The ALSC Board of Directors recently considered recommendations from the 2021 Nominating and Leadership Development Committee regarding Electoral Process Efficiencies. After considering the committee’s recommended changes to ALSC bylaws, the Board decided to bring the recommendation to ALSC members for a vote on the 2022 ballot. The exact language that will appear on the ballot, as well as pros and cons of the changes, are being developed and will be shared with members once they are confirmed. In the meantime, the Board wants members to have information to understand this forthcoming ballot item.
Why will members be voting on a change to the ALSC bylaws in the spring 2022 election?
This ballot item is appearing on ALSC ballots in spring 2022 in response to recommendations by Nominating and Leadership Development Committee members—the committee recommended revisions to the Nominations and Elections bylaws, and the Board is submitting the recommendations to membership on the spring 2022 ballot. This is a recommendation by members presented for member vote.
Why were these bylaws changes recommended?
The rationale for these recommendations from the Nominating and Leadership Development Committee is to prioritize member leadership development by reducing the inordinate amount of time currently spent on election workflows and processes that may no longer be effective for our association.
What are the recommended changes to the bylaws?
The recommended bylaws changes pertain to Article X Sec 2, which describes the composition of the electoral slate and how award committee members are selected.
The first recommended bylaws change is to require that the Nominating and Leadership Development Committee provide at least one candidate for each governance position on the ballot, rather than the current requirement of two candidates per position. This change in language would allow for situations in which more than two eligible candidates want to stand for election, as well as for situations in which only one eligible candidate agrees to stand for election.
The second recommended bylaws change is to remove award committee positions from the ballot. The number of award committee members would remain the same, but all members would be appointed by ALSC leadership through a member volunteer process, rather than some award committees being made up of a mix of elected and appointed committee members.
How can I learn more?
Members can view the original recommendations from the Nominating and Leadership Development Committee (DOC3 in the August 12 board meeting packet), which includes contextual information on the committee’s research and their rationale for the recommendations.
The exact language that will appear on the ballot and the pros and cons of the revisions for member consideration will be available in early 2022. The official ballot language must be submitted to and accepted by the Office of ALA Governance in late 2021, at which point the confirmed language can be shared with members.