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IJA ELECTION REGULATIONS PAGE
IJA Pre-Election and Election Regulations
The procedures contained in this document are intended to ensure a
fair, open and transparent election process for the annual elections to
the IJA Board. They are intended to be consistent with the IJA
Bylaws, relevant portions of the Delaware Code, the IJA's
Certificate of Incorporation as amended, the current edition of
Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised, and past practices of the
IJA.
Any discrepancies between these procedures and the above mentioned
references, or between these procedures and the observed conduct of
the election, should be reported immediately to the Board of the IJA
by email to board@juggle.org or in person at the Annual Festival.
These regulations were approved at the Board meeting of January 26,
2005.
The Board of the IJA shall appoint a Chief Teller who shall be
responsible for conducting the election in accordance with these
procedures. The Chief Teller may appoint any number of Tellers to
assist with the Chief Tellers' duties, such appointments being subject
to the veto of the Board of the IJA.
The Chief Teller may delegate any of the duties assigned to him or her
in these procedures to any of the other Tellers, provided always that
the Chief Teller remains responsible for the correct execution of the
duties so delegated.
The following deadlines shall apply for the calendar year in which
the elections are being held. Unless otherwise stated, deadlines are
effective at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time (Daylight or Standard, as
applicable) on the date indicated.
- April 10: Nomination submission deadline for candidate's name
to appear on the Mail-in Ballot.
- April 15: Candidacy statement submission deadline for a statement to be published in conjunction with the mail-in ballot.
- May 15: Candidacy statement submission deadline for statement to appear in
the IJA eNewsletter (May issue). Statements for the eNewsletter are limited to 350 words.
- June 15: Nomination submission deadline for candidate's name
to appear on the Festival Ballot and on the IJA's nominations
page of the IJA web site ("the nominations page").
- June 15: Candidacy statement submission deadline for statement
to appear on the nominations page.
- 24 hours prior to the start of the Annual Meeting of the Members: Proxy submission deadline for proxies to be
used in the election.
- The opening of Polling Hours: Deadline for receipt of mail-in
ballots to be counted in the election.
In accordance with the Bylaws, any member whose membership has been
in good standing for one year may nominate any person 18 years or
older for election to the IJA's Board of Directors. The nomination
statement must clearly identify the nominator and the nominee and must
include a valid email address for both. Self nomination is permitted.
On receipt of a nomination, the Chief Teller shall:
- verify that the nomination is valid in accordance with the Bylaws;
- attempt to contact the nominee to confirm his or her willingness to
stand; and
- within 72 hours of the receipt of the nomination, if the nomination
is valid and the nominee has not objected, cause the nomination to
be published on the nominations page.
Nominated candidates are invited to submit statements of candidacy for
publication in conjunction with the mail-in ballot and on the IJA
web site. Statements for publication with the mail-in ballot are
limited to 100 words. Statements for publication on the IJA web site
are limited to 350 words. Either statement may include a web site
address, email address or other contact information which shall be
included in the word count.
Candidates are wholly responsible for the content of their
statements. Statements shall be published exactly as submitted,
without editing, except where such publication would expose the IJA to
legal liability. In the latter case, the Chief Teller shall advise the
candidate of the problem within 72 hours of its receipt and the
statement shall not be published in any form until the candidate has
modified it appropriately.
Within 72 hours of the receipt of a statement of candidacy intended
for publication on the IJA web site, the Chief Teller shall cause such
publication to occur on the nominations page.
Nominations and statements of candidacy shall be listed on the
nominations page in the order of receipt of nominations.
Submissions of nominations and candidates' statements shall be accepted
only by email to the Chief Teller at nominations@juggle.org. The
deadlines stated above will apply.
A nominated candidate may withdraw from the election at any time by
advising the Chief Teller by email to nominations@juggle.org. Within
72 hours of the receipt of a withdrawal request the Chief Teller shall
cause the nominations page to show "(withdrawn)" beside the
candidate's name and shall also cause the removal of any related
statement of candidacy from the nominations page. Where publication
deadlines allow, the Chief Teller shall cause the candidate's name and
accompanying statement to be removed from all ballot materials.
