Voting for ACB 2024 National Conference and Convention
• All Vote-Now procedures apply to the 2024 Conference and Convention.
• ACB will use Vote-Now for up to five (5) contested Board of Director positions and up to three (3) contested Board of Publications (BOP) positions; Resolutions requiring a record vote; and all Constitution and Bylaws amendments.
• The vote count is comprised of two (2) parts: the individual vote and the affiliate vote.
• ACB plans to adhere to our current voting process as closely as possible.
• May 12th is the deadline for affiliate Presidents to submit the delegate, alternate, and representative for Nominating committee to ACB Secretary Denise Colley. Include the names, phone, email and whether the delegate and alternate will be in Jacksonville or attending via Zoom.
• Anyone registered as a member with the National office by May 24th is eligible to vote; the right to vote is not tied to convention registration.
Virtual Convention Timeline
All times listed are in Eastern Daylight Time (EDT).
Monday, June 24th
• 7:00 PM: Opening of the convention with the adoption of standing rules and first reading of credentials.
• 8:00 PM: Nominating Committee. The Zoom room will open at 7:30 PM and will be locked promptly at 8:00. The slate for the five (5) Board of Director positions, and three (3) Board of Publications (BOP) positions will be decided.
Tuesday, June 25th
• 7:00 PM: Constitution and bylaws changes are read; no other action is taken on these.
Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday (June 25th, 26th, and 27th)
• 7:00 PM: Resolutions will be debated, and votes will be taken using the Raise hand in Zoom.
Wednesday, June 26th
• 2:00 – 4:00 PM: Mock Election to practice using the Vote Now system.
Friday, June 28th
• 7:00 PM: final reading of credentials
• Proposed changes to the constitution and by-laws are read and debated.
Monday, July 1st
• 12:00 PM – 4:00 PM: The individual record vote for all Constitution and Bylaws amendments and those Resolutions for which a record vote has been requested will take place using the Vote-Now system.
• 5:00 – 6:30 PM: The affiliate roll call vote will be taken. Delegates must report to the Zoom room to record their votes. Members may listen to the roll call on ACB Media. The outcome will be announced when the vote is completed.
Individual Votes Timeline
• Tuesday, June 25th 7:00 – 10:00 PM: Resolutions
• Wednesday, June 26th 7:00 – 10:00 PM: Resolutions
• Thursday, June 27th 7:00 – 10:00 PM: Resolutions
• Friday, June 28th 7:00 – 10:00 PM: Constitution and Bylaws second reading and debate. Any amendment proposed during debate will be voted by a raise of hands.
Individual Record Vote Timeline (Vote-Now)
• Wednesday, June 26th: 2:00 – 4:00 PM: Mock Elections
• Monday, July 1st from 12:00 – 4:00 PM: Resolutions for which a record vote has been requested, and all final versions of Constitution and By-Laws amendments.
• Monday, July 8th 2:00 – 6:00 PM: first contested election.
• Tuesday, July 9th 2:00 – 6:00 PM: Second contested election.
• Wednesday, July 10th 2:00 – 6:00 PM: Third contested election
• Thursday, July 11th during general session: Fourth contested election.
Affiliate Voting Timeline (roll-call vote)
• Monday, July 1st from 5:00 – 6:30 PM: Resolutions requiring a record vote, all final versions of Constitution and Bylaws amendments.
• Tuesday, July 9th during general session: First contested election
• Wednesday, July 10th during general session: Second contested election
• Thursday, July 11th during general session: Third contested election
Voting Process
• The Nominating Committee slate will be presented Sunday, July 7th at the opening general session of ACB’s Conference and Convention.
• Elections will begin with the first of five (5) board of director positions and will continue throughout the week until a contested election occurs. After the board of director positions are elected, we will continue with the three (3) board of publication (BOP) positions.
• If an election is not contested, the candidate submitted by the Nominating Committee will be elected by acclamation.
• If a candidate is nominated from the floor for the position under consideration, ACB will have a contested election. If nominating someone from the floor, please make sure this member has agreed to be nominated.
• Each nominated candidate will be allowed a total of five (5) minutes for no more than two (2) speakers to explain why their candidate should be elected for the position. A person nominated for an office more than once shall be limited to one minute.
• Voting for contested elections will continue as needed on Tuesday, July 9th, Wednesday, July 10th, and Thursday, July 11th until all positions are elected.
