NAIGC Director Election Procedure

I. Purpose

A. The purpose of this procedure is to facilitate the election of a group that is best able to successfully serve and represent the NAIGC as a board of directors.

II. Overview of the Election Procedure and Selection Criterion

A. The basic method of election is by a scoring system in which each club representative at the annual meeting gives a score to each director candidate, and a calculation based on these scores determines the makeup of the board.

B. Five regional director positions are reserved for the highest-scoring candidates from each of five regions geographic regions, described in detail later in the procedure. In addition, three designated student positions are reserved for current undergraduate students.

C. Up to four two-year terms are awarded each year to the highest-scoring candidates who volunteer to serve two terms. Directors who have just served the first of a two-year term bear responsibility for conducting the election. These directors will remain on the scoring ballot so that they can be eligible for student and regional positions, but they are guaranteed a place on the board regardless of their scores.

D. At the election meeting, each club representative is given a ballot, which is used to score the candidates. It contains information for the candidates who are nominated in advance, and space for additional write-in candidates.

E. At the meeting, each candidate director (some of whom may be nominated at the meeting) has an opportunity to speak to the club representatives, and at some point is expected to provide information concerning their

i. Intended method of service,

ii. Intended duration of service (one term or two terms),

iii. Regional affiliation (West, Southwest, Midwest, Northeast, East)

iv. School/club affiliation (if any),

v. Student status, and

vi. Qualifications.

F. Each club representative can question the candidates as they speak, or after they speak, can fill out their ballot as they listen to the presentations, and will also have additional time at the end of the presentations to complete their ballots.

G. After all candidates have presented, or time has expired, the ballots are collected, and the scoring information is used to determine the directors and their terms of service.

H. The highest scored candidates (first for the designated positions and then for the open positions) are selected as directors, up to a total maximum of 15.

I. Out of these directors, the highest scored (to a maximum of 4) who have opted to serve two-year terms will be granted their two-term status.

J. In subsequent years, there may be fewer open director positions, because of the two-year terms. In any case, only 4 two-year terms will be offered in a given year.

III. Nominations

A. Each candidate shall be nominated by a representative or affiliate of a current NAIGC member club, or by a current director.

B. Candidates who are representatives or affiliates of current NAIGC member clubs, or who are current directors, may nominate themselves.

C. Advance nomination of candidates is preferred, but candidates may also be nominated at the annual meeting

D. All candidates are expected to provide a brief statement at the annual meeting, expressing their intended method of service, their intended duration of service (either one term or two terms), their regional affiliation (West, Southwest, Midwest, Northeast, East), their club affiliation (if any), their student/nonstudent status, and their qualifications.

E. Candidates nominated in advance are encouraged to provide a written statement containing the information above.

IV.Geographical Regions

A. The following regions were chosen to correspond roughly to geographical concentrations of NAIGC clubs.

i. West Region: (Anything close to California)

a) California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho

ii. Southwest Region: (Anything close to Texas)

a) Texas, Louisiana

iii. Midwest Region: (West of Pennsylvania, but Northeast of Oklahoma -- Ohio to Kansas to Minnesota)

a) Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, Kansas

iv. Northeast Region: (Pennsylvania, and anything further north or east.)

a) Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut

v. East Region: (South of Pennsylvania, along the east coast)

a) Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida

B. There is no restriction on which region a director candidate may choose to represent in a given year. A candidate may elect to change regions from term to term.

V. Ballots

A. Shall include:

i. Instructions:

a) For write-in candidates, please write each candidate's name in the blank, in the order specified by the meeting moderator.

b) Please circle yes or no beside each candidate to indicate your approval or disapproval. You may also abstain by not circling anything.

c) Also, please score each candidate on a scale of 0 to 10, with 0 meaning unacceptable, and 10 meaning exceptional. [Note: This scoring information will only be used to select directors in the event that fewer than 4 or more than 15 directors receive a majority of yes votes.]

ii. Voter worksheet including for each potential candidate:

a) Name

b) Club affiliation

c) Regional affiliation

d) Student status

e) Terms requested

f) Approve: yes / no

g) Score: 0 / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10

iii. If the candidate is nominated five or more days before the meeting, the ballot shall include the candidate’s typed information. The ballot will also include additional blanks for this information for write-in candidates.