Two versions of the ballot shall be prepared: a ballot for submission
by mail (the "mail-in ballot") and a ballot for use at the festival
(the "festival ballot"). Each ballot shall include the names of all
candidates, in order nominated, subject to the deadlines noted
above. Each ballot shall also include spaces for as many write-in
candidates as there are open seats in the election.
The mail-in ballot shall be sent to all members whose memberships are
current as of the mailing label deadline for the May/June issue of
JUGGLE magazine (approximately April 10 each year). This ballot shall be
accompanied by candidates' statements as described above. Note that
receipt of a ballot does not automatically entitle a member to
vote. See Voting Considerations, below.
The Chief Teller shall cause the mail-in ballot and accompanying
candidates' statements to be distributed with the May/June issue of
JUGGLE Magazine. Should the publication of the magazine be unduly
delayed, or the ballot not be included with the magazine for any
reason whatever, the Chief Teller shall cause the ballot to be sent
to all eligible members by first-class mail not later than June 1.
The Chief Teller shall cause the mail-in ballot and accompanying
candidates' statements to be made available in Adobe Acrobat PDF form
on the nominations page not later than June 1. The ballot and
accompanying statements shall remain available on that page until at
least the date of the election.
The Chief Teller shall ensure that the mail-in ballot is accompanied
by clear instructions consistent with the Voting by Mail section.
The Chief Teller shall select an address for receiving mail-in
ballots. This shall normally be the address of the host facility in
the festival city that has undertaken to act on behalf of the IJA, or
failing that, a secure post box in the festival city, all keys for
which are held only by the Chief Teller and which is used for no
purpose other than receiving the ballots.
The Chief Teller shall arrange for a sufficient quantity of festival
ballots to be available at the polling place on election day.
The Chief Teller shall cause each mailed ballot to be accompanied by a
unique, randomly generated number of at least seven digits ("the
voting number"). It is acceptable that this number appear on the label
used for the ballot's mailing. Until the completion of the election,
the mapping of the voting numbers to memberships shall be made
available only to the Chief Teller and those persons unavoidably
involved in the numbers' generation and use in the mailing
process. Voting numbers shall be safeguarded to the maximum extent
possible.
Since some members may misplace their voting numbers and new members
may join the IJA after the ballot mailing but before the election, the
Chief Teller shall put in place a mechanism allowing members to
request their voting numbers. This mechanism shall be advertised with
the mailed ballots and on the nominations page. Any member eligible to
vote shall be provided with a voting number after having
satisfied the Chief Teller as to his or her identity. The Chief Teller
shall maintain a record of all distributed voting numbers.
Any member thirteen years of age or older whose membership is current
on the date of the election is entitled to vote for one candidate per
open seat in the election. Members may vote either by mail or in
person at the festival. Voting by proxy is also permitted.
In accordance with the Bylaws, a member may submit a vote by mail
then "pull" it at the festival. Similarly, it would be possible for a
member to assign a proxy to another, but then vote in person at the
festival. The voting and counting procedures below are designed to
ensure that only one vote from each member is counted; that votes in
person are counted in preference to proxy and mail-in votes; and that
proxy votes are counted in preference to mail-in votes.
Eligible members may vote in person at the festival during Polling
Hours (see below). Ballots and writing instruments shall be
provided. Members shall be required to provide proof of identity in
order to confirm eligibility to vote; however presentation of voting
numbers shall not be required. For more details see the section on
Polling Procedures below.
Eligible members may vote by mail using the mail-in ballot or any
mechanically produced facsimile thereof.
Each ballot shall be folded at least twice such that the votes are
concealed then enclosed in a sealed inner envelope bearing the
member's voting number, legibly printed name, and signature. This
envelope shall then be enclosed in an outer envelope addressed to "IJA
Election", care of an address which shall be determined by the Chief
Teller and published with all copies of the mail-in ballot (see the
section Ballot Mailing Address).
Family members who share an IJA membership may enclose their ballots
in a single outer envelope and will share a voting number. However,
each individual ballot must be enclosed in its own inner envelope
which must be marked and signed as stated in the previous paragraph.
