NATIONAL BLACK LAW STUDENTS ASSOCIATION

2011 Election Rules and Procedures Packet

National Convention

March 9-13, 2011

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

RULES AND PROCEDURES

POSITIONS ELIGIBLE FOR ELECTION .......................................................................................................... 3

CANDIDATE QUALIFICATIONS ....................................................................................................................... 3

CAMPAIGNING ....................................................................................................................................................... 7

ENFORCEMENT OF ELECTION RULES AND PROCEDURES ................................................................. 9

ELECTION DEBATES AND SPEECHES .........................................................................................................10

CHAPTER DELEGATE VOTING .......................................................................................................................11

BALLOT COUNT ...................................................................................................................................................11

ANNOUNCEMENT OF 2011-2012 NATIONAL EXECUTIVE BOARD ................................................11

BALLOT INSPECTION ........................................................................................................................................12

ELECTIONS PROCEDURE CALENDAR .........................................................................................................12

APPOINTED POSITION INFORMATION SESSION ...................................................................................13

NATIONAL OFFICER APPLICATION

(must be submitted online)

NATIONAL OFFICER CANDIDATE CHECKLIST .......................................................................................14

NATIONAL OFFICER APPLICATION ............................................................................................................15

NATIONAL OFFICER FINANCIAL OBLIGATION FORM .........................................................................16

NATIONAL OFFICER CANDIDATE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT AND PLEDGE FORM .......................17

NATIONAL OFFICER CHAPTER ENDORSEMENT FORM......................................................................18

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I. POSITIONS AVAILABLE FOR ELECTION

Any member of a 2010-2011 active NBLSA chapter1 may run for office. The following NBLSA

positions are eligible for election:

National Chair

National Vice Chair

National Secretary

National Treasurer

National Director of the Frederick Douglass Moot Court Competition

National Director of the Thurgood Marshall Mock Trial Competition

National Director of Community Service

National Director of Programming

National Attorney General

To learn more about the duties of each elected position, please refer to the NBLSA Constitution

and Bylaws or reach out to the person currently occupying the position. We will also be hosting a

live teleconference where you can engage in a candid Q&A session with the current National

Board Members. The schedule will be posted on the National website once available.

II. CANDIDATE QUALIFICATIONS

Any member who completes the documentation and requirements of the pre-certification phase

and the final certification phase will qualify as a candidate for the NBLSA Executive Board.

A. PRE-CERTIFICATION

Each member must declare his or her intent to run for a national position by completing and

submitting the documents below at http://www.nblsa.org/2011elections/. Items ii-iii will be

1 An active chapter is a chapter who has paid membership dues and has uploaded a membership roster to the NBLSA Membership database. In order to be considered a

member of a chapter, your name must be included in the chapter’s membership roster.

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included in the delegate’s packet. All the information below must be submitted online at

http://www.nblsa.org/2011elections/:

i. Completed Online Application, which includes the signed statement of understanding of

financial obligation for office and the signed acknowledgement of the duties and

obligations associated with the office sought.

Please submit items ii-vi as one PDF in the order listed below.

ii. Statement of Intent with photograph in top left corner (one 8.5x11 page);

iii. One 8.5x11 page résumé, including NBLSA positions held (local, regional, or national);

iv. One peer and one professional/academic reference letter (no more than 8.5x11 each);

v. Letter from your law school registrar or dean certifying your enrollment and good

academic standing; and

vi. Form signed by the President of the local NBLSA chapter in which you are a member,

certifying your good standing with the chapter. If you are president of your local chapter,

your form must be signed by the Vice-President. You may not sign the form for your own

candidacy.

All materials must be submitted online no later than 10:00 PM EST on Wednesday, March

2, 2011. Further details will be announced at the following link:

http://www.nblsa.org/2011elections/

Nominations from the Floor

Members who do not submit the required materials by the deadline.

Any registered delegate may nominate an active member at the National Convention for

a National officer position only if there are no candidates running for that position

at the opening of the National Convention.

The officer presiding over plenary will determine the exact time when such

nominations would be appropriate.

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To make the nomination, the Chapter’s Delegate need only rise and state “I nominate

_________________ for the position of ______________.” No second is required. Chapters are

only permitted to nominate one person for each officer position.

In the event that a candidate is nominated from the floor, the candidate must meet

requirements i, ii, and iii set forth above in the pre-certification requirements within 24

hours of accepting the nomination.

All candidates who are nominated from the floor and elected must submit the

documents requested under iv, v and vi of the pre-certification requirements to the

National Elections Committee, elections@nblsa.org, by Sunday, March 20, 2011 to

avoid forfeiting position.

