% of the specified number. (Bylaws, Article~IV, Section~7.) The actual number is to be agreed by the Board before each election.} All \0{15 elected} Directors will be elected for \0{three} \9{four}-year terms. (Bylaws, Article~IV, Section~6.) \Remove{Board elections will be held annually, with five} \Remove{(5) Directors elected each year.} \Replaceby{Approximately half the agreed number of Directors will be elected at each election, or the number that will bring the total to the agreed level.} All terms of office begin \0{on July 1 or} \9{at} the opening of the annual Board meeting following the election\0{, whichever comes first,} and run \0{through June 30} \0{or} until the opening of the annual Board meeting of the last year of the term. Elections must be scheduled so that the results will be known and the newly-elected officers and Directors can be notified before their terms begin to permit arrangements to be made for attending the meeting; see Schedule, \ref{ap:sched}. Both outgoing and incoming officials are to be encouraged to participate in the Board meeting associated with the annual TUG meeting, in order to effect a smooth transition. However, \9{under normal circumstances,} only the incoming and continuing officials may vote at that meeting. \9{In the event that there is no candidate for President to place on the ballot, the fallback procedure will apply: All Directors, outgoing, continuing and incoming, will meet to prepare for the business meeting; the ``old'' Board will vote on matters that cannot be deferred until the new President, elected at the business meeting, can assume office.} An outline schedule appears in \ref{ap:sched}. \subsection{Announcement of election} \ccbe{Generalization of publication medium.} The first announcement of the annual election is to be published in an issue of \Remove{\TTN{} and/or \TUB{}} \Replaceby{the TUG journal of record} that will reach most members no later than the end of October. The announcement will consist of two parts: \begin{enumerate} \item an informative article, signed by the chair or another member of the Elections Committee, stating \begin{enumerate} \item what offices are open for election, \item eligibility requirements for candidates, \item the election schedule, \item instructions for filling in and returning nomination petitions, \item additional items that are required from candidates, namely a photograph, a biography, and a personal statement, \item encouragement to participate in the election, as either a candidate or a voter; \end{enumerate} \item a copy of the nomination petition form. \end{enumerate} \ccbf{Addition of Web reference.} The announcement should also be sent to the major \TeX-related electronic discussion lists \9{and posted at the TUG Web site}. \ccbe{Generalization of publication medium.} \ccbf{Addition of Web reference.} The deadline for receipt of nomination forms in the TUG office should be included in the TUG calendar published in \Remove{\expandafter{\TTN{} and \TUB}} \Replaceby{the TUG journal of record} \9{and on the TUG Web site}. A sample article and nomination petition form appear in \ref{ap:nomform}. %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% \section{Nomination} Nominations are governed by the Bylaws: Article~IV, Section~6 pertains to Directors; Article~VII, Section~3 pertains to the President. Only one method of nomination is recognized: nomination by petition. %\ccba{Nomination from the floor at the annual business meeting becomes % obsolete with the shift in schedule.} \subsection{Eligibility} A potential candidate must be a current TUG member. This implies that the member's dues have been paid for the year in which the election is being held, by the deadline for submission of nominations. There is no restriction on the class of membership. Thus a candidate may be an individual member, an individual named by an institutional member, or a student member. \subsection{Nomination by petition} A petition for nomination must be signed by the candidate and by two~(2) other TUG members. The completed nomination petition form must be received at the TUG office by the published deadline, which should be at least 30 days prior to the election. \subsection{Nomination petition forms} A nomination petition form will be prepared under the direction of the Elections Committee for each election; this task may be delegated to the TUG office. The form will be published in \Remove{\expandafter{\TTN{} and/or \TUB}} \Replaceby{the TUG journal of record;} \Remove{as appropriate;} additional copies of the form shall be available from the TUG office \Replaceby{and in electronic form from the TUG Web site, CTAN and other appropriate archives}. \ccbd{Electronic version of form added.} \ccbe{Generalization of publication medium.} The nomination petition form will contain at least the following information: \begin{enumerate} \item year of the election, starting date of the term of office, and ending date or length of term; \item a space in which to indicate the office being sought, or identification of the office if only one is open for this election; \item a space for the candidate's name; \item statement that the candidate accepts the nomination and space for the candidate's signature affirming this statement; \item spaces for the appropriate number of signatures required for support of candidacy, and a statement that all signers must be current TUG members; \item summary instructions for filling out and submitting the form% \Replaceby{, including deadline for receipt of the form and supplementary ballot information at the TUG office}. \end{enumerate} \subsection{Acknowledgement \0{of completed forms} \9{and verification of nomination materials}} \ReplaceAll \ccbe{} \noindent Every nomination petition form received in the TUG office is to be acknowledged immediately, including a statement that the form is acceptable as received (i.e., all names are those of current members) or that there are problems, and citing the nature of such problems. The TUG office may seek assistance from the Committee in cases where a problem is not able to be cleared up immediately, e.g., by payment of outstanding dues. If the information required from each candidate for the ballot does not accompany the completed form, the letter of acknowledgement should include a request that it be sent, with a clearly stated deadline. \subsection{\protect\Remove{Verification of eligibility}} \addtocounter{subsection}{-1} \ccbe{Section replaced} Eligibility, i.e., current membership, is to be checked in the database by the TUG office staff. Other qualifications are to be verified by the Committee. In cases where a name on the form matches a name in the database but the dues for that individual are not up-to-date, that