Talk Mensa With Me

Dizzy trying to find out which way Mensa is going? Make this one of your stops to find out about the ins and outs of American Mensa, Ltd. (AML).

Interested in the happenings of Metropolitan Washington Mensa? I'll be able to either directly answer your questions regarding the running of the chapter (certainly through Oct. 31, 2011, my last day as LocSec) or forward you to the appropriate person who can do so.

If you want to get in touch with me, contact me at boxmaster@alumni.williams.edu or just click on any of the "comments" links throughout this blog.

Saturday, October 6, 2012

Change Nominating Committee (and duties) to Search Committee


Amend Article VI by deleting the text in strikethrough and adding the underlined text, retaining the text in black plaintext.
(1) No later than the August 1st preceding each election, the American Mensa Committee shall appoint a Nominating Search Committee consisting of at least seven members, none of whom shall be members of the American Mensa Committee. Members of the NominatingSearch Committee shall be chosen so as to represent a broad spectrum of the membership, with regard to both geography and general trends of viewsgroup size.
(2) No later than the AMC meeting following each Annual Gathering, the American Mensa Committee shall appoint an Election Committee consisting of three to seven members, none of whom shall be a member of the American Mensa Committee or the NominatingSearch Committee. The Election Committee shall be chosen from among members disinterested in the outcome of the election, and selected for their ability to assist in the conduct of elections. The Election Committee shall be responsible for the conduct of the election, including but not limited to the establishment, updating and publication of a detailed Code of Election Procedures, the preparation of ballots and written material, the distribution of ballots, and the selection of the independent agency to record and count the returned ballots, and the publication of election results. The Code of Election Procedures shall specify that the deadline for NominatingSearch Committee receipt of nominations by petition is February 1st preceding the election. The Code of Election Procedures shall not be changed or amended between submission for publication as stated herein and the day following the official announcement of the ballot election results. Each newly appointed Election Committee must affirmatively adopt a Code of Election Procedures for each election. No later than the deadline for the January issue of the journal preceding each election, the Election Committee shall submit the Code of Election Procedures to the journal for publication therein, or shall submit the Code to another national publication which is received by all members for publication therein, or shall send the same by mail to the membership. If the Code is submitted to the journal, it shall be published in the next available issue.
(3) Each candidate seeking office, whether contacted by the Search Committee or not, must submit a petition, accompanied by the signatures of at least 50 members in good standing as of the December 1st preceding the election, in a format prescribed by the Election Committee, and by a signed acceptance of nomination by the candidate. Said petitions must reach the Search Committee not later than the February 1st preceding the election. Electronic submission of petitions is also permitted. No later than the October 1st preceding each election, the Nominating Committee shall nominate one or more candidates for each of the elective offices of American Mensa Ltd., of whom the nominees for the position of Chairman shall (unless no individuals with the requisite qualifications are willing to run for that office) be member(s) of the American Mensa Committee then in office, or have served at least one year on a prior American Mensa Committee. The Nominatingthe Search Committee shall verify the accuracy of the information presented within the petitions received to date, endeavor to correct any factual inaccuracies which may appear therein, and shall submit a list of the nominated candidates to the American Mensa Committee and to the Election Committee a list of such candidates who have submitted petitions, the information provided in the petitions having been verified as reasonably accurate. No other criteria shall be used by the Search Committee to determine whether a candidate should be forwarded to the Election Committee for inclusion on the ballot nor shall there be any “recommendation” or “endorsement” of any candidate, or other similar differentiation between candidates for the same office, be made by the Search Committee. No later than the deadline for the December journal preceding each election, the NominatingSearch Committee shall submit thethis initial list of nominated candidates to the journal for publication therein, or shall send the same by mail to the membership. If the list is submitted to the journal, it shall be published in the next available issue.
(4) No later than the December 1st preceding each election, the Election Committee shall publish in the journal a notice to the effect that nominations by petition for the elective offices shall be directed to the ElectionSearch Committee at an address to be given in the notice, accompanied by the signatures of at least 50 members in good standing as of that December 1st, in a format prescribed by the Election Committee, and by a signed acceptance of nomination by the candidates, said petitions to reach the ElectionSearch Committee not later than the February 1st preceding the election. Electronic submission of petitions is also permitted. The Search Committee shall verify the accuracy of all the information presented within the petitions and endeavor to correct any factual inaccuracies which may appear and submit to the American Mensa Committee and to the Election Committee a final, fully-inclusive list of such candidates who have submitted petitions, the information provided in the petitions having been verified as reasonably accurate. No other criteria shall be used by the Search Committee to determine whether a candidate should be forwarded to the Election Committee for inclusion on the ballot nor shall there be any “recommendation” or “endorsement” of any candidate, or other similar differentiation between candidates for the same office, be made by the Search Committee.
(5) The Election Committee shall publish the names of theall nominees by petition in a similar manner immediately upon the close of the nominating period.
(6) Between February 1st andBy February 10th of election years, the ElectionSearch Committee shall review theany nominations additional petitions that have been received pursuant to Section (4) above, and notify the Election Committee of the final list of all validly nominated candidates. In order to be validly nominated, candidates must have renewed their membership by the last business day of January for the year in which the election falls. For offices for which there is only one valid nomination, the Election Committee shall declare the nominee elected and shall take office starting July 1st. All other valid nominations shall be placed on the ballot.
(7) The ballot shall contain the names of those nominated by the Nominating Committee as well as those nominated by petition, the order in which the namesThe names of candidates for each office shall appear on the ballot in an order being determined by lot. Candidates shall be designated on the ballot to indicate whether they have been nominated by the Nominating Committee, by petition, or both. If two or more candidates decide to run jointly, the ballot shall so indicate. A person's name may not appear in more than one race on the same ballot.
(8) With each ballot there shall be included:
(a) The necessary voting instruction.
(b) A brief biography of each candidate in a format approved by the Election Committee.
(c) The answers by each candidate to any question which may be propounded to all candidates, or to all candidates for a particular office, by the American Mensa Committee, the number of words permitted to be determined by the American Mensa Committee.
(d) A campaign statement, the maximum length of which shall be specified by the Election Committee. Candidates running jointly may pool their allocations. Materials submitted to the ElectionSearch Committee by candidates for publication in conformance with Election Committee regulations shall be published without editing.
(e) The job description for each contested office on the American Mensa Committee. Such job desription shall include any relevant duties and responsibilities of the respective jobs as mentioned within the bylaws as well as any Actions Still in Effect promulgated by the American Mensa Committee.
(9) No member of the NominatingSearch or Election Committee shall be eligible for any national or regional office at the election concerned. 

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