Policies & Procedures - 6.3 Nominations & Elections Committee

- approved 11/00, updated 3/05, 08/07, 07/09, 12/2011, 12/2012

1. Purpose and Use

These Policies and Procedures are intended to guide orderly, fair, open, and consistent conduct of the nominations and elections of officers of the IEEE Communications Society.  They are for the use of the Nominations and Elections Committee, a Standing Committee of the Board of Governors, and are available to all members of the Society.  They are in compliance with the IEEE and ComSoc Constitution and Bylaws.

2. Functions of the Nominations and Elections Committee

The Nominations and Elections Committee is responsible for selecting candidates to fill elected Society offices, and for the development, implementation, and supervision of election procedures.

The composition, appointment, and chair of the Nominations and Elections Committee are detailed in the ComSoc Bylaws:  http://www.comsoc.org/about/documents/bylaws/7

Following the timelines in Part 3 of these Policies and Procedures, the Committee shall prepare a slate of candidates for the elected offices of the Society, as given in the table below.

 

 

The Committee shall strive for diversity, globalization, and competence in its nominees for ComSoc’s elected officers.  To achieve this, the Committee shall seek nominations from ComSoc Councils, Boards, and Committees, including the Regional Directors of the Society.  The Committee shall solicit, through various means, suggestions for nominations.  Specifically, the Committee shall fully utilize the electronic and paper media of the Society, including dedicated Web pages, to obtain qualified nominees.

With the support of ComSoc’s Department Head, Executive and Volunteer Services, the Committee shall be responsible for the content of the permanent “Nominations and Election” section of the ComSoc Web site.  This section shall describe ComSoc offices, nomination procedures, and shall, during election periods, contain candidate information.

Finally, the Committee shall manage nominations and elections procedures in a fair and open manner.

3. Timelines and Formats for Nominations

The Committee shall solicit suggestions for nominees from the Society at large, as well as from members of this Committee.  The Committee operates via e-mail, conference calls, and face-to-face meetings, the latter to include both IEEE ICC and IEEE GLOBECOM.  The time-table for generating a slate of candidates and alternates is approximately as follows:

1. On or about 1 April – 15 June:  a “Long List” of potential candidates is created by soliciting nominations from the Committee, the Members-at-Large, and the BoG, as well as from its Councils, Boards, and Committees Chairs (including Technical Committees), and the Regional Directors. Note: In the solicitation phase, Item a above, a supporting statement should be requested on behalf of each person named for each position. The statement can be brief, but should cite the relevant experiences, accomplishments and special attributes that make that person a strong candidate for that position.
   
    
2. On or about 15 June – 15 August:  the Long List of potential candidates is reviewed, adding and deleting potential candidates, and those on the resulting Long List are ranked by the members of the Committee. The outcome is a ranking-based “Short List” whose size is determined by the Committee.
   
    
3. On or about 15 August – 20 September:  the interest of the potential candidates (those on the Short List) to run for office is sought, and a biographical sketch of each interested potential candidate is obtained; all potential candidates must be clearly told that an expression of interest does not necessarily lead to becoming a candidate.
   
    
4. On or about 20 September – 5 October:  the interested potential candidates (those still on the Short List) are ranked by the Committee.
   
    
5. On or about 5 – 31 October:  candidates and alternates are determined for all the elected positions; a final biography and candidate position statement is requested from each.
   
    
6. For President-Elect ballots, which are voted on in even-numbered years, see the process described in Section 6.

It is the responsibility of the members of the Nominations and Elections Committee to inform all potential candidates of the outcome of the Committee process, specifically, if they are on the candidate slate, on the alternate list, or on neither.

The candidates shall be instructed in October, by ComSoc’s Department Head, Executive and Volunteer Services, to submit a final biography and position statement.  The candidates must also submit their IEEE member number and confirm that their membership is current and valid.  Candidates who are not current IEEE and ComSoc members must agree to become members immediately.  Candidates for Vice President or President Elect must confirm that they are either IEEE Senior Members or IEEE Fellows, or agree to apply for IEEE Senior Member status immediately.

