Board of Trustees Election Procedure Policy

View Board-Approved Policy (PDF)

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This Board Elections Policy is adopted by the Board of Trustees pursuant to Article III, Section 2(F) of the Regulations of the institution to ensure integrity in the election process and to promote fairness, efficacy, and inclusiveness in the process.

The Board of Trustees will determine the date of the annual meeting, per the Regulations.

The Elections Committee will secure candidates per the Regulations.

Election Integrity

Thirty (30) days prior to the Annual Meeting, the Library or the Board will obtain a list of all Electors in the Library’s taxing jurisdiction from Summit County Board of Elections.

All voters will be required to present identification and proof of residence.

To avoid duplicate ballots or unsecure voting, ballots may be printed with safeguards including, but not limited to:

• Sequential numbering;
• Special paper stock, color, or other method of deterring photocopying printed ballots;
• A detachable stub at the bottom of the ballot which will be used to record the name and address of the Elector casting the ballot and the date the ballot was submitted. The stub will be removed before the ballot is submitted, so that there is a paper record of all those who have cast ballots.
  • The detachable stubs at the bottom of all ballots (including Early Voting or Home-Bound) will be separated from the ballots and will be recorded into an electronic file which will be consulted to determine if an Elector has already cast a ballot in the election. This electronic file will be the log of record for the election.
  • Completed ballots and detached stubs will be kept separately in a secure manner.

Persons seeking to vote must present a photo identification verifying their identity and their residence within the taxing jurisdiction of the Library. Those staff or volunteers distributing ballots will make sure that each person who receives a ballot is listed on the roster of Electors received from the Summit County Ohio Board of Elections and will cross-check each Elector’s name with the log of Early Voters to prevent duplicate voting.

Ballots of voters who provide proof of residence but are not on the list of Electors obtained from the Summit County Board of Elections will be accepted on a provisional basis. Those ballots will be secured separately to be reviewed on an updated list of registered voters from the Summit County Board of Elections website prior to the ballot count on the day of the Annual Meeting.

Early Voting

Early Voting will begin twenty-one (21) days prior to the Annual Meeting and take place during designated times during regular library hours.

Early Voting will end at the regular closing time of the Library two (2) days before the Annual Meeting. This two-day period is provided to allow processing and verification of ballots before the day of the Annual Meeting.

Completed ballots and ballot stubs from Early Voting will be placed in locked boxes in the Library’s Administrative Offices on a daily basis. Early Voting Ballots are to be counted as part of the vote count on the date of the Annual Meeting.

Members of the Board of Trustees or the Board of the Friends of the Library may assist Library staff in the administration of the election including working at the voting area to process Electors and maintaining the record of voters. However, no one running for a seat on the Board or for reelection may be involved in the administration of the election.

No persons administering Early Voting may make any comment to candidates or to others not involved in the administration of the election about the number of ballots cast in Early Voting or about the identity of those casting ballots through Early Voting.

Home-Bound Electors

All Early Voting shall be conducted at the Library with the exception of Early Voting by home-bound Electors.

An Elector who is home-bound or may not reasonably be expected to travel to the Library to vote may schedule an appointment to have a ballot delivered to their residence during regular voting hours. After determining that the home-bound elector is eligible to vote in the election, a staff member or volunteer shall deliver the ballot and an envelope to the Elector’s residence and wait while the Elector completes the ballot. After the ballot is completed, the ballot will be put into an envelope to be delivered to the Library where it will be processed as an Early Voting ballot.

Voting at the Annual Meeting

With the exception of Early Voting, all voting will be conducted at the Library in conjunction with the Annual Meeting of Members.

Ballots may be counted beginning at a convenient time on the day of the Annual Meeting, to be determined by the Chair of the Elections Committee in consultation with the President of the Board of Trustees. Early Voting ballots and ballot records including those of acceptable provisional ballots will be handled in the same manner as ballots collected at the Annual Meeting.

Ballots will be available continuously starting forty-five (45) minutes before the commencement of the Annual Meeting until the Chair of the Elections Committee calls for the submission of all ballots at which point distribution of ballots will stop.

An Elector may submit their ballot at any time before the announcement that voting is closed. Electors do not need to attend the Annual Meeting and do not need to remain at the Annual Meeting after they have voted.

The election log will be updated to reflect ballots submitted at the Annual Meeting in accordance with the schedule found in the Miscellaneous section of this document.
Verification of ballots and counting of votes shall be performed by Library Staff members who do not qualify as Electors and thus are not eligible to vote in the Election. The process shall be overseen by legal counsel for the Library.

The vote tallies will be reported to the Board President and the Chair of the Elections Committee, one of whom will announce the results.

Run-Off Elections

In the event of a tie between two or more candidates that requires a run-off election, the run-off election will be conducted in accordance with the Regulations at a Special Meeting held within seven (7) days of the Annual Meeting.

The Board President will announce the date and time of the Special Meeting before adjourning the Annual Meeting.

Early Voting shall be permitted in connection with the run-off election and will follow the same procedures as used for the original election.

Early Voting for a run-off election shall begin at least four (4) days before the Special Meeting during designated times during regular library hours and shall end at the regular closing time of the Library the day before the Special Meeting. In-person voting at the Special Meeting will follow the procedures for voting at the Annual Meeting.

Recorded Statements of Candidates

Because Early Voting procedures will allow Electors to vote before candidates appear at the Annual Meeting to state their qualifications, candidates will be asked to create a recorded statement that will be placed on the Library’s website so that it can be accessed by Electors prior to voting. Candidate statements will be shown at the Annual Meeting in lieu of in-person statements at the Annual Meeting.

To ensure equal quality of recording, a Candidate’s statement must be created at the Library in the Alonzo and Marilyn Church Creativity Lab with the assistance of Library staff.

Content shall include a self-introduction; a statement of why the candidate wants to be a Trustee; relevant work, life, or other experience; or other reasons for candidacy.

The Library reserves the right to refuse to post any recorded candidate statement that the Elections Committee deems to be (a) obscene, (b) defamatory, (c) commercial in nature, (d) threatening, (e) inciting imminent lawless action, (f) harassment and/or hate speech.
In the event of a dispute regarding the content of a candidate’s statement, the decision of the Board will be final.

If a candidate’s recorded statement is not acceptable for reasons of content the candidate shall be afforded one other opportunity to record a statement.

Miscellaneous

Library Staff who are scheduled to work the Annual Meeting will be paid at their normal rate of pay. A Post-Election update of the election log will be completed within one week of the Annual Meeting. If a run-off election is required, it will be completed within one week of the Special Meeting at which the run-off election is held. If a ballot is indecipherable, the ballot will be set aside for the Library’s legal counsel review. The Library’s legal counsel will make the determination how the ballot will be interpreted.

Members of the Board must remain neutral regarding any qualifying candidate; Board members must not express a preference regarding the candidates nor engage in any activity that might reasonably be interpreted as showing favoritism toward a candidate. Library staff will set up a station for Early Voting. Electors will come to circulation and then move to the voting station.

Adopted 12/2013, Updated 9/22/2025