[OABS] Fwd: Registration, Membership Dues, and Principles of Engagement for the 2021 NABS Business Meeting

Thu Jun 3 00:26:34 UTC 2021

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Trisha Kulkarni, National Student President <nabs.president at gmail.com>
Date: Wed, Jun 2, 2021 at 10:16
Subject: Registration, Membership Dues, and Principles of Engagement for
the 2021 NABS Business Meeting
To: <nabs.president at gmail.com>

Dear State Student Presidents,

I hope this message finds you healthy and looking forward to the summer
ahead! We in NABS are so excited for this year’s national convention and
for all our state student divisions to take part in our programming.

Below, you can find the announcement that I made yesterday regarding the
2021 NABS Business Meeting, including registration and election logistics.
It would be awesome to get all student leaders across the country
registered and eligible to vote by June 21, 2021.

Please also  share this information far and wide and encourage your state
members to join us! All are welcome.

I’m always a phone call, text, or email away if anyone wants to chat more
about this process. I can be reached by phone at (937) 361-2363 or by email
at nabs.president at gmail.com.

Yours,

Trisha

Hello NABS Family,

Can you believe it’s already June? 2021 is flying by, but the good news is
that means It’s time to get pumped up for the national convention and
specifically for what we anticipate will be the largest gathering of blind
students to date!

We are excited to announce that registration
<https://forms.gle/D9jKCUTPt6HfPKUK8> for the 2021 NABS Business Meeting,
happening on July 7, 2021,  is now live. This year, we have a few items
pertaining to membership dues and our election process that we want to
share as well. Please read this email in its entirety.
Registering for the 2021 NABS Annual Business Meeting

We invite all students, life-time learners, and allies to register for our
NABS Business meeting using this form:

https://forms.gle/D9jKCUTPt6HfPKUK8

Completing registration will help ensure we have your most up to date
information. Not to mention, it will be what qualifies you for amazing door
prizes throughout the evening.

Please note that anyone can register to attend our event up until the start
of the convention on July 6, 2021. However, if you intend to vote in this
year’s election process, you must be registered by June 21, 2021.
2020-2021 Membership Dues

We additionally want to notify all current and potential members of an
important note for this year’s membership dues collecting process. The
National Federation of the Blind is transitioning from a fiscal calendar
year to a regular calendar year (beginning in January and ending in
December.) For this reason, we are making a one-time exception to our dues
collecting process in advance of the January 2022 deadline in accordance
with guidance put forth by the NFB's National Board of Directors .

Your membership is ensured through the end of 2021, and assuming you
register for our business meeting, you are  eligible to vote in this year's
election process in the following cases:

•            Your dues were paid last year on or before December 31, 2020

•            You’ve paid your dues since January 1, 2021

•            You will pay your $5 dues before June 21, 2021

Please note that this change will require all members to renew their
membership status starting in January 2022. If you are unsure of your
membership status, contact NABS secretary, Mausam Mehta by email  at
mausam.mehta.nfb at gmail.com or by phone at (540) 466-6033. If you have
questions regarding your dues payment, please contact NABS Treasurer
Elizabeth Rouse by email at elizabethrouse.nfb at gmail.com or by phone at
(563) 210-1854.
2021 NABS Elections

Given that this meeting will be taking place on Zoom, we want to do our
best effort of providing clarity and advanced notice for how our election
process will be managed in 2021. Attached, pasted below, and soon on our
website, you can find our 2021 Principles of Engagement reviewed and voted
on by the NABS Board on May 31, 2021. This language is not meant to change
our constitution in any way, but rather share how we plan to accommodate
the virtual setting in carrying out our work. These principles will be read
during the meeting before moving into official business.

We know that online elections and conventions can be a bit tricky to
navigate, so we invite you to send any/all questions about the above
outlined process to NABS 1st Vice President Kenia Flores at
kflores at keniaflores.com.

We cannot wait to celebrate another year of accomplishments with you this
July!

Yours,

Trisha Kulkarni

President | National Association of Blind Students

A Proud Division of the National Federation of the Blind

www.nabslink.org

National Association of Blind Students (NABS)Principles of Engagement

The principles and procedures below were adopted by the NABS Board on May
31, 2021 and are intended to provide clarity and advance notice on how the
NABS Business Meeting will be managed this year. This document will be
distributed to our membership and housed on our website in June.
Additionally, it will be read at the business meeting prior to any official
business taking place.

   - All individuals who are dues-paying members as of June 21, 2021 and
   who opted into the voter enrollment system prior to our business
meeting will
   constitute the pool of convention voters.
   - All voting will be done via text or call, and the results will be
   viewed by a representative who has been appointed by the President of the
   National Federation of the Blind.
   - Any matter must receive greater than fifty percent support of the
   votes cast by the active members present and voting in order to be affirmed.
   - Present and voting will mean the subset of active members who actually
   cast a vote on a given question. Thus, voters who are indifferent to a
   matter cannot block its consideration by choosing not to cast a vote.
   - All votes will be allocated two minutes for vote time.
   - If voting indicates 75 percent support for or against a question prior
   to the two-minute period elapsing, the chair may elect to move to the next
   order of business.
   - An opportunity to practice voting using the system will be offered on
   a question that has no impact on the policy of the organization.

Motions and Nominations from the Floor

   - A member can make or second a motion by using the raise hand feature
   on Zoom. The chair will then give the member the opportunity to unmute and
   verbally state their motion or second.
   - The membership will be given the opportunity to electronically submit
   votes in instances where a matter needs to be affirmed or opposed, such as
   accepting the Treasurer’s Annual Report.
   - Members may unmute themselves to make a nomination. The individual who
   is nominated must be present to accept or decline the nomination.
   - After reading the slated name for a given position, the Chair will
   continue prompting for any other nominations from the floor until three
   consecutive calls are made with no response. At this point, nominations
   will be considered closed. In the case that the slated name for a given
   position is unopposed, the Chair will then ask for a motion to elect the
   nominee by acclamation. Otherwise, each nominee will get sixty seconds to
   address the membership before voting commences.

Miscellaneous

   - All dues-paying members will have the ability to vote using Swift, the
   voter enrollment system.
   - In the event NABS encounters technical difficulties with the Swift
   platform, all nominations will be collected live. Then, members will be
   sent a Google form via email with a restricted time frame to cast their
   votes using a ranked-choice voting process. In order to obtain a majority,
   members will rank their choices out of the candidates listed. Results will
   be concluded with the assistance of a representative appointed by the
   President of the National Federation of the Blind and will be announced no
   later than the close of convention.

NABS is committed to fostering an inclusive environment for everyone. In
the event a member is unable to participate fully in this outlined election
process and requires an accommodation to make a motion, nominate and
individual, or vote, this individual can contact NABS First Vice President,
Kenia Flores at kflores at keniaflores.com to discuss alternative means of
engagement. Additionally, designated Zoom moderators will be overseeing the
Zoom chat and participant list throughout the meeting and elections to
facilitate alternative participation

-- 
Kinshuk Tella
He/Him/His
937-708-9930
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