Nominating committee time

[David Pettigrew]

Our nominating committee for annual elections is getting ready to meet next week. I seem to always butcher the process of coming up with a church ballot. Is there a way to do it that cuts down on ties? I've heard "nominate the number you need to elect plus one", but don't know if that's just a recommendation or a requirement.

Any suggestions for handling this often stressful but oh so necessary process?

If this has already been handled in another thread, would someone please repost it for me?

Thanks,
dp

[Barb Bouldrey]

My first word response is:

YUCK!

This is John's most dreaded time of the church year. The nominating committee will nominate more than twice needed to elect. The office secretary will send out letters. Most come back marked "NO." So we run a ballot with either just enough to elect or not enough to elect, so everyone on the ballot gets elected anyway.

And David, this happens in our large churches, too. People just do not want to give the time and commitment to serving.

John announced last year, "You have before you the ballot. The nominating committee nominated twice the number needed for each position on this ballot, but what you see before you are the only ones who agreed to have their names on the ballot."

He is trying to get the message across that more need to respond in a positive way. You know...guilt trip.

John does not beg anyone to run. Sometimes the nominating committee will meet a second time, once all letters are back, in an attempt to have enough names on the ballot.

We almost never have a tie. When we do, we just use small pieces of paper and break the tie.

Last year, John used the ballot booth setup in a Sunday School classroom. People could vote before Sunday School, between services or after worship. He had the room monitored by a teller or two. The tellers locked up the ballots during service and after worship. Then, the tellers came early for evening service to count the ballot and announce the results in the service.

Barb

[David Pettigrew]

Thanks, Barb. I agree with your husband - I hate this process more than anything I do as a pastor. Somebody always gets mad because they either weren't nominated or weren't elected. I can't imagine anyone getting mad about not being on the church board. I'd jump for joy if I didn't have to go to board meetings!

Maybe that should have been one of my suggestions on my "if you could change the church" thread. From now on, no elections. If you're willing to serve on the church board, you're in!

Of course, that would present a whole new set of problems, I'm sure.

[Doris Grant]

What we do is pass out or mail a list of positions to be voted upon. The church member marks the positions he or she will be willing to serve. We use those papers at the nomination committe meeting. That way we know who will or who will not serve in what positions.

Doris

[G R 'Scott' Cundiff]

Our nominating committee for annual elections is getting ready to meet next week. I seem to always butcher the process of coming up with a church ballot. Is there a way to do it that cuts down on ties? I've heard "nominate the number you need to elect plus one", but don't know if that's just a recommendation or a requirement.

Any suggestions for handling this often stressful but oh so necessary process?

If this has already been handled in another thread, would someone please repost it for me?

Thanks,
dp

As part of the nominating committee report, there is a statement that the pastor will not vote during the election, but will vote only to break a tie.

If there is a tie, both names are written on slips of paper, and in the meeting, I draw one of those names and cast my vote for that name -- thus breaking the tie.

I got the idea from Les Parrot's book.

[Barb Bouldrey]

That is a good idea, Doris. It might work and save some hurt feelings for those not nominated. But then, if I checked off a postions I would be willing to do and was not nominated, I would get my feeling hurt. LOL

It would be wonderful to have more than needed say "yes."

Barb

[G R 'Scott' Cundiff]

Here's some other stuff that I picked up somewhere or another and use. Of course they need to be adjusted for local situations:

That we elect by plurality, not majority (those getting the most votes are elected).
That the annual meeting serve as electing body for NWMS(oops my age is showing, NMI) President, and SS Superintendent as well the Church
That we nominate separate ballots for Stewards and Trustees, and, taking into account to account that some will continue to the second year of their term, that we nominate a number sufficient to have 4 Stewards and 4 Trustees after the election.
That any member in good standing may place their name in nomination to be a delegate.
That, of those on the delegate portion of the ballot, those receiving the two highest numbers of votes be elected delegates, and the next two be declared elected as alternates in order of election.
That the Assembly Delegates be considered elected to serve as S.S. Convention delegates too.
That, when the results of the ballots are reported, only vote results be reported, not vote tallies.
That the individual elected by the board to serve as Church Treasurer be considered elected Treasurer of all church auxiliaries.
That the pastor be granted authority to break any ties on the ballot, and that this be done by placing the tied names on slips of paper and drawn at random, his vote being cast for the name drawn.
That the Sunday School Teachers, along with the S.S. Supt. be considered elected to serve as the S.S. ministries board.