The final election slate, with biographies and position statements, shall be posted on the ComSoc Web site on or about 1 March of the election year, including any petition candidates, as described in Part 4.  The biographies and position statements will also appear in the May issue of the IEEE Communications Magazine.

4. Nomination by Petition

The Committee shall add to the election slate the name of any eligible candidate (see Part 5 below) supported by a petition with at least the minimum number of valid signatures specified by  IEEE Bylaws.  Please see:  www.ieee.org/web/aboutus/whatis/bylaws/i-308.html.

Electronically submitted petition signatures must be received through the official IEEE ComSoc election Web site.  Paper petition signatures must be submitted to the ComSoc office.  Written petition signatures must include the petitioner’s legibly printed name and IEEE member number (or the petitioner’s address/city/state/country).  A candidate petition form is available on the IEEE ComSoc Web site, Nomination by Petition.  Facsimile, or other copies of an original signature, shall not be accepted.  Petition signatures will be accepted only during the months of December and January.

Any person conducting a petition campaign shall inform ComSoc’s Department Head, Executive and Volunteer Services, no later than 15 December so that information needed for the election process can be obtained from the proposed candidate by the 1 February deadline.

5. Eligibility for Candidacy

All potential candidates for elected office must be members of the Society.  Potential candidates for President-Elect and Vice President–level offices must be IEEE Senior Members or Fellows, or agree to apply for Senior Member grade prior to 1 February of the election year.  See http://www.comsoc.org/about/documents/bylaws/3

No individual shall be nominated for two positions in the same election.

A nominee for the position of President-Elect may already be a Vice President, Member-at-Large of the BoG, or hold another ComSoc office.  A candidate elected as President-Elect may simultaneously serve in another office during the one year as President-Elect, prior to assuming the office of President.

No one who has been elected President-Elect once, or elected to another office twice, shall be nominated for that same office again. A President-Elect, President, or past ComSoc President may not be nominated for any other elected ComSoc position.  This latter restriction does not apply to the IEEE position of Division III Director Elect, for which a President in his/her last year, or past President, can be considered. (For example, the President in 2007 could be considered that year, run in the election in 2008, and begin serving as Division III Director Elect in 2009.) 

Additional eligibility for re-election stipulations is found in the ComSoc Bylaws:  Please see http://www.comsoc.org/about/documents/bylaws/3

In accordance with IEEE Bylaws, members of the Nominations and Elections Committee cannot be nominated for elected ComSoc BoG positions.  Please note Paragraph 20, Item 5, of: www.ieee.org/web/aboutus/whatis/bylaws/i-308.html.

6. Number of Candidates for Each Office

President-Elect Position: At least two candidates shall be placed on the ballot for P-E.

Vice President Positions: At least two candidates shall be placed on the ballot for each VP position.

Members-at-Large Positions of the BoG:

• Starting with the election of 2012, all members get the same ballot, which contains two slates: one composed of 6 candidates from NA and one with 6 candidates from the other three regions. All voting members may select up to 2 from each slate. The top 2 vote-getters from each slate are elected Member-at-Large."
  
  
• Starting with the election of 2014, all members get the same ballot, which contains three slates: one composed of a) 6 candidates from NA/LA (the Americas), b) one composed of 3 candidates from EMEA, and c) one composed of 3 candidates from AP regions.  All voting members may select up to 2 from the NA/LA slate, up to 1 from the EMEA slate, and up to 1 from the AP slate.  The top 2 vote-getters from the NA/LA slate, the top vote-getter from the EMEA slate, and the top vote-getter from the AP slate are the four elected Members-at-Large.
  
  
• Concerning the slate of 6 candidates for the regions EMEA, AP and LA: The committee shall strive to apportion candidates among regions so as to advance the goal of proportional representation within the Member-at-Large class.
  
