OTW Elections – What the Bylaws Mean for the Coming Term

[ira_gladkova]

Although polls have yet to open for our 2011 election, we're already thinking ahead to 2012. As some of you may have noted, the circumstances of the current election present a complication for next term. There are a total of seven seats on the Board, and Board members are customarily elected to three-year terms. We have four open seats in this election; two are from terms that ran out this year, and two are from Board members retiring before their terms are up (both would have had one more year). Meanwhile, the three Board members staying on were all elected last year, and those terms aren't up for another two years. As things currently stand, this effectively leaves no seats open for a 2012 election. However, our current bylaws state that one-third of the Board must be elected every year.

The Board has discussed this issue and consulted with the Legal chair. There are several potential ways of handling the situation, including holding an election in 2012 (the details of which would have to be determined) and/or amending the bylaws (to allow us to skip elections for a year). The Board has decided not to alter anything about the current election, as we feel that to do so would be unfair to the candidates and voters. Rather, the current Board believes that the course of action should be determined by the new Board in consultation with the Legal committee, as it is the new Board who will be most closely affected by any decision.

In summary: the anticipated lack of open seats in 2012 is an issue that needs to be addressed before the next election season. However, nothing has been decided yet, and the issue will not affect how the current election is conducted.
As a reminder, voting in the 2011 election opens in about a day and a half; polls open noon UTC 16 November (check the time in your area) and close 48 hours later, at noon UTC 18 November (check the time in your area). Voters will receive a reminder email before polls open; if you believe you qualify to vote in this election but have not received a voter email, please contact us as soon as possible!

Mirrored from an original post on the OTW blog.

Comments

[elf]

I thought "elected" should be "selected," and then realized it probably refers to "elected by a majority of the remaining board members."

There's no provision in the bylaws for, "I'm going to resign early, but will remain through the next election season, so go ahead & let the membership vote for a new board member instead of the four of you appointing one next week." And I can understand how that got overlooked--one doesn't necessarily assume resignations will be non-emergency, non-acrimonious things--but it seems the bylaws should be amended to have plans in place for this kind of situation.

My reading of the current rules is that the two who are stepping down are supposed to be replaced by people chosen by the remaining board members, and those chosen would then serve the rest of those terms, and then be eligible for election normally. The current method, with the extra members being elected mid-term, seems fairer for the Membership--we get to choose all of them, instead of having a couple selected by board members--but it throws a spanner into the procedures as described.

[(Anonymous)]

Hmm, maybe that's it. Though as you know, it's a bit unclear how the Board is to vote -- and who... like, do other resigning Members vote lol? And What a headache if they don't agree. They might want to change that to clarify and streamline.

Yes, exactly. They're stepping down in an orderly way, at a time that coincides with an election, but theoretically that's irrelevant. I agree with you, though, that since it coincides with an election, it makes sense to do it that way. But you're right, that leads to the length of term dilemna!

What makes most sense if the number of members is kept the same is for the terms to end at staggered times, but that's not exactly fair to suddenly foist that on incoming members. Adding more Directors could work, but creates issues of its own.

No one ever said writing legal docs is easy.:P