Only those mail-in votes received prior to the commencement of
Polling Hours shall be counted.
In accordance with the Delaware Code (Title 8, Chapter 1, Sub-chapter VII,
section 215), votes may be cast by proxy.
In order to allow the Tellers to ascertain the validity of proxies
tendered, any proxy that does not meet the following guidelines shall
be rejected:
- Each proxy assignment must be a separate document.
- Each proxy assignment must include as a minimum:
- the name of the member assigning the proxy;
- the Voting Number of the member assigning the proxy;
- a clear statement that the proxy is being assigned for the
purpose of casting a ballot in the IJA Election;
- the name or names of the member or members to whom the proxy is
assigned;
- the date of proxy assignment;
- the signature of the member assigning the proxy.
- Proxies must be submitted for validation not later than noted in
the Deadlines section above.
Proxies may be submitted for validation either directly to the Chief
Teller or at the festival registration desk in sealed envelopes
addressed to the Chief Teller. To avoid later dispute, proxy holders
are requested to retain copies of any proxies submitted.
The IJA Membership Director shall provide any candidate on request a
list of the postal addresses of all current members. The list will be
in machine readable form suitable for use in a mail merge. The
candidate must give an undertaking that the addresses will only be
used for the distribution of election materials, and will not be
provided to any other person or used for any commercial purpose.
The polls shall be open for members to vote in person from one hour
prior to the scheduled start of the members' meeting until thirty
minutes after the members' meeting has terminated. If there are
members queued to cast votes in person at the end of this time then
the polls shall remain open until no queue for voting in person
remains.
The polls shall be open for proxy voting for a period of thirty
minutes immediately following the close of voting in person. Should
there be proxy holders queued to cast votes by proxy at the end of
this time then the polls shall remain open until no queue for proxy
voting remains.
The polling place shall be at the festival site in a location easily
accessible to and observable by the IJA's membership. The polling
place shall include at least one ballot marking station, which shall
be provided with a pen, be physically accessible only to the member
currently voting, be visible to the Tellers and the membership, and be
provided with screening adequate to ensure the secrecy of members'
votes.
The polling place shall also include a table for use of the Tellers, a
Ballot Box and a trash receptacle.
The Chief Teller shall arrange for a ballot box to be available at the
Polling Place. The box shall be large enough to contain all ballots
cast. A sturdy cardboard box shall suffice.
At the beginning of the Polling Hours the Chief Teller shall
inspect the ballot box in the presence of witnesses at the Polling
Place to ensure that the box is empty. All openings on the ballot
box shall then be sealed with sturdy tape excepting only a single
opening in the top just large enough to admit a folded ballot.
The Tellers shall keep the ballot box in their direct possession and
under their direct observation throughout the Polling Hours.
Active campaigning shall not be permitted in the immediate vicinity of
the Polling Place. This includes the posting of posters, the
distribution of campaign literature, and any other activities which
could reasonably be construed as soliciting support for any candidate
or candidates over the others.
The immediate vicinity of the polling pace shall be defined to include
at least all areas within thirty feet of the polling place itself as
well as all areas within thirty feet of any members queued to
vote. Other areas may also be included at the discretion of the Chief
Teller.
Members shall be permitted to wear or carry campaign items (e.g.,
shirts, buttons, hand bills, etc. supporting one or more candidates)
while attending at the polling place for the purpose of
voting. However, loitering in the immediate vicinity of the polling
place with campaign items shall be considered active campaigning, as
shall the distribution of such items.
Any member shall be permitted to observe the Polling Place and Ballot
Counting process, provided such observation does not constitute
Campaigning at the Polling Place or otherwise interfere with the
orderly running of the election. The Chief Teller shall arrange the
polling place and ballot counting so that such observation may
reasonably be carried out.
During Polling Hours and Ballot Counting the Tellers shall
conduct themselves with strict neutrality and shall take no action
which could reasonably be construed as indicating support for any
candidate or candidates over the others.
Tellers who are entitled to vote shall be permitted to vote, in
accordance with these regulations.
