For the March 16,
2004, Zone-Director Board Members Election
and subsequent
At-Large Elections of MVCC.
MVCC Approved Election Schedule
for the 2004 election:
Candidate Information Session: Tuesday, January 20, 2004, Mar Vista School
Candidate Filing Meeting: Tuesday, February 17, 2004.
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., Mar
Vista, CA, 90066
Installation of newly Elected
Board and Annual MVCC Meeting: 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.
The meetings are open to the public.
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 Department of Neighborhood Empowerment (DONE) Election Procedures Working Group has established a standard set of definitions that relate to Neighborhood Council Elections. Those definitions are adopted by the MVCC Election Committee and are to be used in conjunction with MVCC’s election procedures.
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 “Final Arbitrator” for the MVCC election.
MVCC Elections shall follow a “Pre-prepared Ballot Elections” format with no “Vote-by-mail” provision.
In years 2003,2005,2007, etc. the MVCC Election will be for Seven(7) At-Large Directors. In years 2004,2006,2008, etc. the MVCC Election will be for Six(6) Zone-Directors, with each Zone director being a stakeholder and representing their respective Zone.
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
Stakeholder Registration Form
Candidate Declaration Form
This package will be submitted to DONE for printing and distribution to the community.
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.
Stakeholders who wish to vote must complete a Stakeholder Registration Form (SRF) that provides:
the individual’s name, stakeholder address, e-mail address, telephone number (optional), stakeholder category designation (each voter must indicate one stakeholder category, despite being eligible for more than one), and stake holder’s Zone designation (one through six).
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 At-Large Election:
Each voter may vote for no more than seven candidates on the at-large ballot.
For Zone-Director Election:
Each voter may vote for no more than one candidate on the zone ballot.
Candidate applications for the MVCC Board of Directors will be received by the Election Committee, by mail or hand delivery at a designated site(s), through the date and time of the Candidate Filing Meeting in order to be a valid candidate for the election. Candidates may appear in person or be presented by a third-party. Candidate must acknowledge their candidacy through candidate forms.
At-Large-Director Candidates must be registered and verified as stakeholders within the approved Mar Vista Community Council boundaries. Zone-Director Candidates must be registered and verified as stakeholders within their respective Zone’s boundaries.
There will be no late candidate filling allowed.
Candidate’s eligibility will be verified by the Election Committee.
At least one Candidate orientation program will be held prior to Election Day to brief candidates on election procedures, expectations and responsibilities of a Board Member. Attendance at the Candidate Orientation is recommended, but not required. Information for Candidates will be available from the Election Committee and the web site.
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.
Only candidate photographs taken at a Candidate Orientation can be used for MVCC election purposes.
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. Attendance at the forum is mandatory for all candidates. Candidates that fail to appear before the stakeholders shall be removed from the candidate list.
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 may be used to count the ballots. The Election Committee and The League of Women Voters will observe the ballot count.
Provisional Ballot: Provisional ballots will only be counted after validation of the ballot by the Election Committee, and only if they can change 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 “Final Arbitrator”.
As stated in the 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
party is empowered to determine the resolution of any issues that arise
through the election process (“Final Arbitrator”). Also, the independent third party Final
Arbitrator will verify the candidate
status in the even event of a
challenge.
All challenges to the election
must be submitted in writing within 5 working days of the election to the Final
Arbitrator. Every effort will be made to
provide a determination within 30 working days. Decisions of the Final Arbitrator
will be final.
All challenges to the election must be submitted in writing within 5 working days of the election to the “Final Arbitrator”. 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 DONE.
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.
© 2003 Mar Vista Community Council. All Rights Reserved.