Ballot
The elections held by The Augustan Society, Inc., require a paper ballot, and deserve a ballot design that is both fair, and prescribed in advance.
There are normally three types of elections:
- Annual elections for Directors;
- Occasional elections for By-Law Amendments; and
- Annual elections for Magister Rosae.
The ballot format for elections of Directors shall indicate the year in which the election is held, the name of the Society, the name of the offices, and the terms of those offices. It must also indicate how many votes may be cast, and warn that voting for more than the maximum will void the ballot. It must also expressly declare the means of indicating a vote (mark an X in the box to the left of the names, perhaps).
The candidates approved by the Board will be listed in order of precedence, as defined by the Warrant of Precedence. This does give incumbents a place closer to the top of the ballot, and such is the intent.
Blanks will be provided for write-in candidates equal to the number of seats to be filled. A note should indicate that only members in Good Standing are eligible, and that incumbent Directors and the Consuls are not.
Elections to approve amendments to the By-Laws may be on the same sheet as the Directors if voted at the same time, or they may be on a separate sheet if they won't all fit. If on opposite sides of the same sheet, both sides should include a reminder to vote both sides.
The Amendments will be listed in the order they were authorized by the Board (or Membership Meeting), unless one is logically dependent upon another, in which case a logical sequence may be imposed. The ballot must expressly declare the means of indicating votes for or against each amendment.
Should a ballot contain improper votes for either Director or an Amendment, only that issue improperly voted is voided, all else on the ballot or ballots remain valid votes.
The ballot format for elections of Magisters Rosarum must list all members of the Noble Company of the Rose in Good Standing, as all are eligible for election each year. It has been the practice of the past decade to survey the members in advance of ballot preparation asking if each is willing and able, or unwilling or unable, to serve. The members are then divided into three groups: willing and able, unresponsive, and unwilling or unable, in that order. The willing and able are listed first in bold type, the unresponsive in the middle in regular type, and the unwilling or unable last in italic type. Within each of these three groups, the members are to be listed in the order of precedence as defined by the Noble Company.
The MR ballots are not to be combined with those for Directors or Amendments, but must be on separate sheets. They must include explicit instructions about how to indicate a vote, and warn that voting for more than one candidate will void their ballot. No write-in votes are permitted.
In order to provide some semblance of security, all ballots will be printed on either colored paper or paper with a distinctive background. Directions for all will include placing the ballots (as many as my be present) in a Ballot Envelope, then placing that into a Reply Envelope, and requiring that the name of the member be placed on the outside of the Reply Envelope. Failure to follow this procedure may be held as cause to reject ballots, but forgiveness may be extended if there is no question about them. One example of what might create such a question is a member resigning after the ballots are mailed but before the ballot deadline.
In all cases, the ballots and any accompanying information must indicate the ballot deadline. This deadline must be at least 30 days following the mailing of the ballots. It is at the discretion of the Ballot Committee to determine if postmarks will be deemed sufficient to have met the deadline.
The normal schedule for ballots is for them to be mailed the last week of June with a deadline of 1 August. This permits them to be counted and the results reported at the Membership Meeting on 18 August. Should circumstances prevent this schedule, the election may be delayed, but the Membership Meeting should be adjourned to a date when the election results may be reported.
Candidate statements and statements for and against Amendments should be published and distributed with the ballots. If space permits, they may be printed on the ballots themselves, but they may be on an accompanying sheet, or in an issue of Augustæum mailed with the ballots. Candidate statements are limited to 100 words (not counting name, titles, and postnominals). Amendment statements may be of such length as the Board may determine. One hopes the Board will obtain or create a statement contrary to their own desire for the sake of balance.
