Employees’ Advisory Council 2023 Election Procedures

Approved by the EAC

Notification

Notification of the upcoming Primary and General Elections shall be sent to the Appointing Authorities in September.

Nominations

  • Candidates for election can self-nominate or be nominated by a person from any delegate area within the same EAC group by submitting a nomination form to the Human Resources Department. 
  • Candidates must agree to participate in the election.
  • Approval of departmental management is required.

Campaign Policies

Campaign activity will permit candidates to get support from employees in other delegate areas of their group and must be conducted in accordance with the following policies:

  • Campaigning is confined to co-workers in all delegate areas within the nominee’s own group.
  • Candidates may campaign at their own or other work sites by distributing campaign literature or discussing campaign issues. 
  • Campaigning shall not interfere with employees’ performance of their official duties.
  • Campaign literature may consist of posters, flyers or handouts and should be posted only in break areas and on bulletin boards. 
  • Handouts may be distributed during the employees’ lunch or break periods and limited to areas not devoted to the performance of the employees’ official duties.
  • Campaigning via County email is permitted as long as there is no violation of County email policies.
  • For further clarification or questions, please contact the EAC Elections Committee.

Candidate Information Form

Each candidate will be asked to provide brief information about themselves and a statement addressing why he or she would like to be elected to the Council. This information will be distributed to voters with their ballots during the Primary and General Elections.

Primary Election

A Primary Election will be held only if the Elections Committee deems one is necessary to reduce the number of candidates running in the General Election.

  • In no case will a Primary Election be held if there are six (6) or fewer qualified candidates for a group.
  • If a Primary Election is deemed necessary for a group, the election shall occur prior to the General Election.
  • Official ballots and each candidate’s information form for that group shall be distributed to those delegate areas up for election. 
  • There will be one official ballot for each permanent classified employee.  
  • Completed ballots must be submitted to the EAC Elections Committee c/o the Human Resources Department by 5:00 p.m. no later than fourteen (14) days after the balloting period begins.  
  • Elections Committee members will certify the results of the election.
  • The three (3) nominees with the most votes from that group will be candidates for the General Election.
  • In the event a top vote-getter declines or is disqualified, the person with the next highest number of votes will be added to the General Election ballot.  
  • Additional nominees will be included in the General Election ballot in the event of a tie for the final eligible candidate.

General Election

A General Election for group Council members shall occur in November/December.

  • Ballots and candidates’ information forms for that group shall be distributed to employees in those delegate areas up for election. 
  • There will be one official ballot for each permanent classified employee.  
  • Completed ballots must be submitted to the EAC Elections Committee c/o the Human Resources Department by 5:00 p.m. no later than fourteen (14) days after the balloting period begins.  
  • Elections Committee members will certify the results of the election.
  • All elections will be based on a plurality for a winning decision.
  • In case of a tie, one run-off will be held two (2) weeks later among those involved.  
  • In the event of another tie, the winner will be decided by lot.

Online Election

  • Ballots for contested seats in the EAC Representatives election will be distributed electronically. 
  • Paper ballots will be available upon request.
  • Nomination forms will be distributed electronically by email and posted to the EAC website. 

Approved 7/19/23