Nominations Committee

Mission Statement:

The Nominations Committee ("Committee") is responsible for soliciting and communicating information to the membership regarding open positions on the FIRMA Board of Directors. It is responsible for approving the nomination requests and for conducting a proper and fair election of new Board members. If an insufficient number of members voluntarily seek election to fill the open positions, the Nominating Committee will develop a slate of additional candidates to ensure there are no open positions on the Board after the election. This Committee is appointed by the FIRMA Board and may be asked to advise the Board on related matters.

Rules:

The rules and regulations governing nominations and voting are:

  • Nominations will be announced to the membership and ballots distributed no less than one month in advance of the voting deadline to permit the membership to take appropriate action.
  • All voting shall be conducted by written ballot or online.
  • All written or online votes must be received by the deadline established by the Committee and communicated on the current year’s ballot.
  • Write-in votes are acceptable. Should a write-in candidate receive enough votes to win election, the Committee will determine whether the candidate meets the eligibility requirements and, if so, contact the candidate to determine if he/she would accept the election.
  • Ballots containing votes for fewer than the number of open positions will be accepted.
  • No member may cast more than one vote for a nominee.
  • No more votes may be cast by any member than there are open positions to fill.
  • In the event a member votes once and later submits additional votes, the first vote received will be counted as the valid vote.
  • Only FIRMA members in good standing as of the date their ballot is voted may participate in elections.
  • Ballot forms must be signed and dated by the voting FIRMA member.
  • Votes will be tabulated by the Nominations Committee and certified by the Chair(s) of the Committee. In addition, the Finance Committee or Finance Committee Chair will independently validate the vote totals.
  • In the event of a tie vote for an open position, a run-off vote will be held. The candidate who receives the simple majority of votes cast by the deadline established will be offered the open position.
  • Announcement of voting results will not include the number of votes received by any candidate, except in the event of a tie-breaking run-off vote.

Nominations Procedures:

  • The Nominations Committee will solicit nominations from the general membership by publishing a notice in the Fall issue of the FIRMA Forum and by a general email notice.
  • Nominations will be accepted until the date published in the notice.
  • Candidates must attest that their organization (if any) has agreed to the time and financial commitments to permit their full functioning on the Board.
  • Candidates must submit a brief history of his/her professional background, current position, and any certifications.
  • Candidates should submit a brief statement about why he/she should be elected to the Board.

Voting Procedures:

  • Ballot forms and the candidates' submissions will be distributed to the general membership electronically. They will also be posted in the members-only section of the FIRMA website.
  • Ballots will contain instructions for voting electronically online at the FIRMA website.
  • Voting members will indicate their choice(s) by marking the box next to a candidate's name.
  • Upon receipt, ballot selections will be recorded and safeguarded until the voting deadline has passed and voting tabulation has been completed, including the validation of votes by the Finance Committee.
  • All votes will be destroyed after the vote is certified and validated, except in the event of a tie-breaking run-off vote. Such votes will be retained for not more than sixty days in the event the election is contested, and a re-count is requested. Once a requested re-count has been completed, certified, validated, and accepted by the contestants, those votes will be destroyed.

 

The minimum number of committee members will be three. No Director eligible to run for election may serve on the Nominations Committee in the year of such eligibility. In addition, should a non-Director committee member choose to run for election to the FIRMA Board, he/she would need to resign from the Committee.