  
• The candidate proportions (by Region) on the ballot shall be adjusted in every year based, on (1) the desired distribution by Region of the Members-at-Large; and (2) the actual distribution that exists after the next class-of-four departs at the end of the year.
  
  
• If in exceptional circumstances, the committee deems it necessary to modify the numbers of MAL candidates on the two slates, it can do so by seeking and obtaining approval from the president.

7. Timelines and Formats for Elections

The final candidate slate selected by the NEC and the BoG shall be known to each candidate following IEEE GLOBECOM.  Each candidate shall be informed of all successful petition candidates no later than 1 March of the election year.

By direct correspondence, candidates will be encouraged to conduct campaigns discreetly and to follow the IEEE policy that states:  “IEEE e-mail lists must not be used for electioneering.”  See IEEE policies at www.ieee.org; click on Volunteers; Volunteer Resources; then IEEE Governance and Administration; see IEEE Policies (Section 14). Note that this e-mail list restriction applies to ComSoc e-mail lists as well.

The Nominations and Elections Committee shall promote organized electronic electioneering for President Elect and VP candidates using a Q & A format in ComSoc e-News and on the ComSoc website. In particular, a debate among candidates for president-elect will be conducted via the ComSoc website.

No distinction will be made on the ballot between candidates selected by the N & E Committee and/or the Board of Governors and candidates placed on the ballot via a petition process.

Candidate biographies and position statements shall be printed in the May issue of the IEEE Communications Magazine, and published on the ComSoc Nominations and Elections Web page, with optional photographs.  Only photographs of President-Elect candidates will appear in print in the May issue of the IEEE Communications Magazine.

ComSoc elections shall be conducted with electronic voting as the first option (e-first voting), with paper ballots supplied upon a member’s request or if a member does not have an e-mail address or if the e-mail ballot cannot be delivered.  The e-first ballot will have a link to the ComSoc Nominations and Elections Web page where the candidate biographies and position statements will be displayed.  The paper ballot will be accompanied by a printed version of the same candidate information.

Voting shall take place each year from the beginning of June to the latter part of July.  Results are expected to be available no later than the end of August.

Web-based electronic balloting shall be conducted through a reputable and secure balloting service contracted by IEEE, with instructions included as part of the e-mail ballot as well as on the ComSoc Web site. The service vendor contracted by IEEE receives the election information from IEEE Administrative Services.  The outside service vendor then creates the necessary websites, ballots, and other paper materials, and administers the election electronically and by paper, per instructions provided by IEEE Administrative Services.  After the election close, the contractor combines paper and electronic votes and tallies, and reports the results to IEEE Administrative Services.  At no point in the process does IEEE see the raw data.

No ComSoc person or persons, staff or volunteer, shall have access to the operational mechanism of either paper or electronic balloting.

To promote e-first voting and a greater voter turn out, an announcement shall be made in ComSoc e-News from April through July.  It shall be highlighted on the ComSoc Web site.  An informative letter shall accompany the IEEE Communications Magazine in May, June, and July.  'E-mail reminders shall be sent to non-voters by the ballot service every other week throughout the election.

8. Privacy in Confirmation of Candidates and Announcement of Results

Prior to an election, the Committee shall confidentially solicit the interest of potential candidates.  No public release of candidate names shall be made until the final slate is fixed.  All deliberations of the Nominations and Elections Committee shall be in Executive Session, and the strictest confidentiality maintained by members of the Committee.  Violation of this principle may lead to a request for resignation, at the discretion of the Committee Chair and Society President in consultation.

At the conclusion of an election, vote tallies shall be posted on the ComSoc website for President-Elect (in even-numbered years) and for VPs (in odd-numbered years), but not for Members-at-Large.  Each Member-at-Large candidate shall be entitled, upon request, to know:  the number of votes cast for him/her; the number of votes cast for the winner(s) in their election category; and the total number of votes cast in that category. (In general, Member-at-Large candidates are recruited from among ComSoc members with limited governance experience. For that reason, it seems unfair--and unwise--to publish vote counts that might embarrass some candidates and discourage them from seeking office again.)