The Chief Teller shall cause a list of all eligible voters (the "roll
of electors") to be available to the Tellers at the polling
place. This roll shall include each voters' name, IJA mailing address,
and voting number. The names of family members eligible to vote shall
be included on the roll.
The Chief Teller shall cause the Tellers to be provided with
sufficient festival ballots to conduct in person and proxy voting.
The particular procedures to be followed for Voting in Person,
Proxy Voting and Mail-in Ballot Casting are included in the
subsections below.
When a member presents him or herself to vote in person at the
Polling Place during the Polling Hours designated for voting in
person, the following procedure shall be followed:
- The member shall provide the Tellers with evidence sufficient to
confirm the member's identity. Government-issued photographic
identification shall be considered sufficient, as shall the
positive identification of the member by one other member whose
identity has been confirmed by means of Government-issued
photographic identification. In the latter case, the Tellers shall
indelibly record the name of the identifying member on the roll of
electors.
- The Tellers shall check the roll of electors to confirm that the
member has the right to vote and has not previously voted.
- If the member is in fact eligible to vote, the Tellers shall issue
the member with a ballot and shall make an indelible mark on the roll
of electors indicating that this member has voted in person.
- In order to use that ballot, the member must proceed directly to
a ballot marking station and there mark the ballot and fold it at
least twice such that the marks are concealed. Only one member at a
time shall be permitted at each ballot marking station.
- The member shall then place the ballot in the ballot box. The
Tellers shall observe and confirm that the member has placed
exactly one sheet of paper in the ballot box.
Members who have been issued ballots shall not remove them from the
polling place for any reason.
If a member makes an error on a ballot and wishes to revise it prior
to placing it in the ballot box, the following procedure shall be
used. The member shall present him or herself to the Tellers, indicate
this wish, and return the ballot to the Tellers. The Tellers shall
physically destroy the returned ballot by ripping it into at least two
pieces, and deposit the destroyed ballot in the trash receptacle. The
Tellers shall then provide the member with a fresh ballot and allow
the member to proceed to a ballot marking station. If a member has
made an error on a ballot and wishes to keep the marks already made
secret, the member may mark votes against all candidates prior to
returning it to the Tellers.
In no circumstances may a ballot placed in the ballot box be retrieved
and the vote altered.
When a proxy holder presents him or herself to vote his or her proxies
at the Polling Place during the Polling Hours designated for
proxy voting, the following procedure shall be followed:
- The proxy-holder shall provide the Tellers with Government-issued
photographic identification sufficient to confirm the
proxy-holders' identity.
- The Tellers shall retrieve the proxies previously submitted by the
proxy holder and shall advise the proxy holder of the validity of
each of those proxies. Any dispute shall be adjudicated by the
Chief Teller.
- The Tellers shall then check each valid proxy held against the roll
of electors, disallowing any proxy from a member who has voted in
person.
- The Tellers shall provide the proxy holder with one ballot per
valid, non-disallowed proxy. For each valid, non-disallowed proxy
the Tellers shall make an indelible mark on the roll of electors
indicating that this member has voted by proxy.
- In order to use that ballot, the proxy-holder must proceed directly
to a ballot marking station and there mark the ballots and fold
each individually at least twice such that the marks are
concealed. Only one proxy-holder at a time shall be permitted at
each ballot marking station.
- The proxy holder shall then proceed to the ballot box and place the
ballots in the ballot box one by one. The Tellers shall observe and
confirm that the proxy holder has deposited not more than the
number of ballots issued in step 4.
Proxy-holders who have been issued ballots shall not remove them from
the polling place for any reason.
If a proxy holder makes an error on a ballot and wishes to revise it
prior to placing it in the ballot box, the procedure indicated in the
section on Voting in Person shall be followed, substituting "proxy
holder" for "member" in all instances.
In no circumstances may a ballot placed in the ballot box be recovered
and the vote altered.
The Chief Teller and at least one witness shall retrieve all ballots
from the address to which they were sent at some time after the
deadline for receipt of mail-in ballots.
