Elect a Committee Member

Committee members are vital to HYPE’s current and future operations. Nominations are accepted for the HYPE Chair-Elect position in the Spring and the six Vice Chair positions in the fall, and people must nominate themselves to be considered for one of these leadership positions. The following guidelines apply:

  • A person can only run for ONE leadership position per election cycle.
  • All nominations must be approved by the Executive Committee prior to the election in question.
  • Nominees must meet all necessary deadlines and submissions to be considered by the Executive Committee.

Important Dates for 2012 Elections

November 17, 2011: Nominations for Vice-Chair positions are due. (Click here for nomination form)
November 22, 2011: Nominees will be notified that their applications are approved and they’ve become official candidates.
December 2, 2011: Deadline for eligible voters to register
December 5, 2011: Candidate profiles will be emailed to eligible voters.
December 12, 2011: Election Day
January 1, 2012: New Executive Committee begins their 1-year term.

Procedural Questions

The Executive Committee can review the elections procedure annually and make changes by majority vote. Any HYPE members who have a question or a concern about the elections procedure may contact the HYPE Chair and/or Executive Director for clarification or to request review of the procedure. In such a case, the member may be asked to attend an upcoming Executive Committee meeting to present their concerns and participate in discussions. However, they will have no voting powers.

Judging the Nominations

The Executive Committee will act as the Nominating Committee, accepting and reviewing all nominations for the Chair-Elect and Vice Chair positions.

  • A maximum of 3 candidates will be accepted for each position up for election.
  • Nominations will be judged on the written materials supplied by the nominees as well as from collective personal experiences from working with the nominees.
  • All candidates must be approved by a majority of the Executive Committee.

Candidates from the Executive Committee

In the event a standing member of the Executive Committee is running for re-election as an incumbent or running for another leadership position, they will NOT be able to vote or consider nominations for that position.

  • All incumbent candidates will be allowed to run for the same position if they choose without approval from the Executive Committee, but they must supply the necessary written materials to be distributed to the voting membership.
  • If a member of the Executive Committee chooses to run for a different leadership position within HYPE they will be subject to the same requirements as all other nominees (e.g., running for a different Vice Chair position or for Chair-Elect).
  • Tie-breaking votes may be passed by a senior member of the Alliance Staff.

HYPE Chair Rules and Procedures

At the end of the 1-year term, a HYPE Chair may run for a second term through a special election between the current HYPE Chair and the Chair-Elect. That election will take place in December.

  • The winner will be the HYPE Chair for the standard term of 1 year.
  • In this case, the HYPE Chair Elect position will now be vacated without regard to the result of the election and a new HYPE Chair-Elect will be chosen in June.
  • The HYPE Chair-Elect cannot opt out from running against the HYPE Chair if the HYPE Chair chooses to run for a second term.
  • HYPE Chairs are not eligible to run for the HYPE Chair-Elect position for 1 year following the end of their term or the loss of a special election.
  • If a Chair-Elect chooses to opt out of assuming the HYPE Chair position, the Chair-Elect must alert the Executive Committee and Executive Director as soon as possible so a special election can be planned and an announcement can be made prior to the originally scheduled election.
  • In the event there are no candidates for a position after the deadline for nominations has passed, the Executive Committee may solicit and appoint a Committee Chair to fill the needed position for the full 1-year term.

Voting for HYPE Chair-Elect: Timing

Voting will occur in June to allow for the announcement of the winner to be made at Tee It Up or other major summer HYPE events. Nominations will be due approximately 1 month before the election with time for interested parties to review necessary applications and to ask for comments or clarifications from the candidates.

Voting for Vice Chairs: Timing

Voting will occur in early December or late November to allow for the announcement of the winners to be made at Tons of Toys or another major HYPE event. Nominations will be due approximately 1 month before the election with time for interested parties to review necessary applications and to ask for comments or clarifications from the candidates.

Voter Eligibility

  • Executive Committee members will NOT be able to vote in elections except for instances where they are running for re-election and can then vote for themselves
  • Must be a HYPE member in good standing
  • No absentee ballots will be allowed
  • Can be either an Active Committee Member* or a HYPE Ambassador**
  • Eligible voting members must register (via the Alliance website as similar for other HYPE events) to attend the election no less than 10 days before the election or they will not be able to attend

*Definition of an Active Committee Member
This is a HYPE member who actively participates on the Committee level and has significantly contributed to at least one Committee project. Such a member attends the majority of the Committee’s meetings, calls and events as well as most HYPE events.

**Definition of a HYPE Ambassador
This HYPE member is intimately associated with the Membership Committee. The HYPE Ambassador is someone who actively works to promote HYPE at their workplace and within their circles. They have attended at least one Ambassador training and have hosted at least one membership recruitment effort within the last year prior to the election. They are also expected to have attended at least one of the semi-annual Town Hall meetings hosted by the Executive Committee.

Voting Procedures

All necessary and approved written materials about the candidates will be distributed prior to the election with enough time for voting members to review the candidates and contact candidates for any clarifications. All candidates will be given a brief moment to address the Voting Membership on the night of the election (time TBD based on the number of candidates up for election). Voting procedures and coordination will be run by the Executive Committee, which will tally the votes and save the ballots for at least 1 month after elections.