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Annual Election Process


 

Nominations:

 

Elections are held for seats on the Administrative Council and the Delivery, Technology and ILS Committees.

Candidates for cluster representatives may be nominated by any library in their cluster, or may be self-nominated.   There are no term limits for representatives.  Multiple representatives can be nominated from a single library, and individuals can serve on multiple committees, if they so choose.

The nominee for any seat is the person in the position at a library.  If a person leaves their position during the term, and the position is filled, then the new person in the position can serve out the rest of the term.  For example, if the Systems Administrator from Anytown Public Library is elected to the Technology Committee, and then leaves, the new Systems Administrator from Anytown Public Library would replace him. If there is dissatisfaction with the new representative , or if the person resigned from the committee or declined to serve, there would be an election.

There are 13 votes on the Administrative Council, with 10 people voting.  The Delivery Committee and Technology Committee each has 13 votes.  The Integrated Library System (ILS) Committee has 13 votes. A cluster without libraries currently participating in the shared ILS may not nominate a representative to the ILS Committee.

See Seats on Committees and Libraries They Represent for details on the makeup of each committee. 

Nominators must get the agreement of the proposed candidate before submitting his or her name for election. Candidates must indicate (via email or online form) that they are willing and able to serve a two-year term in order for their names to appear on the ballot. Only library directors may be nominated for positions on the Administrative Council. Directors and library staff members may be nominated for positions on the Delivery Committee, Technology Committee and the ILS Committee.

Elections:

Voting is held by online ballot. Each library in a cluster has one vote for their cluster representative. The vote is cast by the director or his or her designee. If there is a tie for any position within a cluster, a “run off” election is held. If there is still a tie at the end of the “run off” election, a coin toss will determine the winner. 

Terms for seats on each of the governing bodies are staggered, so that approximately one half of the available seats are open for election each year. New members of the Administrative Council and the Delivery Committee, Technology Committee, and ILS Committee begin their terms at the beginning of the upcoming calendar year.

Timeline:

The election process begins annually in September when SCLS issues a call for nominations for open seats for cluster representatives for each of the four bodies named above. Nominations for cluster representatives and candidate acceptances must be received in the SCLS office by the end of September.

SCLS staff makes online ballots available in early October for a minimum of ten calendar days.

Elections for all cluster representatives, including run-off elections, are completed by the end of October, with results announced no later than November 1st.

Recalls:

If a majority of the members of a cluster believe that their elected representative has not represented them adequately, they may submit a recall petition to the SCLS Director.   To be valid, the recall petition must contain the library names and directors’ signatures of at least 51% of the members of the cluster and must identify the name of the person whose removal is being sought.  Only one recall petition may be filed during each two year term and only after the representative has held that seat for at least six months.

SCLS, upon receipt of such a petition, shall immediately notify the subject of the recall, and, within 20 days time, initiate a special election.  Candidates for the seat can be nominated by any library in the cluster.  Unless the representative sought to be recalled resigns within that time period, his/her name shall automatically be placed on the ballot.   The election shall be concluded within 30 days of its initiation.   The incumbent shall continue to perform the duties of the position until the recall election has been completed.  If the incumbent is re-elected, he/she shall continue in the office for the remainder of the unexpired term; if another nominee is elected, that individual will serve the remainder of the unexpired term.

If a representative resigns during their term, an election will occur immediately for the seat, according to the process used for annual elections. The newly elected representative will serve the remainder of the unexpired term.

For more information, contact: