RVC Special Elections

Here's a draft of another bylaws amendment:

Amend Article III as follows:

a. In Article III, Section (10)(a), first sentence, insert “, other than Regional Vice-Chairmen,” after “Elective and appointive officers”. The resulting sentence would then be “Elective and appointive officers, other than Regional Vice-Chairmen, may be removed by resolution of the American Mensa Committee for any of the following reasons:”.

b. In Article III, delete the current language in Section (11) and its subsections, and replace them with the following:

(11) In the event of the resignation, removal, advancement, or death of an elective officer other than a Regional Vice-Chairman, or in the event of an office other than Regional Vice-Chairman not being filled by election, the remaining members of the American Mensa Committee shall elect a successor to fill the office for the remainder of the term of office; provided that, in the case of vacancy in the office of Chairman or First Vice-Chairman, the officer(s) next in line shall move up and the successor shall serve in the office of Second Vice-Chairman.

c. In Article III, add the following language as new Section (12):

(12) In the event of the resignation, removal, advancement, or death of a Regional Vice-Chairman, a special election will be held in the affected region, if such vacancy occurs within the first 15 months of the AMC term. Notice of such vacancy will be provided to the members of the affected region as quickly as possible, either by publication in the national journal or by separate mail sent to all members of the affected region. Candidates will have 30 days to submit petitions to the Election Committee. The Election Committee shall verify the accuracy of all the information presented within the petitions and endeavor to correct any factual inaccuracies which may appear. Each candidate's petition must be accompanied by the signatures of at least 50 members in good standing within the affected region, as of the end of the month preceding the notice of the vacancy of office. The Election Committee shall submit to the American Mensa Committee a final, fully-inclusive list of such candidates who have submitted valid petitions, the information provided in the petitions having been verified as reasonably accurate. For offices for which there is only one valid petition, the Election Committee shall declare the candidate elected. For offices for which there are at least two valid petitions, the names of the candidates shall be placed on the Special Election ballot. The Special Election ballot shall appear in the next possible issue of the national journal or by separate mail sent to all members of the affected region. The Special Election shall be conducted in accordance with Article V Section 2 and Article VI Sections 7-9.

(NOTE: Parts “a” and “b” of this amendment proposal are identical to the motion passed by the AMC at the September AMC meeting, which adjusts obsolete language that has been declared invalid. There is no conflict in this language. If both amendments pass, the effect will be to make the adjustment to the obsolete language dealt with in parts “a” and “b” and to implement the newly added procedure in part “c” to institute a Special Election for replacing Regional Vice-Chairmen.)