As Adopted by the Officers and Executive Committee of the Association of Alumni of Dartmouth College Pursuant to Its Constitution on September 4, 2014
Preamble
The purpose of these guidelines is to establish procedures for the nominating and balloting process stipulated by the constitution of the Association of Alumni whenever, pursuant to the constitution of this association, balloting is to occur among the alumni to nominate a candidate for trustee of the College. The constitution of the association provides that its Executive Committee "shall act as a board of final decision upon all questions arising in relation to the votes cast for an alumni trustee." It is the objective of these guidelines:
(1) to provide a fair and equitable atmosphere for the balloting consistent with the dignity and importance of the office of trustee;
(2) to see that adequate information concerning all candidates is provided to all alumni/ae in a manner fair to each candidate;
(3) to maintain the effectiveness of the petition process; and
(4) to maintain or increase alumni participation in the balloting process; all subject to the final jurisdiction of the Executive Committee.
A. Schedule
The following schedule will be applied to the process of nominating alumni trustees (the dates may be adjusted annually to comport with changing calendars and ease of administration):
1. June–September: A notice is provided to all alumni of alumni trustee vacancies, and invitation to submit names for Alumni Council consideration at least 30 days before the fall council meeting.
2. July–November: Alumni Council Nominating Committee considers possible candidates for recommendation to the Alumni Council.
3. Summer/Fall: Nominating Committee meets and considers candidates and selects no more than two (2) candidates for nomination per vacancy. The nominee(s) will then be considered and voted upon by the full Alumni Council at its fall meeting.
4. After the fall Alumni Council meeting: The secretary of the Association shall arrange for the notification of the alumni, by a form of written notice approved by the balloting committee of the Association, of the name(s) of the person(s) selected by the Alumni Council as the candidates(s) for an alumni trustee position. This notice will also describe the balloting and petition procedures, including the final date for submission of all official petition forms to the Alumni Relations Office.
5. Each candidate proposed by the Alumni Council shall execute and submit a candidate consent form (Exhibit B hereto) within 10 business days of approval of his or her candidacy by the Alumni Council, certifying his or her willingness to engage in the balloting process, agreement to be bound by the rules for that process established by the association, and unqualified acceptance of the responsibilities of the position of trustee as set forth in the Statement of Governance and Trustee Responsibilities (Exhibit C hereto).
6. Within two (2) months after the mailing of the notice referenced in A.4, any five hundred (500) members qualified to vote may, pursuant to procedures set forth in Part B of these guidelines, file with the secretary of the association a petition over their own signatures selecting an eligible member of the association as a candidate for nomination as alumni trustee.
7. Should two or more vacancies exist in alumni trusteeships at the same time, then no candidate may run or be nominated for more than one such vacancy.
8. In any alumni nominated trustee election in which there is only one candidate nominated by the Alumni Council for each seat and there are no petition candidates (an "Uncontested Trustee Election"), the Association will not conduct an alumni-wide vote. Instead, the Association Executive Committee shall declare the sole candidate the winner of the Uncontested Trustee Election after the deadline for petition candidates has passed. The Association Executive Committee shall determine when an Uncontested Trustee Election has occurred and shall report the result of the election to the Board of Trustees and the alumni.
9. When more than one candidate has been nominated for a seat, then a four-week ballot cycle will take place with the final dates to be determined by the Executive Committee.
10. Ballot and other materials shall be sent electronically to each eligible voter, unless a voter has asked the secretary or the Office of Alumni Relations, in a manner consistent with a protocol determined by the Balloting Committee, to send such voter a paper ballot by mail, in which case the secretary will send such voter a paper ballot by mail, and will send ballots electronically to all voters who do not request a paper ballot by mail.
11. Final date of receipt of electronic and paper ballots shall be determined by the Balloting Committee, which will be four weeks after the opening of the voting period. Ballots received after that date will not be counted.
12. Ballots shall be tabulated on a date following the completion of the voting period.
13. Following the final tabulation of the election ballots, the secretary of the association will inform the Board of Trustees of the result of the balloting.
B. Petitions
After the official notification to the alumni of the outcome of the deliberations of the Alumni Council, approved petition forms (substantially as shown as Exhibit A hereto) for alumni trustee will be available in the Alumni Relations Office and via the Internet. Petition forms may be distributed in person or by postal mail, fax, or computerized mail. Only official petition forms executed subsequent to such official notification will be considered. Only original, signed hard-copy petitions in any ink other than black will be accepted. Neither fax nor electronic petitions will be considered valid.
