IEEE Policies



Section 13 - Nominations and Elections

 

13.7   Nominations and Elections - Ballot Material

  1. Statements/Rebuttals.

    1. Candidate Statements. Initial statements will be accepted by Corporate Activities from each candidate for elective office who submits a typed, double-spaced manuscript on or before the date specified by the Board of Directors each year, provided that the manuscript contains no more than the specified number of words.

    2. Statements for Referendums.  One statement will be accepted by Corporate Activities from the principal initiator of each referendum proposal that will appear on the current IEEE general election ballot, provided that the statement is typed, double-spaced, received on or before the specified date, and contains no more than the specified number of words.  The statement must be accompanied by the exact text of the proposed amendment.  Proposed amendments shall be published unless the President determines that it would be impractical to do so.

      Comment by a responsible opponent to each proposed amendment that will appear on the ballot will be accepted by Corporate Activities, provided it meets the length requirements and is received by the specified date.

      In the case of an amendment proposed by the IEEE Board of Directors, potential opponents are encouraged to agree on a principal spokesman who will forward a joint opposition statement to Corporate Activities.  The individual chosen as principal spokesman will receive a copy of the Board of Directors' initial statement favoring the amendment and coordinate a joint rebuttal statement.

      In the event that agreement cannot be reached among the opponents in choosing a principal spokesman, the IEEE will publish more than one opposition statement and rebuttal providing each represents a substantially difference point of view, meets length requirements, and is received by the specified date.  In cases of disagreement between the Corporate Activities staff and an opponent whose statement or rebuttal has been rejected because its content was deemed not to add something substantive to the debate, the President will decide whether or not to publish the submission.

      In the case of a member-initiated amendment, the above rules apply with the addition that the Board may declare itself to be an opponent of the proposed amendment.  It would then submit to Corporate Activities an opposition statement and subsequent rebuttal which would be published if each meets length requirements and is received by the specified date.

    3. Rebuttals. Initiators and opponents of amendment proposals may forego rebuttal.

    4. Content and Format. Statements received will be date stamped and reviewed by the staff. Statements may not include illustrations or tabular matter. If the staff believes there are erroneous or legally actionable statements in a candidate's statement, or determines that the word limit has been exceeded, it will notify the candidate immediately, so that the candidate can submit modifications within a period of 48 hours. If no modifications are received, the statement will be referred to the President for adjudication. The President will decide whether or not to place the statement on the ballot, and in what form it shall be published in this case and in disagreements between the staff and the originator of a statement.

      On acceptance of the candidates’ statements, they will be distributed without possibility of further changes. With the exception of typographical errors, which the staff will correct, candidates’ statements will be published verbatim, even when statements may contain errors in syntax.

    5. Word Count.  All statements from candidates, and from initiators and opponents of amendment proposals shall be written in standard English and must not exceed the maximum word length requirement.  To determine number of words:

      • precede IEEE by an article and count both as one word;

      • count an acronym as one word;

      • count a discrete alphanumeric as one word—for example, 21st in 21st Century counts as one word;

      • titles and other properly hyphenated words shall be counted as one word.

      The IEEE Executive Director or his/her designee is authorized to make final decisions on related questions.

      Statements exceeding the maximum length shall be returned to authors for editing.  Typed, edited copies will be mailed to those who submitted them for their comments.  If the decision is to publish a statement in a form not satisfactory to the candidate or initiator, the candidate or initiator shall have the option of asking that no statement be published.

      Statements by petition candidates and by referendum proposal initiators accepted by Corporate Activities will be placed on the ballot, together with other election statements, provided that the corresponding petitions have been validated.  These statements will appear on the ballot without change.  Statements received by staff after the statement deadline dates cannot be guaranteed placement on the ballot.

      Statement Lengths  Initial
      Statement
      Rebuttal

      Candidates for:    
           IEEE President-Elect  250  
           IEEE SA President-Elect   200  
           IEEE-USA President-Elect   200  
           Vice President-Elect, Technical
             Activities 
      200  
           Region Delegate/Director   175  
           Division Delegate/Director 175  
           Region Delegate-Elect/Director-
             Elect       
      175  
           Division Delegate-Elect/Director-
             Elect  
      175  
           Vice Chair   175  
           Major Board Member(s)-at-Large  150  
           Referendum Initiator’s Statements 200 100     
           Referendum Opponent’s
             Statements 

      200 100     
  2. Photographs; Biographies; IEEE Election Website.  

    Candidates shall submit to Corporate Activities, by the date specified, the following information:

    (a)  A candidate photograph which shall have been made within two years of the mailing deadline of the election materials in which the photograph will appear, as attested to by the candidate (See also, IEEE Policy 13.3.A.). Photograph requirements shall be specified by the IEEE Tellers Committee.

