Election Rules

Nominations

Nominations for the printed ballot are open from April 2003 through June 15, 2003.  Candidates may be nominated from the floor as write-in candidates.  Candidates may run for only one Grass Roots Venice Neighborhood Council (GRVNC) office.  Candidates must register as Voting Members and must be stakeholders of GRVNC.

 

Candidate Statements and Campaigning

Candidate speeches of up to one minute will be heard at the election.  This may be extended to two minutes per speaker if time allows, at the discretion of the Election Manager from the League of Women Voters.  Speeches will be heard in the order of offices on the ballot after nominations from the floor have been closed.  Campaigning, including the distribution of campaign literature, is restricted to the designated campaigning area.  Candidates or other individuals who campaign or electioneer outside of the designated campaigning area will be in violation and will be required to leave the election premises. Flagrant violators who continue improper campaigning outside the designated area as determined by the League of Women Voters (LOWV) may have their candidacy invalidated if they refuse to leave after being so requested by the LOWV.

 

Translation

Voting Instructions on the ballot are in English and Spanish.  Additional translation services are available through the Los Angeles Department of Neighborhood Empowerment (DONE) representatives at the election.  Requests for translation into languages other than Spanish must be submitted to DONE by June 13, 2003. 

 

Voting

All registered Voting Members of the GRVNC may vote at the elections at any time before the final collection of ballots.  Pre-registered Voting Members (those who registered before June 15) may check-in at the pre-registered voter room to receive their ballot.  Pre-registered members must show a valid form of ID and/or their GRVNC registered voter card to receive a ballot at any time before the final collection of ballots at 2:00 pm.  Registered Voters may vote at any time after receiving their ballot by depositing their marked ballot in the ballot box.

 

Any Community Stakeholder who has not yet registered as a GRVNC member may register between 10:00am until 2:00pm election day.  No voting by proxy will be allowed.  Provisional ballots will be given to anyone registering on election day who claims to be a stakeholder but cannot provide proof of a Venice address where they live, work, own property or participate in a community group.

Proof of stakeholdership is limited to: CA Drivers License / School ID Card / CA Residency Card / Business Card / Imprinted Check / Recent Utility Bill as per the GRVNC bylaws.  Those registering on election day who cannot provide such proof will be given provisional ballots.

 

GRVNC Stakeholders who are unable to attend the Election Day may vote via an Absentee Ballot.  Requests to vote with an Absentee Ballot should be sent to elections@grassrootsvenice.org or to Grass Roots Venice Neighborhood Council, P.O. Box 2224, Venice, CA 90294.  All Absentee Ballot requests must be received before Sunday, June 15by Saturday, July 5, 2003.  The Absentee Ballot request must include name, complete address, phone number, e-mail address, fax number, and/or other contact information, and Stakeholder status (i.e. resident, works in Venice, owns property in Venice, participates in a community organization).

 

Executive Officers: Each Voting Member may cast one vote for one candidate for each of the three executive offices (Secretary, Treasurer and Communications Officer).  The candidate receiving the greatest number of votes for each office will be elected.  For positions with more than two candidates running, a plurality of votes is sufficient to elect.  Voting for more than one candidate for a single office will invalidate the votes for that office.

 

At-Large Offices: Each Voting Member may cast up to seven votes for seven different candidates.  A Voting Member may cast no more than one vote for a single candidate.  The seven candidates receiving the most number of votes will be elected to the At-Large positions.  Voting for more than seven At-Large candidates will invalidate all the votes for At-Large positions.

 

In the case of a tie, votes will be re-counted, and upon confirmation of the tie, the independent third party (League of Women Voters) will conduct a single coin-flip to determine the winning candidate.  Any challenge to the election must be filed in writing with DONE within 72 hours of the announcement of tentative results.

Election Day – Voter Registration Procedures

 

1.      Set up tables by alphabet starting at 8:00am election day.

 

2.      Four volunteers to attend four tables in the pre-registered members room.  Six volunteers to attend two tables exclusively for new member registration in the new members registration room.  System to avoid duplicate new member registration will be in place.(see below).

