·         Each chapter shall select two members in good standing to be delegates to represent the chapter in national business (at the national conference).  Delegates should be indicated on the registration form.  If a chapter does not have two members in good standing, then one member has two votes which represent the chapter.  Delegates will be contacted by the National Parliamentarian to discuss the election process and their responsibilities during the National Conference.

·         Delegates can only vote for a candidate that has complied with NSMH’s Official Candidate Guideline Policy.

·         A candidate running unopposed does not mean that he/she automatically gets the position.  Delegates reserve the right to abstain from voting if they feel that no candidate is qualified for the position.

·         All Board elections are done by individual ballots.

·         Persons elected to the National Board must receive a plurality vote by the delegation. 

·         The National Parliamentarian shall appoint an elections committee to count ballots.  This committee shall consist of one National Advisory Board member and National Chairperson to oversee the counting of the ballots, and two members in good standing along with National Parliamentarian to count the ballots (if either national board representative is vying for a position, the Parliamentarian will appoint another member to the committee).

·         Ballots are not to be counted until the end of candidates’ question and answer segment and the room is clear of all non-delegates and delegates.

·         The NEWLY elected National Board will be announced at the closing banquet.  The appointed elections committee will need to sign a form of confidentiality stating that they are not to discuss ANY INFORMATION PERTAINING TO THE RESULTS OF THE ELECTION before the official announcement.

·         Current National Board members are not allowed to openly campaign for or endorse any candidate during the elections process.

·         New National Board officers officially take term at the June transitional meeting, but are expected to be actively involved in the transition process during the time between elections and the transitional meeting.

Meet & Greet

The Meet & Greet will only be for candidates, delegates, and the Elections Committee.  This will give delegates the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the candidates on a personal level.  This will take place on the THURSDAY OF THE NATIONAL CONFERENCE, after the Delegates’ first meeting.   

·         Delegates will be attending a MEET & GREET the day before the speeches to have the opportunity to meet all the candidates on a more one-on-one basis.  Delegates vote on behalf of their respective chapters, therefore it is encouraged to receive feedback and discuss the candidates with their chapters before the speeches the next day.  Also, it is encouraged to view the Website, www.nsmh.org, for the candidate profiles ahead of time. 

·         Each candidate will be positioned in a certain area pertaining to the position he/she is seeking.

·         The National Parliamentarian will greet everyone and initiate the networking between all delegates and candidates.

·         Each candidate will be given the opportunity to give a brief introduction, by stating his/her name and position he/she is running for.

·         All candidates will be given small tickets with their name and the position for which they are running.  Once they have talked to a delegate, they will hand a ticket to the delegate.  The delegates should leave the Meet & Greet with a ticket from every candidate.  They will be able to use these tickets to WRITE comments regarding their conversation with the candidate.

·         The Elections Committee will monitor and encourage networking.

·         The length of each Meet & Greet will be from 30 minutes to an hour, at the most.  There will be two Meet & Greets occurring simultaneously where half of the candidates will be in one area and the others in another area.  This gives the Delegates more time with each candidate.

Candidate Speech Criteria

The following criteria are the tools given to candidates for speeches and the question & answer (Q&A) segment of the National Board Elections.  This document shall be the guideline that must be followed at each National Conference. 

·         All candidates are each allotted up to 3 minutes for his/her speech, with a 1 minute warning before the end.

·         All candidates applying for the same position will speak one after the other and then there will be a limit of 3 questions asked of each candidate, with priority given to the Delegates.

·         All questions are to be approved by the National Parliamentarian.  It is recommended that questions be prepared the night before and need to be relevant to the duties of the position on the floor.

·         The Q&A session will be restricted on a timely matter.

·         Delegates will have separate seating from the other NSMH audience members, restricted from interaction with them DURING candidate speeches.

·         Delegates will vote for the candidate of their choice after the Q&A session for each position and hand in their individual ballots.

·         Delegates will not be able to discuss candidate speeches with their chapters at this point. 

Tally Sheet

This is a tally which will allow the delegates to rate the potential candidates for National office on the basis of three categories; one (1) being the lowest and ten (10) being the highest rating.   This will help you to remember everything about the candidates. Keep your ratings and comments confidential.

Questionnaire:   1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   10

Comments:

Meet & Greet:   1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   10

Comments:

Speech:              1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   10

Comments: