With one attachment for Nomination Form
Dear OSA Members:
The OSA Election Committee as constituted by the General Body is soliciting nominations for the offices of President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer of Orissa Society of Americas for 2011-13. As per the constitution, the positions of President and Vice-President will be candidates on the same slate. A vote for a presidential candidate will imply a vote for his/her running mate. The position of the Secretary and Treasurer may be from independent slates.
The nominees, the nominators and seconders must be permanent members (life, patron or benefactor) of OSA at the time of nomination. In addition, the nominees must be at least 21 years or older as of June 30, 2011. The nomination must include a short introduction of the candidates in less than 300 words. Photocopy of driver’s license, or passport, or birth certificate or a notarized statement to the effect that the nominee is 21 years or older as of June 30, 2011 must be attached for the nominee’s age verification.
All nominations must include the contact information (address, telephone number, and email) of the nominees and the nominator. All nominations must be sent to the election committee, postmarked by February 14, 2011 at the address below with complete and correct contact information of the nominees (including other additional details) and the of nominators. Incorrect contact information may lead to the rejection of the nomination. If the candidates wish to include their position statement with the ballot they may include it with the nomination form in a separate sheet. Please note you must nominate a candidate for President and Vice President simultaneously. Nominations for secretary and treasurer may be independent.
OSA 2011 Election
PO Box 330
Getzville, NY 14068
The Nomination Form is attached. Any correspondence on the election subject will be electronic (via email) only. All emails on this subject must be sent to OSA.Election2011@gmail.com.
Election 2011 Calendar
Deadline for the official ballot list including all members eligible to vote to be received from OSA Secretary January 15, 2011
All nominations must be sent to the election committee postmarked by February 14, 2011
Election ballots will be sent to eligible members on or before March 27, 2011
Ballots must be received by the election committee with postmark no later than April 25, 2011
Ballot will be counted and the election results will be announced on May 14, 2011
With this letter we are also requesting the Chapter Presidents and members of the Board of Governors of OSA to disseminate the election announcement as widely as possible. We would like to request the California OSAnet members to distribute the announcemnt to California Oriya Community (Calnet).
Please contact the OSA Secretary Dr. Annapurna Pandey at Adpandey101@gmail.com to update member address.
We are also including below the election information from the OSA constitution.
Sincerely,
2011 OSA Election Committee
__________________________________________
Relevant Articles from OSA constitution
ARTICLE V: OFFICERS AND EXECUTIVE
COMMITTEE
Section 1
The ultimate authority of OSA shall be vested in the membership. The members from USA and Canada shall choose the elected officers by mail ballot.
Section 3 (as amended on July 1, 2004)
The President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer shall be elected for a term of two years. These four executive officials must be life members or patrons or benefactors of OSA in good standing and must be 21 years of age or over. The Vice President shall be a running mate of the President. A vote for the President shall mean a vote for his/her running mate. The Secretary and Treasurer will be separately elected, but will work as a team with the President for smooth operation of the OSA. The President shall appoint the Editor of the OSA Newsletter.
ARTICLE VI: ELECTION
Section 1
All life members and annual members of OSA have the right to vote and participate in the election.
Section 2
All elections are to be conducted by a secret ballot. The election procedures shall be described in the By-Laws.
Section 3
No two members of the Executive Committee at any time shall be from the same immediate family (e.g. Husband & wife, parents & children, siblings) of any Executive Committee member.
Section 4
In case, a current office bearer such as, President, Vice President, or Secretary-Treasurer, decides to run for re-election or for another position, he/she shall give up all his/her election related responsibilities as defined in the By-Laws.
BY-LAW III: ELECTION PROCEDURE
Section 1
A three member election committee with one as chairman shall be appointed by the Executive
Committee and will be announced to the general body for approval by majority at the annual convention preceding the election year.
Section 2
No member of the Executive Committee is eligible to be a member of the election committee.
Section 3
The Secretary of the OSA shall prepare a list of members who have paid their dues by Dec. 31 of the year, preceding the election year. This list along with the list of life members and patrons shall be submitted to the chairman of the election committee by Jan. 15 of the election year.
Section 4
Nominations for the various offices shall be invited by the election committee chairman through the OSA newsletter of September-December quarter, preceding the election year. In case of contests, the names of the candidates shall be announced in a special letter to be sent by the election committee along with the position statement of each contesting candidate.
Section 5
The Secretary of the OSA shall print and supply the ballots to the election committee. All ballots must be sequentially numbered or coded.
Section 6
The ballots shall be mailed in the fourth weekend of March of the election year. The ballot number or code must be noted against the master membership list held by the election committee. For a returned ballot to be valid, it must be postmarked by the date on or before the 4th Monday of April of the election year.
Section 7
The election committee shall open a post office box address to which the ballots shall be mailed to by the voters. The ballots shall be counted in the presence of the election committee members and the candidates or their representatives on the second Saturday of May of the election year. The results of the election shall be announced then and there with a written statement of the results sent to the President of the OSA. All the election materials must be sealed and signed by the election committee members and the candidates or their representatives, and will be preserved by the election committee chairman for a period of six months after the election.
Section 8
The President of OSA shall submit the results to the Executive Committee for approval and for a publication in a special Newsletter by May 30th of the election year.
Section 9
The election committee shall adopt prudent ways to insure the secrecy of the voting system.
Section 10
All expenses for the election shall be reimbursed by the Secretary-Treasurer of OSA upon the submission of the expense report. The committee shall caution to keep expense within the budget.
Section 11
Any charge of election irregularity or fraud shall be reported to the President and the members of the Executive Committee for resolution.