The official slate of candidates for the 2012 AACE International election is posted for review on the AACE website.
From the homepage, place your mouse over “Membership and AACE,” then to “Organizational Leadership and Structure,” and from the “Links” box at the right, drop down to “Nominations/Elections.” Or simply click here. You can also use the "Get Ready to Vote" banner on the front page for a direct link.
The 2012 slate of candidates from the Nominating Committee was posted at the website on Nov. 15 to meet a bylaws mandate for providing this information to the membership. That deadline exists so members can add candidates by a petition process through Dec. 15. It is rare that any candidates are added by petition. The 2012 electronic ballot will be available for voting from Feb. 1 through 4 p.m. Eastern time on March 15.
The nominating committee has added a “Ask Your Candidates” forum and members have until Dec. 31 to e-mail suggested questions to pastpres@aacei.org. Candidates will be provided with a maximum of 10 questions to respond to. The questions and candidate responses will be posted at an online forum on Jan. 31, 2012.
Also on the ballot will be a constitution amendment to remove an inconsistency between the AACE constitution and bylaws regarding the percentage of for votes required to pass amendments. Currently, the constitution requires a three-fourths affirmative vote and the bylaws requires a two-thirds affirmative vote. The 2012 constitution amendment would unify the affirmative vote at two-thirds for both the constitution and the bylaws.
Members are also reminded that which ballot they receive is determined by what they list as their primary section membership. This influences who gets to vote for whom in the Director-Region contests. In 2012, Director-Region officers will be elected for Regions 1,2,4,7, and 9. Members must make any changes in their primary section classification no later than Dec. 31, 2011. The master voter list will be pulled based upon classifications as of Dec. 31, 2011. Anyone who joins in early 2012 will not be eligible to vote. Members who change their primary section classification after Dec. 31 will receive a ballot based upon the listing as of Dec. 31, and changes after that date will have no impact on the 2012 election.
Members in regions not electing a director-region candidate will receive a ballot that does not include access to any of the director-region candidates. Members in the regions electing a director-region candidate will receive a ballot with the candidate(s) for their particular region. This is because director-region candidates are elected by members in each specific region and not by the membership as a whole.
Qualified voters will access the candidate bio, goals, photos and the actual ballots from the AACE website. AACE contracts with Votenet Solutions to be the independent 3rd party provider of the election software and to set up and oversee the integrity of the voting process. Once a member logs in and saves their choices on a ballot, they cannot alter or amend their vote. We have had rare cases of a member voting and then contacting AACE headquarters complaining that they voted on the wrong ballot. Once anyone completes their voting, we cannot do anything to allow you to revote based upon any errors you made with the original ballot you cast. Just like regular city, state or US federal elections, any attempt to alter or recast a ballot will result in Votenet election officials challenging that ballot and removing it from the official tally of votes cast.
If you log on and feel you receive a ballot for the wrong director-region candidates or you receive no director-region candidates but believe you are in a region electing a candidate in 2012, stop and contact AACE headquarters before proceeding with completing your ballot. If you vote for board members and complete the process, thinking you can then go back and get a ballot for the director-region candidates, that is a wrong assumption. You only get one time to submit a ballot and that will conclude your ability to vote in 2012.
Anyone with any election questions can e-mail editor@aacei.org. Once the February 1 through 4 p.m. March 15 voting period opens, we will try and get back to you as quickly as possible with an answer to any voting questions. If you e-mail or call after regular office hours or on weekends, your probably will not receive an answer to your question until the next business day when staff is in the office.
Also, please note that for the 2012 election, voting will close at 4 p.m. Eastern US time on March 15, 2012. In prior years, we have had voters wait until very close to the shut down of voting and encounter problems that prevent them from voting. Please cast your votes early enough that if you encounter problems there is time for AACE headquarters to respond and attempt to help you have a successful voting experience. The 4 p.m. March 15 cut off will be an automatic computer controlled shut down of voting and cannot be changed.
The official slate of candidates for the 2012 AACE International election is posted for review on the AACE website.