    (b)  A factual summary of past service to the IEEE.

    (c) A personal biography not to exceed 150 words, that rounds out the profile of the candidate's experience outside IEEE activities.

    (d) A factual summary of IEEE accomplishments not to exceed 200 words, that rounds out the candidate’s IEEE volunteer work.

    Copy will be edited by Corporate Activities staff and the candidate will have the opportunity to review the final copy before it is printed.

    The IEEE shall maintain a public annual election website. The website shall be launched no later than fifteen (15) working days after materials are received from, the first (nominated or petition) candidate for an office which appears on the IEEE annual ballot, and all criteria have been met as required.  (See also, IEEE Policy 13.7.1.E.) The website shall include information on both nominated and petition candidates, including potential petition candidates who are in the process of circulating petitions. The existence of the website shall be announced in several electronic mail and INSTITUTE announcements. The website shall allow eligible voting members to sign petitions either electronically or by printing petitions for mailing to IEEE headquarters.

  3. Petitions and Signature Requirements.

    1. General Petition Information.

      In accordance with IEEE Bylaw I-307.9, individual voting members may propose, by petition, names to be added to the ballot for the offices that appear on the IEEE annual election ballot.

      Individual voting members who wish to circulate a petition shall submit a petition draft to the Board of Directors no earlier than 1 May of the year preceding the election and no later than 15 April of the year of the election.  The petition draft (whose text shall follow the text proposed in Section 13.8.3.B.) must be accompanied by a statement by the proposed candidate that he or she is willing to serve if elected.

      IEEE staff shall advise the petitioner of any required changes in the petition’s text.   If there are disagreements between staff and the petitioner about revision requirements the President will adjudicate the disagreement. Once the petition’s text is finalized, but not earlier than 15 May of the year preceding the election, the petitioner may circulate the petition and collect signatures.

      The complete petition shall be submitted in a letter to the Board of Directors, to be received at IEEE Headquarters no later than twelve o'clock noon on the Friday preceding 15 June of the year of the election. 

      Corporate Activities staff shall provide to any petitioner, upon request, documentation on collection of petition signatures. The documentation shall include relevant IEEE Bylaws, Policies, and sample petition signature forms.

      Verification that a petition has fulfilled the conditions of Bylaw I-307.9 and Policy 13.8 and that the petition candidate meets the qualifications of the office for which he or she is being nominated shall be confirmed by the Tellers Committee.  Certification of the petition candidate by the Tellers Committee shall be made known to the Board of Directors promptly.

    2. Petition Text for Candidates and Referendum Petitions.

      A nominating petition shall, at the time it is signed by the petitioner, set forth the office, the term of the office (expressed in date form), and the name of the proposed candidate. 

      Following are examples of appropriate statements for petition candidates and petitions for Constitutional Amendments, respectively:

      Endorsement for Candidate Petition:

      I (We), the undersigned, petition to add (Name of Petition Candidate) to the (Year) IEEE annual election ballot for the position of (Position) for the term (Years).  I (We) certify that to the best of my (our) knowledge, I (we) am (are) eligible to vote for this position in the next IEEE annual election.

      Note: This petition is not being signed nor circulated any earlier than as specified in IEEE Policy 13.8 and will only be accepted if received by IEEE Headquarters by the date and time specified by the same policy.  All members who sign this petition must be voting members in good standing at the time their signatures are received by IEEE Headquarters.

      Endorsement for Referendum Petition:

      I (We), the undersigned, petition to add to the (Year) IEEE annual election ballot the following amendment to the IEEE Constitution: (Statement of Amendment).

    3. Signature Requirements.

      Signatures can be submitted electronically through the official IEEE annual election website, or by signing and mailing a paper petition. The name of each member signing the petition shall be clearly printed or typed. For identification purposes of signatures on paper petitions, Membership numbers or addresses as listed in the official IEEE membership records shall be included. Only signatures submitted electronically through the IEEE annual election website or original signatures on paper petitions shall be accepted.

      The number of signatures required on a petition shall depend on the number of eligible voters, as listed in the official IEEE membership records at the end of the year preceding the election.

      Information on the exact number of signatures required for a specific petition may normally be obtained from IEEE Headquarters by 15 March of the year of the election. As signatures are obtained, they shall be submitted to the Corporate Activities Department, in advance of the deadline date for petitions, in order for staff to begin the verification process. A signature shall be considered valid if the signer is eligible to vote for the office sought by the proposed candidate at the time the signature is submitted to IEEE Headquarters. Otherwise, the signature shall be considered invalid.

      For all positions where the electorate is less than 30,000 voting members, signatures shall be required from 2% of the eligible voters.

      For all positions where the electorate is more than 30,000 voting members, 600 signatures of eligible voters plus 1% of the difference between the number of eligible voters and 30,000 shall be required. 
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