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Last Revision: 8/17/08

The following procedures govern regular elections for Directors and Officers. The election process will start in August of the calendar year before the term of office expires, and will be finished by mid-March, so the newly elected officers may take office on April 1.

1. Identify Open Positions. No later than mid-August, the Board shall determine which positions will become vacant the following year.

2. Select Elections Committee. An Elections Committee of no more than three board members and three members of the ATA shall be formed to review the nominations for office and select the final candidates. To be eligible to serve on the Elections Committee, a person must be an ATA member, and may hold any paid, volunteer, or elected position in the ATA except president, and may not be a nominee for office in the current election. Members of the Elections Committee who accept nomination for an office must resign from the Elections Committee.

The Board shall contact all members via electronic or first class mail requesting volunteers for the Elections Committee. A notice will also be posted on the members’ page of the ATA website. A notice may also be placed in the quarterly newsletter if the publication schedule permits. Volunteers must contact the board by September 30. If more than six members volunteer for the committee, the board shall select from among the volunteers at random, while ensuring an even balance between board and non-board members on the committee. The Elections Committee will select an Elections Officer from among the committee members by a majority vote.

Duties of the Elections Officer: Make voting information available to the members via special mailings, the website, and the newsletters if the publication schedule permits, in coordination with the membership coordinator and the editors; receive the nominations and the nominees’ qualifications and biographical information; determine if the nominees are qualified to run for the office they are nominated for (in conjunction with a majority vote of the Elections Committee, if there is a committee); establish a slate of candidates; answer questions from the members about the election; receive and count the votes.

Duties of the Elections Committee: Review nominees’ qualifications, and by a majority vote determine if nominees are qualified to run for the office they are nominated for. If there are more than three qualified nominations for one office, by a majority vote determine which two or three nominees will appear on the ballot. Assist the Elections Officer in any of the duties specified above.

3. Solicit and Accept Nominations. The Elections Officer shall notify all members of the positions for which nominations are being accepted via electronic or first class mail and a notice posted on the members’ page of the ATA website. A notice may also be placed in the quarterly newsletter if the publication schedule permits. This notice will be sent out November 1st and will include: a description of the duties of each office, qualifications for holding the office, ongoing projects the office holder will be expected to continue, the approximate number of hours a week or month the office requires, and instructions for submitting nominations. Nominees will be asked to submit a summary of their qualifications for the office. A member may nominate himself or herself. Deadline for the Elections Committee to receive nomination is December 15.

4. Qualifications to Run for Office. Nominees must be ATA members in good standing. It is preferable, but not necessary, that nominees for President should have served at least one term as Vice President, and have been an ATA member for two years at the time the term of office begins. Vice-Presidents must be members of the ATA for one year at the time the term of office begins. The Secretary, Treasurer, and Member-at-Large must be members of the ATA for six months at the time the term of office begins. These time requirements may be waived if there are no qualified nominees who have been ATA members for the required length of time. Due to the specialized knowledge required to perform the duties of these positions, nominees for Treasurer will submit a resume of education and work experience related to financial record keeping; and nominees for Vice President of Education will submit a resume of experience related to teaching and mentoring tarot students.

5. Select and Confirm Candidates for Office. The Elections Officer and/or Elections Committee will contact each person nominated by another to determine if that person wishes to run for office. That nomination will not be considered official until the Elections Committee has confirmed that the nominee wishes to run. All nominees will be asked to submit a summary of their qualifications for the office. The Elections Committee will also obtain resumes showing relevant education and/or experience from the nominees for Treasurer and Vice President of Education.

If more than three candidates are nominated for one position, two or three candidates for each office will be selected by a majority vote of the Election Committee. If a Board member is running again for his or her previous office, he or she will automatically be included as one of the candidates. The Elections Committee and/or Elections Officer shall select candidates based on the biographical information submitted, and the following criteria (in no particular order), and shall make the decision independent of the Board or other outside influence:

1. Work, volunteer experience, or education that qualifies them to perform the duties of the position
2. Experience in similar positions (volunteer or paid)
3. Past ATA volunteer experience and length of membership in ATA
4. Tarot experience, publications, teaching, and other credentials

In early January, the Elections Committee will notify all the nominees of the selections. The committee will obtain biographical information and an elections statement with a combined length of no more than two paragraphs from each nominee in time for mailing the ballots on January 15.

6. Conduct the Vote. The Elections Officer shall distribute ballots to all ATA members via electronic or first class mail and a notice posted on the members’ page of the ATA website. A notice may also be placed in the quarterly newsletter if the publication schedule permits. Members may vote by e-mail, web voting (if available), regular mail, or fax. Votes will be checked by the Elections Officer against the Membership Database to ensure that each voter is a member, and that each member votes only once, before recording the votes. Votes must be received by March 1st to allow time for verification and counting.

If there is only one confirmed nomination for a position, the Board may choose to appoint that person to the position by a majority vote rather than conduct an election.

If no confirmed nominations are received for a position, the Board has the following options: reappoint the incumbent to serve an additional term of office; reopen nominations if time permits; hold a special election at a later time; appoint a qualified nominee for another office.

7. Ratification of the Election. The Board will meet in mid-March to receive the results of the election. In the case of a contested election, the nominee receiving the highest number of votes is automatically elected to that office. The term of office for the newly elected officers starts April 1st.

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