Elections - Policies and Procedures

It's election time for the AAC, and members should be aware of all of the rules and regulations governing the process of choosing a new Board of Directors. Bylaws pertaining to the conduct of elections include the following:

Election of Board of Directors

1. The President, Vice-President and Recording/Corresponding Secretary shall be elected on the vote of the members who are entitled to vote;

2. The Regional Directors shall be elected on the vote of the members who are entitled to vote in each Regional zone

Eligibility to Vote

Only those Regular Members of AAC who:

1. on July 1 of the election year and again on the date the official voters list is created being October 1, have completed one continuous year of membership and are eighteen year of age or older;

2. are members in good standing with AAC; and

3. are residents of the appropriate regional zones;

shall be eligible to move or second a nomination, be nominated, vote, stand for election and/or be elected as a Board member.

Ineligibility

1. No person in receipt of salaries, wages, commission or bonus, or any form of remuneration from AAC shall be eligible to move or second a nomination, be nominated, stand for election and/or be elected as a Board member. This section shall not apply to those Board members, committee members, members and volunteers who:

1. may from time to time be paid a per diem or receive reimbursement for expenses in accordance with AAC's established policy;

2. receive remuneration from Clubs/Associations for judging assignments, or receive remuneration for teaching judging clinics.

2. No two members from the same household shall be eligible to move and second the same nomination, nor shall they be entitled to stand for election and/or be elected as Board members at the same time, or hold a position on the Board of Directors at the same time.

3. No member of a household may move or second a nomination for another household member.

Nominations

1. The Nominating Committee shall nominate from among the eligible members of AAC one candidate for each position on the Board of Directors. Such nominations shall not be made prior to July 1 and no later than September 30;

2. Any member entitled to vote, as per section the eligibility criteria described above, may be nominated for office.

3. Any member may move or second the nomination for the positions of President, Vice-President and Recording/Corresponding Secretary, except as set out above;

4. Any member may move or second the nomination for one (1) Regional Director for the region in which such member resides, except as set out above.

Nomination Papers

On July 1st in each election year, nomination papers in such form as may be approved by the Board of Directors, shall be made available by the Nominating Committee to any voting member requesting the same by email.

Filing of Nomination Papers

Completed nomination papers shall be mailed to the Nominating Committee at the address printed on the Nomination Papers so as to be received no later than 5:00 p.m. on September 30th in the election year. Any nomination papers received thereafter shall not be considered. Each nomination paper shall be signed by two members entitled to vote in the election and accompanied by the written acceptance of the nomination by each nominee.

No Nomination in a Regional Zone

1. In the event that no nomination is received for one of AAC's regional zones, the Nominating Committee shall declare the office vacant as of September 30th of the election year. The Nominating Committee, when preparing the official ballots, shall prepare a ballot for such regional zone indicating that no nominations were received

2. The Board of Directors shall at its first Board meeting following the election, appoint an eligible member to fill the vacancy.

Eligible Voters

On October 1 of an election year, the Membership Coordinator shall provide the Nominating Committee with a list of members entitled to vote in the upcoming election. Such list shall include each members last known mailing address.

Ballots

1. The Nominating Committee shall prepare the official ballots for each member who is entitled to vote. The ballot shall have the official logo of AAC printed thereon and each ballot shall be marked by the Nominating Committee for the purpose of identification and in counting the votes. No other ballots shall be taken into account;

2. Each member shall receive two ballots as follows; (i) one ballot shall contain the names of those individuals nominated for the positions of President, Vice-President and Recording/ Corresponding Secretary; (ii) one ballot shall contain only those names of the individuals nominated for each member's Regional zone.

Mailing of Ballots

1. On or before October 15th in the election year, the Nominating Committee shall mail to every member eligible to vote, the appropriate official ballots as set out in Section 8.11 herein and a return envelope marked "BALLOT", and pre-addressed to the Chairperson of the Nominating Committee. If through mistake, accident or other cause the voting papers are not mailed on or before October 15, they shall be sent out as soon as possible thereafter;

2. Default in supplying a ballot and/or return envelope to any member, or the non-receipt of either of such papers by any member within the prescribed time shall not invalidate any election held in the manner herein provided.

Return of Ballots

Voting members must return their ballots to the Nominating Committee no later than 5:00 p.m. on November 30th following the mailing of the ballots. Should November 30th fall on a Sunday, the time for receipt of the ballots shall be extended to 5:00 p.m. on December 1st .

Counting and Reporting Results

1. Following the closing of voting, and as soon as possible thereafter, the Nominating Committee shall proceed to the opening of the return envelopes and the counting of the ballots;

2. The Nominating Committee shall complete the Election Result Report as approved by the Board of Directors, setting out the following information:

1. the number of votes cast for each candidate for the positions of President, Vice-President and Recording/Nominating Secretary;

2. The number of votes cast for each candidate for each of the regional zones;

3. The names of all candidates who were elected to the Board by acclamation;

4. The offices in any Regional zone for which no nominations had been received;

5. Total number of ballots mailed out and the total number of ballots received, including spoiled ballots.

3. The completed Election Result Form shall be signed by the Chairperson of the Nominating Committee;

4. The results of the election shall be reported in AAC's Official Newsletter and shall be posted on the AAC website;

5. The Election Result Report shall be filed with the Recording/Corresponding Secretary;

6. A copy of the Election Result Report shall be provided to each candidate upon request.

Destruction of Ballots

The Nominating Committee shall seal the counted ballots in packages and deposit the same with the Chairperson of the Nominating Committee. The ballots shall be maintained in safe keeping until January 1st of the year following the election, at which time they shall be destroyed.