Section Election Procedures

SMPTE Section Nominating Committee

It is one of the duties of the Section Chair to form a Section Nominating Committee. The purpose of this committee is to select candidates for consideration as nominees for:

• Governor(s)  - to run in the Society Elections for terms beginning January 1; and
• Section Officers and Managers - to run in the Section Elections for terms beginning July 1.

Formation of Section Nominating Committee

As outlined in the Membership Operations Manual, the Section Nominating Committee is made up of seven voting members of the Section.

The Section Nominating Committee consists of:

Chair:

• Past Section Chair (or a former Section Chairperson if the Past Chairperson is not available)*
  *In the event that neither the Section Past Chairperson nor a former Section Chairperson is available to serve, the Chairperson of the Section may appoint an Active Member of the Section, who is not a voting member of the Board of Managers and not standing for election, to serve as Section Nominating Committee Chair.

Members:

• Current Section Chair
• 2 Managers currently serving their FIRST year of a two-year term
• 3 voting Members NOT currently serving on the Section Board of Managers

The Section Nominating Committee MUST be formed, and names submitted to headquarters, using the Section Nominating Committee Form by 1 November 2023.
 

Nomination of Candidates for Section Officer and Manager

Step 1:
The Section Nominating Committee is to nominate:

• one or more persons for the offices of Section Chairperson and Secretary/Treasurer
• at least two but no more than three persons for each Manager’s office to be filled

All nominees must be current voting members of SMPTE.  Nominations shall be made by three-fourths affirmative vote of the Section Nominating Committee.

Slate of Candidates:

• Chair: (one or more candidates)
• Secretary/Treasurer: (one or more candidates)
• Managers:  (six to nine candidates for three open positions)

**If the Section has one or more Subsections, the Nominating Committee shall also nominate candidates for Subsection officers, giving careful consideration to the recommendations of the Subsection Board of Managers.

It is suggested that officers serve two consecutive one-year terms, but no more than two consecutive terms.  There is no specific recommended limit on the number of consecutive terms that a Manager may serve.  However, it is beneficial for the Section for the Managers to be replaced regularly so that more members have the opportunity to serve in leadership roles.  Sections may deviate from these recommendations where suitable candidates for Officer or Manager cannot be found.

Step 2:
The Section Nominating Committee shall determine that nominees are willing and able to accept the position if elected.

No later than the last Monday of February, the list of nominees for Section and Subsection offices shall be presented to the Section Board of Managers for approval. Nominations shall be final unless any nominee is rejected by a three-fourths vote of the Board of Managers, and in the event of such rejection, the Board of Managers shall make its own nomination by majority vote of the members present.

Step 3:
Submit the list of nominees (Final Slate of Candidates) using the Section Election Slate Submission Form, and a completed candidate form and photograph for each nominee to SMPTE Headquarters no later than the last Monday of February.

Section Election Schedule

The Section Election will begin on the third Monday of March. The list of all nominees and biographies must reach Headquarters by the deadline specified above for printing and distribution. Please be advised that if no biography or photo is received, none will appear next to the candidate's name on the ballot.

All Section Elections will close on the last Monday of April.  There will be no extensions.

Following the close of elections, on or before the last Monday of April, reports of the results shall be gathered from the electronic voting system and hard copy ballots and shall be compiled by SMPTE Staff.  These reports will be provided to the Election Integrity Committee for verification of voting integrity.  Election shall be by plurality vote, and in the case of a tie, the choice shall be decided by sortition (lottery) conducted by the Election Integrity Committee. Announcement of the results shall be communicated to the Section Board, the Board of Governors and Candidates within seven days of the Election Integrity Committee review.

The newly elected officers shall take office on 1 July of the same year in which elections take place.