individual must be notified as soon as possible by the TUG office, and the choice given of paying the dues or finding another signer. If the name of the unpaid individual is that of the nominee, the nominee and the Committee are to be notified in writing, and a copy of this notice placed on file in the TUG office. If the dues are not paid by the deadline for submission of nomination forms, that nomination is withdrawn, and a second notice in writing sent to the withdrawn nominee, to the Committee, and placed on file. \StartNew \noindent Upon receipt of nomination materials, the TUG office will immediately complete and return to the nominee the Nomination Acknowledgement Form (see \ref{ap:formletter}). Within one working day, the office will forward a copy of this form plus the biography/personal statement to the chair or other designated Committee member by e-mail or fax. Eligibility, i.e., current membership, is to be checked in the database by the TUG office staff. Other required items are to be verified by the Committee. In cases where a supporting name on the form matches a name in the database but the dues for that individual are not up-to-date, the second form letter in \ref{ap:formletter}, requesting immediate renewal of membership, must be sent to that individual within one working day by the TUG office. \EndNew %\ccba{New provision.} In cases where a name that appears on the form is not exactly matched by a current member's name in the database, a copy of the form and membership information for names that most closely resemble the questioned name on the form are to be forwarded to (a designated member of) the Committee for a ruling and suitable action. If the candidate information is not received by the announced deadline, the TUG office staff is to notify the Committee, who are responsible for informing the nominee that the nomination must be considered void. Copies of all correspondence, from both the TUG office and the Committee, concerning attempts to obtain information, are to be placed on file in the TUG office. The Elections Committee, in such a case, will provide the Executive Committee with a short report. \subsection{Shortfall of Nominations} In the event of there being the same number or fewer nominations as vacancies, all candidates nominated shall be declared elected without a formal ballot, and announcement to that effect shall be made in accordance with section~\ref{sbs:acting}. In the event of there being fewer candidates \9{for the Board} than vacancies, additional Directors may be appointed by the President in accordance with the Bylaws, Article IV, Section~8. \ccbf{} \NewText In the event of there being no candidate for President, the election for the Board will proceed. Election of the President will revert to the fallback procedure. \NewSect \subsection{Fallback procedure} When there is no candidate for President by the ballot deadline, the position will be omitted from the ballot, and the period for announcing candidacy will remain open until the first day of the annual meeting. Any candidate for President under this procedure \emph{must} attend the annual meeting. An announcement of the extended period will be made as soon as the situation is known; such an announcement will be included with the ballot, and posted to all the same venues as the original announcement of the election. Late candidates for President must deliver their nomination form to (a designated member of) the Elections Committee for validation prior to the start of the annual meeting; this requirement is waived if a candidate for the Board decides to become a candidate for President. Candidates for President through this procedure will present their statements in person to the membership at the annual business meeting, after which voting will take place by paper ballot. If there is only one candidate, the office will be awarded by acclamation. \EndNew %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% \section{Preparation and mailing of ballot materials} Ballot materials are to be prepared by the TUG office staff, with assistance, if necessary, from the Committee. The final copy of the ballot materials is to be checked by (a member of) the Committee before printing. \subsection{Ballot form} The ballot form may consist of one or two parts, as necessary: \begin{enumerate} \item election of officials; \item referenda. % \ccba{Referenda added.} \end{enumerate} The ballot form should contain only the following: \begin{enumerate} \item title(s) of the office(s) for which the election is being held, each title followed by the names of the candidates for that office; \item title and short descriptive statement for each referendum \9{item}; \item summary instructions for completing and returning the ballot; \item deadline for latest postmark that may appear on a completed ballot \9{envelope} in order for \0{it} \9{the ballot} to be counted; \item the address to which the marked ballot form is to be sent. \end{enumerate} If the back of the ballot form is not needed for this information, it should remain blank. Names of the candidates for an office are to be ordered randomly, with the order chosen by lot. An open square, in which the voter can make an ``X'' to indicate a choice, is to precede each name listed. An instruction for marking a vote with an ``X'' must be at the top of the ballot form. For each office, the maximum number of candidates to be voted for should be indicated clearly. Referenda, if more than one, are to be \9{arranged in an} order\0{ed as directed} \9{determined} by the Committee. For each referendum, the title is to be preceded by two open squares, the first marked ``Accept'', the second, ``Reject'', in which the voter's choice is to be indicated. \subsection{Information brochure} The information brochure is to be prepared for printing by the TUG office staff, with assistance, if necessary, from the Committee. The information brochure is to contain information on returning the ballot, including the return address and the dates by which the return envelope must be (a)~postmarked, and (b)~received by the teller. %\ccba{New provision.} The information brochure will contain, for each candidate, a photograph, a biography, and the candidate's statement. The photograph of the candidate should be passport size, showing the candidate's head and shoulders. For ease of manipulation, actual photographs are preferred. %\ccb{This was the greatest source of problems with the 1991 ballot; % see \ref{ap:suggest91}.