Election Process

Election Process:

 

The request for nominations is sent out to the current registered Scribes. Upon sending out the official call for nominations, any Scribe registered after that point may not participate. Nominations are called for over a period of two weeks. Upon receiving the final nominations after the given deadline, the Caste Council will notify those nominated, and ask for letters of acceptance or declination. It should be highly stressed in the letters sent to the nominees of the devotion that will be required if they accept the position. A nominee must have been registered as a full scribe in good standing with the RBCSGor for at least four (4) Gorean years (one mun year) to be eligible to become a Chair. No mun may accept more than one Council Chair nomination in the same election, even as different characters.

 

Once the nominees are set, an election ballot will be sent out. There will be no new applicants accepted during this process. The ballots are to be sent back to the three (3) Chairs, plus the named fourth (4th) party, if there is no current Caste Scribe. Caste Members will have a period of TEN days to return completed ballots. Each of the three (3) chairs will count the votes, and submit their counts to the Caste Scribe or fourth (4th) party, for verification purposes. Results will be delivered announced within two days of the end of the ten day voting period.

 

Once the votes are tallied, and the new Chairs are named by majority vote of the Caste as a whole, letters of congratulations will be sent along with the election results to the entire registered Caste by the First Chair. There will be a period of one hand to change the leadership of the Caste, and after that time new applicants will begin being processed once more.

 

Alternate Chairs:

 

Alternates for each chair will be the nominee with the second-most votes if there are enough candidates. If there is no "runner-up" for a particular chair, another nominee will be taken from another chair to serve. For example, if there is no "runner-up" for second chair, but two for third, one will serve as an alternate for second and one for third. If there are no more nominees in the pool for any of the Chair positions, a second call for nominations will be sent out for the Alternate Chair positions, and a new separate election will be held within one hand (mun week).

 

Qualifications for Office:

 

The Caste chairs are elected from nominations from their Caste peers. To qualify for election as a chair, you must have served in the caste for a full mun year. The elections are held and overseen by the current three chairs, plus an additional chosen party for the purpose of counting the votes.

 

Term Limits:

 

The term of office to be held for two (2) en'vars (6 mun months); if reelected, a person may hold that same Chair for one (1) more consecutive term. However, a person may be reelected to a different Chair and hold it for the same periods. No term will be longer than four (4) en'vars (12 mun months). After an absence of at least two (2) en'vars (6 mun months), a person previously elected may be nominated again.

Caste Judge:

 

As a High Council member (not an alternate but as a Chair) finishes their term in office (in good standing-this would not include a HC member that was removed from duty), they will be asked to serve for one term (mun time one year) as a Caste Judge. This is not an elected position, but an honored appointment for all members that serve their caste on the High Council successfully. The appointment is automatically extended to the former High Council member at the end of their elected term and will go into effect immediately unless declined by the former High Council member in writing. At the end of the term of serving as a Caste Judge, they will rotate off of the judges panel and will once again be eligible to be elected for the High Council should caste members choose to do so. A current sitting judge is not eligible to be nominated for or accept a position on the High Council.

 

Caste Elder:

 

A designation as a Caste Elder is not an elected position, but an honored appointment conveyed by the current sitting High Council. A Caste Elder must meet the following minimal requirements:

 

The candidate must have been a caste member in good standing (no delete/withdrawal, etc.) for a period of three consecutive mun years.The candidate must have served at least one term on the High Council (not as an Alternate, but as a Chair).The candidate must be willing to carry out the duties as listed in the caste scrolls and attend at least one High Council meeting (in a mun year).The candidate must submit a request to be considered for this appointment to the High Council. The request should include a brief description of the scribe's qualifications, accomplishments, current and ongoing ways the candidate is supporting the caste members and willingness to carry out the duties listed in the caste scrolls. References from other scribes may be submitted as well.

 

The High Council will discuss the request via scrolls and if there is consensus that the appointment should be made, the candidate will be invited to the next High Council meeting at which time the honored appointment will be made. Should a scribe with the designation of Caste Elder ever be derelict in their duties, a complaint would be made to the Caste Judges who would consider revocation of said appointment at their discretion.