For the March 16,
2004 Election of Zone-Director Board Members of MVCC.
Approved – Date Jan. 13, 2004
MVCC Approved Election Schedule for the 2004 election:
Candidate Information Session: 7:00 PM, Tuesday, January 20, 2004, Mar Vista Elementary School,
3330 Granville Blvd., Los Angeles, CA, 90066.
Candidate Orientation and
Filing Meeting: 7:00 PM, Tuesday, February
17, 2004, Mar Vista Elementary School, 3330
Granville Blvd., Los Angeles, CA, 90066.
Candidate Filing Deadline: Hand delivered or postmarked no later than 11:59 PM
Tuesday, February 17, 2004. Send or deliver to 12301 Clover Ave. Los
Angeles, CA 90066.
MVCC Candidate Forum and
Election: March 16, 2004 (Election Day).
Forum: 5:15 to 6:00 PM, Election: from 6:00 to 8:00 PM.
Location: Mar Vista Elementary School, 3330 Granville Blvd., Los
Angeles, CA, 90066.
Installation of newly Elected
Board and Annual MVCC Meeting:
(Pending
certification and resolution of any challenges to the election.)
Tuesday,
April 20, 2004, 7:00 PM, Mar Vista Park.
Composition:
The Mar Vista Elections Committee is composed of up to six
(6) community stakeholders. Any stakeholder that is a candidate or
plans to be a candidate must exclude them selves from the Election Committee.
Participation in the Election Committee or election process may be a cause for
rejection as a candidate from the Election. The Election Committee meetings are
open to the public.
Charge: From the MVCC Bylaws:
Duties/Responsibilities:
Conduct nominations for Directors,
Verify that the nominees have met candidacy criteria,
Promote, announce and schedule an election,
Produce ballots for the election,
Certify each stakeholder when the ballot is issued,
Count ballots, determine the winners, and certify the
election,
Announce results, and
Install new Board Members.
The definitions in Appendix A are in effect for this
document.
The Election Committee has determined that in order to
guarantee a fair election and a fair outcome, that it shall ask the League of
Women Voters (LoWV) to act as the Third Party Election Administrator. As such
the LoWV shall assist the Election Committee by, but not limited to, overseeing
(or) observing the election voting process and receipt of the ballots from the
ballot boxes and to overseeing (or) observing the ballot counting and to
announce the election results.
The Department of Neighborhood Empowerment (DONE) will act
as the Third Party Arbitrator for the MVCC election.
MVCC Elections shall follow a Pre-prepared Ballot Elections
format with no Vote-by-mail provision.
After each annual election, once the new directors are
installed, they will conduct an
Election of the following officers: Chair, 1st
Vice-Chair, 2nd Vice-Chair, Secretary and Treasurer. This annual
officer election shall follow a Same Day Election format.
The Election Committee will prepare an Election Announcement
Package, in both English and Spanish, to announce the Board’s election
process. The package will include the following:
Introductory information about the
Mar Vista Community Council
Election policies and procedures
Election events and times
Mar Vista Community Council
boundaries and zone map
This package will be submitted to DONE for printing.
The Mar Vista Community Council, the MVCC Election
Committee, the MVCC Outreach Committee and, also, any volunteers will:
make presentations to community groups;
ensure that information about the Council and the election
will be published in community newsletters, church bulletins, flyers for
neighborhood distribution;
create posters and flyers, and make arrangements to display
them in local businesses, community centers;
send e-mail messages to all stakeholders (where possible),
inviting them to run for election and informing them of election processes;
post election information on the MVCC website, and at least
5 locations where the information is accessible to public view; and
post registration and candidate declaration forms on the
MVCC website.
From the revised MVCC Bylaws:
The Mar Vista Community Council shall be composed of, and made available
to, all stakeholders within the stated boundaries. Stakeholders include individuals
living, working, or owning property within the boundaries, as indicated in
Article I. Only stakeholders 18 years of age or older may vote.
Provisional ballots will be issued to voters whose
stakeholder status cannot be immediately determined and the ballot will be
accepted and sealed for provisional counting.
Stakeholders who wish to vote must complete a Stakeholder
Registration Form (SRF).
All stakeholders, at the designated time on election day,
must register as a stakeholder by submitting the completed SRF attesting their
stakeholder status to an election official.
SRF’s must be completed by stakeholders on election
day and submitted to an election official to receive a ballot.
After completing a stakeholder registration form and
receiving a valid ballot all stakeholders may vote in the election subject to
the following:
For Zone-Director Election:
Each voter may vote for no more
than one candidate on the ballot.
At least one Candidate orientation program will be held
prior to the Candidate Filing deadline of 11:59 PM Tuesday, February 17, 2004
to brief candidates on election procedures, expectations and responsibilities
of a Board Member. Participation in the Candidate Orientation is recommended,
but not required. Candidates may appear in person or be presented by a
third-party. Information for
Candidates will be available from the Election Committee and the web site.
