JSCA Electoral Procedures

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J.S.C.A. ELECTORAL PROCEDURES

  1. NOMINATIONS COMMITTEE
    a) The J.S.C.A. Board shall appoint a 3 person Nominations Committee to call for and receive nominations for the Board and to supervise the conduct of the election and the counting of ballots.
    b) A call for nominations and the last date that the Nominations Committee can receive nominations which will appear on the ballot shall be sent to all members no later than the time at which notice of the AGM is given, and posted on the J.S.C.A. website.
    c) The Nominations Committee shall attempt to ensure that there are enough candidates to fill any Board positions which will become vacant, and may solicit nominations.
  2. ELIGIBILITY
    a) Only fully paid-up members of J.S.C.A. are eligible to vote or stand for election to the Board.
    b) J.S.C.A. memberships will be available up to the end of normal office hours on the day before the AGM.
    c) A list of the eligible nominations received by the Nominations Committee will be posted on the J.S.C.A. website before online voting opens.
  3. VOTING
    a) All ballots will be cast using an online voting procedure approved by the Nominating Committee.
    b) The Nominating Committee will review the method and procedures proposed for online voting, and will take reasonable steps to ensure that:
    i) Only eligible J.S.C.A. members can vote;
    ii) Each eligible member can vote once only;
    iii) It is possible to track who has voted;
    iv) It is not possible to track how any person voted;
    v) The counting of online votes is secure and accurate;
    vi) The vote count can be accessed directly from the online voting system.
    c) Online voting will open at 9 am, seven days before the AGM, and will close 30 minutes after the start of the AGM. There will be a link on the J.S.C.A. website to the online voting website.
    d) Access to a computer that allows online voting shall be available at the J.S.C.A. office during normal office hours, beginning on the day when online voting opens, and ending when the J.S.C.A office closes on the last day of voting.
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    e) When online voting is available, J.S.C.A. staff will assist members who come to the J.S.C.A. office requesting help to cast their ballot using the online voting procedure.
  4. MEMBERSHIP CHALLENGES
    a) Any person who believes they are eligible to vote, but whose name does not appear on the online voter list, should contact the JSCA office as soon as possible, and no later than one hour before the office closes on the last day of voting.
    b) J.S.C.A. staff shall attempt to resolve all membership challenges as quickly as possible.
    c) When J.S.C.A. staff determine that a person who is eligible to vote is not on the online voter list, that person’s name shall be promptly added to the list.
    d) A person challenging a membership decision may submit receipts, canceled cheques, etc., to substantiate his or her claim to have a valid membership.
    e) A person may ask the Nominating Committee to review a membership decision made by J.S.C.A staff, and the person’s name shall be added to the voter list if the challenge is validated to the satisfaction of the Committee.
  5. COUNTING OF BALLOTS
    a) Counting of ballots shall be completed within 24 hours of the close of voting. The vote count will normally be accessed immediately following the close of voting.
    b) The Nominations Committee shall be responsible for accessing the vote count from the online voting system.
    c) Members who wish to observe the accessing of the vote count shall submit their names to the J.S.C.A. Office before the office closes one day before the AGM is held. The Nominations Committee may select up to eight observers, taking into consideration any requirements for measures such as social distancing. No candidate may be an observer.
    d) If the AGM is held in person, the vote count shall be accessed in the presence of any observers. If the AGM is held online, reasonable efforts will be made to ensure observers are satisfied with the procedure used to access the vote count.
  6. ELECTION RESULTS
    a) The names of any candidates who can be declared elected before the end of the AGM will be announced at that time.
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    b) If there are unresolved challenges to the eligibility of one or more voters when voting closes, the Nominations Committee may access the vote count and review the results of the election. If the Nominations Committee determines that the results of the election to fill one or more vacant positions could be affected by votes cast after all membership challenges have been resolved, they may withhold declaring the result of the election for those positions until the challenges are resolved.
    c) Online voting results will be held by the Nominations Committee until the status of any membership challenges has been resolved, and all positions can be declared filled.
    d) If any person is found to have voted when they were not eligible to do so that person’s ballot will be identified and removed. The Nominations Committee will attempt to resolve any allegations of improper voting as quickly as possible.
    e) When the Nomination Committee is satisfied that all positions have been filled and that no further counting or consideration of eligibility to vote is required, they shall ensure that the online voting totals are deleted.
    f) Any ties for the last position available shall be broken by the Nominations Committee using some method of random chance such as a coin toss. The candidates or their observers have a right to be present when this is done.
    g) The number of votes cast for each candidate shall not be reported.
    Appendix 1. The Committee approves the use of ElectionBuddy (https://electionbuddy.com) as the online voting system for use for the 2020 Board elections.
    Version 2.2 2020-09-12