International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers

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PATTERN A (Poll)

ARTICLE III

VOTING AT ELECTION POLLS WITH ABSENTEE BALLOT

Officers - Elections - Duties

Sec 1. The officers shall perform such duties as are stated in Article XVII of the IBEW Constitution. In addition, they shall perform such duties as are outlined in these bylaws and such duties as may be assigned to them by the Local Union and which are not in conflict with the IBEW Constitution and these bylaws.

Sec. 2. Failure of officers to perform their duties, the suspension or removal of any officer and the filling of any vacancies, shall be dealt with as stated in Article XVI of the IBEW Constitution.

Sec. 3. All officers and representatives and all employees shall be bonded to the extent required by the International or any applicable Federal or State law whichever is greater. The bond shall be secured through the International and the premium shall be paid by the Local Union.

Choose Sec. 4(a):

Sec. 4(a). At the meeting of the Local Union when nominations are made, after nominations have closed, the President shall appoint an Election Judge and as many Tellers, as are required, who shall serve as an Election Board to conduct the election. No candidate for any office shall be eligible to serve on this Board.

OR one of the following alternates:

Sec. 4(alt. a). At the meeting of the Local Union, in the month preceding the month in which nominations are made, the President shall appoint an Election Judge and as many Tellers, as are required, who shall serve as an Election Board to conduct the election. No candidate for any office shall be eligible to serve on this Board.

Sec. 4(alt. a). At the meeting of the Local Union when nominations are made, after nominations have closed, the Local Union by a majority of members present shall elect an Election judge and as many Tellers as are required, who shall serve as an election board to conduct the election. No candidate for any office shall be eligible to serve on this Board.

Sec. 4(alt. a). At the meeting of the Local Union, in the month preceding the month in which nominations are made, the Local Union by a majority of members present shall elect an Election Judge and as many Tellers, as are required, who shall serve as an Election Board to conduct the election. No candidate for any office shall be eligible to serve on this Board.

(b) After nominations have been made and those nominated are found to be qualified, the Election Board shall have ballots prepared, listing in alphabetical order the names of all candidates for each respective office, beginning with President and continuing in the order named in the IBEW Constitution. Such ballots shall not contain any identifying numbers or marks which would identify the voter.

(c) Members in good standing and qualified to vote, who expect to be unable to visit the polls on election day, may at any time within thirty (30) days but not less than five (5) days prior to the date of election, make application in writing to the Election Judge for an absentee ballot. Any such qualified applicant shall be furnished an official ballot and two (2) envelopes. One (1) envelope shall be smaller than the other and shall be marked only with the words OFFICIAL BALLOT. The larger envelope shall be pre-addressed to the Election Board and shall contain a space in the upper left hand corner where the member shall place his/her name and address.

(d) Upon a member receiving an absentee ballot, he/she shall mark same and enclose it in the smaller envelope marked OFFICIAL BALLOT. This envelope shall then be placed in the larger envelope and mailed to the Election Board in time to be received before the polls are closed on Election Day. The Election Board, after determining the eligibility of the voters, shall open the envelopes, remove the smaller envelope marked OFFICIAL BALLOT, and deposit same in the ballot box with the other ballots. No envelope received later than the time and date as determined and announced by the Executive Board shall be opened by the Election Board.

(e) No member receiving an absentee ballot shall be permitted to vote in person at the election, unless he/she has first returned the absentee ballot unmarked to the Election Judge.

(f) The Financial Secretary shall furnish to the Election Judge not less than ten (10) days before the election, an alphabetical list of all members eligible to vote. All members, in good standing and qualified, shall be entitled to vote.

(g) The Election Board shall select a depository to which the envelopes containing the absentee ballots shall be mailed. This shall not be the Local Union Post Office Box or the Local Union Headquarters. (Cost of such depository shall be paid by the Local Union.) The Election Board shall advise the Local Union of the location of such depository in sufficient time to prepare the preaddressed envelopes.

(h) When the polls have closed and voting has ceased, the Election Board shall immediately count and tabulate the ballots. Any candidate may be present or have an IBEW member as an observer present during the voting and at the counting of the ballots. The Election Board shall immediately make a report of the election results. All ballots, applications for absentee ballots, and other papers shall be preserved for one (1) year from the date of the election, after which same shall be destroyed unless a question has arisen in connection with the Election.

(i) Voting shall be by secret ballot.

(j) Write in votes shall not be permitted.

Choose (k):

(k) The election shall be decided for the candidate receiving the most votes for a specific office.

OR (k) and (l):

(k) In the event a candidate does not receive a majority of the votes cast for a specific office, then a run-off election will be held between the two (2) candidates receiving the highest number of votes. This does not include the election for the Local Union Executive Board (and/or Examining Board), which shall be decided for the candidates receiving the most votes.

(l) When a run-off election is necessary, such run-off election shall be held twenty-one (21) days after the regular election is held.