Only candidate photographs taken at a Candidate Orientation
can be used for MVCC election purposes.
Candidate applications for the MVCC Board of Directors will
be received by the Election Committee no later than February 17, 2004, by mail
(postmarked before 11:59 PM) or hand delivery to 12301 Clover Ave, LA, CA,
90066 (delivered before 11:59 PM) in order to be a valid candidate for the
election. Candidate must acknowledge their candidacy through candidate forms. Candidates
will be asked to electronically submit a qualifying statement (not to exceed
150 words) and a vision statement for the Council (not to exceed 150 words) for
publication on the MVCC website prior to Election Day. These statements will be available for voter
review outside of the voting site on election day. Combined statements will be
truncated to 300 words.
Zone-Director Candidates must be registered and verified as
stakeholders within their respective Zone’s boundaries. Candidate’s
eligibility will be verified and approved by the Election Committee. Acceptable
proof of Stakeholder status will be similar to that of cashing a check or
applications for employment.
There will be no late candidate filling allowed.
From 5:15 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Election Day, a Candidate Forum
will be held for the Mar Vista Community Stakeholders. Candidates will be asked to present a
two-minute presentation regarding their candidacy. In the interest of time and to ensure that all candidates
are given sufficient time, no questions will be taken from the audience until
all of the candidate presentations are completed. Participation in the forum is mandatory for all candidates.
Candidates that fail to appear before the stakeholders shall be removed from
the candidate list.
Candidates must be stakeholders in the zone for which they intend
to represent.
Instructions will be provided to each registered stakeholder
voter in either English or Spanish on how to use the ballots.
Votes must be cast only on the official ballot, and voting
must be based upon the instructions given to the stakeholder with the ballot.
All ballots will be numbered to avoid duplicate votes. Any ballots that are duplicated or
otherwise altered will not be counted. Ballots that do not conform to the
voting instructions will not be counted.
Provisional ballots will be issued to voters whose
stakeholder status cannot be immediately determined and the ballot will be
accepted and sealed for provisional counting.
No candidate will be allowed to handle or count the ballots
once they are cast. Each candidate or their designated representative may
observe, but not handle the ballot(s) and must not interfere with the counting
process.
Five minutes before closing the polls, an election official
shall declare that the polls will close in 5 minutes. After this declaration, no ballots shall be put into the
ballot boxes except for the ballots of voters still in the process of check-in,
or completing their ballots at the time the election is declared
‘closed.’ The election
area will then be closed, and no one except the person or person (s) assigned
to handle the ballots will be allowed to enter.
Ballots will then be secured by the election official and
counting will proceed in accordance with the Election Committee’s
schedule.
Electronic machines will be used to count the ballots.
Primary and secondary machines will be identified. In the unlikely event that
those systems are unable to provide a tally, then a tertiary source of counting
machines will be solicited. Ballot counting will be completed within ten (10) business
days. The Election Committee and The League of Women Voters will observe the
ballot count.
Provisional Ballot: Provisional ballots will be counted and
identified separately.
Provisional ballots are usually used only if they effect the
outcome of the election.
Absentee Ballot: No absentee ballots may be cast.
Members of Mar Vista Community Council or Election Committee
who are not candidates and other volunteers will conduct voter and candidate
check-in, distribution of ballots and related activities during election hours.
Each registration area will have binders holding copies of
candidate registration forms.
Registered stakeholders will be directed by election-day
volunteers to the check-in table.
They will be asked for their name and stakeholder basis. When the stakeholder is verified by the
election official the stakeholder will receive a ballot and be directed to the
voting area.
No proxy votes will be allowed.
Tie votes will be decided by a toss of a coin conducted by
the Third Party Election Administrator.
As stated in the amended and (to be approved) MVCC bylaws:
The Election Committee may engage an independent
third party (Third Party Election Administrator), such as the League of Women
Voters, which will be responsible for overseeing the election process. Further,
the Election Committee may engage an independent third to determine the
resolution of any issues that arise through the election process (Third Party Arbitrator).
Also, the Third Party Arbitrator will verify the candidate status in the event
of a challenge.
All challenges to the election
must be submitted in writing within 5 working days of the election to the Third
Party Arbitrator. Every effort will be made to provide a determination within
30 working days. Decisions of the Third Party Arbitrator will be final.
All challenges to the election must be submitted in writing
within 5 working days of the election to the Third
Party Arbitrator (DONE, 305 E. First
St., Los Angeles, CA 90012, or by
e-mail to Jonathan Martinez, Project Coordinator, DONE atjmartinez@mailbox.lacity.org).
Every effort will be made to provide a determination within 30 working days.
Decisions will be final. All stakeholders, candidates and their representative
agree to be bound by the decisions of the arbitrator.
The Election Committee will transfer the ballots and voting
tabulation materials to a secure location in accordance with the Third Party
Election Administrator.
Election results will be posted on the MVCC website, through
newsletters, newspapers and other public organs.
