At least fifteen and no more than twenty-one (21) days prior to the date set for the close of the polls, the Election Committee shall mail to each member in good standing a large envelope addressed to the Election Committee Chairperson with the member's name and address in the upper left hand corner. Also enclosed in the large envelope shall be a small plain envelope and the voter's ballot.A Section of our Constitution under General Provisions reads as follows:
Any challenge to the conduct of an election must be within 10 days of the tentative certification of the results. The election committee shall rule on any such challenges and shall within 20 days of the tentative certification of the results make a final determination of certification.The election committee decides to have the election at a polling place instead of by mail ballot. Some of the candidates are unopposed and are not included on the ballot. These unopposed candidates are not included on the ballot and their election is confirmed by acclamation by the membership at the regular monthly meeting which includes some members that are not eligible to vote for candidates of certain positions. During and immediately following the election it is brought to the attention of the local's officers that this election [is in violation] of our local's bylaws. The ten days pass by and the elected officers are sworn in. A few months later, a different member discovers this violation of the local's bylaws and questions the validity of this election. He states that certain officers were not elected in accordance with our bylaws and they should be removed from office. His position: Since the election bylaws were violated first, any actions by the election committee in violation of the local's bylaws were immediately null and void. Thus the 10 day challenge rule of the Constitution does not apply. The present local's officers believe otherwise.
Who is right? - Antonio Arredondo, Dec. 8, 1999
A:
First, I recommend consulting an attorney about how your state's laws apply to this case.
Second, in my opinion, the local's officers are correct.
The Constitution, being a superior document, overrules the bylaws where there is any contradiction.
(See RONR p. 14.)
Your union, by adopting its Constitution, has chosen to give the Election Committee the final, unappealable voice in election matters.
Normally, the procedure to challenge a breach of the bylaws is to raise a Point of Order, which is ruled on by the chair.
This ruling may then be appealed by the assembly, who is the final arbiter.
(See RONR pp. 250-51.)
However, this procedure, relative to elections, is superceded by your Constitution.