If the ballots have been received by a law or accounting firm the
Chief Teller and witness(es) may visit the premises of the firm to
collect the ballots, or an officer or employee of the firm may deliver
the ballots to the Chief Teller and witness(es) at the festival
location. In either event the firm shall certify in writing that all
ballot envelopes received have been provided to the Chief Teller.
If the ballots have been received at a post box, the Chief Teller and
witness(es) shall go to the post office together and open the post
box. The Chief Teller and the witness(es) shall physically verify that
all envelopes are removed from the post box.
The Chief Teller shall then seal all received mail-in ballot envelopes
in a clearly marked container such as a box or large envelope. The
Chief Teller shall ensure that this container is kept secure and
unopened until the conclusion of Proxy Voting.
At the conclusion of Proxy Voting, the Chief Teller shall cause the
container of mail-in ballot envelopes to be opened. Each mail-in
ballot envelope shall then be handled as follows:
- The Tellers shall carefully open the outer envelope to reveal the
inner envelopes.
- The Tellers shall inspect each inner envelope to ensure it includes
a name, signature, and voting number. The name and voting number
shall be compared against the roll of electors to determine that
the member is eligible to vote and that the member has not yet cast
a vote in person, by proxy, or by mail. Any inner envelope failing
these tests shall be annotated with the cause of failure,
segregated unopened, and any contained ballots shall not be
counted.
- If the inner envelope passes the test in step 2, the Tellers shall
carefully open it and confirm that it contains exactly one sheet of
paper, taking care not to observe any marks that may be on the
paper. Any envelope failing this test shall be resealed with tape,
annotated as containing more than one sheet, segregated, and any
contained ballots shall not be counted.
- If the inner envelope passes the test in step 3, the Tellers shall
make an indelible mark on the roll of electors indicating that the
member whose name and voter number appears on the envelope has
voted by mail-in ballot.
- The Tellers shall remove the enclosed sheet, being careful that any
writing on it is concealed from both themselves and any other
observers. The Tellers shall ensure that the enclosed sheet has
been folded at least twice, adding a fold if necessary. The Tellers
shall then straightaway deposit the enclosed sheet in the ballot
box.
After all mail-in ballots have been cast, the Chief Teller shall cause
the ballot box to be unsealed and the ballots counted as follows.
- The Tellers shall remove the ballots from the ballot box one by one.
- After each ballot is removed, two Tellers shall unfold and inspect
it.
- Should a ballot indicate more votes than there are open seats, the
Tellers shall mark "SPOILED" on the ballot's face, shall segregate
it, and shall not count any votes contained on it.
- Should two or more completed ballots be folded together, the
Tellers shall mark them all "SPOILED" on their faces, shall
segregate them, and shall not count any votes contained on them.
- Should a completed ballot be folded together with one or more
other sheets of paper which are not completed ballots, the
completed ballot shall be allowed and the other sheets of paper
shall be segregated with the spoiled ballots.
- If the ballot passes all tests in step 2, one Teller shall clearly
and audibly read the names of the candidates voted for on the
ballot, including all write-in candidates. One or more other
Tellers shall observe to verify that the names were correctly
read. A separate Teller from the reader shall record the votes, and
this recording shall be observed by one or more other Tellers. The
Tellers shall take great care to correctly record all votes cast.
- After recording the ballot, the Tellers shall place it in a separate
container provided for the purpose.
The Chief Teller shall produce a report indicating:
- The number of ballots cast in person, cast by proxy, and cast by
mail.
- For each nominated candidate and write-in candidate, the number of
votes cast for that candidate
- The number of spoiled ballots.
- The number of rejected proxies.
- The number of rejected mail-in ballots.
The Chief Teller shall provide this report to the outgoing Chairman of
the Board of the IJA, and shall cause a copy of this report to be
posted in a prominent location within the festival area.
The Chief Teller shall retain the roll of electors, the voting tally,
all executed proxies, and all ballots, including rejected and spoiled
ballots, appropriately segregated, for one month following the
election. After this time, if the materials are not required as
evidence in an action contesting the election, the Chief Teller shall
forward the roll of electors to the IJA's Membership Director and
shall destroy all other election materials.
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