Special Rules of Order
Special rules of order are subordinate to the bylaws and provide additional parliamentary rules of procedure.
Election Special Rule of Order
Each voting member may rate any number of nominees in a manner that assigns to each nominee 1, 2, or 3 points. Members may also write in unnominated candidates' names and assign 1, 2, or 3 points to each write-in candidate.
(Such write-in candidates are treated as identical to nominees for the voting method, but write-in candidates are permitted to serve as election tellers, as they may not have known in advance that they received points.)
A voting member expresses consent for a nominee by giving the nominee a rating. Only nominees who have been rated by a majority of the voters can possibly be elected.
Counting is performed by adding up the point totals for each nominee. The nominees with the highest point totals shall be declared elected, subject to the consent condition mentioned above. Director seats will be filled in the order of the highest point totals first.
In case of ties, the nominees with higher numbers of 3-point ratings shall prevail. Further ties shall be broken by counting 2-point ratings, 1-point ratings, and finally by using a random number generator.
Adopted by the WPLUG Board of Directors on September 22, 2005
Absentee Balloting Special Rule of Order
When absentee ballots are to be used for voting, they shall be opened and counted at a regular meeting. The Secretary shall notify the membership at least 21 days prior to such a vote including a description of the matter to be voted upon.
The Secretary shall create a ballot which includes the particulars of the resolution or election which is the subject of the vote and shall transmit a copy of the ballot to the membership at least 14 days, but no more than 28 days, prior to the voting meeting. Any instructions or other materials necessary for the vote shall be included with the ballot. Votes may be cast from the time ballots are distributed until the polls are closed at the voting meeting. The Secretary shall receive all absentee ballots cast and bring these to the voting meeting but may not unseal them.
At the voting meeting, the Members shall select two or more tellers from among themselves to unseal the ballots and count the vote. The secrecy of each Member's vote shall be maintained.
The tellers shall provide a verifiable report summarizing the vote. The report shall contain full vote totals unless otherwise ordered.
Adopted by the WPLUG Board of Directors on September 22, 2005
Newsletter Committee Special Rule of Order
A Newsletter Committee shall be appointed by the newly-elected Board, promptly after taking office. Its duties shall include the publication of a monthly newsletter reporting on WPLUG and open source activities in the region. This committee shall provide regular reports to the Board and to the membership.
Adopted by the WPLUG Board of Directors on September 22, 2005
IRC Virtual Meetings Special Rule of Order
The Board and all committees may conduct meetings via Internet Relay Chat (IRC). The meeting chair shall create a moderated, invite-only channel in which the meeting will take place and shall be the sole channel operator. The meeting chair shall add participants to the channel after confirming their true identity. At the commencement of the meeting, a roll call shall be held with all participants identifying themselves by handle and by full name. All votes shall be conducted by roll call. Participants shall seek recognition on the channel by the meeting chair and shall wait to be publicly recognized before speaking. A text file of the IRC log of the meeting shall be included as an attachment to the minutes.
Adopted by the WPLUG Board of Directors on September 22, 2005
ErieLUG Revival Committee Special Rule of Order
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(Rescinded by WPLUG Board of Directors on May 1, 2012)
Audio Conferencing Virtual Meetings Special Rule of Order
The Board and all committees may conduct meetings via a third-party audio conferencing facility accessible by telephone (and that may be accessible via the Internet in addition to by telephone). The meeting chair shall select an audio conferencing service that is available without cost, and shall be the sole conference moderator. The audio conferencing facility selected shall provide at least one of the following two features: 1) An individual access code or web URL for the use of each attendee in the conference, or 2) An audio tone or other signal that indicates when an attendee joins the conference. At the commencement of the meeting, a roll call shall be held with all participants identifying themselves by full name. All votes shall be conducted by roll call. Participants shall seek recognition by the meeting chair and shall wait to be publicly recognized before speaking. If the conference facility in use permits making an audio recording of the conference, a recording may be made at the discretion of the meeting chair; the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (and possbily other jurisdictions) requires that all participants in a telephone call must give consent before a telephonic communication can be recorded; attendance at a WPLUG meeting held by conference call shall constitute an individual attendee's consent to recording. At the discretion of the meeting chair, the recording of the audio conference may be posted on the WPLUG wiki, or traditional text meeting minutes may be created and posted on the WPLUG wiki. Any telephone toll charges, cell phone airtime charges, Internet service charges, or any similar charges related to access to the audio conference shall be the responsibility of each attendee and will not be reimbursed by WPLUG. The chair of any face-to-face WPLUG Board or committee meeting may, at his or her discretion, permit any member or members unable to attend such meeting in person to participate via audio conference.
Adopted by the WPLUG Board of Directors on May 1, 2012