B. FINAL CERTIFICATION

All candidates must meet the following criteria to run for and be elected to office:

Candidate Meetings:

o All pre-qualified candidates for office are invited to participate in a Q&A Forum,

which will be available online. All candidates can submit their questions online

and a member of the Elections Committee will respond.

o All pre-qualified candidates for office are required to attend a mandatory

candidates meeting to be held at the 2011 National Convention from 4:30pm -

5:30 pm on Wednesday, March 9, 2011.

o All candidates who are nominated from the floor must attend a mandatory

candidates meeting to be held at the 2011 National Convention from 5:00 – 6:00

pm on Thursday, March 10, 2011.

Campaign Fund Limit

o All candidates must submit a detailed accounting for all expenditures associated

with their candidacy for a NBLSA National office at the relevant mandatory

candidate’s meeting.

o No candidate for the office of National Chair shall expend more than $1,500 total,

excluding travel expenses.

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o Candidates for all other positions shall not expend more than $1,000, excluding

travel expenses.

o In-kind donations will be counted toward the budget limit at their fair market

value.

o In the event that a candidate is under budget, they may expend additional

monies up to the budget limit during the National Convention and must submit

final receipts at the pre-election meeting.

Mandatory Pre-Election Meeting

o All candidates for office must attend the pre-election meeting to be held thirty

minutes prior to the opening of election candidate speeches.

Running for more than one NBLSA office

No candidate may run for more than one National office simultaneously.

No individual who has been elected to a regional position will be permitted to campaign

for a National Executive position.

Post-Election Meeting

Any candidate who wins election to a NBLSA National Office is REQUIRED to attend the

Transitional Meeting on Sunday, March 13, 2010, 11:30am – 1:30pm. This meeting is

mandatory so please make your travel arrangements accordingly.

Important Considerations

Serving on the NBLSA National Executive Board is a significant commitment that

requires a substantial amount of travel and extracurricular work. Please take this into

consideration when determining whether you will run for office.

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Except for limited reimbursement for the National Chair, National Director of the

Frederick Douglass Moot Court Competition Director, and National Thurgood Marshall

Mock Trial Competition Director, travel expenses are not reimbursed or paid for by

NBLSA, therefore, you should consider your financial resources before running for a

position. The estimated cost of travel for an officer (excluding Chair and Vice-Chair) is

roughly $5,000-$7,500 dollars. National Chair and Vice-Chair candidates should

anticipate incurring travel expenses of approximately $10,000 each.

III. CAMPAIGNING

Demeanor Prior to Commencement of Convention Campaign Meeting

Candidates ARE permitted to verbally announce their intent to run for office prior to the

candidate’s meeting with any NBLSA member in any region.

Only the candidate may endorse himself or herself prior to the candidate’s meeting.

With the exception of the Chapter Endorsement Form to be submitted solely to the National

Election Committee, Chapters and Regions are prevented from making endorsements prior to

the National Convention.

No candidate for NBLSA National Office shall disseminate printed material before the

mandatory candidate’s meeting on March 9, 2011.

After a Candidate has received notification from the 2011 Election Committee that his or her

application has been accepted, he or she may use MySpace, Facebook, You-Tube, Twitter, a

blog, website, or any other electronic method to advertise his or her candidacy.

Candidates are strongly encouraged to prepare a short video presentation (no longer than 3

minutes) announcing their candidacy. Videos should be submitted to the National Elections

Committee no later than March 2, 2011 to be placed on the NBLSA You-Tube channel.

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Campaign Material Approval

All candidates for National office must submit to the Elections Committee all campaign

materials and correspondence for pre-approval no later than March 2, 2011.

All candidates for National office must submit to the Elections Committee copies of all

campaign materials and correspondence at the relevant mandatory candidates meeting for

approval.

If the candidate incurs any cost related to the use electronic mediums, these expenses must be

included in his or her budget.

Candidates may not use any Regional or National Listserv, Work Group, or Storage Server and

may not post any campaign material to the NBLSA regional, national or local chapter Facebook

group or other social networking sites.

Candidates may not use pictures of them with any Regional, Regional-Elect, or National

Executive Board members as a part of their campaign materials, including any and all

electronic mediums used (i.e. social networking sites, blogs, etc).

Candidate Endorsement

Local chapters may not publicly endorse a candidate prior to the National Convention. Local

chapters may endorse candidates after the commencement of the National Convention.

Chapters endorsing a candidate are permitted to hold a chapter-specific reception at the

National Convention, but this expenditure will count toward the candidate’s campaign fund

limit.

Current National and Regional Board members, as well as Regional-Elect Board members, are

prohibited from endorsing any candidate for National office at any time prior to or during

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convention. This includes posting any pictures of them and candidates up for election on any

of their social or professional websites.

Demeanor after Commencement of Official Campaigning

Candidates are permitted to wear and distribute campaign materials (flyers, buttons, etc.) to

attendees at the National Convention.

No campaigning may occur inside of plenary. As such, no delegate is allowed to wear or

prominently display any campaign materials within 30 feet of or inside of the room where

plenary sessions will be held.