 

3.      Sufficient supplies to be brought to avoid shortage of regular or provisional ballots or membership cards.

 

4.      Current member registration (pre-registered members).

a.      Current member registration tables will have  1 volunteer for each designated current member sign-in sheet as follows: A-F, G-M, N-S, T-Z.

b.      Member to produce acceptable ID.

c.      Volunteer to Check ID and have member sign in on the sign-in sheet.

d.      Give existing member a regular ballot and a summary voter guide and direct them to the auditorium to hear candidate speeches.

e.      If a member needs to update their information give them a blank member/membership card to complete – verify completed card against their valid ID and place card in the box marked “updated membership cards”.

 

5.       New member registration.

a.      A voter concierge will be stationed at the door with blank membership cards, clipboards and a box of pens.  This volunteer will be responsible for giving new members a blank membership card, requesting them to have ID ready, and directing them to the new member registration room after they complete the form.

b.      New member to complete membership card.

c.      New member registration room tables will have 4 volunteers who will each have a roster of current registered members listed by last name in A-Z order.  If their name is not listed they will need to complete a membership card.

d.      Volunteer to check roster of current registered members to make sure individual is not already registered.

e.      Check membership card for stakeholder status and verify information and address matches ID.  New Member must produce proof of Venice stakeholdership as per the bylaws (CA Drivers License / School ID Card / CA Residency Card / Business Card / Imprinted Check / Recent Utility Bill) to receive a regular ballot.  Volunteer must place the new membership card in the file box marked “membership cards”.

f.        New Members without proper ID will be provided a green provisional ballot which will have a bates-stamped unique number in red in the top right-hand corner.  Volunteer will write the number of the provisional ballot on their membership card (just below the box in the top right corner) in order to link the provisional ballot to the membership card.  Stakeholdership to be verified later by independent third party (League of Women Voters).  Give the new member a voter guide and direct them to the auditorium to hear candidate speeches.

 

6.      An individual designated by the LOWV will be present in both registration rooms to assist volunteers with persons who may be refused membership or a regular (non-provisional) ballot for failure to show proper ID or prove stakeholder status.  This person should be able to demonstrate tact and diplomacy in negotiations and be knowledgeable with GRVNC voting and member registration procedures and bylaws.

 

7.      If an individual’s stakeholder status is not accepted by the registration team, the individual may file a green provisional ballot.  Please see #5 above for further details.

 

Election Day Procedures

 

Introduction

The GRVNC President will open the Elections. The GRVNC President will introduce the Guest Speaker and then the Elections Manager from independent third party (League of Women Voters) will call the Election to order.  Following the Guest Speaker, the Elections Manager will explain the process for the event and then proceed with the elections, beginning with the office of Secretary.  The Elections Manager should specify that Voting Members who have received their ballot may vote at any time, deposit their ballot in a ballot box and leave if they do not want to hear all the candidate speeches.

 

Nomination from the Floor/Speeches/Voting Procedure

1.                  Offices will be addressed in the order shown in the bylaws:

a.      Secretary

b.      Treasurer

c.      Communications Officer

d.      At-Large Officers (7)

 

2.                  For each Office of Secretary, Treasurer and Communications Officer the process shall run as follows:

a.      Elections Manager will announce the Office

b.      Elections Manager will read the names of the individual candidates listed on the ballot

c.      Elections Manager will open up for nominations from the floor

                                                               i.      Note: No one may run for more than one office.  A nomination from the floor will not be accepted for an individual who is already on the ballot for another position or who has already been nominated from the floor for another office.

d.      Elections Manager will write on the whiteboard the name of any candidates nominated from the floor (subject to the above restrictions).

e.      Once nominations from the floor appear to be complete, Elections Manager will state:  “Any more nominations from the floor?  Hearing none, nominations from the floor are now closed.”.

f.        Elections Manager will then proceed to speeches

g.      Beginning with the first name on the ballot and continuing through the last name on the whiteboard (nominations from the floor), the Elections Manager will call the name of candidate and invite them to the microphone to speak for up to one minute, or up to two minutes each if the Elections Manager determines in their sole discretion that there is sufficient time.

