Section 1 - The elected officers of this Association shall be President, Vice President and Secretary, all of whom shall be elected for three-year terms, and a Zone Director from each zone, all of whom shall be elected for two-year terms and shall continue in office until their successors are elected.
Officers shall be nominated and elected during the Annual Conference. The President, Vice President and Secretary shall be elected in alternating odd- and even-numbered years every third year of the position term. Zone Directors from Zones 1, 3, 5 and 7 shall be elected in odd-numbered years. Zone Directors from Zones 2, 4 and 6 shall be elected in even-numbered years.
All candidates for the OSEA Board of Directors shall submit the Board-approved Intent/Nomination Form to the Election Committee on or before March 1 of any election cycle to ensure their inclusion in an OSEA Journal issue published prior to Conference. Intent/ Notification to seek office, however, remains available to members through the nominating process at Conference.
All candidates for the OSEA Board of Directors shall comply with the current Board-approved Campaign Guidelines. (Board Policy Section 103)
Section 2 - Eligibility to Hold Office
All state officers must have been and still be active members in good standing as defined in Article III for at least one year immediately prior to the date of their election and continue in such active status and represented by OSEA during their term of office, or forfeit such office, except as provided in Article III, Section 2c.
Zone Directors must have been and still be active members in good standing as defined in Article III, Section 2, for at least one year immediately prior to the date of their election in a chapter within the specific zone they seek to represent and continue in such active status and represented by OSEA during their term of office, or forfeit such office, except as provided in Article III, Section 2c.
Section 3 - Election Procedure
All officers shall be elected by secret ballot majority vote of the delegates present and voting at the Annual Conference of the Association.
For the purpose of election of Zone Directors, delegates shall participate only in the nomination and election of the Zone Director who will represent their specific zone.
In the event no candidate for any office herein receives a majority vote on the first ballot, a runoff election shall be conducted between the 2 candidates receiving the most votes on the first ballot until 1 candidate receives a majority.
Voting shall also be conducted for all uncontested offices. In order to be elected, the unopposed candidate must receive a majority of votes cast. Failure to do so shall result in the office being declared vacant.
Section 4 - Filling of Vacancies
- In the event the office of President becomes vacant, the Vice President shall assume that position for the remainder of the term.
- In the event the office of Vice President becomes vacant 60 calendar days or more prior to the next Conference, the Board of Directors shall, by secret ballot majority vote, elect a Vice President from the remaining elected members of the Board to serve until the next succeeding Conference where the position shall be filled by delegate election. In the event no candidate for the Vice President vacancy receives a majority vote on the first ballot, a runoff election shall be conducted between the 2 candidates receiving the most votes on the first ballot until 1 candidate receives a majority. If the Conference election is to fill a mid-term vacancy, the Board shall provide at least 15 days’ notice to the membership of the vacancy and pending election.
- In the event the offices of President and Vice President become vacant simultaneously, the Board of Directors shall convene a special board meeting within 7 calendar days to conduct an election to fill the vacancies. The Board of Directors shall, by secret ballot majority vote, elect a President and Vice President from the remaining elected members of the Board, to serve until the next succeeding Conference where both positions shall be filled by delegate elections. In the event no candidate for the President and/or Vice President vacancies receives a majority vote on the first ballot, a runoff election shall be conducted between the 2 candidates receiving the most votes on the first ballot until 1 candidate receives a majority. If the Conference elections are to fill mid-term vacancies, the Board shall provide at least 15 days’ notice to the membership of the vacancies and pending elections.
- In the event the office of Secretary becomes vacant 90 calendar days or more prior to the next Conference, the Board shall fill the position with a qualified active member in good standing, to serve until the next succeeding Conference where the position shall be filled by delegate election. In the event no candidate for the Secretary vacancy receives a majority vote on the first ballot, a runoff election shall be conducted between the 2 candidates receiving the most votes on the first ballot until 1 candidate receives a majority. Nomination and election procedures to temporarily fill the vacancy shall be set forth in Board Policy.
If the Conference election is to fill a mid-term vacancy, the Board shall provide at least 15 days’ notice to the membership of the vacancy and pending election. If the vacancy occurs less than 90 calendar days prior to Conference, the Board of Directors shall designate an elected member of the Board to perform the duties of Secretary through the close of Conference. - In the event the office of any Zone Director becomes vacant 90 calendar days or more prior to the next Conference, the Board shall fill the position with an active member in good standing from that specific zone, to serve until the next succeeding Conference where the position shall be filled by delegate election. In the event no candidate for the Zone Director vacancy receives a majority vote on the first ballot, a runoff election shall be conducted between the 2 candidates receiving the most votes on the first ballot until 1 candidate receives a majority. Nomination and election procedures to temporarily fill the vacancy shall be set forth in Board Policy. If the Conference election is to fill a mid-term vacancy, the Board shall provide at least 15 days’ notice to the membership of the vacancy and pending election.
Section 5 - Delegates to each Annual Conference, upon satisfying the criteria of this section, may require a "special election" to be held for any elected statewide officer or Zone Director. A "special election" as defined in subsection (c), of this section, shall be required if a resolution, submitted in accordance with the OSEA Constitution, receives the required votes as found in subsection (a) and (b). A submitted resolution must contain the position(s) for which a "special election" is being required and such submitted resolution(s) shall be scheduled for action at the Annual Conference prior to the nomination of officers.
- For the office of State President, Vice President and Secretary, a "special election" may be required by a majority vote of the voting body at the Annual Conference.
- For the office of Zone Director, a "special election" may be required by a majority vote of the voting body from the zone represented by the Zone Director.
- For the purpose of this section, the wording "special election" shall be defined as an election for a position(s) on the State Board of Directors that would not be scheduled for election at the Annual Conference but is required by a majority of voting body at Conference as specified in sections (a) and (b).
- A motion to require a "special election" must be received, in writing, by the Executive Director 45 days prior to the beginning of Conference. The Executive Director shall send notification of this motion to require a "special election" to all Conference delegates no less than 15 days prior to Conference. The submitted written motion, to require a "special election," shall include the name of the member submitting the motion, the position(s) affected by the motion, and the actual wording of the motion.