A nomination is a formal proposal to the voting body, in an election to fill an office or position, suggesting a particular person as the one who should be elected. The usual practice is to have nominations, which tends to narrow the voting down to qualified and willing candidates. The two most common means of nominating candidates for office are nominations from the floor and by a nominating committee. Other methods are described in RONR (12th ed.) 46:5 and 46:22–26.
1. From the Floor
The chair calls for nominations from the floor by saying, for example, “Nominations are now in order for the office of President.” Any member may then call out, for example, “I nominate Mrs. A,” without first standing or being recognized by the chair. No seconds are necessary. The chair then announces, “Mrs. A is nominated.” When it appears that everyone who wishes to has made a nomination, the chair says, “Are there any further nominations? [Pause.] If not, [pause] nominations are closed.” In the average society, a motion to Close Nominations is not a necessary part of the election procedure, and it should not generally be moved. [RONR (12th ed.) 46:6–8, 46:18–21.]
2. By a Nominating Committee
When a nominating committee is to be used in an organized society, its members should be elected, not appointed. The committee may nominate one (or, less commonly, more than one) candidate for each office, and should secure each nominee’s consent to serve before doing so. The Nominating Committee may report at the meeting at which the election is to be held or at a previous meeting, whichever procedure has been established by rule or custom. At that meeting, the chairman of the committee should report, “Mr. President, the Nominating Committee submits the following nominations: For President, Mrs. A; for Vice-President, Mr. B [etc.].” After the Nominating Committee reports and before the voting takes place, the chair (that is, the assembly’s presiding officer—not the chairman of the Nominating Committee) calls for further nominations from the floor: “For President, Mrs. A is nominated by the Nominating Committee. Are there further nominations for President?” When there are no further nominations, the chair closes nominations as described earlier.1
It is possible either to take nominations for all offices before electing any, or to take nominations for the first office, conduct the election for that office, and then repeat this procedure for each of the offices to be filled by election. [RONR (12th ed.) 46:9–21.]
B. ELECTIONS
Elections are commonly conducted by ballot, under the procedure described in the previous chapter. If only one candidate has been nominated for an office, the chair simply declares the nominee elected (which is referred to as an election by “acclamation”) unless the organization’s bylaws2 require a ballot vote, in which case such a vote must be conducted. On any ballot, “write-in votes” may be cast for any eligible person even though he or she has not been nominated.
If no candidate receives a majority, balloting continues, retaining as candidates all who do not voluntarily withdraw.
An election becomes final when the chair announces the result if the candidate is present and does not decline or is absent but has previously consented to serve. Otherwise, it becomes final when an absent candidate is notified and does not immediately decline. If the one elected declines, balloting continues until someone willing to accept receives a majority. If there is no different provision in the bylaws, a candidate takes office as soon as his or her election becomes final. Organizations often prefer to provide for new officers to assume office at the close of the meeting at which they are elected or at some later time. [RONR (12th ed.) 46:31–36, 46:40–41, 46:46–47.]
1. If the election takes place at a later meeting, the chair again opens the floor for nominations at that meeting before taking the votes in the election.
2. Bylaws are explained in Chapter 10.