[Kevin Rector]

Our nominating committee for annual elections is getting ready to meet next week. I seem to always butcher the process of coming up with a church ballot. Is there a way to do it that cuts down on ties? I've heard "nominate the number you need to elect plus one", but don't know if that's just a recommendation or a requirement.

Any suggestions for handling this often stressful but oh so necessary process?

If this has already been handled in another thread, would someone please repost it for me?

Thanks,
dp

One of the "perks" of pastoring a very small church is you don't have to worry about stuff like this. For our election last year the ballot read (not a direct quote):

Vote Yes or No to keep all church board members and all elected officers from the previous year for the next year.

It passed unanimously. This year we might actually have a "real" election though because now we have more members.

[Marsha Lynn]

What we do is pass out or mail a list of positions to be voted upon. The church member marks the positions he or she will be willing to serve. We use those papers at the nomination committe meeting. That way we know who will or who will not serve in what positions.

A similar approach was used here last year for the first time. Except that there was no separate nominating committee since there was no need for nominations. The church board has decided to use the same method this year. I find that an interesting approach to deciding whether to follow the same procedure a second year. Duh! Of course, it's not a problem for the board members who nominated themselves to office last year!

I've spent the last umpteen years campaigning with various intensity for local election reform in order to change the long history of never electing a woman to the board if there was a man available to represent her household (resulting in years of predominantly male boards). The other major change last year was that the election was finally opened up to all, regardless of gender and marital status. \0/ (Hallelujah) Now the new nominating approach is providing protection from my campaign looking like a quest for personal advancement. Other than possibly as a delegate, I'm unlikely to ever nominate myself to a position in which no one has asked me to serve. I'm free to sit back and rejoice in equal access to board membership for men and women without having to be a member myself. Life is good.

:fav16

Marsha

[Kevin Rector]

Other than possibly as a delegate, I'm unlikely to ever nominate myself to a position in which no one has asked me to serve.

That's the inherent problem with a solution like this. Some people who are gifted in an area for service may be too humble to nominate themselves.

[Gary Swartzlander]

We have 10 elected members on our church board. All terms are for 2 years with 5 being elected each year. This year we will have one resignation at midterm due to one of our distinguished board members moving to NNU to teach in the fall. So, this year we will actually elect 6 with the person finishing in 6th place in balloting filling the remaining 1 year of that term.

As far as nominating, we will meet as a committee in a few weeks. Needing to elect 6 we will want to have at least 12 on the ballot. In our committee meeting we will ask committee members to suggest nominees. We often times will end up with 30 or 40 names on the list. We then whittle that number down to around 20 final nominees. A letter is sent to those nominees asking if they are willing to have their name placed on the ballot. We have never come up short on names to place on the final ballot.

Our elections will take place in May with balloting held during our 3 sunday morning services and 1 wednesday evening service.

[Bob Evans]

It's this time of the year that I once again am glad I am not a pastor.

God bless you guys.

[Barb Bouldrey]

Marsha,

Do I understand correctly that your church limited who voted in elections to married men until last year? And they had a history of electing only men from households?

WHOA.....I knew you had a history in a legalistic area but I guess I never knew HOW legalistic.

But then, when I was at ONU the Indianapolis District was known as the legalistic district on the ONU region. John performed the wedding of a close friend of mine at the Spiceland church and I was shunned because I cut my hair and wore a wedding band.
That was in 1976.

Barb

[Anne and Dwayne Hood]

Thank the Lord that I am not a pastor's wife now. Hopefully, Dwayne will be speaking at another church the Sunday of the election, at the church we attend.