• A candidate must receive a majority, 50 percent plus 1, to be declared the winner. If this does not happen there will be a run-off election for the top two (2) candidates.
Voting Methods
• Access Vote-Now using any of the following methods:
• Mac, PC, Tablet, iPhone, Android, and Landline Phone.
• There is a toll-free number with two voting options:
• Automated system or
• Operator assistance
Member Unique Voter Codes
• Your unique voter code will be used for all individual record votes and contested elections in Vote-Now. You may cast only one ballot during each voting period.
• Members with a valid email address in ACB’s database will receive a unique voter code by email on June 25th and again on July 7th, 2024. If you do not receive your unique voter code, please check your junk or spam folder. The email will provide the log in link along with instructions for voting by phone; the same unique voter code will be used for all voting methods.
• The Subject line on this email will be: Ballot-ACB unique voter code.
• The from person on this email should be: ACB ballot code.
• On May 15th, 2024, the Minneapolis office will send letters (in braille and large print) to members with no e-mail address on file informing them that they must call 612-332-3242 to request their unique voter code by June 19th, 2024, if they wish to vote.
• If you misplace your unique voter code, the Vote-Now operators or the ACB Minneapolis office can help you obtain your code. This code can only be provided to the intended ACB member.
Individual Voting
• There will be a voting precinct at the hotel in Jacksonville staffed from 2:00 to 6:00 PM each day of voting. A landline phone and an iPad will be available. Assistance will be available from individuals who are not voting task force members, candidates, or their speakers.
• If calling to cast your vote, and you do not get through or the option you want isn’t available, please try in thirty minutes. It might be that all operators are busy. Please be patient and give the operators a few minutes when voting starts.
Affiliate Voting
• It is the responsibility of each affiliate to determine how members will communicate with their affiliate delegate/alternate about how they wish their affiliate to vote. The delegate will announce their votes from the convention floor if they are attending in person. Delegates attending virtually must report to the voting Zoom room when role call voting is announced.
• The “affiliate vote” will take place in the morning during general session if a contested election is underway. This will give members time to contact their delegate/alternate with their vote during the prior evening after casting their individual vote.
Resolution Voting Process
• If an amendment is proposed to a resolution, and the amendment is deemed to be non-substantive in nature, the amendment may be adopted without debate, if there is no objection.
• If a proposed amendment to a resolution passes or fails by raise of hand vote, debate continues the resolution with or without the amendment.
• If a resolution passes or fails by raise of hands vote, voting on that resolution will be finished, unless if at least 25 members of the minority side on the raise of hands vote for the resolution seek a record vote.
Constitution and By Laws Voting Process
• If an amendment is proposed to a Constitution or Bylaws amendment, and the amendment is deemed to be non-substantive in nature, the amendment may be adopted without debate, if there is no objection.
• If a proposed amendment to a Constitution or Bylaws amendment passes or fails by raise of hand vote, debate continues with or without the amendment.
• All final versions of amendments to the Constitution or Bylaws must be decided by a record vote.
• A final ballot will be presented to the membership which contains all resolutions and Constitution and Bylaw amendments that require a record vote.
• Monday, July 1st from 12:00 PM – 4:00 PM individual members will vote, and Monday, July 1st 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM will be the affiliate roll-call vote.
• The delegate or alternate will announce the affiliate vote for each Resolution and Constitution and Bylaw when their affiliate is called. For example, if there are 10 Resolutions and 4 Bylaws, then Alabama would record their votes for each ballot option. The next affiliate would not be called until Alabama has completed all 14 votes.
Raise Hand Vote Procedures
• In Zoom, all hands will be lowered.
• The Chair will ask those voting affirmatively to raise their hand. When that count has been taken, all hands will be lowered.
• The Chair will then ask those voting no to raise their hand. When the count is complete, hands will be lowered.
• Votes will be tallied to determine the outcome. All vote counts will be verified by the parliamentarian.
Constitution and By Law votes
To adopt a Constitutional amendment requires a two-thirds (2/3) majority vote of those present and voting to adopt. A Bylaw amendment takes a simple majority vote to adopt.
Listen on ACB Media
Listen on ACB Media 9 to learn about the candidates, completed resolutions and constitution and bylaw amendments and other relevant documents. Information about Resolutions and amendments to the Constitution and Bylaws will also be streamed in Spanish on ACB Media 8 at scheduled times.
Find out more at https://acb-business.pinecast.co