Adopted by Executive Council on January 14, 2023​

These are the rules governing the election of CFT officers and CFT delegates to the AFT Convention and the California Labor Federation.

I. CANDIDATE NOMINATIONS

A. 2023 Elections

In the event that the delegates approve the Constitutional Amendment to expand the Executive Council and directly elect the Executive Vice President at the Convention, the following will be elected at the 2023 Convention:

1. President
2. Secretary Treasurer
3. Executive Vice President
4. 25 Vice Presidents of CFT
5. CFT Delegates to AFT Convention
6. CFT Delegates to the California Labor Federation Convention

In the event that the delegates reject the Amendment or approve one and not both, then the position that will be open for nominations and elections will conform with the outcome of the delegate vote on the amendments.

In the event of this outcome on the amendment vote, there could be three separate possibilities for nominations and elections: 1) the status quo and no change; 2) the Executive Vice President is elected directly by the delegates and the number of Vice Presidents on the executive council remains at 24; or 3) the number of Vice Presidents is increased to 25 positions but the Executive Vice President is elected under the existing language in the constitution.

B. Presiding Over Elections

A Chair of the Nominations and Elections Committee shall preside over the Convention during the time of nominations from the floor and during nominating and seconding speeches as provided for in C.6 below.

C. Nominations Procedure

1. Candidates will officially place their names in nomination by submitting an “Announcement of Candidacy” form to the committee chairperson in the Convention office, not later than 3:00 p.m. Saturday, March 18, 2023. Forms will be available at the Convention Office and online at cft.org/convention-2023.
2. The names of all announced candidates will be read to the Convention at the third General Session.
3. Nominations may be made from the floor. A floor nominee must immediately complete an “Announcement of Candidacy” form, available from the chair.
4. After asking for nominations three times for each office, the chair shall declare the nominations closed.
5. An opportunity shall be given for any person nominated to decline.
6. Each candidate for President may have ten minutes for their campaign speech. Each candidate for Secretary-Treasurer may have five minutes for their campaign speech. Each candidate for Executive Vice President may have five minutes for their campaign speech. All other candidates may have two minutes for a campaign speech. The candidates shall be recognized in alphabetical order. Any candidate may designate an alternate speaker.

D. Verification of Voting Strength

Each delegation’s voting strength shall be checked and verified by the Nominations and Elections Committee.

II. ELECTIONS

A. Unanimous Consent

If there are only as many nominations as there are positions, election may be by unanimous consent.

B. Contested Elections

A contested election shall be conducted by roll call vote in accordance with the following procedure:

1. In order to vote, a delegate must be seated by the Credentials Committee no later than 12 noon, Saturday, March 18, 2023.
2. The Nominations and Elections Committee shall prepare ballots containing the Delegate’s full name, and the Local’s name, number, and average membership.
3. During the period 6:00–7:00 p.m., Saturday, March 18, 2023, the ranking delegate or designee of each delegation shall report to the room designated in the program to pick up the ballots for the local delegation.
4. All delegates from any delegation shall present themselves at a place designated by their ranking delegate to receive their ballots.
5. The ranking delegate shall distribute the ballots among those delegates presenting themselves.
6. Each delegate shall sign their ballot.
7. The ranking delegate from each local shall complete the election summary sheet and turn it in to the Nominations and Elections Committee. Ballots may be deposited by the ranking delegate, or delegates may elect to deposit their own ballots.
8. The ballot shall be deposited in the ballot boxes in the room designated in the program not later than 7:00 p.m.
9. For each local, the Nominations and Elections Committee shall equally distribute votes among those delegates submitting ballots. No delegate shall have more than one vote more than any other delegate in their local.
10. After the votes are distributed, they shall not be redistributed.
11. The polls close at 7:00 p.m.
12. Should no candidate for top officer receive a majority of ballots cast, the two candidates receiving the highest number of votes shall compete in a run-off election, to be conducted between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. Sunday, March 19, 2023.
13. The procedures for conduct of the run-off election are the same as those of the Saturday election.

C. Slate

1. Two or more candidates for office may organize themselves into a slate for CFT and Division Council election.
2. Candidates for office may organize themselves into a slate and they shall designate the name of their slate. Slate names shall not imply endorsement by the CFT and will be authorized on a first-come, first-served basis.
3. Delegates have a choice of voting for a slate or voting for individuals, but may not vote for a slate and then individuals. If a delegate checks a slate box and then individually votes for candidates within that same slate, the ballot will be treated as an individual-candidate ballot. If a delegate checks a slate box and then votes for all of the candidates from that slate, the ballot would be considered a slate vote. If a delegate selects a slate box and then votes for officers from another slate or an independent, the ballot will be set aside.
4. Every slate shall make themselves known to the Chair of the Nominations and Elections Committee so that proper information can be provided for the printing of ballots no later than 3:00 pm on Saturday of the Convention for the elections, and prior to the close of nominations for Division Council elections.

D. Vote Counting

After the polls are closed, the Nominations and Elections Committee shall turn the unopened ballot boxes over to an independent body for counting. The Nominations and Elections Committee shall supervise the counting of the ballots by the independent body.

E. Results of Election

The candidates for top officers receiving a majority of votes shall be elected. Candidates for Vice President who receive the highest number of votes shall be deemed elected.

F. Independent Certification

The tally sheet shall be certified as accurate and retained by the independent body. It shall be posted in prominent locations in the Convention facility.

G. Report to the Floor

The Chair of the Nominations and Elections Committee shall report the results of the election to the Convention.