Any MGEC Full Member is eligible to run for any open office. It is strongly encouraged that members run for a Director position prior to running for an Officer position. This allows our member volunteers to learn about MGEC, join committees, attend Board and event functions, and become familiar with policies, practices, and the leadership roles so they are better prepared for duties and responsibilities as Officers.
MGEC encourages diversity. Full Members are welcomed from all agencies, work locations, job classes, backgrounds, ages, lengths of state service, and other demographic groups to run for MGEC office.
MGEC Elections are held annually. The term of office for Directors and Officers begins January 1 of the year following the election. If vacancies occur during the year, those positions may be filled by appointment; due to vacancies some election cycles may have positions open for election that are “off-cycle.”
- Director positions are filled on a rotation such that half of the Directors are appointed each year.
- The Secretary position is open every other year, with the Treasurer position being open on alternate years. These two Officer positions are on a rotation cycle with only one position open in any given year).
- Director positions and the Officer positions of Treasurer and Secretary are 2-year terms.
- The Vice President position is open each year. The term for Vice President is 1 year.
- The person elected to Vice President is elected to a three-year, three position cycle. Each year, the outgoing Vice President assumes the role of the President, and the outgoing President assumes the role of the Past President, for a 1-year appointment to each position.
The MGEC President establishes “Election Day” as the last day when ballots may be accepted for consideration in the election cycle; typically, this coincides with national elections as the first Tuesday after November 1st (a date ranging from November 2nd to November 8th). Early balloting is available, and usually extends for a week or more prior to the designated Election Day.
During the election cycle a Nominating Committee of at least three Full Members is established. The Nominating Committee has the responsibility of collecting nominations from the membership. Full Members may self-nominate, or nominate other members for office. The Nominating Committee strives to nominate at least one candidate for each Officer position and at least two candidates for each Director position to be filled. In an effort to promote more diverse representation on the Executive Board, the Nominating Committee also strives to nominate candidates from agencies other than MnDOT (MnDOT is the agency with the most engineers; as such, most nominated candidates are typically employed by MnDOT) so that at least two Director positions on the Executive Board will be held by Full Members not employed by MnDOT.
As part of the election process, the names of the nominees are made available to MGEC Full Members preceding Election Day on the MGEC website and through electronic mail correspondence. Electronic ballots are prepared with the names of the nominated candidates grouped under the heading of the Office or Director position for which they are nominated. Each grouping also contains one blank line (data field) where the voting member may write in the name of any member as the candidate of his/her/their choice and vote for such candidate.
A Teller Committee, consisting of at least three Full Members who are both not running for office on the current ballot and not members of the Nominating Committee, is also established to review and process the election voting results.
Ballots are sent to all Full Members at their last known address or are provided to Full Members by an electronic balloting system, at least fifteen (15) calendar days prior to the designated Election Day. Ballots are due electronically or at the MGEC office, by post, courier, or in person, by 4:30 p.m. on the designated Election Day. After all eligible ballots have been received, the votes are tabulated by the Teller Committee and certified. The candidate receiving the highest number of votes cast for the particular Officer position or Directorship is declared elected to that position. In the event of a tie vote, the election is decided by a coin toss. The loser of the coin toss of a Director position will be given preference for any future Director vacancies.