Board Policies and Procedures

Board Officer Election Procedures

1. Purpose

This procedure establishes a method for conducting elections for officers of the Board of Regents to ensure the fair, transparent, and smooth transition of leadership as authorized by KRS 164.321(11) and the Bylaws of the Board of Regents.

2. Scope

This policy applies to all duly appointed and elected members of the KCTCS Board of Regents during their terms of service on the board, and to all elections for officers conducted by the Board.

3. Procedure

The Board of Regents shall elect from its membership a Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary, and such other officers as it may deem necessary, at the annual June Board meeting. All elections shall be conducted in compliance with state law and KCTCS policies and procedures. Regents attending through videoconference shall be visible and audible for the meeting to fully participate.

3.1 Officers

The Board's officers shall consist of a Chair, a Vice Chair, and a Secretary. In its discretion, the Board may create and incorporate other officers in its structure and bylaws as it determines necessary. Creation of such offices may not occur during an election.

3.2 Eligible Members

Any duly elected or appointed member of the Board of Regents may be nominated and may stand for election. Regents whose membership on the Board may expire prior to the September Board meeting following election are not prohibited from being nominated or standing for election unless they are not eligible for reappointment or reelection to the Board. No specific qualification or experience shall be necessary to hold office, but the Board may discuss and properly consider time on the Board, leadership roles on the Board, and record of meaningful participation on the Board as well as attendance.

3.3 Terms

1. All offices shall be held for a period of one (1) year, including all regular and special-called meetings during that period. The year will begin and the office shall pass to the newly elected officers upon tally of the vote for all offices at the June meeting.
    
2. The Chair shall serve for no more than two (2) consecutive one-year (1 year) terms.
    
3. Regent who served as Chair for consecutive terms may not stand for election as Chair again until after one (1) year out of office.
    
4. No term limits apply to the offices of Vice Chair or Secretary.
    
5. The terms for any other offices created by the Board shall be set upon vote of the Board and revision of the Board Bylaws.

3.4 Order of Election

Officer elections shall generally be the last action item on the agenda of the June meeting. Each office will be opened for nominations, closed for nominations, floor speeches given, and the vote taken before moving to the next office. At the agenda item, the Chair shall hold the election in the following order:

1. Chair of the KCTCS Board of Regents
2. Vice Chair of the KCTCS Board of Regents
3. Secretary of the KCTCS Board of Regents
4. Any other offices created by prior passage of a Board proposition.

3.5 Nominations

Nominations shall be taken from the floor. Regents may nominate others or themselves. Nominees must be physically present, or visible and audible through video teleconference participation. Regents may not stand for election in absentia. Prior to moving nominations forward, the Chair shall ask the nominee to confirm their wish to stand for election. If a nominee declines a nomination for one office, they are not prohibited from nomination for different office.

3.6 Closing the Nominations for Each Office

Nominations shall remain open for each office until it appears no further nominations are forthcoming. At that time, the Chair shall confirm there are no more nominations before closing nominations for that office.

3.7 Floor Speeches

After closing nominations for each office, the Chair shall call for nominees to speak about any matter relevant to their experience or qualifications to act as that officer for the KCTCS Board of Regents.  Nominees shall have no longer than five minutes to speak and may do so in the form of a speech or a mixture of speech and request for questions. Regents shall not be refused the ability or right to ask questions of the nominees or to discuss the nominees through civil and germane debate. Without extenuating circumstances to justify the presentation of materials, nominees shall not be entitled to present documents or other materials and shall be limited to a floor speech and/or questions.

3.8 Voting

1. When there is only one nominee for an office, the Chair shall declare that person elected by unanimous consent.
    
2. When there are multiple nominees, the KCTCS Parliamentarian shall announce the nominees in the order in which the nominations occurred, then conduct voting through roll call vote.
    
3. When the Regent's name is called, they shall respond with the name of the nominee of their choice as an affirmative vote for that nominee.
    
4. Nominees may not vote for themselves, they may abstain during the voting.
    
5. The votes for each position shall be tallied and recorded in the minutes.
    
6. The nominee receiving a simple majority of the votes shall be declared elected.
    
7. In the event of a tie, the tied candidate shall be considered for a new vote unless one concedes. The Chair will ask the voting Regents to vote again by roll call vote. 

3.9 Challenges

Any challenges to a nominee should be made and considered prior to the vote for the position and shall be considered waived if not raised at that time. Any challenges to the manner and tally of the vote taken for a position shall be made prior to the declaration of the successful candidate or shall be considered waived.

3.10 Officer Vacancy

1. A special election to fill a vacancy for an unexpired term shall be conducted in the same manner as a regular election.
    
2. The special election shall take place no later than the beginning of the next regular meeting following the vacancy but may be the subject of a special called meeting in accordance with Board bylaws.
    
3. If a special election for Chair occurs prior to December of any year, that term shall count as the first year of the two-year term limit described in 3.3(B).

3.11 Review of Procedures

The Board shall review these procedures and ratify their continuation every three years. Should the need arise for revision prior to review, the Board may entertain a motion to revise.