B. One ballot shall be distributed to each club representative present at the meeting, before the election process begins.

VI. Procedure:

A. The candidates nominated in advance shall speak first, in the order in which they appear on the ballot.

B. Each shall give a statement including name, club affiliation, regional affiliation, intended method of service, intended duration of service, and qualifications, approximately 30 seconds, but not exceeding 2 minutes.

C. After making a statement, candidates may receive comments and questions from the meeting attendees for one addition minute.

D. After all candidates nominated in advance have spoken, the floor will be open for additional nominations.

E. After each nomination, the candidate shall either accept or decline the nomination, and if accepting shall follow the procedure described in items B and C above.

F. In every case, the order of speaking shall be the order in which candidates are listed (whether typed or written in) on the ballot. A moderator shall communicate the numbering of candidates using an appropriate mechanism (e.g. Projector, chalkboard, etc...).

G. After there are no more nominations, or after a motion to end the nomination procedure is adopted by a majority of eligible voting members who are present at the meeting, representatives shall be given a 5-minute recess to consult with each other and finish filling out the ballots.

H. At the end of this recess, ballots shall be collected and tallied by a designated person while the meeting continues to other items on the agenda.

I. Election results shall be tallied and announced as soon as possible, preferably before the end of the meeting.

VII. Ballot Calculation

A. MAX: The Bylaws stipulate that there should be a maximum of 15 directors. With some directors serving a two-year term and not up for re-election, the maximum number of directors that can be elected in a given year may vary. Denote by MAX the maximum number of directors that can be elected in the current director election. (MAX=15 minus the number of directors serving a two year term and not up for re-election).

B. Computer: A computer will be available at the meeting, for quick tallying of votes.

C. Setup: During the nomination process, and before the ballots are submitted, each candidate director's name shall be entered vertically in a column. A number or other identifier for each ballot shall be entered horizontally in a row.

D. Formulas: Formulas for calculating an approval percentage from the yes/no information, and an average score for the scoring information shall be entered in advance.

E. Approval: Immediately upon ballot collection, the yes/no information on each ballot shall be entered for each ballot, and the pre-entered formula shall be used to determine the directors whose number of “yes” votes exceeds their number of “no” votes (hereafter referred to as the “approval” criterion).

F. Second Stage: If between 4 and MAX directors meet the “approval” criterion, then these will be the directors. The regional and student positions shall be determined from the scores, and the four highest-scored two-term-requesting directors shall be awarded two terms. In this case, the election results should be announced immediately. Otherwise, proceed to the next step.

G. Scoring: If fewer than 4 or more than MAX directors receive a majority of “yes” votes, then the scoring information from each ballot shall be entered, and the pre-entered formula shall be used to calculate the average score of each director.

H. Too few: If fewer than 4 directors meet the “approval” criterion, then the 4 candidates with the highest average rank shall be declared directors. Cases of ties for the 4^th director position shall be determined by the election officer.

I. Too many: If more than 15 directors meet the “approval” criterion, then the scoring information shall be used to rank the candidates who meet the “approval” criterion. First the directors who have just finished serving the first of a two-year term shall be added to the board. Next, the three undergraduate student positions shall be filled to the extent possible, followed by the five regional positions to the extent possible, followed by the open positions, until a total of 15 directors have been selected. Throughout the selection process, a single director may fill multiple types of reserved positions (two-term, student, and regional). Cases of ties for the 15^th director position shall be determined by the election officer.

J. Ties: Examples of reasonable tie-breaking mechanisms: exclusion or inclusion of all tying directors as a unit, performing a reasonable calculation (pre-approved by the board before the election) based on the voting data, or using a random procedure such as a fair coin flip.

