IX. ELECTIONS:
A. Elections for all elected officer positions are held in every calendar year during which a U.S. presidential election is held (every 4 years on the even numbered year). All members in good standing are eligible to run for office and/or cast a vote in the election of officers. (Exceptions: a member may not run for Treasurer unless he has been a member for five (5) or more consecutive uninterrupted years.)
1. During the first quarter of the calendar year of the election, the President shall issue a call for elections and an invitation of candidates to run for office through publication in the Society newsletter. The President shall announce the closing date for candidate applications. The closing date shall be at least 30 days after the President’s announcement of the closing date, and it shall be posted in the Kommendeur.
2. Candidates for election shall indicate a desire to run for office by forwarding a notice of their candidacy to the President and to the Editor for publication in the Kommandeur. The President shall promptly report such notification to the Officer Corps.
3. Candidates are encouraged to submit a formal statement of their candidacy to the Editor for publication in a pre-election issue of the Kommandeur. Follow-up statements are permitted, space and time allowing, prior to the vote.
4. In the second half of the calendar year of the election, the Editor shall prepare and distribute an election ballot to all members in good standing, to be published in the Kommandeur, The ballot will contain the email and postal mail address of the President. Members submitting ballots to the President may do so by email or by postal mail.
a. The ballot shall list the names of all candidates for office. Exception: a position for which there is only one candidate may be left off the ballot unless the Executive Committee directs otherwise.
b. The ballot shall list a deadline for receipt of ballots by the President. This deadline must be a minimum of thirty days after posting of the ballot in the Kommandeur.
c. Proper control procedures shall be implemented to ensure that no member will cast more than one ballot.
d. The ballot shall instruct members to return their ballots to the President for counting.
B. If no member challenges an incumbent by the deadline for receipt of candidate’s announcements, the incumbent office holder shall remain in office by default until the next scheduled election.
C. In the event of a tie vote for an elected officer position, a majority vote of the Executive
Committee shall break the tie. Any member of the Executive Committee who is involved in such a tie may not cast a ballot in the tie breaking vote.
D. Procedure for filling vacancies in the Officer Corps:
1. The President may fill a vacancy in any elected or appointed Officer position by designating another member who is willing to fill the position as the new appointed Officer. If the President declines to appoint another member, the Executive Committee may designate the new appointed Officer from members willing to fill the position.
2. For any vacancy in an Officer position, the following procedure will be used:
a. Notice of the position’s vacancy along with a brief description of the duties of the office is published in the Society newsletter or by email, inviting members who meet the qualifications of the office to apply for the open position. The deadline for receipt of applications is a minimum of thirty days after the posting of the announcement.
b. Members who are interested in filling the remainder of that position’s term of office shall send a notice to that effect to the President, who shall inform the Executive Committee and Editor of all candidates for any vacant position.
c. If more than one member applies to fill the open position by the specified deadline, the Executive Committee shall choose the replacement from the applicants by a majority vote. A tie vote shall require a second vote. In the event of a second tie, the candidate will be considered rejected, and a new candidate must be selected. If only one qualified member applies, that person does not become the replacement by default but must still be voted upon by the appropriate Committee.
E. The Executive Committee is responsible for seeing that the above procedures are carried out in accordance with these bylaws.
X. SOCIETY DUES:
A. As of January 2020, Dues for membership in AHIKS are FREE. Dues are set at Zero (0) Dollars per year. Any proposal for a dues increase must first be approved by a majority vote of the Executive Committee.
B. The President shall receive, count, and forward results to the Editor for publication in the Kommandeur.
XI. REMOVAL OF OFFICERS:
A. An elected officer may be removed from office for the following reasons:
1. Non-performance of duties.
2. Misuse of Society funds or property.
3. Gross violation of these bylaws, either as they apply specifically to that particular officer or as they apply to all officers in general.
4. By normal Election votes.
5. Being expelled from AHIKS for any reason.
6. Forced or voluntary resignation.
B. Appointed officers may be removed by a majority vote of the Executive Committee.
C. Procedure for removal of the President:
1. A three-fourth (3/4) vote of the Executive Committee is required for removal.
2. All members of the Executive Committee must be informed of any action in order to substantiate any charges and deliberate a course of action for the society.
3. The Vice President shall serve as interim President to the Executive Committee and shall submit to the Executive Committee a report of findings and suggest a consensus for a vote. This action must be completed within 60 days, or another member of the Executive Committee must be designated to start the process.
4. The President during this inquiry shall remain in office until final voting of the Executive Committee is submitted. Results will be published in the next scheduled issue of the Kommandeur to the Membership at Large for their information.
5. Upon removal of the President due to vote or resignation, the Vice President will assume the duties of the President until the next scheduled election, or until a new President can be appointed by the Executive Committee.
6. Certain procedural comments listed in Section XI. D. below may conflict with those of
Section XI C. 1 above; then information in Section XI C. 1 shall prevail where appropriate.
D. Procedure for removal of other Elected Officers:
1. An officer who is a member of the Executive Committee must place a motion for removal of any officers before the Executive Committee.
2. The Executive Committee officer initiating the removal motion (the Initiator) must notify in writing the officer whom the motion seeks to remove (the Defendant) about the motion, the reasons for its presentation, and include any other relevant information. The Initiator shall send the same notice to all members of the Executive Committee.
3. The Defendant is given sufficient opportunity (not less than 30 days after receipt of the notice) to reply in writing to the motion for removal. The Defendant shall send a copy of the response to the Initiator and all other members of the Executive Committee.
4. After consideration of all relevant factors, the Executive Committee must vote on whether to end removal proceedings or remove the officer in question. Neither the Initiator nor Defendant may participate in this vote. This vote must be approved by a majority of the Executive Committee members remaining after exclusion of the Initiator and Defendant. If the vote fails to gain approval by a majority, if the Executive Committee declines to vote on the matter, or if the vote ends in a tie, the removal process is ended. There is no appeal process.
5. The President, Vice President or Judge shall tally the votes. Whichever is the first-listed officer who is neither the Defendant nor the initiator.
6. If the removal vote is approved, the Initiator will notify the Defendant in writing of the results of the vote.
7. After determining the final vote count, the President or Judge shall forward the removal vote results and final count to the Executive Committee. The Editor shall then publish the information to the Membership at Large in the Kommandeur.