} The length of the combined biography and statement must not exceed 400 words. This must be stated very clearly in requests to candidates for the information. The Committee will assist the nominee in achieving the required length. Candidates are to be listed alphabetically, with a separate list for each office on the ballot. Candidate information is to be formatted in a uniform manner. Editing should be done only to insert tags required for proper \TeX{} processing or to correct spelling. If there are any questions, the Committee shall be the final arbiter. %\ccba{Referenda added.} The information brochure shall also contain descriptive information for each referendum on the ballot. The text of this information is to be certified by the Committee; it may be proposed by the sponsor, or it may be drafted by a TUG member familiar with the intent of the referendum. \9{If the Board wishes to take a position on a referendum question, text may be provided by the Secretary or by another Director assigned by the President.} \subsection{Return envelope} The address of the teller will be printed on the front of the return envelope. Postage will not be provided (i.e., this will not be a business reply envelope), but a message such as ``Place postage here'' should be printed where the stamp should be affixed to avoid confusion. %\ccb{The certification statement and signature space were omitted % inadvertently from the 1991 return envelope.} \ccbd{The certification statement and signature space have not been included on the return envelope for any election through 1995. It appears that this provision may be unworkable, and modification is recommended.} A label with the member's name and address will be affixed to \Remove{the back of} the envelope\Remove{, preceded by the printed message ``From:''} \Replaceby{to permit the teller to match the returned ballot with a list of eligible voters}. \Remove{A statement} \Remove{certifying that the vote is the member's own, with a space left for the member's}\\ \Remove{signature, should also appear on the back.} \subsection{Mailing} Ballot materials are to be mailed first class, in a separate mailing. The outside envelope should carry the notation ``Ballot enclosed''. %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% \section{Counting the ballots} The TUG office will make arrangements for a disinterested person or organization to serve as teller for the election. (The TUG accountant may be authorized to serve in this capacity.) Ballots will be returned directly to the teller, and will not be handled by anyone associated with TUG until the results of the election have been certified by the teller. The teller is expected to develop appropriate procedures for tallying votes. However, the following instructions are to be incorporated into those procedures. \begin{enumerate} \item The member's name and address must appear on the return envelope. If the envelope is not the one supplied with the ballot materials, the name and address must be checked for validity against the TUG database, and additionally against the other returns to ensure that there is no duplication. % \ccb{This statement was omitted in the 1991 election.} \ccbd{This statement has been omitted in all elections, and is recommended for removal.} \item \Remove{The statement on the envelope certifying that the votes are the member's}\\ \Remove{own must be signed.} \item Ballots received after a cutoff date specified by the Committee are to be set aside and tallied, but the votes not counted. % \ccba{New provisions for dealing with late returns.} \item The Committee may specify a cutoff date for receipt of ballots that allows a reasonable time for postal delivery, but does not unduly delay the completion of the vote count or announcement of election results. Ballots received after such a cutoff date, regardless of postmark date, are to be set aside and tallied, but the votes not counted. \item In case of multiple ballots from the same member, the one with the latest postmark is to be counted. \ccb{A procedure should be defined for supplying replacement ballots.} \item Any ballot on which more votes are cast than the maximum permitted for any office are to be eliminated from the tally for that office. \item For President, the winner shall be the candidate for that office who receive\9{s}\0{d} the most votes. \item For Directors, the winners shall be the appropriate number of candidates for that office who receive\0{d} the greatest number of votes, in descending order. %\ccba{Referenda are new.} \item For referenda, the position (``Accept'' or ``Reject'') receiving the greatest number of votes wins. \item In the event of a tie, the winner shall be chosen by lot, by the teller. %\ccba{New procedure} \end{enumerate} The teller will inform the TUG office of the results as soon as the tally is complete, and the office will immediately forward the results to the \Remove{incumbent Board} \Replaceby{Elections Committee}. %\ccba{New provision.} In addition to the formal tally of votes, the teller is to be requested to compile demographic data, in particular, a tally of the geographic areas from which ballots were returned. %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% \section{Acting on the results} \label{sbs:acting} The \Remove{TUG office} \Replaceby{Elections Committee} will prepare a notice \0{informing} \9{and forward it to} the successful candidates \9{informing them} of their election\0{,} \Remove{and after approval by the Executive Committee, forward it to them}. \ccbd{Move responsibility for notification of candidates from office to Elections Committee.} The \Remove{TUG office} \Replaceby{Committee} will prepare letters from the current President to the unsuccessful candidates, thanking them for participating in the election and inviting them to remain active members. These letters will be forwarded to the President for signature and mailing. After the candidates have been notified, a message announcing the election results will be sent by \Remove{the TUG office} \Replaceby{(a member of) the Elections Committee} to the \0\expandafter{\verb|TUGBD-L|} \9\expandafter{\verb|tug-board|} electronic mailing list, with a request to Board members to keep the information confidential until the official announcement has been made by a representative of the Elections Committee. \Remove{The TUG office} \Replaceby{The chair of the Elections Committee} will prepare an announcement with the election results for the next issue of \Remove{\expandafter{\TTN{}}} \Remove{and/or \TUB} \Replaceby{the TUG journal of record} and forward it to the editor(s) for publication. \ccbe{Generalization of publication medium.