Article III - Staff Council Nominations

Section 1.  Nominations

  1. Staff Council nominations shall be held in June for each division and/or department under the supervision of the Nominations Committee.
  2. Permanent (benefits eligible) staff members below the rank of Vice President shall be eligible to vote for representatives if they have completed six month's service at Lamar University. These eligible voters shall constitute the voting staff. 
  3. Each Division of the University is eligible to elect representatives based upon the total number of permanent (benefits eligible) staff (non-faculty) members. The number of staff representatives in each division shall be determined as follows:   

    More than 1, but no more than 15 permanent (benefits eligible) employees=1 representative 

    More than 15, but no more than 30 permanent (benefits eligible) employees=2 representatives 

    More than 30, but no more than 45 permanent (benefits eligible) employees=3 representatives 

    Greater than 45 permanent (benefits eligible) employees=maximum of 4 representatives

  4. The Nominations Committee Chair shall issue a call for nominations of the Staff Council representatives at the June Council meeting.
  5. The Nominations Committee shall prepare a nomination form and distribute it to the Staff Council members for distribution to the entire eligible voting staff.
  6. Nomination forms should be returned to the Nominations Committee who will tally the nominations and announce the results at the July Council meeting.
  7. The Nominations Committee is responsible for confirming eligibility of nominees and for assuring that the minimum number of staff employees are nominated for each division and/or departments.

Section 2. Nomination Time Frame

  1. Nominations will be conducted according to the following general timeframe: nominations will be held for a two-week period, runoff voting will be held for a one-week period, and the results of the nominations and elections will be announced at the Staff Council July meeting.

 Section 3. Procedures for Nominations and Elections

  1. Nominations: Nomination forms will be solicited by division and/or departments by the Nominations Committee. The Nominations Committee shall confirm eligibility, willingness of nominees to run and to serve, in writing, and shall notify the nominees of meeting times, attendance requirements, and a reminder that this is a voluntary position with no additional compensation.  Nomination forms must be signed by the nominee, if not, the nomination will be declared void.  If the number of nominations does not exceed the number of vacancies, those eligible nominees shall be named Staff Council representatives.
  2. Runoff Ballots: The Nominations Committee shall prepare and distribute runoff ballots to those divisions and/or departments that have received more nominations than vacancies.
  3. Voting: The Nominations Committee has the authority to designate the method in which runoff ballots are dispersed to all staff employees within the voting division and/or department. Regardless of the voting process, each staff employee shall be allowed only one vote.
  4. Counting Runoff Ballots: The Nominations Committee shall count the ballots and announce the results to Staff Council at the July meeting.
  5. Tie Vote: In the event of a tie-vote, the Nominations Committee will prepare another runoff ballot, and repeat the election process.
  6. Announcement of Results: The Nominations Committee Chair shall notify new members and invite them to attend the Staff Council August meeting. The Nominations Committee Chair shall introduce the new Staff Council members at the August and September meeting.
  7. Nomination Form and Runoff Ballot Records: All nomination and runoff ballots shall be sealed and held for (3) three months after the nomination and election process has concluded.  If no disputes or errors are brought forward, the ballots shall be destroyed.  Lists of the vote tabulation shall be held and preserved by the Staff Council Secretary for three (3) years from date of nomination and election process.
  8. Disputes: The Nomination Committee Chair shall receive and examine all disputes and conclude what, if any, irregularities occurred during the nomination and election process.  The Chair shall take whatever action is needed to resolve the dispute.