Campaign Guidelines for Elections for CBA Board of Directors and Vice President

PURPOSE

These guidelines are intended to maintain a spirit of collegiality and fairness in all CBA elections for the Board of Directors and Vice President and to establish procedures for campaigning for those positions. They also establish a procedure for identifying campaign violations and spell out the consequences.

ENDORSEMENT OF CANDIDATES

  1. Individual CBA members may endorse candidates for CBA elected positions so long as the endorsement makes clear that it is the personal view of the endorser. If personal endorsements are made by individuals holding a current elected or appointed position in the CBA (i.e. Board or Executive Committee officers and members, Section Chairs, Committee and Subcommittee Chairs within National/Branches/CCCA), they may not mention that position as part of the endorsement.
  2. CBA resources and communications vehicles (including official social media channels and websites) may not be used for the purpose of supporting one candidate over another.
  3. Candidates may establish their own websites and social media presence and links will be included in candidate profiles on the CBA election website. The usage of the CBA logo (or any facsimile thereof) is prohibited.
  4. CBA News and official CBA social media vehicles may be used to report the candidacy of nominees, so long as the report is included as a news article and all candidates for a position are represented.
  5. CBA staff cannot endorse one candidate over another.

CAMPAIGN STATEMENTS

As part of their application, candidates must submit a written statement outlining their vision for the CBA and a brief biographical sketch highlighting their skills and experience for the role. This candidate statement will be translated and will appear on the CBA election site when the nominations are announced. Statements from candidates may not exceed 2,000 characters (including spaces). Statements exceeding the word limit will be edited at the discretion of the CBA Communications staff.

CAMPAIGN ACTIVITY

  1. There will be a dedicated campaign period before the start of election voting. For any by-election, time will typically be compressed, and campaigning and voting will be concurrent.
  2. The CEO will give each candidate a contact list for CBA electors (defined in CBA Bylaw 1, Part V, Article 31 as “The Board of Directors, the Branch Presidents and the National Section Chairs”) including mailing address, email address and phone number. Electors will be advised at campaign time that candidates may be reaching out. Candidates must protect electors’ contact information and it cannot be shared, sold or used for any purpose other than personal campaigning.
  3. Individual emails and phone calls to electors are appropriate.

REPORTING A VIOLATION OF CAMPAIGN PROCEDURES

  1. These guidelines are posted on the CBA website.
  2. All candidates are expected to know the guidelines and are responsible for following them. Any behavior counter to the guidelines is a violation of campaign procedures
  3. Any member who receives or views communication from or on behalf of a candidate that they believe to violate these guidelines may file a complaint by emailing the CBA CEO, who will bring the matter to the Chief Electoral Officer. Members are encouraged to first reach out directly to the candidate to clarify the candidate’s intent and to give them feedback about the communication in question.
  4. The Chief Electoral Officer will contact any candidate thought to be in violation of these guidelines as part of an inquiry into the candidate’s actions.
  5. If the Chief Electoral Officer determines the candidate to be in violation of the guidelines, the person’s candidacy may be disqualified.

AUTHORITIES