Standing Rules for the
International Planetarium Society, Inc.
Revised
July 2005
by Lee Ann A.
Hennig, Secretary
Appendix B:
Elections
Committee Procedures
Introduction: This outline provides suggested guidelines for an
Elections Chair so that he/she can adhere to the IPS By-Laws,
Article IV, which give the parameters for the biennial elections.
In particular, it is necessary to form an Elections Committee by
Jan. 1, of the conference year and have the nominations by the
time of the conference or September 1, whichever is earlier. The
election must be completed by December 1. The current Elections
Chair has a file of sample letters and other materials which will
be passed on to the next Chair.
I. Date: October, odd year. Ask current incumbent Executive
Secretary, and Treasurer if they are interested in running again.
Inform Planetarian Editor of election and request nominations in
December edition. (1995)
II. Date: November, odd year. Begin to form the Committee.
Suggest asking Executive Council and former officers for
recommendations for committee membership as well as previous
committee members. More than three are permitted and a large
committee (10 or more) can provide a greater geographical
distribution, as well as a greater number of possible candidates.
An initial invitation to join the committee should be accompanied
by a copy of the section of the By-Laws as well as a request for
initial nominations. Names of previously nominated but not elected
persons as well as names of incumbents who wish to run for
re-election should also be included. Deadline for return: January
1.
III. Date: January, even year. Committee membership should be
determined and members should be sent a list of all committee
members as well as the initial list of nominees with a final
request for nominees. Deadline: March 1.
IV. Date: March, even year. Check with Membership Chair for
current membership status of all nominees (only current members
may run). Send letter to all nominees asking for their acceptance
of the initial nomination and a brief fact sheet (position,
address, phone, experience, education, IPS/regional service, other
pertinent factors). Explain that there may be a narrowing of the
field by the committee, depending on the number of initial
nominees for each office and that, in any case, nominations from
the floor are permitted at the conference. This is not true if the
conference is held after September 1, since nominations are closed
by that date. Deadline: May 1.
V. Date: May, even year. If there is a large number of nominees,
then suggest narrowing the field to no more than three candidates
for any office. Incumbents can run unopposed. It is important to
have at least two good candidates for the president-elect
position. Do this by mail ballot of committee. Include fact sheet
and ballot. Nominees should be ranked by each committee member
(e.g. in a five person field, 5 points for the first choice, 4
points for the second, etc.). The three highest point totals would
then be the nominees. Deadline: One month before the conference or
August 15, whichever is earlier.
VI. Date: September 1 or conference (earlier of the two), even
year. Announce slate. Additional nominees may be made from the
floor. This provides an opportunity for those not initially
nominated to be candidates. ( Floor nominations cannot be
entertained if the conference is held after September 1.)
VII. Date: As soon as possible after Conference or before
September 1. Request from all candidates a biography. A rough
draft can be made from the fact sheet that was originally filled
out-this can be edited by the candidate. In addition a statement
of philosophy and goals should be requested. The length of the
statement should not exceed 150 words. Deadline: September 1.
VIII. Date: September, even year. Ballots and candidate
statements should be mailed to all current IPS members. Send all
overseas ballots by airmail. Return envelopes with a signature
space on the return address area should be provided. Remind
overseas members that they should return ballots by airmail. IPS
pays for the printing and mailing of the ballots as well as the
mailing and phone costs of the committee correspondence. Deadline:
October 1 for mailing of ballots, November 30 for postmark of
ballots.
IX. Date: December 1, even year. Ballots are counted. Separate
envelopes from ballots before counting and exclude all unsigned
envelopes (By-Laws require a signed ballot). All candidates,
Executive Council, Officers, Election Committee members, and
Planetarian Editor should be informed as soon as possible.
X. All committees are urged to be as inclusive as possible in
soliciting members from around the world.