No candidate shall engage in an unfair campaign practice including, but not limited to,

infraction or contempt of any campaign rule; libeling or slandering another candidate and/or

maliciously disrupting another campaign.

Each candidate is responsible for activity that another undertakes on his or her behalf, as if the

candidate is undertaking the activity himself or herself, unless the candidate sincerely and

affirmatively discourages such activity.

Termination of Campaigning

All campaign materials and solicitation of votes must be taken down and cease ONE HOUR

prior to the scheduled start of the afternoon plenary session on Saturday, March 12, 2011.

IV. ENFORCEMENT OF ELECTIONS RULES PROCEDURES

Any person registered for the National Convention may file a complaint with any Elections

Committee member for violation of elections rules and procedures by sending an email to

elections@nblsa.org.

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These rules will be enforced and violations will be investigated by the Elections Committee. If

any violation is found to have merit, then the offending candidate will be disqualified

immediately. The rules will be enforced in an effort to achieve adherence to the goals and

principles of NBLSA.

Any decisions made by the Elections Committee that result in the disqualification of a

candidate are appealable to the current National Vice-Chair.

The Elections Committee reserves the right to amend or add to the election procedures at any

time before the annual meeting not withstanding those specific procedures set out in the

National Constitution and Bylaws.

V. DEBATES AND ELECTION SPEECHES

All candidates for the position of National Chair must participate in at least one debate.

All candidates for the position of National Chair, and possibly National Vice-Chair (to be

determined at the Mandatory Candidate Meeting), must be prepared to stand for one question

by the Election Committee during a convention event. Details will be discussed at the

Mandatory Candidate Meeting.

All candidates for office are required to give a speech, which should last no longer than one

minute, and stand for questions during the Plenary Elections session.

The order of Candidate Speeches and Questions and Answers will be determined after the

Mandatory Candidates Meeting(s) but prior to the pre-election meeting in order to best

accommodate the needs of all candidates.

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VI. DELEGATE VOTING PROCEDURES

Chapters in attendance

Any active chapter with a registered delegate for the National Convention who attends at least

seventy-five (75) percent of the plenary sessions during the 2011 National Convention is

entitled to participate in the election of 2011-2012 NBLSA National Officers.

All delegates will receive their chapter ballot and all relevant proxy ballots prior to the

commencement of candidate speeches.

Proxy Vote

In order to utilize the proxy vote procedure, please refer to the 2011 National Convention

Plenary Rules.

VII. BALLOT COUNT

The election of officers will be determined by a secret ballot voting method.

The candidate that receives the largest percentage of votes for the position will be declared the

winner of the position.

If a candidate is unopposed, he or she must receive a majority of the votes in order to be

declared the winner of the position.

VIII. ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE 2011-2012 NBLSA ELECTED OFFICIALS

All candidates who have won offices sought will be announced during the 2011 NBLSA

National Awards Banquet to be held on March 12, 2011 in Houston, Texas.

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IX. INSPECTION OF BALLOTS

A candidate has a right to inspect all of the electronic submissions or physical ballots

submitted for the position to which (s)he was a candidate, before the close of the National

Convention.

X. ELECTION PROCEDURES CALENDAR

ELECTION PROCEDURES CALENDAR

Deadline for Chapters to send proxy ballot

information for the purposes of election

Wednesday, March 9, 2011 at 3:00 pm CST

Deadline to submit pre-certification

application materials

Wednesday, March 2, 2011 at 10:00 pm EST

Mandatory Candidates Meeting Wednesday, March 9, 2011, 4:30-5:30 pm CST

National Board Floor Nominations Thursday, March 10, 2011 at 2:30 pm CST during

Plenary Session I

Mandatory Candidates Meeting (Floor

nominees)

Thursday, March 10, 2011, 5:00 – 6:00 pm CST

Chair Debate Friday, March 11, 2011 at 1:30 pm CST during

Plenary Session II

Candidates Speeches, Q&A and Voting Saturday, March 12, 2011 at 2:00 pm CST during

Plenary Session IV

NBLSA Transition Meeting Sunday, March 13, 2011 at 11:30am-1:30 pm CST

Deadline to submit certification materials for

officers elected from the floor

Sunday, March 20, 2011 at 6:00 pm CST

**The Election Committee reserves the right to extend or alter the dates above if deemed necessary.

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XI. APPOINTED POSITION INFORMATION SESSION

All persons interested in being appointed to the following positions should attend an information session,

which will be held on Sunday, March 13, 2011 from 10:30 – 11:30 am.