} The chair of the Elections Committee will prepare an announcement suitable for electronic dissemination and send it to the principal \TeX-related mailing lists that are not associated with specific user associations other than TUG, in particular \verb|TeXhax|, \verb|Info-TeX| and \verb|TeX-Euro|. The \Remove{TUG office will update, or} \Replaceby{chair of the Elections Committee will} direct to be updated\0{,} the \0\expandafter{\verb|TUGBD-L|} \9\expandafter{\verb|tug-board|} electronic mailing list to include the newly elected officials. If a new President has been elected, the \0\expandafter{\verb|TUGEX-L|} \9\expandafter{\verb|tug-exec|} list should also be updated. A member of the Executive Committee should send a notice to \0\expandafter{\verb|TUGBD-L|} \9\expandafter{\verb|tug-board|} announcing the update, and welcoming the newcomers to the list. It should state that the newcomers are welcome to participate in discussions but that they may not vote until their new terms begin, and give that date. %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% \section{Summary of responsibilities} \subsection{Elections Committee} The Committee is responsible for \begin{enumerate} \item developing and maintaining these election procedures; \item creating the schedule for the election; this may depend on the dates of the annual meeting; \ccbe{Generalization of publication medium.} \item preparing an announcement of the election for \Remove{\expandafter{\TTN{}}}\\ \Remove{and/or \TUB} \Replaceby{the TUG journal of record}; \ccbe{Moved from office to Committee.} %\ccbe{Generalization of publication medium.} \item preparing the nomination petition form for publication in \Remove{{\sl\TeX{} and TUG}} \Remove{{\sl News\/} and/or \TUB} \Replaceby{the TUG journal of record} to accompany the first announcement; \item assisting the TUG office in validating eligibility of candidates and supporting signers in cases where names on nomination petition forms do not agree with member names in the database; \item assisting the TUG office in obtaining satisfactory ballot statements from candidates; \item checking the ballot materials before printing and mailing; \item \Replaceby{notifying the Executive Committee, the incumbent Board, and the successful candidates of the election results;} \ccbe{Moved from office to Committee.} \item \Replaceby{preparing letters for the President to send to the unsuccessful candidates, and delivering these letters to the President for signatures and mailing;} \ccbe{Moved from office to Committee.} \item \Replaceby{adding the addresses of the new officials to the appropriate mailing lists;} %\ccbe{Generalization of publication medium.} \item \Replaceby{preparing an announcement of the election results for the TUG journal of record and delivering it to the editor(s);} \ccbd{Moved from office to Committee.} \item preparing and distributing an announcement of the election results via the principal \TeX-related electronic discussion lists; \item preparing and submitting a final report to the Board. \end{enumerate} \subsection{TUG office} The TUG office is responsible for \begin{enumerate} \ccbe{Moved from office to Committee.} \item \Remove{preparing the nomination petition form for publication in {\sl \TeX{} and TUG}}\\ \Remove{{\sl News\/} and/or \TUB{} to accompany the first announcement;} \item supplying additional petition forms to prospective candidates on request; \item receiving and acknowledging nomination petition forms, and validating eligibility of candidates and supporting signers, with assistance from the Committee in case of problems; \item obtaining photographs and statements from the candidates, and preparing copy for the ballot, information brochure and return envelope; if problems arise, assistance is to be requested from the Committee; \item arranging for the teller; \item mailing the ballots; \ccbd{Moved from office to Committee.} \item \Remove{notifying the incumbent Board and the successful candidates of the}\\ \Remove{election results;} \item \Replaceby{notifying the Elections Committee of the election results;} \ccbd{Moved from office to Committee.} \item \Remove{preparing letters from the President to the unsuccessful candidates, having}\\ \Remove{them checked by the Elections Committee, and delivering these letters}\\ \Remove{to the President for signatures and mailing;} \item \Remove{adding the addresses of the new officials to the appropriate mailing lists;} \ccbd{Moved from office to Committee.} \item \Remove{preparing an announcement of the election results for %\TTN{} {\sl \TeX{} and TUG}}\\ \Remove{{\sl News\/} and/or \TUB{} and delivering it to the editor(s);} \item maintaining complete files of announcements, correspondence, and other documents related to the election; such documents may be kept in paper and/or electronic form, as appropriate. \end{enumerate} \subsection{Incumbent officers and Board} The President is responsible for \begin{enumerate} \item signing letters prepared by the \Remove{TUG office} \Replaceby{Elections Committee} to the unsuccessful candidates and mailing them. \ccbd{Moved from office to Committee.} \end{enumerate} \noindent (A representative of) the Executive Committee is responsible for \begin{enumerate} \ccbd{Responsibility moved to Elections Committee.} \item \Remove{approving the notice prepared by the TUG office informing the successful}\\ \Remove{candidates of their election;} \item sending a message to the \0\expandafter{\verb|TUGBD-L|} \9\expandafter{\verb|tug-board|} list after the new names have been added, welcoming the newcomers and stating their privileges and responsibilities. \end{enumerate} \noindent The \BoD{} as a whole is responsible for \begin{enumerate} \item appointing the Elections Committee; \ccbe{} \item approving the election procedures document \Replaceby{and subsequent updates}. \end{enumerate} %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% \newpage %Appendices \appendix %\setcounter{section}{0} \section{Schedule} \label{ap:sched} Most dates are given relative to the deadline for receipt of nomination forms, designated below as ``N''. The location at which items must be received by the various deadlines is assumed to be the TUG office unless specified otherwise. \ccba{The 1991 Committee concluded that delay between election and assumption of office (as when officers were elected at the annual meeting but did not assume office until January~1) allowed a ``training period''. The Aston ad-hoc committee failed to consider that aspect when changing the schedule.