[NFBC-Info] Nominations for the Board

[president at nfbcal.org]

Friends,

 

Voting for our elected leaders in the National Federation of the Blind is
one of the most important functions of our organization.  The representative
power of our movement gives us a legitimacy that no other agency or
authority on blindness can claim.  During our state convention, we will
elect several members of our affiliate Board of Directors.  The following
positions are up for election this year:

President, Tim Elder

First Vice President, Rochelle Houston,

Second Vice President, Robert Stigile

Secretary, Shannon Dillon

Treasurer, Christina Daniels

Board Member, Jim Barbour

Board Member, Juanita Herrera

Board Member, Paul Howard (not seeking re-election)

 

Our affiliate has a nominating committee to recommend candidates that the
committee believes are best qualified to run for election.  Those who wish
for the Nomination Committee to consider them for its nomination should
contact Tim Elder and/or our Nomination Committee Chairperson, Ever
Hairston.  Those expressing an interest will be invited to the committee
meeting on Thursday evening, October 22 at 9:00 p.m.  To be clear, any
person may be nominated from the floor of the convention by a delegate or
board member during the time for voting on Sunday, October 25, regardless of
the committee's recommendations.  

 

The following has been published in the convention agenda:


9:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.             Nominating Committee, By Invitation Only 


Chairperson, Ever Lee Hairston

This is a closed meeting for the members of the Nominating Committee,
invited prospective candidates and the National Representative.  The members
of the Nominating Committee are Tim Elder, Jim Barbour, Christina Daniels,
Shannon Dillon, Rachel Grider, Juanita Herrera, Rochelle Houston, Tiffany
Manosh, Michael Richardson, Robert Stigile and Cheryl Thurston.  The
committee will recommend candidates for the Board of Directors.  The
candidates will be introduced on Friday afternoon during General Session I.
The convention will vote on the nominated candidates along with any other
nominations from the floor during our Sunday morning session.  Candidates
wishing to be nominated are encouraged to speak with President Tim Elder and
Chairperson Ever Hairston in advance of the meeting.

 

The proposed system for voting during elections is listed below.  

 

 

National Federation of the Blind of California

Proposed 2020 Convention Virtual Voting Engagement Policy

 

This Virtual Voting Engagement Policy is adopted by the National Federation
of the Blind of California Board of Directors on Thursday, October 22, 2020,
for recommendation to the California Convention. 

Nothing in this voting policy is intended to change the affiliate
constitution. The convention remains the final authority with respect to all
issues of policy. Members in attendance may participate in all convention
discussions as a matter of right. These procedures simply implement the
method for following the constitution in a virtual convention setting. 

The below procedures are intended to provide clarity and advance notice on
how the virtual convention will be managed in 2020. This document will be
read and voted upon by the board of directors during its meeting on October
22, 2020 and then read a second time on October 25 prior to voting. Those
eligible to vote on this proposal will be any verifiable member present and
voting at the session on Sunday, October 25, 2020, as described below.

 

Voting

1.	Every member in good standing who registered for the convention by
October 22, 2020, may vote on matters brought to the convention, including
the election of the board of directors, and passage of resolutions and
motions.
2.	All voting will be initially polled using the "raise hand" function
so labeled in the Zoom application controls or by pressing the corresponding
*9 key from the Zoom telephone line. Zoom hosts reserve the right to remove
any person from the general session on Sunday who raises their hand during a
call for voting without a user name that reasonably matches the name
provided during online registration or from a telephone number other than
the one provided through the online registration. Members may verify the
name and phone number they have on file by reviewing the confirmation email
received upon successful registration. Corrections may be made prior to
October 22, 2020 through a request to any member of the board of directors.
3.	Any matter up for vote, including contests with more than two
candidates,  must receive 75 percent or greater support of the total votes
cast by the eligible convention voters present and voting through the
initial poll of Zoom raised hands in order to be affirmed.
4.	Present and voting will mean the subset of convention voters who
actually cast a vote on a given question. Thus, voters who are indifferent
to a matter cannot block its consideration by the convention by choosing not
to cast a vote.
5.	All votes will be allocated at least 60 seconds for vote time and
may be extended by the chair as needed to count raised hands and verify
voter identity. 
6.	If the matter up for vote does not pass with 75 percent or greater
of the total votes cast by Zoom raised hands, the chair will poll the
delegates and/or alternates by roll call for a definitive outcome. Each
chapter and division organized under the affiliate will appoint its
president to be the delegate to the convention. The president of each
chapter or division will appoint an alternate. 
7.	It is a conflict of interest for a delegate/alternate to vote for
themselves. The alternate shall be polled in any contest if the delegate is
up for election in a matter. The chapter/division shall forfeit its vote if
the delegate is unavailable and the alternate has a conflict.
8.	If the delegate is not available after their name is called thrice
on Zoom, the alternate will be polled.  If the alternate is unavailable
after their name is called thrice on Zoom, the chapter or division will
forfeit its vote on the matter.  The matter up for vote must receive a
majority of the total delegate or alternate votes cast and not forfeited to
pass.
	
9.	If delegate/alternate roll call voting indicates at least a simple
majority of the total eligible chapters and divisions support for or against
a matter, the chair may elect to move to the next order of business. 
10.	In the case of a board position contest in which no candidate
receives 75 percent or greater of the raised hands vote and no candidate
receives a majority of the delegate/alternate votes, the candidate with the
fewest delegate/alternate votes will be removed from the contest and the
delegates/alternates will revote.  This process will be repeated until a
candidate obtains a majority of the delegate/alternate votes cast.
	
11.	An opportunity to practice voting will be offered in the convention
on a question that has no impact on the policy of the organization.

 

Motions and Nominations from the Floor

1.	Only delegates and members of the board of directors will be able to
make motions, second motions, and nominate candidates from the floor during
the convention. 
2.	Should a member of a delegation wish to make a motion or nominate a
member for election by the convention, a delegate or member of the board of
directors must bring it forward on their behalf.
3.	A member may petition any delegate or member of the board of
directors to support their motion, especially if the delegate from their own
chapter or division will not support the motion.

 

Resolutions

1.	Resolutions to be presented to the convention must proceed through
the resolutions committee process as usual.
2.	Resolutions being recommended to the convention by the committee
will be posted to the web at http://www.nfbcal.org/resolutions by 8:00 a.m.
PT on Saturday, October 24, 2020.
3.	Chapters and divisions will be encouraged to discuss resolutions
with their delegates and alternates during the time set aside for caucuses
on Sunday morning, October 25, 8:30 a.m.-9:30 a.m.
4.	Those wishing to speak for or against a resolution on the floor of
the convention must submit their interest in doing so by using the "raise
hand" function from the Zoom application or Zoom telephone line at the
appointed time. 
5.	In determining the amount of debate a resolution requires, the chair
may use the Zoom polling option to get a sense of the crowd, ask the
delegates for their feeling on cutting off debate, or engage some other
strategy outside of the voting system to gauge the convention.