Balloting and Preferential Voting Procedures

General Policy

These detailed procedures add specificity to the provisions in Bylaw V of the ACS Governing Documents. They have been developed by the Committee on Nominations and Elections (N&E) in cooperation with the ACS Secretary and General Counsel, and approved or subsequently amended by the ACS Council. They reflect the procedures currently used by N&E in national elections with the exception of adding preferential voting requirements and procedures when electing two or more individuals to fill Director-at-Large positions. Nothing in these procedures is to be construed in a manner that is inconsistent with the Bylaw V, Sec. 11, c balloting procedures, established by N&E and approved by the Council Policy Committee, which address fair balloting, anonymity, protection against fraudulent balloting, ballot archiving, and the timely reporting and archiving of balloting results.
Wherever possible, elections should result in the winning candidate (or candidates for certain elections as described below) receiving a majority of the valid votes cast. Depending upon the number of candidates on the ballot, this may result either by receiving a majority of single-choice ballots or by preferential voting as a result of receiving a majority of the remaining votes by having the second-preference votes of eliminated candidates added to their first-preference votes (recalculation of votes). Where multiple candidates for the same office are to be selected, a majority shall consist of more than half of the total number of ballots that remain valid at that step in the elimination process.

General Procedures

Preferential voting will be used in elections whenever there are more than two candidates for a single position, or whenever there are multiple positions to be filled for the same office, such as typically occurs when electing Directors-at-Large or when selecting two candidates for District Director or President-Elect from among four (or more) nominees.
The preferential voting method that will be used under these procedures is known as the instant run-off method.
1. The preferential ballot shall afford the voter an opportunity to rank the candidates in order of preference. After the initial vote, if a candidate receives a majority of the first- preference votes cast, then that candidate shall be declared elected. If no candidate receives a majority of the first-preference votes cast, the candidate with the fewest number of first-preference votes is eliminated. The eliminated candidate’s secondpreference votes (i.e. the second-preference votes of those who cast their first-preference vote for the eliminated candidate) are redistributed to the remaining unelected candidates. When recalculating vote totals following the elimination of a candidate, those ballots on which no preference is indicated for any of the remaining candidates shall be deemed invalid in that and any subsequent rounds. In each of those rounds, a majority shall consist of a majority of the number of valid ballots that remain at that step in the elimination process. This procedure continues until a candidate receives a majority of the votes.
2. If there are multiple positions for the same office to be filled and only one candidate receives a majority of first-preference votes cast, then the candidate receiving the majority shall be declared elected. The elected candidate’s second-preference votes are redistributed to the remaining unelected candidates. Additionally (or if no candidate receives a majority of first-preference votes cast), the candidate with the fewest first- preference votes is eliminated from further consideration; the second-preference votes of the eliminated candidate are redistributed to the remaining unelected candidates. The procedure continues until one candidate receives a majority. When a candidate receives a majority and is declared elected, the elected candidate’s second-preference votes are redistributed to the remaining unelected candidates. After the second-preference votes are redistributed and no remaining candidate receives a majority, then the candidate with the lowest number of votes is eliminated and the eliminated candidate’s second-preference votes are redistributed to the remaining unelected candidates. The process is repeated until the number of elected candidates equals the number of positions available.
3. When recalculating vote totals following the elimination of a candidate, those ballots on which no distinct preference is indicated for any of the remaining candidates shall be deemed invalid for this and any subsequent candidate elimination rounds.
4. Preferential voting as described in these procedures shall be used whether the ballot is paper or electronic. Hand-marked (or paper) ballots will be counted only if the voter’s intent to vote in favor of a particular candidate or candidates can be reasonably determined from the marking(s) on the ballot. All valid votes are tallied. Where a determination of intent is needed, it will be made by the Chair of the Committee on Nominations and Elections, or his or her designee.
5. In the event of a tie for last place in the first round (i.e. two candidates have the same number of first preference votes), the candidate with the fewest second choice preferences will be eliminated and their second preference votes will be redistributed. In the event of a tie for last place in the second or succeeding rounds, the candidate with the lowest first round preference votes is eliminated. The eliminated candidate’s second preference votes are redistributed in the next round. If the two candidates that are tied are not in last place, then the candidate with the lowest vote total in that round will be eliminated. The eliminated candidate’s second preference votes are redistributed in the next round. In the event of a tie in the final round, Council balloting will break the tie per the ACS Bylaws.

Election Procedures

President-Elect
1. When there are two candidates, a single-choice ballot shall be used, and the candidate receiving the greater number of votes shall be declared elected.
2. When there are more than two candidates, or when Councilors are selecting two candidates from among several nominees, a preferential ballot shall be used as described (in the General Procedures) above.
Director-at-Large
1. If there is only one position to be filled and there are two candidates, a singlechoice ballot shall be used and the candidate receiving the greater number of votes shall be declared elected.
2. If there is only one position to be filled and there are three or more candidates, a preferential ballot shall be used as described (in the General Procedures) above.
3. If there are two or more positions to be filled and three or more candidates, a preferential ballot shall be used as described above. However, where two candidates must be selected, the preferential voting method as described above continues so that the first candidate receives a majority of the votes and then the second candidate receives the next majority of the votes.
District Directors
1. Where there are two candidates, a single-choice ballot shall be used, and the candidate receiving the greater number of votes shall be declared elected.
2. When there are more than two candidates, or when Councilors are selecting two candidates from among several nominees, a preferential ballot shall be used as described above.

Developed by the Committee on Nominations and Elections, July 1, 2015
Approved by Council and confirmed by the Board of Directors
Effective January 1, 2016

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