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METRA Board Elections

Annual Meeting

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Based on the Bylaws, the Annual Meeting of the Members shall be held in January of each year (In 2019 it was changed from March), for the election of the Directors and the transaction of any business which may be brought before the Membership.

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The Board shall be elected by the Members of METRA at the Annual Meeting of the Members, and shall hold office for a term of two years, as provided in the Bylaws (Article III, Section 5). The nomination and election process will proceed as provided in the Manual (See below).

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The election committee shall contact eligible candidates to ask to be part of the upcoming year's METRA Board. Only current Active Associates (Bylaws, Article I, Section 9) are eligible to run for Board positions. Nominations will also be accepted from the floor during the actual elections. The Committee will provide a copy of the Active Associate list to allow candidate eligibility verification.

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ELECTION PROCEDURE

1. Elections will occur during the Annual Meeting of the Members.

2. The Nomination Committee (Committee) Chair will conduct the election, with the assistance of the other Committee members.

3. Members are each entitled to one collective vote of Associates present. The singular Member vote should constitute a consensus vote of the participating Associates.

4. The Member’s Associates will decide who shall actually cast their ballot. Votes must be cast promptly and without causing disruption.

5. Only Members who have current Active Associates (Bylaws, Article I, Section 9) are eligible to vote.

6. The Bylaws do not allow for absentee votes or vote by proxy.

7. The Committee will distribute ballots for all nine Director positions at the beginning of election process, with one ballot per Member.

8. Nominations will be solicited and accepted from the floor for each position.

9. Nominations from the floor must include confirmed knowledge of nominee acceptance. The Committee will provide a copy of the Active Associate list to allow candidate eligibility verification.

10. Members will be instructed to write the name(s) of anyone nominated from the floor on the lines provided on the ballot.

11. Members will be instructed that they must mark the ballot on the appropriate spacenext to the name of the selected candidate. (Simply writing the name of a person nominated from the floor on the ballot is NOT counted as a vote.)

12. Each nominee should be given a short time (not more than 2 minutes) to optionally address the membership.

13. Any Member or Associate, who feels that a particular candidate does not meet the qualifications for a position, must raise the question prior to the actual election occurring for that position.

14. Voters should mark their ballots at their seat, unless another area has been designated, and give their ballots to ballot counters when called.

15. The Committee will select two or three people who will not be voting to count ballots, preferably utilizing non-Members. Associates can be utilized if such non-Members are not available. Associates from Members with Associate nominees should refrain from tabulating ballots.

16. The winners for the nine Director positions will be the individuals receiving the most votes; a Majority is not required. In the event that two candidates receive the same number of votes, as long as they have more votes than other candidates, both will be considered elected to the Board. If two candidates receive the same number of votes, but there are already eight director positions decided, a re-vote will be held between the two tied candidates

17. Ballot counts will not be disclosed for any reason or under any circumstance. The persons tabulating the ballots should be counseled to keep balloting information confidential.

18. Ballots will be placed in a sealed envelope and held by the Committee for 30 days, in the event that there is a point of contention. The ballots are to be destroyed after 30 days, or once the point of contention is resolved.

19. The Committee Chair will announce Directors at the end of the election process. The Directors will decide among themselves by consensus which Director should assume the Officers positions of (Chair through Treasurer). The Committee Chair will turn the meeting back over to the current METRA Chair for closing discussions and meeting adjournment. (The new Board takes office immediately after the annual meeting concludes.)

20. The newly elected Board will resolve any positions remaining vacant following elections. The Directors will decide among themselves by consensus which Director should assume a vacant Officer position (Chair through Treasurer). A Majority vote from the existing Board Members is required for any such Board appointments.

21. A Majority vote of the Members is required to replace vacant Director positions, at anEmergency Meeting held to maintain the number of Directors in office at a minimum of four (Bylaws, Article III, Section 4).
    
     

-  METRA ByLaws

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-  Organizational Structure - Officers and Committees

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