Sec. 5. Voting machines, if available, may be substituted for printed ballots when voting at the polls. All applicable requirements in the foregoing section shall apply, when voting machines are used, in the same manner as though a printed ballot were used.

Sec. 6. (a) The officers shall be those provided for in Article XVI of the IBEW Constitution.

(b) The President shall have such authority as provided for the Business Manager in these bylaws and the IBEW Constitution.

Sec. 7. The Executive Board shall consist of (where officers are members of the Executive Board, they are to be listed in this space) and _____ elected members.

Choose Sec. 8:

Sec. 8. The Examining Board shall consist of _______ elected members.

OR Sect. 8(alternate):

Sec. 8(alt). The Executive Board shall serve as the Examining Board. There shall be separate meetings held and separate records kept.

Sec. 9. (a) Nominations for officers shall be held May _____, and election of officers shall be held in June ______ and every three (3) years thereafter, as stated in Article XVI of the IBEW Constitution. Notice shall be mailed to all members at least twenty (20) days prior to the meeting for nominations in election years with all information regarding nominations, list of offices to be filled, date, time, and place of election, and the date, time, and place of a run off election if required. Said notice shall also include all details concerning the availability of absentee ballots.

(b) No member shall be a candidate for more than one (1) office, except as provided in these bylaws and with approval of the International President. If nominated for more than one office, the member shall immediately declare for which office he/she will be a candidate. However, this shall not apply to offices which have been combined with the approval of the International President.

(c) Every candidate shall have the right once within thirty (30) days prior to the election to inspect a list containing the names and last known addresses of all the members of the Local Union. Such list of members shall be maintained and kept by the Local Union. The membership list shall not be copied for the use of any candidate.

(d) The Local Union shall comply with all reasonable requests of any bona fide candidate for Local Union Office to distribute his/her campaign literature to the membership at the candidate's expense. In handling all such requests, the Local Union shall comply with the IBEW Local Election Guide and with applicable Department of Labor Regulations under the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959.

(e) No member shall be eligible for office unless he/she has been a member of Local Union ______ in continuous good standing for at least two (2) years immediately prior to nomination.

(f) No Apprentice shall be eligible to hold office in the Local Union, except that a member who was previously eligible to hold office in the Local Union shall remain eligible if he/she entered an apprenticeship program for the purpose of upgrading his/her classification.

Article III. Local unions must choose this “Pattern A” (voting at the polls) or “Pattern B” (voting by mail). If the local fully implements the unit concept, Article III, Substitution Provision should be used instead. After a pattern is selected, all sections and subsections of the pattern selected are required, unless otherwise specified. These patterns were developed to conform with the policies and Constitution of the IBEW.

Sec. 4(a). Local unions may choose to elect the Judge and Tellers of the election rather than having them appointed by the President. Either way, Section 4(a) must include the method selected. Appointment of the Judge and Tellers is preferred. When they are elected, it is much more difficult to remove them for non-performance of their duties.

Sec. 4(k) & (l). In the event the local union desires to use the majority vote procedure, (k) and (I) should be used in lieu of (k).

Sec. 5. This section is optional and may be used if the local union believes voting machines will be used in future elections.

Sec. 6(a). If any offices are to be combined, they must be stated in this section.

Sec. 6(b). Where the local union does not have a Business Manager, the duties of this office will be performed by the President of the Local. In such cases, subsection (b) will be included in your bylaws

Sec. 7. Any officer except the Business Manager may also be elected to the Board and may serve in conjunction with his/her other office when such combination is approved by the International President; or, the Executive Board may be composed entirely of elected members who do not hold any other office.

Where the President also acts as the Business Manager, he/she may not be a member of the Executive Board.

The Recording Secretary of the local union may not serve as Secretary to the Executive Board unless he/she is also a member of the Board under Section 7.

The Board may be composed of three (3), five (5), or seven (7) members. If more than seven (7) members are necessary, approval of the International President is required. In any case, the Board must be composed of an uneven number of members to prevent a tie vote.

Sec. 8. Local unions may or may not have an Examining Board as they decide. When the local union chooses to have a separate Examining Board, it must be composed of either three (3) or five (5) members who must be elected. When the Executive Board serves as the Examining Board, the following optional language shall be used: “The Executive Board shall serve as the Examining Board. There shall be separate meetings held and separate records kept.”

NOTE: Local unions in industrial branches of the IBEW generally do not require an Examining Board, making such provisions unnecessary.

Sec. 9(a). The months and year of nominations and elections are stated in Section 9(a). Local unions in the United States are limited to three (3) year terms of office, by virtue of federal law and the IBEW Constitution. The IBEW Constitution establishes a minimum of three (3) years, and the law a maximum of three (3) years.

Sec. 9(d). A local union must comply with all reasonable requests by a candidate for distribution of campaign literature at the candidate's expense. A member need not be formally nominated to be entitled to distribute campaign literature.

Sec. 9(f). (Conditionally Required) This provision is required by those local unions that have a bona fide apprenticeship program.