Guidelines for Department-Wide Committee Elections
SELECTION OF THE NOM COM
The Chair will ask for volunteers and appoint three members for the Committee. No member of the Nom Com can run for any of the open positions.
The Nom Com is privy to position statements before they are distributed and could conceivably alter their own position statements in “response” to those submitted by other candidates; therefore, it is not fair for anyone on the Nom Com to run for any open positions.
Duties of the Committees Nom Com:
- Communicate with the department regarding the election process
- Adjust election timeline
- Create and distribute nomination forms
- Collect and publish names of nominees
- Create and distribute forms for candidates’ position statements
- Collect and publish candidates’ position statements
- Provide minutes for the election meeting in the event a secretary is not available for the election
WHO CAN RUN AND VOTE
Any full-time faculty interested in serving on a department-wide committee is eligible to nominate candidates, be nominated for the position of department committee member, and vote.
The Nom Com believes any full-time faculty should be eligible to nominate candidates, run, and vote for department-wide committees.
TIMELINE OF ELECTION PROCESS
We based the below timeline on the timeline the current Nom Com used for the election of the Curriculum Committee, using the November 28th department meeting as the date for the next election. Future Nom Coms will adjust the timeline accordingly.
Sample dates for the election process (rationale to follow):
Oct. 17: Chair calls for volunteers for the Nom Com.
Oct. 23: Chair appoints Nom Com.
Oct. 31: Nom Com meets.
Nov 8: Nomination period opens, names only through Google forms.
Nov. 15: Nomination period closes at 12:00 p.m. (noon).
The Nom Com emails list of nominees to the department by 5:00 p.m. without revealing the number of nominations each candidate received.
Nov. 20: Nominees wishing to run submit by 11:59 p.m. a position statement of no longer than 1,600 characters (with spaces, ≈250 words) through Google forms.
The Nom Com will send proof of receipt when they receive position statements.
Nominees wishing not to submit a position statement but still run for a position should email the Nom Com to let them know not to withdraw their candidacy.
The Nom Com will consider any nominee who does not submit a position statement as a statement that they wish their candidacy to be withdrawn.
Note: Faculty running for multiple committees must submit a position statement for each committee they want.
If fewer candidates submit position statements than available positions are open, then the Chair will appoint all candidates who apply, as well as appoint persons to any vacant seats.
Nov. 21: If there are enough candidates for an election, the Nom Com emails the department the nominee position statements.
Nov. 28: Nominees last chance to withdraw from consideration.
Nominees will present a 2-minute position statement.
The vote must be anonymous. Voters must be present. If any portion of the election is virtual, voters must be on their own computer (not in a group room with one camera feed), with their camera on and cast their ballot anonymously and securely (e.g., Qualtrics).
Candidates will be elected by a majority of those voters who are present, and there must be a quorum to hold a vote.
Rationale:
Oct. 17: Chair calls for volunteers for the Nom Com.
Oct. 23: Chair appoints Nom Com.
Oct. 31: Nom Com meets.
Two weeks gives the Nom Com time to prepare for the election process, and Nov. 6th would have been two weeks.
Nov 8: Nomination period opens, names only through Google forms.
Since any person who is nominated from the approved list can run, no one needs to solicit nominations or advocate for anyone to nominate. All campaigning should be done between the time when position statements are released and the meeting for the vote.
Nov. 15: Nomination period closes at 12:00 p.m. (noon)
Nominating Committee emails list of nominees to the department by 5:00 p.m. without revealing the number of nominations each candidate received.
We wanted to give faculty ample time to consider nominating themselves or one of their colleagues.
Because any eligible person who is nominated can run, releasing the number of nominations each candidate receives can be seen as manipulative and reduce the election to a popularity contest before the election even begins.
Nov. 20: Nominees wishing to run submit by 11:59 p.m. a position statement of no longer than 1,600 characters (with spaces, ≈250 words) through Google forms.
The Nom Com will send proof of receipt when they receive position statements.
Nominees wishing not to submit a position statement but still run for a position should email the Nom Com to let them know not to withdraw their candidacy.
The Nom Com will consider any nominee who does not submit a position statement as a statement that they wish their candidacy to be withdrawn.
Note: Faculty running for multiple committees must submit a position statement for each committee they want.
If fewer candidates submit position statements than available positions are open, then the Chair will appoint all candidates who apply, as well as appoint persons to any vacant seats.
We followed national guidelines for key English-related professional organizations and limited the position statement word counts (although Google forms only allows for character limits). We felt this added an element of fairness to all candidates.
The Nominating Committee will not chase down candidates who do not submit position statements; therefore, if a nominee does not submit a position statement, the Nominating Committee will consider that candidate as withdrawn.
To avoid any confusion between the intent of any candidate and the Nom Com, candidates must provide a position statement for each of the committee positions they want. If candidates do not provide a position statement for any of the committee positions, the Nom Com will consider the candidacy as withdrawn.
If fewer candidates run than available positions are open, then there is no need for elections, and the Chair can then appoint those candidates who submitted position statements and appoint additional faculty to any vacant seats on the committee. If this happens, the election process is complete.
Nov. 21: If there are enough candidates for an election, the Nom Com emails the department the nominee position statements.
We followed national guidelines for key English-related professional organizations and provided time (in our case, ≈7 days) for faculty to read official statements. If faculty wish to have discussions among themselves during this time period, they are welcome to do so, but those discussions will take place outside the official election process (a process which does not follow national guidelines but which allows for fair and open discussions prior to the vote).
Nov. 28: Nominees last chance to withdraw from consideration.
Nominees will present a 2-minute position statement.
The vote must be anonymous. Voters must be present. If any portion of the election is virtual, voters must be on their own computer (not in a group room with one camera feed), with their camera on and cast their ballot anonymously and securely (e.g., Qualtrics).
Candidates will be elected by a majority of those voters who are present, and there must be a quorum to hold a vote.
To keep the election process fair, any online voting will happen through a secure system, like Qualtircs. A member of the Nom Com will facilitate online voting.
Election Day:
The Nom Com Chair will begin the election with the question of whether or not any candidates wish to withdraw their candidacy at the last minute.
Candidates will have 2 minutes to make a final statement before the vote, with no discussion afterwards. Candidates will focus their time on their own position and will not respond to other nominees’ position statements.
The Nom Com Chair will then move to an immediate vote. The vote must be anonymous. Voters must be present. If any portion of the election is virtual, voters must be on their own computer (not in a group room with one camera feed), with their camera on and cast their ballot anonymously and securely (e.g., Qualtrics).
Candidates will be elected by a majority of those voters who are present, and there must be a quorum to hold a vote.
Run-Off Elections
If any election ends with committee positions not being filled because the election included a tie vote, then another ballot will be held for only those candidates who received tie votes. The remaining position(s) will then be filled by majority vote. If candidates continue to receive tie votes, up to five ballots will be held for the same position(s) until all positions are filled. After five ballots, the Chair will appoint the remaining committee positions from the pool of candidates who received tie votes.
Respectfully submitted,
The Nom Com
Greg Bruno
Megan O’Neill
Cheryl Smith (Committee Chair)