} \begingroup \vspace{\baselineskip} \renewcommand{\arraystretch}{1.25} \begin{tabular}{ll} first announcement reaches members & no later than October 1\\ deadline for receipt of nomination forms & January 5 $=$ N\\ \parbox[t]{2in}{deadline for receipt of\\ \strut\qquad candidate information} & $\rm N+1$ week\\ \strut{}ballot camera copy to printer & $\rm N+2$ weeks\\ ballots mailed to members & $\rm N+4$--5 weeks\\ (delivery and voting period) & 5 weeks, minimum\\ postmark deadline & $\rm N+10$ weeks\\ \parbox[t]{2in}{deadline for receipt by teller\\ \strut\qquad of marked ballots} & $\rm N+12$ weeks\\ \strut(vote counting period) & 2 weeks, minimum\\ notification of candidates & \parbox[t]{1.75in}% {no later than %May 1 6 weeks\\ % & \strut\qquad prior to annual meeting}\\ annual business meeting & between June 15 and August 30\\ announcement of election results & \parbox[4]{2in}% {first available \Remove{\sl TTN} \Replaceby{issue of\\ TUG journal of record},\\ % & \TeX-related electronic\\ % & discussion lists}\\ \end{tabular} \endgroup % end scope of increased \arraystretch %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% \newpage \section{Sample announcement and petition form} \label{ap:nomform} \begin{center} \ \bf \TUG{} Election \end{center} \vspace{.5pc} \noindent \ccbf{} The terms of the \acro{TUG} President and of \ members of the Board of Directors expire as of the \ Annual Board Meeting, which will take place in conjunction with the \ Annual \acro{TUG} meeting to be held in \ in \. The directors whose terms expire in \ are \. The election to choose the new President and Board members will be held in Spring of \. Nominations for these openings are now being invited. The Bylaws provide that ``Any member may be nominated for election to the office of \acro{TUG} President/to the Board by submitting a nomination petition in accordance with the \acro{TUG} Election Procedures. Election \dots\ shall be by written mail ballot of the entire membership, carried out in accordance with those same Procedures.'' The name of any member may be placed in nomination for election to one of these offices by submission of a petition, signed by two other current \ members, to the \acro{TUG} office at least two weeks (14 days) prior to the mailing of ballots. (A candidate's membership dues for \ will be expected to be paid by the nomination deadline.) A nomination form follows this announcement; forms may also be obtained from the \acro{TUG} office, and electronically from the \texttt{usergrps/tug} area of \acro{CTAN} or via the \acro{TUG} Web pages \texttt{www.tug.org}. Along with a nomination form, each candidate is asked to supply a passport-size photograph, a short biography, and a statement of intent to be included with the ballot; the biography and statement of intent together may not exceed 400 words. The deadline for receipt at the \acro{TUG} office of nomination forms and ballot information is \. %\textbf{March 4, 1997}. Ballots will be mailed to all members about 30 days after the close of nominations. Marked ballots must be postmarked no more than five (6) weeks following the mailing; the exact dates will be noted on the ballots. Ballots will be counted by a disinterested party not part of the \acro{TUG} organization. The results of the election should be available by \, and will be announced in a future issue of \TUB{} as well as through various \TeX-related electronic lists. \begin{flushright} \\\ for the Elections Committee \end{flushright} \newpage \begingroup \newcommand{\SigRule}{\rule{4.5cm}{.5pt}} \newcommand{\DateRule}{\rule{2.3cm}{.5pt}} \parskip=.5pc \begin{center} %{\bsl \ \TUG{} Election --- Nomination Form} \textbf{\ \TUG{} Election --- Nomination Form} \end{center} \noindent Only TUG members whose dues have been paid for \ are eligible to participate. The signatures of two (2) members are required in addition to that of the nominee. % By signing this % form, the nominee certifies willingness to accept the nomination. {\bf Type or print} names clearly, exactly as they appear on a TUG mailing label; new members should enter the name which they used on their membership application form. Names that do not exactly match the TUG records will not be accepted as valid. \vspace{.5pc} \noindent The undersigned TUG members propose the nomination of: \begin{flushleft} \begin{tabular}{@{}ccc@{}} \SigRule & \SigRule & \DateRule \\ {\bf Name of nominee} & (signature) & (date) \\ \end{tabular} \end{flushleft} \noindent for the position of (check one):\\[2pt] $\Box$ \textbf{TUG President}\\[2pt] $\Box$ \textbf{Member of the TUG Board of Directors}\\[2pt] for a term beginning with the \ Annual Meeting, \. \newcommand{\LeaveSpace}{\noalign{\vskip1pc}} \begin{flushleft} \begin{tabular}{@{}ccc@{}} \multicolumn{3}{c}{\large \bf Members supporting this nomination} \\ \LeaveSpace \bf Nominated by & \bf Signature & \bf Date \\ (please print) & & \\ \LeaveSpace \SigRule & \SigRule & \DateRule \\ \LeaveSpace \SigRule & \SigRule & \DateRule \\ %\LeaveSpace %\SigRule & \SigRule & \DateRule \\ %\LeaveSpace %\SigRule & \SigRule & \DateRule \\ %\LeaveSpace %\SigRule & \SigRule & \DateRule \\ \end{tabular} \end{flushleft} \vspace{.5pc} \noindent Return this petition to the TUG office (FAXed submissions will be accepted). Petitions and all supplementary material (photograph, biography and personal statement for inclusion on the ballot) must be received in the TUG office no later than \. It is the responsibility of the candidate to ensure that this date is met. Under no circumstances will incomplete applications be accepted. \begin{quote} \TeX\ Users Group \hfill {\bf FAX: } +1 209 561-4584\\ {\bf Nominations for \ Election}\\ \POBox 1239\\ Three Rivers, CA 93271-1239\\ U.S.A. \end{quote} \endgroup \newpage %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% \section{Form letters} \label{ap:formletter} \subsection{Nomination acknowledgement} \begingroup \newcommand{\checkboxonly}{\mbox{\tt[\kern1em]}} \newcommand{\checkbox}[1]{\mbox{#1\enspace\checkboxonly}} \newcommand{\ynboxes}{\quad\checkbox{yes}\quad\checkbox{no}} \setlength{\parindent}{0pt} \setlength{\parskip}{\baselineskip} \begingroup %\setlength{\textwidth}{3.5in} \hsize=3.75in \setlength{\parfillskip}{0pt} Date acknowledged:\enspace\hrulefill\null Name of nominee:\enspace\hrulefill\null \noindent\quad Eligibility:\hfill\ member:\ynboxes \noindent\quad If no, reason:\enspace\hrulefill\null Items received:\\ \null\quad Signatures:\hfil\checkbox{1}\qquad accepted:\ynboxes\linebreak[4] \null\quad\phantom{Signatures:}% \hfil\checkbox{2}\qquad accepted:\ynboxes\linebreak[4] \null\quad Photo:\hfill\ynboxes\linebreak[4] \null\quad Biography/personal statement:\hfil\ynboxes \endgroup % substitute for usual \<...> metacode, to be used in tabbing environment \def\[#1]{$\langle${\it#1\/}$\rangle$} \vspace{-10pt} \begin{tabbing} \checkboxonly\enspace\=Missing items\\ \> Missing items must be received in the TUG office by \[date].\\ \\ \checkboxonly\enspace Nominee's dues are unpaid.\\ \> Your dues payment must be received in the TUG office by \[date].\\ \\ \checkboxonly\enspace Signature of \makebox[1.75in]{\hrulefill} cannot be accepted because:\\ \> \checkboxonly\enspace Name does not match database records;\\ \> \checkboxonly\enspace \[year] dues not paid.