Election of Region Directors

Eastern Division

Revision 5/2/2011

Election Requirements determined by Eastern Division Bylaws

April 24, 2010 Revision

Eligibility. Region Director candidates must be Active registered patrollers in the Region that they seek to represent, have a minimum of five seasons of patrolling experience, and have achieved Senior Alpine, Senior Nordic, or Certified status. Members currently registered as Auxiliary Patrollers are qualified to become Region Director candidates if they have met the requirements described above at some point in their patrol career. (Bylaws section 4.1)

A Region Director may serve no more than three consecutive two-year terms, counting any terms served in accordance with Sections 3.1 or 3.5 herein. The Region Director’s term shall commence on April 1, after the election. (Bylaw 4.2)

Election Procedure. The Region Director shall be elected by a direct vote of the Active Members in such Region. (Bylaws 4.3) This shall be done at the Fall Outdoor Emergency Care Refreshers, or similar meetings held at the same time, requiring attendance of all Patrollers. An Active Member shall be defined as a Member with a NSP registration number reflecting primary membership in a patrol within the Region where the election is being held, excluding Alumni, Medical Associates, Candidates, and Professional Division Members. Members with dual registrations may cast only one vote in the Region of their primary patrol. (Bylaws Section 5.2)

Voting shall be by written, secret ballot. Ballots shall contain provisions for write-in candidates. (Bylaws Section 5.3)

See current By-Laws regarding the appointment of Region Election Committes and for their responsibilities in conducting Region Director elections. (Bylaws Section 5.3)

Ballots shall not be counted until substantially all of the Patrollers have been given the opportunity to vote, after which, the tally shall be made and the candidate receiving the greater number of votes cast (a plurality) shall be declared the winner. Ties shall be broken in a manner determined by the Chair of the Region Election Committee. Proxy votes shall not be permitted but absentee votes shall be permitted for good cause shown to the Region Election Committee. (Bylaws Section 5.3)

Region elections within the Division shall be structured so that approximately one-half of the Regions hold their Region Director elections each year. (Bylaws 5.2)

Regions conducting Region Directors elections in the fall of odd years are:

Maine
WNY
W. App.
S. VT.
EMARI
E. PA.
S. NY
CT

Regions conducting Region Directors elections in the fall of even years are:

W. Mass.
NJ
NH
CNY
E. NY
N. VT
G.V.

Compilation of Election Procedures that have been used with success in some Regions within the Eastern Division. (Not covered in the Division Bylaws)

Any active patroller within the Region should be allowed to nominate a qualified candidate for office. Self-nominations shall also be accepted. Nominations can be sent to a designated Election Committee Member. The Election Committee can then verify the qualifications of each candidate (as set forth in the Eastern Division By-laws 4.1) and obtain a written acceptance or refusal of the nomination from the nominee, if necessary.
The date set by the Region to accept nominations should allow that nominations can be made throughout the ski season but should not be so late in the year that there is no time for information from the nominees to be shared with the patrols and patrollers in the Region prior to the Fall Refresher Season. This date might want to be set by early spring in the year that the election is to take place.
A completed list of all candidates for Regional Director, along with material (usually a resume/biography and position statement) that they have prepared to explain their positions may then be made public in whatever way the Region determines (newsletter, Region website, circulation through Patrol Representatives, etc.).
The Region should determine who would handle the elections process at the Fall Refresher for each patrol. This appointment will need to be communicated to the Election Committee by a specific date by late summer or early fall well before the first Refresher. Each person handling the election for that patrol should receive a ballot box, along with detailed instructions on carrying out their responsibility.
Ballots:
- The voting options should be to select one of the following:
  - Check off the name of the one they are voting for (listed in alphabetical order)
  - Check off indicating they abstain from voting
  - Indicate a write-in vote with space for name

Ballots not marked properly need to be considered null and void.

See sample ballot on page 5 of this report.

The Region Director can provide a complete roster of all patrollers in the region. The roster, labeled “Voter Check List”, can be sorted by patrol and alphabetical in listing. A single “Master Voter Check List” then can be sent to patrols, through the appointed person conducting the election, for use on the day of their refresher. This “Master Voter Check List” can then accumulate the names of those voting. If two patrols schedule their refreshers for the same day the list can be copied just for that day and then combined following that day. The voting official appointed by the Patrol Representative can use the list to identify patrollers eligible to vote and can have each patroller sign for their ballot. Visiting patrollers from within the Region can then be asked to sign beside their name as listed with their home patrol and then the ballot can be placed in the ballot box on site that day. A patroller who transfers from another region will only be eligible to vote in the Region if the Patrol Representative of the patrol they are joining verifies that they are registered with the new patrol. Their names should be recorded at the bottom of the “Master Voter Check List” by placing their signature beside the printed name, and the Patrol Representative must also sign to verify that the transfer patroller is now registered with said patrol. Visitors from outside the Region would not be listed and are not eligible to vote.

All sealed (by a single unbroken piece of sealing tape) or locked ballot boxes need to be delivered to a designated member of the Election Committee within a designated time following the refresher.
Absentee ballots must be requested by a designated time in order to give the committee time to validate the voter and return a ballot to the absentee voter.
Those approved for absentee ballots could be sent two (2) envelopes and a ballot. The instructions could be to place the completed ballot in one unmarked envelope and seal it. That envelope is to be placed inside the second envelope which will have a return address showing the name of the patroller and the name of the patrol with which they are registered. When received by the election committee the mailing envelope can then be opened and the vote can be recorded on the master “Master Voter Check List”. The unmarked, sealed envelope with the ballot inside can be placed in the election box of that person’s home patrol.
The Election Committee should meet at a date that will allow for the last ballot box to be returned. This meeting should be for the purpose of counting the ballots. The meeting date and place should be announced at time early enough in advance to allow that candidate’s observers could attend the counting meeting if they so choose. The ballot boxes should not be opened until the announced date and time of the Election Committee meeting.
The Election Committee should break ties, when they occur, using an impartial method.
The name of the prevailing candidate should be reported to the Region Director and all candidates.
If the election were to be contested, said action must be initiated within a designated number of days (perhaps 30 days) after the date of ballot counting.
The Election Committee should hold ballots and “Master Voter Check List” for a designated period of days (perhaps 60 days) after ballot counting, at that point the election can be certified as final. The ballots and the “Master Voter Check List” could then be destroyed.

A proposed timetable in chart form is available. (Eastern Division RD Election Timeline PDF)

Eastern Division Election Committee

Chair

Don Weaver, 253 Braxmar Rd., Tonawanda, NY 14150 Phone 716-837-1039 dweaverb2@juno.com WNY Region

Sample Region Director Ballot

( ) Candidate A

( ) Candidate B

( ) Candidate C

( ) ____________________________________

Write in Candidate

( ) Abstain from voting

Mark one choice and only one of the above. Ballots not marked proper will be considered null and void.