h.      The Elections Timer, also from the independent third party or another individual as designated by the Elections Manager, shall time each speech and shall ring a bell when the candidate’s time is up.  If the candidate continues to speak beyond the one minute limit (or two minute limit if so determined by the Elections Manager), the Elections Timer shall ring the bell again and rise, move to the microphone, turn off the microphone and thank the candidate for their speech.

i.         Once all candidate speeches have been heard, the Elections Manager shall state: “Please now mark your ballot clearly for the candidate of your choice.  You may vote for one and only one candidate for the office of ______.  Voting for more than one candidate for this office will be counted as no vote for this office.  If you wish to vote for a write-in candidate for this office, please write in the name of the candidate in the space provided as it appears on the whiteboard and mark the box next to the write-in space. You must mark the box next to the write-in name for your write-in vote to be counted.”

j.         Elections Manager states “Election speeches for ______ are now complete.  The next office for consideration is _____”.

 

3.                  For the At-Large Offices, the process will be as follows:

a.      For the (7) At-Large Officers, the Elections Manager shall state “We will now hear speeches for the seven At-Large Offices.  You may mark your ballots for up to seven different At-Large candidates.  You may vote for less than seven candidates if you wish.  More than one vote for a single candidate will be counted as only one vote for the candidate.  Voting for more than seven candidates on a ballot will disqualify all votes on that ballot for the At-Large Offices.”

b.      Elections Manager will read the names of the individual candidates on the ballot for At-Large Officers.

c.      Elections Manager will open up for nominations from the floor

                                                               i.      Note: No one may run for more than one office.  A nomination from the floor will not be accepted for an individual who is already on the ballot for another position or who has already received a nomination from the floor for another office.

d.      Elections Manager will write on the whiteboard the name of any candidates nominated from the floor (subject to the above restrictions)

e.      Once nominations from the floor appear to be complete, Elections Manager will state “any more nominations from the floor?  Hearing none, nominations from the floor are now closed.”

f.        Elections Manager will then proceed to speeches

g.      Beginning with the first name on the ballot and continuing through the last name on the whiteboard (nominations from the floor), the Elections Manager will call the name of candidate and invite them to the microphone to speak for up to one minute, or up to two minutes each if the Elections Manager determines in their sole discretion that there is sufficient time.

h.      The Elections Timer, also from the independent third party or another individual as designated by the Elections Manager, shall time each speech and shall ring a bell when the candidate’s time is up.  If the candidate continues to speak beyond the one minute limit (or two minute limit if so determined by the Elections Manager), the Elections Timer shall ring the bell again and rise, move to the microphone, turn off the microphone and thank the candidate for their speech.

i.         Once all candidate speeches have been heard, the Elections Manager shall state: “Please now mark your ballot clearly for the candidates of your choice.  You may vote for up to seven candidates for the At-Large Offices.  Voting for more than seven candidates for the At-Large Offices will be counted as no votes for this office.  If you wish to vote for a write-in candidate for the At-Large Offices, please write in the name or names of the candidate or candidates in the spaces provided, as the names appear on the whiteboard, and mark the box next to the write-in space.  You must mark the box next to the write-in name or names for your write-in vote or votes to be counted.”

j.         Elections Manager states “Speeches for At-Large Officers are now complete”.

 

4.                  Once all At- Large Officers are complete, the Elections Manager will announce to the group, “Speeches are now closed.  Voting will continue until 2:00 pm.  Counting of the votes will proceed and tentative election results will be announced upon completion of the counting, which we estimate to be before 4:30 pm.  Should provisional ballots have a potential impact of the outcome of any contest, the LOWV may delay the announcement of results until such time as it has been able to verify the stakeholdership of those casting the provisional ballots.  The decision to delay the announcement of the results shall be at the sole discretion of the LOWV.”

 

5.                  The Elections Manager, Elections Timer and those counting the ballots will be representatives from the League of Women Voters and volunteers from other Neighborhood Councils in the area, or other volunteers designated by the LOWV.  The LOWV will designate and/or remove these volunteers in its sole discretion.