\\ \> You may wish to submit another signature by \[date].\\ \\ \checkboxonly\enspace Length of biography/personal statement exceeds 400 words;\\ \> 40 lines of 72 characters length can be used for a quick estimate. \end{tabbing} \vspace{-10pt} {\bf Materials received after indicated date or which do not comply with the rules will not be used}. \endgroup \subsection{Request for membership renewal} \begingroup \setlength{\parindent}{0pt} \setlength{\parskip}{.5\baselineskip} Date: Dear \makebox[1.5in]{\hrulefill} The \TeX{} Users Group Office has received a nomination for \ which includes your signature supporting the nomination. Our records show that your \ membership has not been paid. You must be a \ member in order for your signature to be valid on a nomination form. Failure to comply with this rule may jeopardize the nomination. The nominee has been informed that your signature does not qualify for support of the nomination. Please remit your dues payment for \ by \. \endgroup \newpage %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% \section{Chronology and change history} \label{ap:chronology} This is a record of approval dates and changes to these procedures. \begin{description} \item[July 14, 1991] Board approval of preliminary outline on which this first draft is based \item[July, 1992] Board approval requested for procedures governing a full Elections Committee and incorporating schedule changes moving the starting date of terms from January to July; deferred. \item[July 1993] Board approval requested. Changes include dividing the Board into three ``classes'' of five members each, with each class term being three years in a steady state. Board did not consider the request. \item[July 1994] Question inadvertently omitted from Board agenda; deferred. \item[July 1995] Board approval requested. Provisional approval given to carry out 1996 election according to draft as modified by hand at the meeting. \item[January 1996] Manuscript amendments from July 1995 meeting incorporated into draft, with annotations; draft read for a sanity check and discrepancies removed. \item[July 1996] Board approval to be requested; deferred. \item[May 1997] Additions and modifications made to incorporate fallback procedures in the event of no candidate for President. \item[July 1997] Board approval to be requested. \end{description} \end{document} %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% \newpage \section{Interim procedures changing schedule from January to July} \label{ap:newsched} At the time of this draft, all terms end on December 31, as specified by the original election procedures adopted July 14, 1991. For one election cycle, the terms of the replacements for these officials will begin on January 1 and run for an additional half year to end on June 30. This will bring the election schedule into conformance with the procedure of Section~\ref{sec:timing} as of January 1, 1995. \ccbd{All necessary Bylaws changes accomplished by the end of 1994 annual meeting.} It is intended that this Appendix be deleted when the terms of all officials are aligned with the ``July'' schedule, that is, in 1994. No election will be held in 1994, the transition year. Annual elections will resume in 1995, but in the Spring rather than the Fall. \ccba{See marginal note for \ref{ap:sched}.} The President will be elected in 1992, an even-numbered year, for a term of two and one-half years. (Bylaws, Article~VII, Section~4, requires amendment, July 1992.) All 15 elected Directors will be elected in 1993, an odd-numbered year, for terms of two and one-half years. (Bylaws, Article~IV, Section~6, requires amendment, July 1992.) \subsection{Nomination from the floor of the annual meeting} Until the practice becomes obsolete, an individual nominated from the floor at the annual business meeting must notify the TUG office in writing before the deadline for filing of nomination petitions to accept the nomination. \ccba{Bylaws changes required: Article~IV, Section~6, Article~VII, Section~3.} \subsection{Schedule} The schedule below is the one contained in the first draft of these Procedures. Most dates are given relative to the annual business meeting. The date designated ``M'' below is the date of the business meeting $+$ 23~days. The location at which items must be received by the various deadlines is assumed to be the TUG office unless specified otherwise. \begingroup \renewcommand{\arraystretch}{1.25} \begin{tabular}{ll} first announcement reaches members & no later than March 31\\ deadline for receipt of nomination forms & $\rm M-23$ days\\ annual business meeting & $\rm M-23$ days\\ \parbox[t]{2in}{deadline for receipt of acceptance\\ \null\qquad of nominations from the floor\\ \strut\qquad of business meeting} & $\rm M+1$ week\\ \parbox[t]{2in}{deadline for receipt of\\ \strut\qquad candidate information} & $\rm M+1$ week\\ \strut{}ballot camera copy to printer & $\rm M+2$ weeks\\ ballots mailed to members & $\rm M+4$--5 weeks\\ (delivery and voting period) & 5 weeks, minimum\\ \parbox[t]{2in}{deadline for receipt by teller\\ \strut\qquad of marked ballots} & $\rm M+10$ weeks\\ \strut(vote counting period) & 2 weeks, minimum\\ notification of candidates & **\\ announcement of election results & first available {\sl TTN}\\ \end{tabular} \endgroup % end scope of increased \arraystretch \ccb{** Suggest December~1} %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% \section{Comments from the 1991 Committee} \label{ap:suggest91} {\sl Note\/}: This appendix is not intended to be a permanent part of these procedures. Rather it is intended to provide informal background information and some suggestions from the 1991 Election Procedures Committee to whoever is assigned the task of bringing these procedures into alignment with the principles of the first elected Board. The last subsection contains the outline procedures approved by the Board at the July 1991 meeting in Dedham, under which the first by-mail election was carried out, and on the basis of which these full-text procedures have been drafted. \subsection{Frequency and timing of elections} There are several items of concern here: \begin{itemize} \item election of all 15 Directors at once; \item starting date of terms of office; \item when newly elected officials should be notified relative to the starting date of their terms. \end{itemize} All these matters are governed by the Bylaws, and any changes will require changes to the Bylaws of greater or lesser scope. The suggestions here are offered in the spirit of trying to make TUG a better and stronger organization. It is the responsibility of this first elected Board to adopt procedures that they determine to be most appropriate for the organization, and they should act