The Foreign Service Journal, May 2012

42 F OR E I GN S E R V I C E J OU R N A L / MA Y 2 0 1 2 A F S A N E W S T he Governing Board has conduct- ed a review of AFSA’s bylaws and is proposing a number of bylaw amendments. The process of amending the association’s bylaws requires notifi- cation to the AFSAmembership, a 45-day period for submission of statements in opposition, a vote of themembership and two-thirds approval of those voting. The full process is found in Article IX of the AFSA bylaws at www.afsa.org/ afsa_bylaws. It is the responsibility of the AFSACommittee on Elections to conduct polling. This schedule has been set: May 1: Proposed amendments an- nounced to membership. June 14: Deadline for statements in opposition to proposed changes. Mid-July: Sending of ballots, togeth- er with any statements for or against the proposed amendments, by mail and e- mail. Sept. 5: Governing Board endorses results of bylaw poll reported by the Committee on Elections. Statements in opposition to any of the proposed amendmentsmust be signed by no fewer than 10AFSAmembers in good standing and must be received by close of business on June 14, 2012, by George Jones, Chair, AFSA Committee on Elections, 2101 E Street NW,Washington DC 20037; fax (202) 338-6820; or e-mail to election@afsa.org. Explanation of Proposed Changes from the Governing Board The Governing Board has identified two areas of the AFSA bylaws requiring amendment: 1) online voting and 2) eli- gibility criteria. There is also one tech- nical amendment proposed to change the name of the Committee on Education to the Scholarship Committee. All three items were approved by the Governing Board at its April 4, 2012, meeting. The Governing Board recommends that members support the amendments as proposed. 1. ONLINE VOTING The current bylaws state that ballots will bemailed to themembership for pur- poses of elections. With the advent of the Internet and the fact that the majority of the membership is dispersed around the world, online voting is more efficient and cost-effective than traditional mail ballots. Moreover, enabling online voting should increase voter participation and decrease election length. The surveys conducted of ourmembership indicate that enabling the option for online voting is a key goal, and the Governing Board would like to have that capability in place for the 2013 election cycle. This would require amending Article VII, Section 2, to enable electronic vot- ing, specifically includingmention of elec- tronic distribution and the option of a third-party vendor. Suggested changes to language are in italics . ARTICLE VII Elections Section 2. Procedures: (e) The committee shall e-mail instruc- tions on how to vote online and/or mail the official ballot bearing the names of all qualified candidates, slate identifications when applicable and voting instructions to each regular member no less than 45 days before the counting of the ballots. (g) The committee shall ensure the secrecy of eachmember’s vote. The com- mittee may hire a third-party vendor to facilitate the election and ensure the integrity of the process. 2. BOARD ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS Former Member —Tenure Requirement The current bylaws allowany “former” member of the Foreign Service to run for positions on the Governing Board. There is the possibility that a career candidate, or a limited non-career appointment, who had been in the Service for only one year, thus meeting the definition of a “former member,” would be eligible to run for election. The Governing Board recom- mends defining a formermember as a for- mer “tenured” member. This would require amending Article III to include language definingwhat con- stitutes a “former tenuredmember” of the Service. Former tenuredmembers would be considered part of the “retiree con- stituency.” Term Limits The Governing Board would like to ensure that the composition of the board maintains its fluidity and proposes to limit officers to no more than four full con- secutive terms (i.e., eight consecutive years) in any one position on the Governing Board. The main changes to the bylaws would have to occur in Article V. Proposed changes are in italics . ARTICLE III Membership Section 2. RegularMembers: Regular membership is limited to current or for- mer members of the Foreign Service as defined by Sections 103 (paragraphs 1 to 5) and 202 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980, or successor legislation. Individuals eligible for regular membership may be so admitted upon application and pay- ment of dues, and shall be permitted to maintain theirmembership as long as they remain eligible andmaintain current dues payments. Only regular members may vote, hold office or exercise other rights regarding the conduct of the affairs of the association. Only former tenured mem- bers are eligible to hold office. ATTENTION AFSA MEMBERS Proposed Amendments to AFSA’s Bylaws Continued on page 44