Article VII

Nomination and Election of Officers

Section 1
The President, the Executive Vice President, and the Regional Vice Presidents shall be elected once every three (3) years by a secret ballot vote. All active members in good standing shall be eligible to vote for the President and the Executive Vice President, and all active members in good standing of each respective region shall be eligible to vote for the Regional Vice President of that region. The candidates for each office receiving a majority of the eligible votes actually cast shall be declared the winning candidate. In the event no candidate receives a majority of the votes cast, a runoff election will be held between the two candidates receiving the most votes.

Section 2
To have his or her name placed on the ballot, a candidate for National Office must be nominated by an active member in good standing and must accept the nomination. Nominations must be in writing and must be delivered via certified mail to: National Election Committee at the Association’s headquarters. All candidates for office must be active members in good standing for at least one year prior to the close of nominations.

Section 3
The National Election Committee shall designate the dates for nominations, acceptance of nominations and for the distribution and tabulation of ballots, and shall so notify the membership in a timely manner. The last date for acceptance for nominations shall be at least thirty (30) days before the distribution of the ballots. The last date for receiving and tabulating of ballots shall be at least thirty (30) days after the ballots are distributed.

Section 4
The President shall appoint a five person National Election Committee at least one year prior to the close of nominations. Members of the National Election Committee shall be active members in good standing, but no candidate for office may serve as a member of the National Election Committee. The National Election Committee shall oversee the tabulation of all valid ballots. Only the ballots of members in good standing shall be counted. After tabulating the ballots, the National Election Committee shall announce the winning candidates.

Section 5
Newly-elected officers shall commence their term of office thirty (30) days after certification of the results of the election.

Section 6
A National Officer may serve an unlimited amount of terms in the same office.

Section 7
National/Local Election Protests. Any member in good standing may file an election protest provided all of the following conditions are met:

• The protesting member must have been eligible to participate in the protested election at the time of the incident giving rise to the protest; and
• A written protest is filed with the National Election Committee through NATCA’s General Counsel; and
• In order to be timely, a protest must be received no later than 15 days subsequent to the election date stipulated in the election rules, and within 30 days of the incident giving rise to the protest.

Upon receipt of an election protest, the National Election Committee shall notify all candidates involved in the protested election and, in the case of a local election, the local Election Committee and the Local President of the protest and the nature of the charges. At the request of a member in good standing, the National Election Committee shall provide a full and complete copy of the filed protest to the requesting member.

If the protest claims an illegal denial of the right to vote, which is found to be valid by the National Election Committee, the National Election Committee shall permit such member to cast a vote on such terms as may be practical if prior to the close of the election. In the event the protest is found to be invalid, the National Election Committee shall dismiss the protest and so inform the protesting member via certified mail on the day of dismissal.

The National Election Committee shall verify that the member has followed the required protest procedures, review the allegations raised in the protest, and conduct a thorough investigation, including, but not limited to, interviewing all parties involved. If the allegation does not constitute an election irregularity, the National Election Committee need not pursue the allegation further. After all allegations have been reviewed and the facts determined, the National Election Committee shall, within 7 days, recommend to the National Executive Board what action is appropriate under Department of Labor guidelines.

Within 15 days, the National Executive Board shall meet, via teleconference if desired, to decide on the challenge. The National Executive Board, through NATCA’s General Counsel, shall notify the protesting member and affected candidates of the decision in writing. The General Counsel shall advise the protesting member of the basis for the decision.

If, because of a timely protest, an election is found to be invalid, all members in good standing who were eligible to participate in the election shall be notified within 15 days by the National Executive Board, through NATCA’s General Counsel, of the decision to invalidate the election.

Section 8
Any member seeking election to a union office or position may not accept nomination or run for more than one elected position during any single election.

Section 9
Write-in votes will not be permitted in any NATCA election.