Results of the election will be posted at the 5 or more
selected sites accessible to the public.
Newly elected Board Members will be installed at the next
meeting of the MVCC Board of Directors by the Election Committee.
Sometime between 30-60 days following the election, and in
accordance with the City Attorney, the MVCC Board of Directors will determine
the need to retain in storage the ballots and other election materials.
© 2004 Mar Vista Community Council. All Rights
Reserved.
Note: These are general definitions, developed by DONE. They
are included for reference only and some may not apply to a specific election.
“Absent Voter” means
any voter casting a ballot in any way other than at the polling place.
“All Vote By Mail
Election” means an election conducted in which the only voting option is
using a ballot that is voted and placed in a sealed envelope, which is then
delivered to the election official via the U.S. mail, private courier or hand
delivery.
“Board of Neighborhood
Commissioners (BONC)” means the seven (7) member appointed commission responsible for policy setting
and policy oversight, including the approval of contracts and leases and the
promulgation of rules and regulations, but not the day to day management of the
Department of Neighborhood Empowerment or the neighborhood councils.
“Campaigning” means
a series of actions conducted by a candidate(s) or person(s) on behalf of a
candidate(s) intended to influence voters to vote a certain way. Such actions
may include, but are not limited to, the distribution of printed or electronic
material, making of telephone calls, giving of speeches in a public setting,
discussions with individuals or small groups of voters, placement of signs,
etc. (see Electioneering below.)
“Challenge” means a
written complaint
filed by a stakeholder that the election was improperly conducted and the
results should be set aside or overturned.
“Department of
Neighborhood Empowerment (DONE)” means the City department responsible to
implement and oversee the ordinances and regulations creating the system of
neighborhood councils enacted pursuant to City Charter Section 905 including:
preparing a plan for the creation of a system of neighborhood councils,
assisting neighborhood councils in the certification process and in the
election/selection of their governing board members, arranging Congress of Neighborhoods
meetings as requested by neighborhood councils, arranging for the provision of
training to neighborhood councils, and assisting neighborhood councils in
operational and logistical areas.
“Electioneering” means to solicit a vote or
speak to a voter on the subject of marking his or her ballot; to place a
sign(s) relating to any candidate or other matter to be voted on; to distribute
material relating to any candidate or other matter to be voted on; or to place
a sign(s), distribute material, or converse with a voter on the subject of the
voter’s qualifications to vote.
Electioneering is an aspect of campaigning but
is generally understood to mean the activities targeted
at voters when they are engaged in arriving to the polling place or in the actual
act of voting.
“Third Party
Arbitrator” means the person(s) or organization selected to review and
issue final findings relative to a Challenge filed against the election. This
person(s) or organization shall not be the Third Party Election Administrator.
“Third Party Election
Administrator” means the person(s) or organization responsible for
conducting the actual election.
Duties include, but are not limited to, setting up and managing the polling
location(s), checking in voters, distributing and receiving ballots, tabulating
the votes, announcing the election results, and securing the election
materials.
“Election
Procedures” mean the written procedures and methods adopted by a Neighborhood Council,
consistent with their by- laws and approved by the Department of Neighborhood
Empowerment, that are used to conduct the Neighborhood Council’s
governing board member elections.
“Person” means an
individual human being.
“Pre-Prepared Ballot
Election” means an election in which the candidates file prior to the
election and are included on a printed ballot that is distributed to the voters
at the polling location(s) on election day.
“Pre-Prepared Ballot
Election with the Vote By Mail Component” means an election in which the
candidates file prior to the election and are included on a printed ballot that
is distributed to and voted by the voters either at: 1) the polling location(s)
on election day or 2) or via the U.S. mail or alternative delivery service.
“Provisional Ballot”
means a ballot cast by a voter whose eligibility to vote in the election cannot
be determined at the time the vote is cast. The voter’s eligibility will
be verified at a later date pursuant to methods specified in the Election
Procedures and the ballot will be processed subject to the outcome of the
verification process.
“Proxy” voting means
the written or verbal authorizing of one person to act (vote) for another as an
agent or substitute, (e.g.” I hereby authorize ______ to cast a vote for
_____ in my place.”)
“Recount” means
counting the votes cast again for a particular contest or for the entire
election to determine if the original vote tally is accurate.
“Same Day Election
Format” means an election in which the candidates are nominated and the
voting takes place on the same day and at the same general location.
“Stakeholder” means
a person who, pursuant to the Neighborhood Council’s by- laws is eligible
to be a candidate and/or vote in the Neighborhood Council’s governing
board election.
“Vote-By-Mail
Ballot” means a ballot that is voted and placed in a sealed envelope,
which is then delivered to the election official via the U.S. mail, private
courier or hand delivery
“Write-In Candidate”
means a candidate who is not included on the pre-prepared printed ballot but for
whom voters may cast a vote by writing in the candidate’s name in the
appropriate space provided on the ballot.
© 2003 Mar Vista Community Council. All Rights Reserved.