National Director of Communications

National Director of Corporate Relations

National Director of Membership

National Director of Education & Career Development

National Financial Secretary

National Convention Coordinator

National Parliamentarian

National Director of Academic Retreat

National Historian

National Director of Alumni Affairs & Development

National Director of the College Student Division

National Director of International Negotiations Competition

National Director of Public Relations

National Chief of Staff

National Director of Social Action

Director of International Relations

To learn more about the duties of each appointed position, please refer to the NBLSA Constitution and

Bylaws or reach out to the person currently occupying the position.

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NATIONAL OFFICER APPLICATION

NATIONAL OFFICER CANDIDATE CHECKLIST

1 Completed Online Application, which includes the signed statement

of understanding of financial obligation for office and the signed

acknowledgement of the duties and obligations associated with the

office sought.

2 Statement of Intent (goals and agenda) with photograph in top left

corner (one 8.5x11 page). You may include any experience that may be related to the

position, any honors and awards, and any other additional information that you would like

people to learn about you. There is a 1000 word limit on statements. Included in Delegates

Packet.

3 One 8.5x11 page résumé, including NBLSA positions held (local,

regional, or national). Please do not include any sensitive information such as grades

or class ranking. You may include academic honors. Included in Delegate’s Packet.

4 One peer and one professional/academic reference letter (no more

than 8.5x11 each). This will be included in Delegate’s Packet.

5 Letter from your law school registrar or dean certifying your

enrollment and good academic standing.

6 Form signed by Chapter President of an active NBLSA chapter in

which you are a member, certifying your good standing with the

chapter and the chapter’s endorsement of your candidacy for the

NBLSA office sought.

7 Accounting of candidacy related expenses, excluding traveling

expenses. Bring with you to the mandatory candidate’s meeting.

Please submit documents 2-6 in the aforementioned order as one PDF document along with the

online submission of your application by 10:00 PM EST on Wednesday, March 2, 2011.

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AAPPPPLLIICCAATTIIOONN

1225 11th Street. N.W., Washington, DC 20001

2011 NBLSA Election Application

All materials are due March 2, 2011 10:00pm EST (NO EXCEPTIONS)

Name: ______________________________ School: __________________________

Phone: ____________ Year: ____________ Email: ____________

Position applying for: _________________________________________________________________

What other positions will you hold, apply, or run for election in any organization for 2011-2012?

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

Have you ever run for or held an office on the local, regional, or national level? If so, which position(s)?

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

What are your plans for the summer of 2011? Where will you be located?

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Statement of Understanding of Financial Obligation

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Please use the space below to discuss how you will pay for expenses as a National Board Member. Please include hotel, travel,

and food arrangements. Estimated Cost is $10,000 for Chair and Vice-Chair and $5,000 for all other positions.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I, <Type Here>, hereby acknowledge that I have read and understood the financial duties and obligations

of an elected official of the National Executive Board of the National Black Law Students Association

(NBLSA) as set forth in the organization’s constitution, by-laws and election materials. Please initial

<Type Here>

Typing your name below indicates that you understand your financial obligations as a Board Member.

Signature (Simply type name) Date

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NATIONAL OFFICER CANDIDATE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT AND PLEDGE

<Type Here> <Type Here>

NAME POSITION APPLYING FOR

<Type Here> <Type Here>

Email Address: YOUR SCHOOL: <Type Here>

<Type Here> YEAR IN SCHOOL: <Type Here>

I, <Type Here>, hereby acknowledge that I have read and understand the duties and obligations of an

elected official of the National Executive Board of the National Black Law Students Association (NBLSA)

as set forth in the organization’s constitution and by-laws. Please initial <Type Here>

I further pledge that if elected I will undertake any further preparation necessary to serve competently as

a member of NBLSA’s Board of Directors. Please initial <Type Here>.

Typing your name below indicates that you have read the acknowledgement and pledge and will abide by

them to the best of your ability.

Signature (Simply type name) Date

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CHAPTER ENDORSMENT OF CANDIDATE

CHAPTER NAME: CANDIDATE NAME:

<Type Here>

CHAPTER OFFICIAL: POSITION APPLYING FOR

<Type Here> <Type Here>

EMAIL ADDRESS OR PHONE NO. FOR CHAPTER

OFFICIAL:

CHAPTER NAME: <Type Here>

<Type Here> CHAPTER CONTACT INFO: <Type Here>

I, <Type Chapter Official Name and Position Here>, an elected official of <Type School Name Here>

BLSA chapter, hereby certify that <Type Candidate Name Here> is a member in good standing of our

chapter.

I further acknowledge that I read the duties and obligations associated with the position for which <Type

Candidate Name Here> seeks a National NBLSA office and confidently endorse him/her for election to

this position.

Typing your name below indicates that you, as a representative of your local chapter, have read the

certification form and relevant portions of the NBLSA constitution and by laws and therefore, based upon

this understanding have endorsed the above candidate for NBLSA office.

Signature (Simply type name) Date

If you choose not to endorse the candidate listed above, please do not sign the statement and attach a

document stating your reasons.