The term of office for an Officer shall be one year, and shall run from October 1 to September 30 of the next year, or until their successor is elected.
The 2019 Term will run from January 1 to September 30.
Any person holding any Office must be a Member in good standing.
Nominations
Nominations will be fielded by the chair at two Regular meetings prior to the General Meeting. Nominations may also be given in writing to any Executive Committee member.
Nominations shall close four weeks prior to the General Meeting. The Corresponding Secretary will compile and distribute the full list of nominations at least two weeks prior to the General Meeting.
If any nominations remain open, they may be filled at the General Meeting.
Procedure
Elections will occur in the order in which the positions appear in the bylaws. Each nominee will present a speech two minutes in duration and will answer questions fielded by Members in a two-minute session. Nominees shall leave the room during debate on the positions for which they are nominated.
Voting will be by secret ballot. A simple majority will be be required to be elected to a position. In the event that no nominee receives a majority of votes cast, voting will be repeated with the nominee with the fewest votes eliminated.
The following provisions in Section 3 go into effect on January 1, 2019.
Five voting Officers shall be elected using a ranked-choice voting system.
Voting will be by secret ballot. A democratic process for deciding on and implementing the specific type of ranked-choice voting system shall be approved by the majority of the membership no less than three months before the General Meeting election.
Each nominee will present a speech and will answer questions posed by Members.
After votes are cast, candidates shall be ranked according to the ranked-choice voting method used, and fill vacant slots in descending order (i.e., the person ranked highest shall fill slot 1; ranked second-highest, slot 2; etc.), subject to any other parameters or restrictions of the bylaws. Seats left vacant will remain vacant, but may be filled using the normal process for vacancies.
Comrades-at-Large shall be elected via similar procedure as described in Parts [d-g].
The provisions in Section 3 shall not apply until January 1, 2019.
Vacancies
In the event of a vacancy in any office, the Executive Committee may appoint a replacement until the next Regular Meeting, at which the general body may vote to approve their appointment. If the seat remains vacant, the general body may move to hold a Special Election at the following Regular Meeting to fill the seat for the remainder of the term.
A Special Election will follow the same procedure as normal elections, but only the positions indicated shall be up for reelection, and nominations shall be accepted up until one week before the Special Election.