VIII. Records

A. The meeting minutes shall include the name and affiliation of each elected director, but not the voting data.

B. The Association shall keep on file a record of all voting data from the election – to be used in reviewing the relevance and effectiveness of the election procedure.

IX. Rationale

A. Procedural Considerations

i. Desirable Board Characteristics include:

a) Having individuals with prior experience;

b) Having representatives who are undergraduate students at NAIGC schools;

c) Having representatives from multiple regions of the country; and

d) Having its individuals fairly elected.

ii. Simplicity: We aim to minimize as much as possible the complexity inherent in any multiparty election procedure, while also maintaining fairness, and facilitating the important group characteristics we have described above.

iii. Imperfection: Regardless of the procedure we choose, it will not be perfect from every perspective.

iv. Appropriate Balance: This procedure represents an attempt to find an appropriate balance between simplicity, fairness, and the facilitation of regional representation, student representation, and directors with experience.

B. Addressing These Procedural Considerations

i. In this section we try to give some justification for the characteristics we selected, and explain how our procedure addresses them.

ii. Having individuals with prior experience:

a) This characteristic is essential from a business perspective. The NAIGC now has assets, along with a number of legal and financial responsibilities that go along with operating as a non-profit corporation. It cannot afford to have complete turnover in its board of directors.

b) Our procedure facilitates this group characteristic by allowing directors the option to run for a two-year term. While this option does not guarantee that any director will choose to run for a two-year term, or that any director running for a two-year term will be elected, we believe that it has the potential to motivate our more experienced directors to serve for longer periods of time. It also allows for more transparent election process, since the elections can be conducted by experienced board members who are not up for reelection.

iii. Having representatives who are undergraduate students at schools served by NAIGC clubs:

a) Because such a large proportion of the individuals served by our organization are undergraduate students at schools served by NAIGC clubs, it would not be representative for our board of directors to be entirely comprised of non-student adults and graduate students.

b) Our procedure addresses this group characteristic by creating three board positions specifically designated for undergraduate students. Any undergraduate student enrolled at an NAIGC school may run for one of these positions. Designating these positions reflects our attitude that the presence of willing undergraduate students on our board gives added value, regardless of their experience or professional credentials. To address the concern that there might be too few undergraduate students interested in these positions, we allow one or more of these designated positions to be made available to other director candidates in the event that fewer than three undergraduate students are running in the director election.

iv. Having representatives from multiple regions of the country:

a) As a national organization that serves individuals and clubs who come from multiple regions of the country, and who often interact with each other only once each year, we do not want to exclude any single major geographical region from representation on our board of directors for a given year.

b) Our procedure addresses this group characteristic by creating five board positions specifically designated for regional representatives from the 5 geographic regions of the country, which we define in section IV. These regional representatives should be affiliated with a club from the given region, and will be chosen by popular vote among all club representatives from the given region. To address the concern that a regional representative might not always be available, we allow one or more of these designated positions to be made available to other director candidates if there is no candidate for regional representative from a given region.

v. Having its individuals fairly elected:

a) This is the most important criterion for an election procedure.

b) Our procedure addresses this criterion by keeping a large number of open director positions that can be filled by the best candidates, regardless of their student status or regional affiliation. Our procedure guarantees that a majority of the director positions will be determined entirely by a popular vote among all club representatives.

C. Justifying the Regions

i. The West and Southwest Regions clearly correspond to somewhat separate geographical communities.

ii. While the divisions between the Midwest, Northeast, and East regions are admittedly not as well motivated, we thought it was important to introduce a separation somewhere because otherwise we would have Florida and Minnesota in the same region. The Appalachian Mountains offer a nice separation between the Midwest and the East regions, but to continue this pattern in the Northeast would seem to require dividing the states of Pennsylvania and New York. We decided it would be easier to keep clubs in the same state together regionally, and to separate out a Northeast region from Pennsylvania, going North and East.

iii. This regional system then has the added benefit of producing regions of similar geographical size and somewhat similar contributions to the NAIGC population.