Election Rules
In accordance with the National
Constitution of
the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, Article VII,
Section 3, we, the National Election Committee, designate the
following dates and timetable for the 2009 NATCA National Elections.
Section
1 - General Provisions
A.
Elections
will be held by referendum and all balloting will be conducted by the
use of a secret ballot. Write-in
votes will not be permitted.
B.
Members
will have the option of voting electronically or by a mail-in ballot.
C.
Electronic
balloting will be conducted via the Internet and shall be accomplished
by registering online. Registration
information will be mailed to the membership.
D.
For
balloting that is conducted via a mail-in ballot, the following
procedures shall apply:
the official ballot return envelope will have on its face an official
number assigned to each member. A list of names of the membership,
together with the corresponding official numbers, will be made
available to the National Election Committee of the Association for
the purpose of checking, at the time of the ballot count, the voting
eligibility of the members whose ballots have been returned.
Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary in these by-laws, all
ballots will be returned to a depository predetermined by the National
Election Committee to ensure the secrecy of the ballots and will be
held there until the time designated for the counting of such ballots.
E.
Except
as otherwise specifically provided herein, any protest or challenge to
the conduct of a National Election must be made in accordance with
Article VII, Section 7 of the National Constitution.
F.
Any
further appeals must be filed with the Secretary of Labor pursuant to
Title 5 U.S.C., Section 7120, and applicable regulations.
Section
2 - Nominations
A.
Nominations
shall be accomplished in accordance with Article VII, Section 2 of the
National Constitution. Nominations must be in writing and must be
delivered via certified mail to: National Election Committee c/o NATCA
General Counsel at the Association Headquarters no later than 5:00pm
EDT on April 29, 2009. All candidates for National Office must be active members in good
standing for at least one year prior to the close of nominations.
B.
No
member may accept nomination to or be a candidate for more than one
office in any National Election.
C.
The
Association Headquarters will be charged with the safekeeping of these
nominations, and will turn them over to the National Election
Committee.
D.
The
acceptance of the nomination will be dated and contain the following
information:
1. The full name of the candidate and, if
desired, any special name to appear on the ballot.
2. The
candidate’s facility, home or mailing address and social security
number.
3.
The
title of the National Office for which the candidate is nominated.
4.
A
certificate in the following form, signed and dated by the proposed
candidate:
I
hereby accept the nomination for the
office of __________________. I
certify that I am not now, nor have been for the past 13 years,
convicted of or served any part of a prison term resulting from
conviction of robbery, bribery, extortion, embezzlement, grand
larceny, burglary, arson, violation of narcotics laws, murder, rape,
assault with intent to kill, assault which inflicts grievous bodily
injury, or violation of Title II or III of the LMRDA
Act of 1959 as amended, or the Landrum-Griffin Act, or
conspiracy to commit any such
crime.”
E.
Nomination
acceptance must be received at the Association Headquarters no later
than May 29, 2009.
Nomination acceptances not received by this time will be
considered invalid. Nomination
acceptances must be sent to: National
Election Committee c/o NATCA General Counsel.
F.
The
National Election Committee will determine whether the candidate has
correctly submitted their nomination acceptance and possesses the
necessary qualifications for the proposed office. The National
Election Committee will prepare a report listing each candidate under
the office they are seeking. Each candidate will be marked
“qualified” or “disqualified” according to the findings of the
National Election Committee. Where a candidate has been marked
“disqualified” the reason must be stated in the report. The report
will be signed by the National Election Committee and submitted to the
National Executive Board.
G.
When
the National Election Committee disqualifies candidates, they will be
notified immediately by certified mail at the address listed on their
nomination acceptance of the reason(s) for disqualification. Disqualified candidates will have the right to file
a written appeal to the National Executive Board within 10 business
days of the receipt of the disqualification notice. The National Executive
Board will review the appeal and reply within 5 business days of the
receipt of the appeal.
Section
3 - Balloting Procedures - Internet/Mail
A.
The
National Election Committee will ensure the proper and timely
preparation of ballots without partiality as to candidates. The names
of the candidates for each separate office will appear in alphabetical
order. Ballots will contain voting instructions consistent with the
provisions of these by-laws.
B.
The ballots prepared at the direction of the National Election Committee
will be the only official ballots. No others may be used. The
National Election Committee will maintain a record of the ballots
distributed.
C.
Ballots
must be sent to a predetermined depository, which will be paid for by
the Association. Secrecy of the ballots must be assured. No signature
of any voter or other distinguishing mark will appear on the ballot. A signed or marked ballot will automatically be
ruled ineligible.
D.
No
member’s ballot will be counted unless the member is in good
standing as of 15 days immediately preceding the closing of the
balloting.
E.
Ballots
will be distributed to the membership on June 30, 2009. Balloting must
be completed/received by 11:59pm EDT
on July 30, 2009. Ballots not received in the depository by this date
will not be counted.
F.
Members will be entitled to a duplicate ballot and receive same,
provided they notify the National Election Committee via the
Association Headquarters. Envelopes used for duplicate ballots will be
identified as “Duplicate Ballot” and of a different color other
than the envelope used for the original ballot. Duplicate ballots will be counted unless the original and duplicate
ballot mailed to a member are both cast, in which event neither ballot
will be counted.
G.
The
National Election Committee will supervise the conduct of the election
and take measures they deem necessary to assure a fair and impartial
election.
Section
4 - Ballot Collection, Tally Procedure
A.
A
member of the National Election Committee will on the morning of July
31, 2009,
proceed to the depository and obtain all the ballots. Ballots will be
retained in the custody of the National Election Committee until such
time as they are checked and counted.
B.
The
National Election Committee is charged with the tally of all ballots
and the preparation of a report, which sets forth in complete detail
the results of the election, including a complete accounting of all
ballots and reconciliation of the ballots with rosters and
verification lists of membership.
The report will clearly detail all discrepancies discovered and
will contain recommendations for the treatment of such discrepancies.
All members of the National Election Committee will sign the report
without prejudice.
C.
The
National Election Committee will commence their work on the same day
that the ballots are collected and will complete their work as quickly
as possible. The report of
the National Election Committee will be filed with the Association no
later than 48 hours following the completion of the count.
Section
5 - Runoff Procedures
A.
In the
event of a runoff election, the National Election Committee will
supervise the distribution of ballots. The ballots will be distributed
no later than 16 days after the National Election
Committee has ruled on challenges or protests of the election or, if
there are no challenges or protests, within 16
days after submission of the National Election Committee’s
report.
B.
The
runoff election will be conducted in accordance with Section 4 of this
document. Marked ballots
will be distributed to the membership and due back into the
predetermined depository no later than 30 days after the date of the
distribution. In the event
that the 30-day deadline falls on a weekend or holiday, the next
regular business day will be designated as the deadline for receipt of
returned ballots. The National Election Committee will meet the
following day to tabulate ballots and announce the results of the
runoff election.
Section
6 - Installation of Officers
A.
New
officers will take office on September
1, 2009.
In the event of a runoff election, such officers will take
office 30 days after the results of the runoff election are finalized.
NATIONAL
ELECTION COMMITTEE
