Election of Council Officers will be held annually in March.

• The Chair will be elected in odd years
• The Vice Chair and Secretary will be elected in even years.

Elected officers will serve a 2-year term starting in Mid-May (generally concurrent with the FNPS Annual Meeting).

Nominations

The Council Chair will appoint at least three Chapter Representatives or other FNPS members in good standing to a nominating committee, whose duty shall be to propose a slate of candidates.

The nominating committee will review all candidates and propose at least one, but preferably more than one candidate for each office.  No member of the nominating committee may be nominated for an office. No person may be nominated without that person’s consent.

Nominating and Elections Schedule  

The following schedule will be adhered to for Officer nominations and elections:

• September/October – Solicit nominating committee.

• November – Appoint nominating committee.

• December 1 to February 15 – Nominating committee solicits candidates at full Council meetings and uses emails to Chapter Representatives and FNPS members to solicit candidates and invite self-nomination [see Nomination Request Email Template on Council of Chapters website/Templates].

• February 15 – Nominations close.  Nominating Committee begins review and slate preparation.

• March 1 – Publish nominees and election process on the Council website. Email nominee and election process information to all Council members [see Election Notice Template on Council of Chapters website/Templates].

• March 15 – Open voting [see Voting Open Email Template on Council of Chapters website/Templates].

• March 30 – Close voting.

• April 8 – Announce voting results by email to the FNPS Board, Chapter Presidents, and Chapter Representatives.

• Mid-April to Mid-May – Officer-elect orientation and training.

• Mid-May (concurrent with Annual Meeting) – New officers take office.

Election Voting

Voting for Council officers will be conducted online using the FNPS Forum. 

A separate vote will be taken for each Office (Chair, Vice Chair and Secretary). The online ballot will list all candidates for a particular office (unopposed candidates will be listed as the only choice) with voters only permitted to vote for one candidate.

The highest number of votes from the Chapter Representatives who cast votes will determine the election winner; a tie for highest vote requires a runoff vote.  An unopposed candidate will be elected regardless of the number of votes cast. 

Council Vacancies

Vacancies in Council Officers will be filled by appointment by the remaining Officer(s) or through an interim online election for the vacant office, conducted in compliance with regular voting guidelines.