ELECTION PROCESS FOR ICBV – Illinois Committee of Blind Vendors

ELECTION PROCESS FOR ICBV

In keeping with the adoption of the new ICBV Bylaws, the ICBV has revised the new election procedure for licensed vendors to elect members of ICBV. This process describes the nomination process for all licensed vendors and the new process.

The major components of this procedure include: 1) a nomination process 2) an opportunity for candidates to speak to the electorate 3) a revised voting process, which should minimize the need for numerous ballots. The specifics of this process are spelled out in this document.

NOMINATION

Any licensed vendor inventoried into a DRS/BEPB facility is qualified to run for the ICBV (Federal Regulation Section 34 CFR 395.1 & 395.14). To have one’s name placed on the ballot, a qualified vendor must, 1) submit his/her name for nomination or 2) be nominated by another vendor. Prior to nominating another vendor, please confirm the other vendor’s interest. The nomination letter should be submitted to the Administrator of DRS/BEPB, 809 Commercial Avenue, Springfield, Illinois 62703. This procedure will be sent to licensed vendors at least 60 days prior to the election date. The nomination form is attached to this document. Additional forms will be available from the Division of Rehabilitation, Business Enterprise Program for the Blind, Springfield office and can be requested by email, Raven.Pulliam@illinois.gov, phone at 217/558-2321 or letter at above address. The nomination letters must be received by the DRS/BEPB Administration fifteen working days prior to the date of the election (the Saturday of the annual meeting). All nominations must be submitted in writing. DRS will not review any nominations until nomination period is over.

Nomination for Chairperson of ICBV

Any qualified vendor, whether presently on ICBV or not, may be nominated for the Chairperson of ICBV by use of the nomination form or by letter. Such nomination must clearly state that this is a nomination for Chairperson of ICBV. Only person so nominated will be placed on the ballot. Please note this position is not geographic in nature, any vendor from anywhere in the state may be nominated.

The Chairperson position will be the first position elected.

Nominees will be given an opportunity to speak for up to five minutes. The Chairperson must receive 50% plus one vote. The election process described herein will be followed. The term of the Chairperson shall be as spelled out in the Bylaws.

ICBV Vice-Chairperson

Again, any qualified vendor may be nominated for the ICBV Vice-Chairperson by use of the nomination form or by letter. Such a nomination must clearly state that this is a nomination for Vice-Chairperson of ICBV. Only person so nominated, and any qualified vendors nominated for the Chairperson of ICBV but not elected who are nominated from the floor, may have their name placed on the ballot.

First time nominees will be given an opportunity to speak for up to three minutes. The ICBV Vice Chairperson must receive 50% plus one vote. The election process described herein will be followed. The terms of the Vice-Chairperson shall be spelled out in the Bylaws. Again, this is a non-geographic position.

ICBV Membership

The means of nominating a candidate for a position on ICBV is discussed below. NO NOMINATIONS of additional candidates will be allowed from the floor, unless fewer than 2 persons are nominated for each vacancy. It is possible to nominate a candidate slated for a later election position to an earlier ballot and to nominate a losing candidate to a later position. This restriction will not apply to unsuccessful candidates for Chair and/or Vice Chair. They may be nominated for a vacant ICBV position. Then, the rule of one more nomination will apply. However, under these procedures a candidate can only be nominated for one other position. These nominations cannot move candidates between specified geographic slots. An election committee based on specific criteria is designed to eliminate the committee from any decision on which candidates will run against each other. These positions are determined by the following criteria.

1. The date of the postmark on the nomination letter. All postmarks earlier than 20 working days prior to last date of nominations will be considered as postmarked on the earliest acceptable date. (Please note hand delivered nomination letters will be dated by DRS/BEPB on the date they are received.)

2. The number of candidates nominated for each vacant slot will be the number of candidates for the specific geographic areas divided by the number of vacancies for that geographic area.

3. If more candidates are nominated with the same postmark date, then names will be drawn to determine who will be slated for what positions.

4. All nominees will be listed once on the ballot. Persons nominated by others will be called by DRS/BEPB to assure they are interested in serving on the ICBV.

5. No information on who has been nominated will be released by DRS/BEPB until the memorandum on the nominees is sent to all vendors.

6. In the case of a tie between 2 candidates, the candidate with the most seniority will be declared the winner.

Election Committee

The Election Committee will be composed of a Chairperson and 4 other members along with the Supervisor of Personnel and Training. The functions of this committee are listed below:

1. To receive all nomination documents submitted by potential candidates.

2. To review DRS/BEPB decision on the qualifications of the licensed vendor.

3. Assign candidates to the appropriate geographic area. Decision on geographic area is facility assigned or awarded at time of Elections Committee Meeting.

4. Prepare ballot order from all nominees by geographic area and using the criteria discussed in Nominations Section.

5. Forward the nominees’ names to DRS/BEPB to prepare ballot. This must be done at least 5 days prior to election date.

6. The Election Committee can solicit vendors to run if there are fewer nominees than slots available for the geographic area.

DRS will advise any nominees found unqualified for the election. The only qualification to be checked is whether the person meets the federal regulations (CFR 395.1), i.e., being inventoried in at a vending facility as of the date of the committee meeting.

Campaigning
Each ICBV candidate will be given three minutes to speak to all vendors in the session prior to the voting being opened for the first ballot on which the candidate is running. A timer will be used to notify the candidate when his/her time is up.

No campaigning will be allowed during balloting.

Election
DRS/BEPB will prepare ballots by geographic area; e.g., a list of candidates from Chicago Metro Area facilities and for candidates from outside of the Chicago Metro Area. (The Chicago Metro Area includes the following counties: Cook, DuPage, Lake, Will, McHenry and Kane.)

The ICBV bylaws that address the geographic location limit of the members of ICBV up for election will apply.

A nominated vendor may be nominated for one other position (from the correct geographic area) by a qualified vendor. This will be called for during the ballot process. Please note a vendor has the right to refuse a nomination for a specific spot, without relinquishing his/her right to be nominated one time.

DRS/BEPB will provide an individual to assist any vendor requesting assistance. DRS/BEPB will screen vendors based on the federal and state regulations and assure they are eligible to vote.

A vendor will be elected upon receiving more than 50 percent of the votes cast for candidates. Illegible votes will not be considered as votes cast for a candidate. If members abstain from voting, these votes will not be counted in determining the 50 percent plus 1 figure.

If no vendor receives 50 percent plus 1 on a ballot, the candidate getting the least votes and any other candidate receiving less than 25 percent of the votes cast will be eliminated from the next ballot. This will happen unless this action eliminates all persons or all but one person. Then the top three vendors receiving votes will be carried to the next ballot.

All individuals elected will begin their terms as soon as elected.