By-Laws: Article IV - The Club Year, Annual Meeting, Elections

Section 1. Club Year. 

The Club's fiscal year shall begin on the 1st day of January and end on the 31st day of December of the same year. The Club's official year shall begin immediately at the conclusion of the election at the annual meeting and shall continue through the election at the next annual meeting. The elected officers and directors shall take office immediately upon the conclusion of the election and each retiring officer shall turn over to his/her successor in office all properties and records relating to that office within 30 days after the election.

Section 2. Voting. 

At the annual meeting or at a special meeting of the Club voting shall be limited to those members in good standing who are present at the meeting, except for the annual election of officers, directors and Delegate, for amendments to the Constitution and Bylaws, and for the standard for the breed which shall be decided by written ballot(s) cast by mail. Voting by proxy shall not be permitted. The Board of Directors may decide to submit other specific questions for decision of the members by written ballot cast by mail. These votes shall be conducted as specified above in this paragraph.

Section 3. Annual Election.

For the election of officers, directors and Delegate to the American Kennel Club who may, but not need be a director or officer of the club, the vote shall be conducted by secret ballot. For ballots to be valid they must be received by the Recording Secretary, or an independent professional firm designated by the Board, by September 1 for election of officers, directors and Delegate. Ballots shall be counted by three inspectors of election who are members in good standing and neither members of the current board nor candidates on the ballot and who shall be chosen in advance by the Board; or be counted by an independent professional firm chosen by the Board to send, receive, and count the ballots. The nominated candidate receiving the greatest number of votes for each position shall be declared elected. If any nominee is unable to serve for any reason, such nominee shall not be elected and the vacancy so created shall be filled by the new Board of Directors in the manner provided by Article III, Section 6.

Section 4. Nominations and Ballots. 

No person may be a candidate in a Club election who had not been nominated in accordance with these bylaws. A Nominating Committee shall be chosen by the Board of Directors on or before May 1. The committee shall consist of five (5) members, all members in good standing, not more than one of whom shall be a member of the current Board of Directors with the exception of the President who shall not serve on the Nominating Committee. One (1) member shall be chosen from each geographic region of the United States as defined in Article III Section 4 and one (1) Board member will be chosen by a vote of the Board. That Board member shall not be standing for election or reelection of that year. No more than one member of the same household shall serve simultaneously on the Nominating Committee. The Board shall name a chairperson for the committee. The Nominating Committee may conduct its business by mail, telephone, email or fax machine.

(a) The Nominating Committee shall nominate from among the eligible members of the Club, at least one (1) eligible candidate for each vacant office and for each position on the Board of Directors scheduled to be filled in the upcoming election and for the Delegate to the American Kennel Club and shall procure the acceptance and resume of each nominee so chosen. It is the sole responsibility of the nominated person to determine his or her validity as a candidate, and that he/she is not an invalid candidate.

(b) Each candidate for each Regional Director position must reside in the region for which position they are being nominated. The Nominating Committee shall submit its slate of candidates and their resumes to the Recording Secretary by June 1. The Recording Secretary shall add any valid additional nominations received by the membership pursuant to the terms of Article IV, Section 4

(c) to the slate of candidates for election.(c) Additional nominations of eligible members may be made by written petition addressed to the Recording Secretary and received at his/her regular address on or before July 1, signed by ten (10) percent of the voting members of the Club, and accompanied by the written acceptance of each such nominee signifying his/her willingness to be a candidate and a resume of each nominee. This shall be called a “self-nominated candidate.” Only members in good standing can hold office, or be candidates for office. Except for the position of Delegate, no person shall be a candidate for more than one position. Any written petition mailed or sent to a person(s) other than the Recording Secretary shall be deemed invalid, and void.

(d) If no valid additional nominations under Article IV, Section 4(c) are received by the Recording Secretary, and there is only one nominee for each open position, the Nominating Committee's slate shall be declared elected and no balloting will be required. The Recording Secretary shall mail the list of candidates, including the full name of each candidate, the name of the state in which the candidate resides, the geographic region in which the candidate resides as defined in Article III Section 4, and the resume of each candidate to each member of the Club and declare the slate elected. This mailing can be included in the next issue of the newsletter.

(e) If one or more position has more than one nominee, the Recording Secretary (or an independent professional firm designated by the Board) shall, on or before August 1, mail to each member in good standing a ballot listing all of the nominees for which there was more than one nominee in alphabetical order with the names of the states in which they reside, the geographic region in which the candidate resides as defined in Article III Section 4, and the resume of each nominee, together with a blank envelope and a return envelope addressed to the Recording Secretary (or designated professional firm) marked "Ballot" and bearing the name of the member to whom it was sent. So that the ballots may remain secret, each voter after marking their ballot, shall seal it in the blank envelope, which in turn shall be placed in the second envelope addressed to the Recording Secretary (or designated professional firm). Any ballot mailed or sent to a person(s) other than the Recording Secretary (or designated professional firm) shall be deemed invalid, and void. The inspectors of election (or designated professional firm) shall check the returns against the list provided by the treasurer of members whose dues are paid for the current year prior to opening the outer envelopes and removing the blank envelopes, and shall certify the eligibility of the voters. The inspectors of election (or designated professional firm) will announce the results of the voting at the annual meeting (which shall be announced by mail).

(f) Nominations cannot be made at the annual meeting or in any manner other than as provided here.