NMGenWeb Election Guidelines
NMGenWeb Elected Officers
State Coordinator (SC) position – 2-year position. The term of office shall be June 1 of even-numbered years, ending May 31 of the next even-numbered year. This term has worked well as USGenWeb holds their elections in July, and running an election during the end of year (holiday period) is not feasible.
- It is the responsibility of the SC to call an election for any reason concerning issues that need to be resolved by the NMGenWeb CCs.
- It is in the best interest of the NMGenWeb Project to handle all elections concerning NMGenWeb business within the state organization of NM CCs.
- In the event the SC position becomes vacant through the resignation or death of the incumbent, the ASC will assume the SC position. At that point, the ASC will notify the election committee to start the election process to appoint a new SC. As the new SC, the incumbent would finish the current term and then continue onto the next elected term. This keeps the election cycle from June to June and keeps things consistent.
Assistant State Coordinator (ASC) – 2-year position.
- The SC appoints the ASC. The position is held for two years, and the ASC will perform as backup to the SC.
- If the ASC position becomes vacant through the resignation or death of the incumbent, the current SC will appoint a new ASC.
- In the event that an out-of-cycle election is needed, the current ASC will finish out the term and the new SC will appoint their choice of ASC, but the old ASC can remain and mentor the new inbound ASC.
Election Committee
Eligible committee members
The Election Committee will post voting instructions to start the election process. The standing Election Committee will manage the process:
- Angela Lewis, Chair gen4nm@nmia.com
Who is eligible for the Election Committee?
NMGenWeb county coordinators who have been members in good standing for at least one year and who would like to serve on the Election Committee will post their intentions on the NMGenWeb mailing list.
Potential candidates for the SC or ASC positions should not volunteer for this committee. However, if a member of the election committee chooses to run for office, they will notify the NMGenWeb mailing list of their intention and resign from the election committee. Candidates have a 2-week period to notify the mailing list of their intent.
Call for Election
The SC is responsible for calling an election in May of even-numbered years, placing a call for volunteers for committees and candidates/propositions, establishing fair deadlines to answer the call, and voting periods.
Either way, the ASC notifies the Election Committee to start the process.
- The election process begins in March of the election year unless circumstances have caused the election term to change (where the SC position was vacated by resignation or death of the incumbent).
- The ASC will post a message on the NMGenWeb mailing list to notify members of the intent to start the election process.
- If both the SC and ASC are unable to perform this task, then the Election Committee will take charge of a needed election. In the unlikely event that both the SC and ASC become incapacitated, the election committee will take charge of finding a temporary ASC, subject to the approval of the CCs in good standing.
- The Chair of the Election Committee would, in my opinion, trigger the chain of events within the agreement of the EC members.
Duties of the Election Committee
- Send a message to the mailing list describing how the process will work and the timeline for accomplishment the election. Tell members where to look for the voting info
- Post voting instructions when needed.
Election Guidelines
There are bylaws in place on the national site:
- These bylaws also explain the USGenWeb's request for inclusion of certain links and logos on all county and state sites. It is the responsibility of the SC and each CC to place these links and logos on their state and county sites.
- The USGenWeb bylaws also provide guidelines governing state elections. The following election instructions are approved by the NMGenWeb Election Committee for this NMGenWeb election for the position of State Coordinator. These election committee instructions will be posted on the state site for future elections. The next committee will revise as necessary.
Sample of the voting boxes
date 12:01 AM MST to 11:59 PM MST, date
Candidates for State Coordinator who have been members of NMGenWeb in good standing for at least one year will post their intentions and platforms on the NMGenWeb list.
date 6:00 AM MST to 11:59 PM MST, date
County Coordinators will cast their votes for State Coordinator. Voting instructions will be posted date. Note: Each CC may cast one vote regardless of the number of counties hosted.
Candidates / NMGenWeb Ballot
The NM SC shall be elected to a two-year term period.
Voting eligibility
The SC will be elected by the project membership. Each coordinator/co-coordinator may cast one vote only (no matter the number of counties hosted). The winner of the election will be the individual who receives a fraction over 50 percent of the votes cast, if no candidate receives at least a fraction over 50 percent of the vote then a run-off election will be held between the two individuals with the highest vote totals. The winner of the run-off will be the individual who receives at least a fraction over 50 percent of the vote cast.
- Candidates can vote for themselves.
- All county coordinators (CC) should vote in the election but it will not be forced.
- All NM CCs currently listed on the NMGenWeb list of county sites shall be eligible to vote. Lookup volunteers and transcribers are not eligible to vote in elections.
- Each county coordinator gets one vote regardless of how many counties they manage.
- A majority of those NM CCs voting shall elect. “Majority” will be determined by the number of CCs voting in the election during a specific voting period. For example: if there are 12 CCs and only 8 of them vote, then the majority of whoever the 8 voted for will determine the winner.
- If CCs choose not to cast a vote in the election, they will lose their voice in the election. We cannot force them to vote.
Election Results
In the event only one candidate runs for office, that candidate will be declared the winner by the current SC if there are no objections, and no ballot will be necessary.