At the January meeting, we began the process of electing officers who will serve as DAA's executive board through April, 2014.

The following is a summary of the election procedure.

Every member in good standing is encouraged to consider seeking an Executive Board position.

Nominations:

Nominations for officers were closed at the January meeting.

Uncontested Executive Board positions will be announced at February's meeting, but will not take office until April's meeting.

Campaign Procedures:

The Democratic Alliance for Action will send one campaign email to all members on each of the three Mondays preceding February's meeting. The campaign email will list each candidate (contested or uncontested) and provide a link to each contested candidate's information. The campaign information can be on DAA's website or on an external website. Candidates will need to provide a link to the Recording Secretary to their information by the Sunday before each Monday. This information can be sent as a Word document, PDF, or text file.

Election Procedures:

At the beginning of February's meeting, the Recording Secretary or other person designated by the President will give every voting DAA member a voting card and a ballot. The presiding officer (the President, Vice-President, or other non-candidate determined by the Executive Board) will explain the entire voting process to the membership.

Each candidate and his/her supporters will have no more than five minutes to use as they see fit (speak on his/her own behalf, have designated people speak, answer questions from members).

Next, voting members circle their choice on the ballot for each contested position and turn in their ballots to the election official. A voter must have a voting card in order to turn in a ballot.

The election official will count the ballots with the assistance of two designated assistants. Up to two DAA members in good standing may volunteer to silently observe the ballot count.

The winner must have more than fifty percent of the votes cast. If more than two people are running for an office and no one gets more than fifty percent of the vote, there will be a run-off between the top two vote-getters at February's meeting.

If you have any questions about DAA's election procedure, please email Michael Kulka, the President, at mrkulka@earthlink.net

From the Democratic Alliance for Action - Bylaws:

Article V Power and Responsibility of Officers

The President shall be the principal executive officer and the official spokesperson of the organization and shall carry out the policies of this organization and the Executive Board and preside over meetings of the general membership, the steering committee, and the Executive Board.

The Vice President shall assist the President in the performance of the President's duties. In the absence of the President, the Vice President shall assume all powers and responsibilities of the Vice-President.

The Recording Secretary shall maintain all records of this organization and shall be responsible for mailing or delivering all required notices.

The Corresponding Secretary shall be responsible for handling correspondence of this organization, and for checking the organization's voice-mail at least once a week or as necessary.

The Controller shall take custody of funds directly or indirectly raised or received by this organization, shall open and maintain bank accounts for the deposit of funds and shall make disbursements at the direction of the membership or the Executive Committee. Any expenditure over $200 must be authorized by the Executive Board, and any expenditure over $500 must be authorized by a vote of the membership. The Controller is responsible for making sure all appropriate documents are turned over to the Club's Actual Treasurer; a professional political accounting firm. The Controller shall be responsible for regular reports of the fiscal activities off all Committees and the organization to the Executive Board and to the membership.