Each petitioner shall execute and submit a candidate consent form (Exhibit B hereto) within 10 business days of receipt of his/her petitions by Alumni Relations, certifying his or her willingness to engage in the balloting process, agreement to be bound by the rules for that process established by the association, and unqualified acceptance of the responsibilities of the position of trustee as set forth in the Statement of Governance and Trustee Responsibilities (Exhibit C hereto).
C. Balloting Committee
The president of the association shall appoint from among the officers and Executive Committee of the association a Balloting Committee of four members. The president shall serve as chair. This committee shall administer and oversee compliance with these guidelines and shall resolve all disputes concerning any aspect of the balloting process, subject to final approval of the Executive Committee of the association, which acts as a board of final decision upon all questions arising in relation to the votes cast for an alumni trustee. The Executive Committee of the association shall appoint for the duration of the balloting process a secretary pro tem of the association, who will also serve as executive secretary of the Balloting Committee.
D. Policy on Campaigning
Campaigning on behalf of candidates will be permitted. All candidates will be allowed to post biographies and statements and one electronic link consistent with the material provided on the official ballot, on a Web site to be designated by the Balloting Committee. The Balloting Committee will be responsible for posting the materials on the Web site. It is the responsibility of the candidate to communicate the dignity of the trustee nomination process to his or her supporters and to honor the spirit and the guidelines of the process in all communications and materials provided. Consistent with the College's privacy policy, Alumni Relations will not release addresses, email lists, or telephone numbers to the candidates or to their supporters.
E. Material to be Furnished to Alumni
Material to be furnished by the association to alumni in connection with alumni trustee balloting will be the following:
1. Statement of Governance and Trustee Responsibilities – The statement of the responsibilities and obligations of a trustee.
2. Statement of the president of the Association of Alumni – A brief description of the alumni trustee balloting process and the roles of the Alumni Council and the Association of Alumni, both on a general and specific level, prepared by the president of the association.
3. Candidate's biographical statement – Each candidate will be requested personally to prepare and submit a biographical statement not to exceed a reasonable word limit as set by the Balloting Committee, accompanied by a current photograph of the candidate. Each candidate shall be identified as being proposed by the Alumni Council or by alumni petition.
4. Candidate's statement – Each candidate will be requested personally to prepare and submit a personal statement not to exceed a reasonable word limit as set by the Balloting Committee for inclusion in the ballot materials.
5. Ballot – The ballot will be prepared by the Balloting Committee. It will include the name and class of each candidate and a statement as to whether the candidate was proposed by the Alumni Council or by alumni petition.
6. Other material – The Balloting Committee may also include other information with the ballot material or on the web site, including questions and answers from the candidates, video interviews with the candidates, and/or other material that may enhance voter understanding of the candidates.
The Balloting Committee may also publish a notice in the Dartmouth Alumni Magazine or other college publications or Web sites and take such other steps as it deems appropriate to inform the alumni that balloting for one or more alumni trustee positions is to occur and to encourage alumni to vote.
F. Handling of Ballots
Ballot envelopes and ballots cast by Internet will be received and tabulated by the Balloting Committee, which may hire a third-party vendor to receive and to tabulate the ballots under the direction of the Balloting Committee. As soon as possible after the last date for receipt of ballots, all ballots, whether paper or electronic, shall be validated and counted by the Balloting Committee and/or third-party vendor. Each eligible voter may cast one vote for each open trustee position on the ballot, and the candidate receiving more than 50% of the total votes cast for each open trustee position pursuant to the balloting process shall be the nominee of the alumni for each such office of trustee. In the event that three or more candidates appear on the ballot for any open trustee position and no candidate receives more than 50% of the total votes cast, then a runoff election shall be promptly held between the two candidates receiving the most votes.
All ballots shall be preserved by the secretary and delivered by the secretary to the Executive Committee for such disposition as it shall see fit to make. The secretary shall refer to the Balloting Committee all matters respecting votes of doubtful validity.
The results shall not be made known to any person until the secretary has informed the chair of the Board of Trustees or the chair of its Nominating Committee of the results. Once the candidate's nomination has been officially acted upon by the Board of Trustees, a press release shall be made available to the public and posted on the Association's Web site.