accordingly, without any concern for the feelings of their predecessors. \subsubsection{Staggered terms} Although it has been pointed out by one of the more determined populists on the ``old'' Board that electing the entire Board at once is most democratic, it also allows for the possibility of introducing all at once an entirely new collection of individuals who have had little or no experience in how TUG operates. Especially in times of difficulty, the necessity to ``hit the ground running'' will not make learning on the job particularly easy. A perceived need for some continuity and experience is the reason that the ``old'' board chose to appoint the 1992 President from within their ranks, and also specified that the other officers should be appointed from among existing Board members rather than elected from outside. One possibility for providing stability is to institute staggered terms. The previous Bylaws did mandate staggered terms of two years for Board members, but as the Board was appointed, not elected, it was not seen to be particularly effective or democratic. The fairest way to provide a much-sought-after overhaul was seen to be election of the entire Board at once, leaving the problems of continuity to the new, elected Board. The Committee which developed these procedures believes that staggered terms of two or three years are preferable to a mass election every two years. One argument for three-year terms is that the number of Directors (15) is evenly divisible by three. % However, this may be %outweighed by the desirability of avoiding the entrenchment that was %seen to be a huge disadvantage of the ``old'' Board, and which is %much more likely to recur with the longer term. There seems to be %a mild advantage to two years, and this choice is recommended. This is not a very strong argument, however; an equally reasonable arrangement would be to elect seven members in years that the president is up for election, and eight in alternate years, so that there would be eight officials to choose each year. \ccbb{After consideration, three year terms have been recommended for Board members to be elected in 1993.} If staggered terms are adopted, the next step is to determine how best to get them started. Given that two-year terms were specified in the instructions for the 1991 ballot, increasing some of them to three %years would be difficult to explain to the members. It is therefore %suggested that voluntarily reducing the terms of half the members of %the ``new'' Board to one year would be more politically palatable. %Since the President is to be elected in 1992, and the President is %not counted among the 15 Directors, let ``half'' the Board be seven %Directors for this purpose. years would place Directors in the position of changing the Bylaws in a way that can be construed as unreasonably favorable to themselves. This does not seem wise politically. It would be equally unfair to ask the incoming Board to reduce half their terms to one year, as both they and the members who will have elected them were expecting all the members of the new Board to be in office for two years. \ccbb{Similar comment to the above regarding three-year terms.} %There are a number of possible ways to decide which seven Directors %will be given short terms. One suggestion is to pick those with the %seven lowest vote totals; however, this would leave the strongest %candidates as a bloc, leading to the undesirable possibility of %entrenchment mentioned above. A better suggestion is to assign the %terms by lot. If this suggestion is adopted, the Committee %recommends putting the names of all the new Directors into a hat, %and assigning two-year terms to the first eight names drawn. The %reasoning is that this leaves open the possibility of a two-year %term to all until the eighth name is drawn. The drawing should be %done by someone without a direct interest in the outcome, perhaps %the President or one of the non-elected Vice~Presidents. This Committee proposes a third alternative: The new Board would remain in office for the prescribed two years, but change the procedure for the next election as follows. Fifteen candidates would be elected in 1993, but of these, eight would serve two-year terms, and seven, one-year terms. The announcement of the election should make it very clear that the candidates are to be elected on an equal basis, but after the fifteen successful candidates have been determined, the eight who are to hold two-year terms will be chosen by lot. (This should be done by a disinterested party, perhaps the teller, with suitable safeguards.) \subsubsection{Effective dates of terms of office} Although the alignment of Board and officers' terms with the calendar year makes for a smooth election cycle, it raises problems in bringing the new Board together at the beginning of the new term, and leaves open the possibility that necessary work could get ignored because a quorum couldn't be reached. In this respect, the assumption of office at the annual meeting allows for a much smoother transition between consecutive boards. No recommendation is made here, but some comments are worth injecting into the discussion. A question that might be asked is whether the effective dates of Board and officer terms should coincide with the fiscal year, which is now the calendar year. The TUG fiscal year has always been the calendar year, but until incorporation in 1987, officers were elected, and assumed office, at the annual meeting (with essentially no overlap). Following incorporation, the Bylaws were changed so that elections were held at the annual meeting, but new terms were shifted to begin on January~1, allowing the new officers to interact with their predecessors for several months, gaining assistance in learning their new jobs. If the transition were moved back to the time of the annual meeting, there would be the advantage that most officers and Board members would probably try to attend in any case, and there would not be the need for or expense of an exceptional meeting. Members of the outgoing Board could deliver final reports to the combined group, and turn over responsibilities smoothly. By leaving the election schedule as outlined in \ref{ap:sched}, and deferring the assumption of office until the annual meeting, the ``training period'' could be reinstated. Newly elected Directors or President could easily be added to the Board e-mail distribution, to take part in discussions but not to vote, in order to gain useful background knowledge before assuming responsibility. \ccba{Note comment on ``training period''.