 

Ballot Collection

 

• A time must be published and/or announced for beginning and final acceptance of ballots. No ballots will be accepted after 2:00pm on Election day except for Absentee Ballots, which must be received by July 22nd.  Voting Members may submit their marked ballots to the LOWV representative (or their designee) at the ballot box at any time before 2:00pm on election day after receiving their ballots. 
• All ballots (including the provisional and absentee ballots) will be marked prior to the Election with a unique number (through use of a bates stamp).  This will ensure that ballots can not be duplicated off-site.
• A box or boxes for the collection of ballots will be specified, and demonstrated to all to be empty prior to the start of collection. The box(es) will then be sealed in all respects except the opening for insertion of ballots. If there is more than one box, each box is uniquely identified, and the list of box identifiers is announced, such as “1 through 3” or “A, B and C”.
• A representative from the League of Women Voters or a designee thereof will be designated for each ballot box to monitor the ballot box and accept ballots from voters and place each ballot in that ballot box in the presence and view of the voter, to insure only one ballot is received from each voter.  This person may accept ballots at any time between 10:00AM and 2:00PM.
• The League of Women Voters representative or designee that staffs a ballot box will refuse any ballot offered after the ‘final acceptance’ time, and may ask for aid in enforcing this rule.  The Elections Timer shall announce both one minute before the ‘final acceptance’ time and the actual ‘final acceptance’ time.  If at “final acceptance” time a number of voters are still completing their ballots or waiting to register or receive their ballots, the “final acceptance” time may be extended in the sole and absolute discretion of the Election Manager (LOWV), but in no event shall the “final acceptance” time be extended more than 30 minutes. 
• After all ballots are collected, the box(es) is(are) sealed in view of the meeting’s members, so that no further ballots can be placed in the box(es) and removed to the ballot counting room by the Elections Manager.  All ballots will be held by the LOWV and will not be counted until after the deadline for returning absentee ballots, July 22^nd.
• The Elections Manager (LOWV) has requested at the close of the polls the following: Total # of regular and provisions ballots distributed and total number or regular and provisional ballots not used, Total # of pre-registered members voting, total # of new members signed up and total number of absentee ballots received
• Any provisional ballots will be identified by being printed on green paper.

 

Ballot Counting

 

• Note: Offices and candidates for those offices need to be ‘lettered’ and ‘numbered’ on the ballots for ease of counting
• Representatives from the League of Women Voters will manage and administer the process of counting the ballots and announcing results.  Tentative results may be announced following the counting of the ballots.  However, the announcement of official, final results will not occur until the period for challenges has ended.  Certification of the results and the election will come from DONE following the resolution of election challenges.
• The counting is done at the election meetingafter the deadline to receive all absentee ballots, July 22nd, in the open, at a table location that may be observed by the voters from a designated distance,specified at the election, and enforced by a visible line or other boundary.  , unless tThe independent third party (League of Women Voters) shall determine the time and location of the ballot counting and shall conduct the ballot counting as soon as possible following the July 22^nd deadline, but no later than July 29^th.  The LOWV shall inform the Rules and Elections Committee of the time and place for the counting so interested members of the public may observe.deems it necessary to conduct the ballot counting off-site. Members will be designated to enforce this boundary, so that the people counting are not interfered with by observers.
• Counting is done using two sets of people, the readers and the counters.
• Counters consists of a person designated to keep the count (or tally) and at least one other person to observe that the count is marked to match the votes that are read out by the readers, for each ballot box. This count is done on a ‘tally sheet’ which will be finalized prior to elections day.
• Counts are summed on each tally sheet, and the summed across all tally sheets onto a final tally sheet for all offices from the entire election.
• Provisional ballots: All provisional ballots will be counted.  If the validity of the stakeholdership of those casting provisional ballots could potentially make a difference in the outcome of any election race, then the stakeholder status of those filing the provisional ballots will be verified by the independent third party (League of Women Voters), whose decision will be final.  The provisional ballots of those who are determined to be legitimate stakeholders by the LOWV will be counted in the final tally.
• Once all ballots are counted, and all tally sheets are summed and a total for all offices is reached, a person designated for the task will announce the tentative results, in the order the offices are ordered on the ballot. These results will also be published at all designated ‘announcement’ locations for Council business following the announcement of official results by the independent third party and certification of the election by DONE.
• In the case of a tie, votes will be re-counted, and upon confirmation of the tie, a coin-flip will be conducted by the independent third party (League of Women Voters) to determine the winner.

