Elections
The Augustan Society, Inc., holds an Election annually in July (and occasionally at other times) to select those officers who are selected by election.
Contents
Election of Directors
Election for Directors of The Augustan Society, Inc., are held annually. Ballots may also include votes on Amendments to the By-Laws and any referenda the Board may see fit to delegate.
A Nominating Committee Chairman is selected each year. This is normally a Director, but may be any member of the Society in Good Standing. Ineligible are those Directors leaving office the following August, and Headquarters Staff.
The Nominating Committee Chairman may, but is not require to, name additional members in Good Standing to his committee. Non-members are not permitted.
The Nominating Committee will canvas the membership to secure a sufficient number of candidates for the election. The term "sufficient" here meaning at least one more candidate than there are vacancies. This canvas may be limited to email queries, as this will increase the probability of candidates being able to communicate online, increasing overall efficiency.
To accept nomination, candidates must agree to serve in writing (email is acceptable). They are also encouraged to submit a statement of not more than 100 words to be published with the ballot. Note that the Augustæum Editor is admonished to strictly edit for length. While it is hoped that time will permit a more gracious edit, he is permitted to do so by truncating statements to only the first 100 words submitted, provided he treats all submissions the same.
The Nominating Committee will report back to the Board by the Agenda deadline for the June Board meeting with the names of the candidates nominated. At that meeting, Directors may nominate additional candidates, with the constraint that they must agree to serve in writing before the ballots must be printed, usually the last week July.
Headquarters Staff will print the statements received by the date of the June Board meeting, either on or with the ballots, or in an accompanying Augustæum. No mention will be made of those candidates who did not submit a statement.
Headquarters Staff (or their designees) will print the ballots and mail them to all Members with the statements. The desired date for posting is 30 June, but posting as late as 2 July is acceptable.
Members must properly mark their ballots and return them to Headquarters (or a designated Election Teller) not later than 1 August. A July postmark is not in itself sufficient; the ballot must be received at Headquarters (or the Election Teller) by the deadline.
Headquarters Staff (or the Election Teller) will count the ballots in time for the results to be announced at the Annual Meeting on the second Saturday of August. Should this prove impossible due to write-in votes or the refusal of the President to cast a tie-breaking vote, the confirmation of the election will be postponed to subsequent metings of the Board. In such event, Directors and Elected Officers will remain in office until the entire Board has been elected and officer elections may be conducted.
Those elected shall be assigned the longest term available, first by the number of votes received, and second by order of precedence. Given that resignations are not uncommon, there may be no particular pattern to how many terms expire each year.
Should there be no objection at the Annual Meeting, or from the subsequent Board meeting if no quorum is had at the Annual Meeting, Headquarters Staff (or the Election Teller) will destroy the ballots, retaining only the vote counts.
By-Laws Amendments
While the Board is authorized to make most amendments to the By-Laws, any amendment that has the effect of reducing member control or input to Society operations must be approved by the membership, with the sole exception of changing the number of Directors which the By-Laws specifically authorize the Board to do with a super-majority.
To the extent possible, Amendments should be presented at the time of the annual election to save costs, and the questions may be placed on the same ballot sheet as the candidates. Thus a single Ballot Envelope is sufficient.
Amendments that find no objection from either the members of the Board or from Headquarters Staff may have the text of the amendment accompanied by a brief explanation of the impact, should it not be obvious. Where dissent is heard, two statements of equal length should be authorized, with respected and articulate proponents of each side invited to submit. The length should be a function of the complexity, but should not be so great that both cannot fit on a single sheet of paper. Additional argument may be permitted in Augustæum, but this should be done well in advance of the voting so as to permit rebuttal.
Amendments submitted to the membership at either the Annual Meeting or via ballot require only a majority of the votes cast to prevail.
Election of Magister Rosae
In years when the Noble Company of the Rose (NCR) does not call a Meeting in Chapter by 31 May (the meeting itself may be at a later date), an election is also held to select the Magister Rosae.
As the Rule of the Company provides that any member may be called to service as Magister Rosae, all members in Good Standing will appear on the ballot.
Headquarters Staff may canvass the members asking who might be willing and able, and who might be unwilling or unable to serve. This data may be shown on the ballot by using a different typeface or placement on the ballot. Otherwise, candidates will be listed in the order of precedence established by the NCR.
Headquarters Staff will prepare the ballots in time for them to be mailed with the ballots for Director.
Headquarters Staff will mail the ballots not later than 2 July to all members of the NCR in Good Standing. Note that one must be a member of the Society in Good Standing in order to have Good Standing in NCR.
Members of the NCR will mark their ballots as directed and return them to Headquarters not later than 1 August.
Ballot Counting
Headquarters Staff will arrange to have the ballots counted in time for the results to be presented to that year's Annual Meeting. While it is desirable that the count be done by disinterested non-members, this is only required when there is some expectation that one or more of the items is contested, or when an issue may impact Headquarters Staff.
Should there be no objection at the Annual Meeting or the following Board meeting, Headquarters Staff will destroy the ballots, retaining only the vote counts.
