The Foreign Service Journal, November 2008

NOV EMB E R 2 0 0 8 / F OR E I GN S E R V I C E J OU R N A L 81 tions: In addition, any individual who has heldoneof the foregoingpositions inAFSA may not serve: 1) in a management posi- tion in Washington that involves labor- management relations or the formulation of personnel policies and programs; or 2) as a confidential employee, for two years after leaving AFSA. Members shouldconsider these restric- tions before deciding whether to run for AFSAGoverningBoardpositions covered by these restrictions. Pleasedirect questions regarding this issue to Sharon Papp, GeneralCounsel,byphone:(202)647-8160; fax: (202) 647-0265; or e-mail: papps@ state.gov. 4. Nominationsmaybe submitted indi- vidually or in slates. To qualify as a slate, a proposed slatemust have aminimumof four candidates from at least two con- stituencies. Slatedesignationswill benoted on the ballot. 5. All nominationsmust be submitted inwriting by letter, cable, faxor e-mail. All writtennominationsmust be addressed to the AFSA Elections Committee, 2101 E StreetNW,WashingtonDC20037. Tobe valid, they must, without exception, be receivedat this address no later than5p.m. on Feb. 2, 2009. Members overseas can send “AFSA channel” cables marked for delivery to theAFSAElectionsCommittee. They must be received in the State De- partment’sCommunicationsCenterwith- in the same time limit. Faxes can be sent to (202) 338-6820 and e-mail to elec- tion@afsa.org . Alternatively, nominations can be hand-delivered to a committee member whowill be in theAFSAoffice, Room1251, Department of State, from 11 a.m. to 12 noon on Feb. 2, or to an Elections Committee representative at AFSA head- quarters, at 2101EStreetNW, during that same time period. 6. A nominee can indicate his or her acceptance of a nomination by append- ing a letter to the letter of nomination or by appropriate notation on that letter, or by communicating with the AFSA Elections Committee at the addresses, fax and e-mail noted above. Otherwise, an authorized representative of the Elections Committee will communicate with each nominee (excludingmembers who nom- inate themselves) as quickly as possible after the receipt of each nomination to determine whether the nominee wishes to be a candidate. Any member who so accepts the nominationmust confirmhis or her acceptance inwriting through one of the channels described above, addressed to the AFSA Elections Committee, to be received no later than 12 noon on Feb. 6, 2009. Any nominee whose written acceptance of nomination has not been received by the Elections Committee by the above time limit will be considered to have declined candidacy. Election Campaign 1. All candidates nominatedunder the procedure outlined abovewill be given the opportunity tosubmit campaignstatements fordissemination to theAFSAmembership with the election ballots. Further infor- mation regarding such statements and edi- torial deadlines will be contained in the “Instructions toCandidates,”whichwill be issued by the Elections Committee on or before Feb. 2, 2009. 2. TheAFSAbylawsprovidethat, should candidates wish to mail supplementary statements to themembership, the associ- ation will make available to them on request, and at their expense, the mem- bership mailing list or address labels. Further informationon this andother cam- paign procedures will be included in the “Instructions to Candidates” mentioned above. Voting Ballots will be distributed on or about March 25, 2009, to each person who is a regular AFSA member as of March 2, 2009. Candidates or their representatives may observe the ballot distribution process if they so desire. Each member may cast one vote for President, Secretary, Treasurer and, in addition, one vote for a constituency Vice President and each Representative position in the member’s constituency. Votes may be cast by vot- ing for candidates listed on the official bal- lot, or by writing in the name(s) of mem- ber(s) eligible as of Feb. 2, 2009, orbydoing both. Tobe valid, aballotmust be received at AFSA by May 29, 2009, at the address indicated on the envelope accompanying the ballot. More detailedballoting instruc- tions will accompany the ballots. Vote Counting and Announcement of Results Onor about June 1, 2009, the Elections Committee will count the ballots and declare elected the candidate receiving the greatest number of votes for eachposition. Candidates or their representativesmay be present during the tally andmay challenge the validity of any vote or the eligibility of any voter. The committeewill informcan- didates individually of the election results by the swiftest possiblemeans andwill pub- lish the names of all elected candidates in the next issue of the Foreign Service Journal . The elected candidates will take office on July 15, 2009, as provided in the bylaws. Questions, Suggestions, Complaints or Challenges Any member may file a written ques- tion, suggestion or complaint concerning the conduct of the 2009 election. These should be addressed to “Chair, AFSA Elections Committee” and mailed or de- livered toAFSA, Room1251, Department of State,WashingtonDC20520, or AFSA, 2101 E Street NW, Washington DC 20037, by July 2, 2009. Members may also file a written chal- lenge to the outcome of the election. Such challengemust be filedby July15, 2009, and should be addressed to “Chair, AFSA Elections Committee,” and mailed or de- livered to either address stated above. The AFSAElectionsCommitteewill respond in writing to the challenge within three months of receipt of the challenge. If the member is not satisfied with the AFSA ElectionsCommittee’s response, themem- ber may file a written complaint with the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Labor-Management Standards. Such complaintmust be filedwithinonemonth of receipt of the Elections Committee’s response. A F S A N E W S