Any challenge to the election must be filed in writing with DONE within 72 hours of the announcement of tentative results.  DONE shall be the Final Arbitrator of any challenge to the

election and will certify the election results.

 

 

 

 

Absentee Voting

 

GRVNC Stakeholders who are unable to attend the Election Day may vote via an Absentee Ballot.  Requests to vote with an Absentee Ballot should be sent to elections@grassrootsvenice.org or to Grass Roots Venice Neighborhood Council, P.O. Box 2224, Venice, CA 90294.  All Absentee Ballot requests must be received before June 15by July 5^th, 2003.  No further requests will be accepted after June 15July 5^th, 2003.

 

1.         The Absentee Ballot Request must include:

 

• Name
• Address
• Phone number, e-mail address, fax number, and/or other contact information
• Stakeholder status (i.e. resident, works in Venice, owns property in Venice, participates in a community organization).  The stakeholder must state how they are a stakeholder in Venice.

 

2.         The Election Committee shall compile a Absentee Voter Tracking Log, which shall include:

 

• Name
• Address
• Telephone Number
• Email address
• Date Absentee Ballot Request was received
• Date Absentee Ballot is mailed to stakeholder
• Date Absentee Ballot is returned from stakeholder

 

3.      All Absentee Ballots should be returned to Grass Roots Venice Neighborhood Council, P.O. Box 2224, Venice, CA 90294 and must be received by June 27July 22^nd, 2003.  All Absentee Ballots shall be delivered to the LOWV Elections Manager in their sealed envelopes along with a copy of the Tracking Log prior to the final collection of ballots on Election Dayimmediately following their collection from the PO Box listed above and shall be held sealed and uncounted by the LOWV until after the July 22^nd deadline.

 

4.      The Election Committee shall verify the validity of each Absentee Ballot Request and shall mail the Absentee Ballot to each valid stakeholder.  If the stakeholder requesting the ballot is determined not to be valid or the information provided with the request was not sufficient to determine stakeholder status, the Election Committee shall notify the stakeholder by phone/e-mail and/or US Post that their request will be processed as a provisional ballot and a provisional Absentee Ballot shall be sent along with a GRVNC membership form, to be completed and returned with the Absentee Ballot.

 

5.      All Absentee Ballots shall be mailed to stakeholders no later than June 20July 19^th, 2003.  A copy of these Absentee Voting rules shall be included with the Absentee Ballot.

 

6.      The Absentee Ballot shall include notification that additional candidates may be nominated from the floor on election day, and that by using the vote by mail option the voter is recognizing that they may not have the opportunity to vote for all the candidates.

 

7.      Absentee Ballots shall be uniquely numbered with a bates-stamp and mailed to stakeholders with an official self-addressed stamped envelope and shall have a space on the envelope for the stakeholder to print and sign their name and date the envelope.

 

8.      Absentee Ballots received after June 27July 22^nd, 2003 will not be counted and will be destroyed.

 

9.      Only Absentee Ballots received from the person who requested the Absentee Ballot will be counted.

 

10.  Only Absentee Ballots enclosed in an official sealed and signed envelope will be counted.

 

11.  Absentee Ballots will not be opened and counted until Election Day after July 22^nd when all other ballots are being counted.

 

12.  Submission of an Absentee Ballot disqualifies a stakeholder from voting in person on the day of the election.

 

13.  Prior to Election Day, volunteers will check the Tracking Log and note on the registered voter sign-in sheet all stakeholders who were mailed Absentee Ballots.  If any stakeholder who was mailed an Absentee Ballot shows up to vote on Election Day, then the volunteer will request the stakeholder relinquish the Absentee Ballot, which will then be voided prior to the issuance of a regular ballot.  If the stakeholder does not have the Absentee Ballot, the stakeholder will be given a provisional ballot and the provisional ballot issuance will be noted on the sign-in sheet next to the stake holder’s name.  Prior to counting the Absentee Ballots, if the Absentee Ballot envelope was returned by the stakeholder to whom the provisional ballot was issued, it will be destroyed and the provisional ballot will be counted.