• The Nominating Committee consists of representatives from each Division and the immediate Past President, who shall serve as the committee chairperson.  [Bylaws. Article XIV Sec. 1]
• Candidates for Vice-President-President Elect, Secretary-Treasurer, Directors at Large, PNLA Representative, MPLA Representative, and ALA Chapter Councilor shall be nominated as the respective terms expire. [Bylaws. Article XIV, Sec. 2]
• For the office of Vice President-President Elect, the Nominating Committee shall seek to maintain an equitable balance among the MLA divisions, striving to obtain nominees from the membership who would well-represent all types of libraries.
• Offices to be filled are:
  • Vice President-President Elect (one-year term)
  • Secretary-Treasurer (two-year term)
  • Directors at Large (two-year, staggered terms)
  • ALA Chapter Councilor (three-year term)
  • MPLA Representative (three-year term)
  • PNLA Representative (three-year term)
• All members are encouraged to participate in the nominations process. Opportunities should be provided to enable individual members to nominate candidates, including themselves, for the elective offices. Information about nominations should be included with the annual ballot, soliciting possible candidates for the next year’s slate of officers. The chair should solicit nominations via Montana Library Focus newsletter, Wired listerserv and other appropriate venues encouraging members to submit their names or names of colleagues to the chair for consideration. The final determination of the annual slate to be placed in nomination rests with the Nominating Committee; however, all ballots must include a space for write-in votes. The chair should secure permission from the nominees to put their names in nomination and give a definite date by which reply in writing must be received. If more than one person is being nominated for any office, each should be told there is a possibility of competition.
• The slate of officers should be finalized by February 1. The slate, including a biographical sketch and statement from each candidate, should be included in the conference pre-registration mailing. The chair should coordinate with the President and the Conference Planning Committee to accomplish this.
• In consultation with the President, the Board of Directors, and the Conference Planners, the chair is responsible for scheduling, coordinating, and hosting a time at one or more general conference sessions at which each candidate for office may be introduced to the members and make a short statement.
• Immediately following the annual conference and in any event no later than two weeks following the conference, the chair should coordinate with the Executive Director to send out a ballot to all active Association members. [Bylaws. Article, XIV, Sec. 3]. A biographical sketch on, and a short statement from, each candidate should be enclosed with the ballot. The ballot shall also contain appropriate spaces for write in candidates for each position. MLA elections will be done by electronic ballot when possible.
• Ballot results should be returned to the chair, who shall make arrangements for them to be counted. The ballot should include the chair’s contact information and a deadline date for return of ballots. The candidates receiving the highest number of votes shall be elected. An official report of the election results should be prepared by the chair and transmitted to the President and the Vice President-President Elect. After counting, the ballots should be sent to the Executive Director, who will keep them on file for one year before discarding them.
• Immediately after the ballots have been counted and no later than May 1, the chair should notify nominees whether or not they were elected. All candidates should be thanked for their willingness to serve the Association by running for office. Those elected should be invited to the June Board retreat.
• Once the nominees have been notified of the outcome of the election, the chair should announce the election results to the membership through a report in Montana Library Focus and/or any other available avenues of communication. The results of the election should be announced to the members before the end of May [Bylaws. Article XIV, Sec. 4].
• New officers and directors shall assume office on June 1.

Revised July 2015

Revised January 2020