Policy and Procedures: Election Policy

Introduction

HKVCA is governed by a Board of Directors (BOD), the members of which are elected by the members every two years, typically coinciding with a National Convention.

The HKVCA desires its leadership to come from within the Board of Directors so that they may have a solid understanding of the issues, challenges, and governance model of the Board. As such, the positions of President and Vice-President shall be elected by the BOD from among members of the BOD. The Secretary and Treasurer need not be chosen from among members of the BOD, although this is customary. 

Officers of the HKVCA are:

• President
• Vice-President
• Secretary
• Treasurer

Members shall be elected to the Board by a vote of HKVCA members who are eligible to vote. No person shall be elected as a Director of the Association unless that individual has been nominated as stipulated in these procedures.

The BOD shall consist of not more than ten (10) and not fewer than three (3) elected Directors.

The nomination and voting activities will be under the control of an Election Committee composed of a Chair and two additional members chosen by the Chair, all approved by the current Executive.

Process

The Election Committee Chair will be named by the Board at its January meeting in the year of an election.

Committee members, selected by the Chair, will be approved by the BOD at its February meeting.

A call for nominations to active members will be solicited by the Committee in March of the election year using mailings (newsletter), social media and the HKVCA web site. Typically nominations will be open for 30 days. 

A listing of those who have accepted the nomination will be published in the June newsletter, social media and the HKVCA web site.

The election will be held in July of the election year.

Election results will be announced at the national convention, and in the first national newsletter following the election.

Newly elected Directors will assume their responsibilities at the Board meeting when the results of the election are presented to the Board (see 'Tabulation of Reports and Reporting' below)

Nominations

A nomination will be supported by one (1) person (nominator) who is an HKVCA Member in good standing (as per Membership Entitlement P&P) and is eligible to vote at the election. Nominations shall be in writing, by email, or by online webform. The nominee will indicate his/her consent to be nominated and to have their name published online. (See sample nomination instructions and sample nomination form).

A statement of eligibility (maximum 500 words) will be required from the nominee certifying their current membership status, and indicating how his/her experience and interest will support the HKVCA mission.

As soon as is reasonably possible following the close of the Call for Nominations, the Election Committee will meet to review all nominations. Acting within the mandate and priorities determined by the Board, the Committee will review nominations for their eligibility and recommend to the Board names for election by the membership.

Where the number of nominees does not exceed the number of open positions, the nominee(s) shall be certified by the Election Committee to have been elected to that office by acclamation and no voting process will be required.

The Election Committee's recommendations shall be forwarded to the Board of Directors for ratification.

Voting

The election will take place on dates published by the incumbent BOD in an election year.

Voting will be done via a secured web-based poll for eligible Members who have provided permission for HKVCA to use their email address and with paper ballot via Canada Post for eligible Members with no email address.

Members must select from the candidates on the ballot.

One person is allowed one vote for each vacant position. All members eligible to vote and having email addresses will be sent:

• Instructions for casting an electronic vote
• A link to electronic ballots
• A link to biographical profiles of the candidates

All members eligible to vote and have no email addresses will be sent the following by post (typically with the June edition of the newsletter):

• Voting instructions
• Ballot card
• Background information on candidates
• An identifiable, pre-addressed, return envelope addressed to the Election Officer in which the ballot will be placed.

Votes will be strictly confidential.

An encouragement/reminder to vote will be sent by email if deemed appropriate. There will be no reminders to those with no email address.

Electronic or mail-in ballots must be received by the Election Officer prior to the poll closing at 23:59 pm (Eastern Time) on the last day of the election. Ballots received after that deadline shall not be accepted or counted.

If, through mistake, inadvertence, accident, or other cause deemed reasonable by the Election Committee, the ballot and/or return envelopes are not mailed/emailed out on or before the first day of the election, they shall be sent out as soon as possible thereafter, and doing so shall not invalidate any election held in the prescribed manner.

Tabulation of Votes and Reporting

Following the closing of voting, the results of the electronic vote will be tabulated by the Election Committee. Return envelopes will be opened and paper ballots will be counted, along with votes from the online web form. The successful candidate(s) will be the individual(s) who receive(s) the greatest number of votes. In the case of a tie, the outcome will be determined by flipping a coin.

All candidates will be informed of the outcome of the election by the Election Committee Chair prior to a general announcement to the membership.

As soon as is feasible after the close of the election, the Election Committee will meet to verify that the election process was upheld. This meeting may take place in person, by telephone or electronically. 

The Chair of the Election Committee will report the findings to the full Board and verify that the election process was upheld. The report to the Board will include:

1. The names of all candidates who were elected to the Board.
2. If applicable, the names of all candidates who were elected to the Board by acclamation.
3. The voter turnout will be reported to the Board, but not made public.

The ballots (electronic and paper) shall be maintained in safekeeping until January 1st of the year following the election, at which time they shall be destroyed.

A report from the Election Committee shall be presented at the next General Meeting following the election.

Eligible Voters

In order to be eligible to vote, an individual must be an HKVCA Member in good standing (as per Membership Entitlement P&P) and not in arrears to the Association for any fee or levy and be at least 18 years of age as of the date of closing of balloting.

On June 30 of an election year, the National Membership Rep shall provide the Election Committee with a list of members entitled to vote in the upcoming election. Such list shall include each Member's last known mailing address and/or email address.

Region Councils

In addition to the HKVCA National Board of Directors, there are 5 Regional Councils (BC, Prairie, Ontario, Quebec, Atlantic) chaired by the elected Director for that region.

If there are multiple individuals elected from a Region, the Board will appoint the person with the largest vote count as Region Director, unless this individual accepts a position on the corporate Executive Committee (in this case the person with the second largest vote count shall be appointed), or if the individual refuses to serve in this capacity. Should this also occur, the Board shall determine who shall fill this position.

Positions of Secretary and Treasurer on the Regional Councils are filled by volunteers and are not a part of the National Board Election.