PAEA to Hold Special Election to Fill Newly Approved Board of Director’s Seat

At the Annual Business Meeting in Québec, the PAEA membership approved revisions to the bylaws that added a new director at large position to the board of directors, bringing the total number of directors at large to three. The new board seat will become effective in January 2007. A special election will be held immediately to fill this seat by January. Those individuals who ran for this position in Québec and who were not elected have been invited to run again in this special election, which is open to all eligible members of the Association.

An applicant for this office must hold an appointment as a faculty or staff member in a PAEA member program and have at least two years’ experience in PAEA-sponsored activities (e.g., participation on a committee or as liaison to an outside organization). For more details on eligibility criteria and the responsibilities of the office, go to http://www.paeaonline.org/Leadership/CallforDAL.htm.

The election will take place by electronic balloting. In accordance with the bylaws, each program will have one vote, and program directors are invited to vote by e-ballot. The following schedule will be in place for this special election:

Candidate Declarations: Due November 17

A call for candidates was sent via e-mail to all PAEA members in early November announcing a nomination deadline of November 17. If you wish to run for office, you must declare your candidacy no later than November 17. Please e-mail a brief letter of intent and a two-page CV to the PAEA Nominations and Awards Committee in care of Eileen Evans, PAEA manager, communications, at eevans@PAEAonline.org. The PAEA Nominations and Awards Committee will verify candidates’ eligibility.

Platform Statements and Photos: Due November 27

Candidates will be notified of their eligibility by November 22 and will be asked to submit a platform statement and digital color photo (candidates who declared but were not elected in the October election may run on their previous platform statements, if they wish) by November 27. These will be published on the PAEA Web site. No questions will be posed to prospective candidates for this election process.

Balloting: Opens November 28; closes December 18

Candidates' names, platform statements, and a link to the Web-based ballot will be e-mailed to all program directors. Per PAEA Bylaws, 20 days will be allowed from the announcement of candidates to the close of voting. Voting will open on November 28 and close at midnight on Monday, December 18.

The balloting software will ensure that

• Only one vote is cast by each program

• The one program–one vote process is electronically verifiable, and

• The candidate selected cannot be traced back to the program/program director casting the vote by PAEA staff or volunteers

Run-off Election and Second Voting Cycle: December 19

If no candidate receives a majority of the vote, that is, 51%, a run-off election will be announced on December 19, with voting to close on January 5.

Following the compilation of votes, the winning candidate will be notified and the PAEA membership informed of the outcome of the election. The new director at large will be expected to attend the board of directors’ planning retreat, January 14-16, in Tucson, Arizona.