} \subsection{Nomination} Only two members are required to support the nomination of another member for any office. (Bylaws, Article~IV, Section~6; Article~VII, Section~3.) Although this may be quite democratic, it may also be interpreted as meaning that TUG does not put a great value on its elected officials. It also seems reasonable to believe that candidates who are likely to be successful in an election should be able to obtain greater support for their nomination, provided sufficient time is provided to do this. (The schedule in \ref{ap:sched} allows nearly five months.) Most other organizations whose nomination procedures have been examined do require greater numbers of signatures on nomination petitions. The American Mathematical Society (with total membership around 30,000, or ten times the size of TUG) requires 50 or 100 signatures, depending on the office (the lower figure applies to committees, the higher, to officers). The Sierra Club, a much larger organization, requires 350 signatures. It does not seem unreasonable to require at least five signatures in support of nomination, and this number is suggested. \subsection{Candidate information} The lengths of the biography and statement were specified separately for the 1991 ballot, as ``not to exceed 300 words'' for the biography and ``about 100 words'' for the statement. Several candidates exceeded the individual lengths of the parts without exceeding the word total for the whole. There was some ill feeling addressed to the office by some of the candidates who were asked to reduce a particular part, especially when the total was already within 400 words. The lengths of the separate parts seem to be more a matter of personal preference than substance. Combining the limits, strictly enforcing the total, and having the Committee communicate with the uncompliant candidates seems to be more fair to all candidates than what was done for this first election. \subsection{What is on the ballot} There is no provision for referenda, either in the Bylaws or in these procedures. One subject for voting by referendum is the amendment of the Bylaws. (That matter has been discussed at some length over the past few years, and it was considered that there are still some flaws in the Bylaws that should be removed before the procedure is made more intransigent. For example, several articles, especially those at the end dealing with very legalistic matters, are not in ``plain English''.) The provision of an appropriate mechanism should be addressed by the next Committee. It is suggested that the clause in the Bylaws enabling referenda be phrased along the lines of the present Article~VII, Section~5: ``conducted in accordance with $\ldots$ procedures approved by the Board of Directors.'' It would be useful to know what the membership thinks of the voting process. This Committee recommends that the next set of ballot materials include some provision for members to send back their comments. This should not be part of the formal procedures. \ccba{For agenda: decision on whether to include provision for comments.} \subsection{Counting ballots --- tie votes} In case of a tie in a Board election, this Committee recommends that the winner be selected by lot. This should probably be done by some disinterested person, such as the teller. If there is a tie in an election for President, it may make more sense to have the Board cast a secret ballot to break the tie. %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% \subsection{Outline procedures approved July 1991} % ignore the overfull boxes ... \hfuzz=1in \begin{verbatim} Proposed TUG election procedures (Article VII, Section 5) 1991 -- Interim procedures President to be elected by Board for one-year term (Jan 1-Dec 31, 1992) Board of Directors All 15 Board members to be elected by the full membership Board terms, by Article IV, Section 6, must be 2 years Suggest to new Board that some mechanism be provided for staggering terms Deadline for receipt of nomination papers in TUG office: Sep 1, 1991 Ballots to be mailed to members: Oct 1, 1991 For remainder of election schedule, see steady state schedule below (beginning at M + 30 days = mailing to members) These procedures will be announced at annual business meeting Steady state procedures Terms of office run from Jan 1 of the year following the election through Dec 31 of the final year of the term Presidential election (by full membership) in even-numbered years for two-year term Vice president, secretary and treasurer to be Board members selected by the Board for one-year terms Board elections in odd-numbered years for two-year terms Suggest to incoming Board to make provision for staggered terms Announcement of election, including nomination petition form and schedule, to be published in an issue of TUGboat and/or newsletter that will reach members no later than end of March Deadline for receipt of nominations to be included in calendar Ballot Introductory text and mockup to be approved by Board at annual meeting Ordering of candidates on ballot shall be random, chosen by lot For each candidate, the following information shall appear on ballot: picture of candidate short biography (350 words) statement of intent (100 words) Ballots will be mailed in a separate mailing Return envelope (no postage) with member's address label and place for signature on back of envelope Schedule (M = date of annual business meeting + 23 days) M + 7 days deadline for receipt of acceptance of nominations from the floor of business meeting M + 7 days deadline for receipt of candidate information M + 14 days camera copy of ballot sent to printer M + 30-35 days mailing of ballots to members M + 70 days deadline for receipt of marked ballots TUG office will arrange for ballots to be counted and results certified by a disinterested party (e.g. the TUG accountant) President will be candidate for that office who received the most votes Top 15 Board candidates in odd-numbered years will be elected Announcement of results Notification by TUG office to existing Board, to successful candidates TUG office prepares a letter from current President to unsuccessful candidates thanking them for participating in election and inviting them to remain active members; forwards letters to President for signature Announcement for next newsletter and/or TUGboat with election results approved by TUG Board, 14 July 1991 \end{verbatim} %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% % \section{Comments from the 1992 Committee} % \label{ap:suggest92} % % {\sl Note\/}: This appendix is not intended to be a permanent part of % these procedures. It is intended to record discussions and decisions % of the ad hoc committee assigned at the February 1992 Aston Board meeting % that resulted in modifications to the original draft. It may be removed % upon approval of the procedures by the Board at the 1992 annual meeting. \end{document}