Baronial Election 2018

It is time for our gracious Baron and Baroness, Dorian and Eloise, to step aside from their leadership of the Barony Beyond the Mountain. The candidates have submitted their Letters of Intent and all associated paperwork. Now the work begins.

From the current version of Baronial Custom

IV.    The Baronage.

1.    Selection and Review
a.    The Baron and/or Baroness of the Barony (the “Baronage”) will be selected and reviewed as set forth in Kingdom Law.
b.    The election policies of the Barony are set forth in Schedule B of this Custom.

2.    Term.  The Baronage will serve for a term as defined in Kingdom law.

Schedule B

The Election Polices for the Baronage of the Barony Beyond the Mountain

All capitalized terms in this Schedule A will retain their meanings as defined in the Baronial Custom.

I. The election policies of the Barony as regards the Baronage (the “Election Policies”) will conform to the election policies of the SCA and the Kingdom as regards the Baronage.

II. Election Process.

1. Timing.

a. No later than one year prior to the end of the current Baronage’s term, the Seneschal or their designee will:

i. commence the planning process for the Major Event to install the new Baronage (the “Investiture”). Event planning at this stage will consist of a minimum of the selection of a month mutually acceptable to the Barony and the outgoing Baronage for Investiture.

ii. determine the current polling procedure as set forth by the Governing Documents and Kingdom Law, ascertain the materials and timetable required, and convey this information to the Populace at the Meeting.

iii. contact the royalty regarding the proposed Investiture date as soon as possible.

b. No later than nine months prior to the month selected for Investiture the Seneschal or their designee will issue a call for nominations of candidates. This will include but not be limited to announcements at Meetings, announcements on the Baronial Yahoogroup email list, and publication in the Newsletter and the Kingdom newsletter.

i. Candidates will nominate themselves. No one may nominate a third party.

ii. Nominations must be sent to the Seneschal or their designee, and the Baronage.

iii. Nominations may be sent via first class mail or email.

iv. Nominations must include proof of eligibility.

v. Eligible nominations will be announced by the Seneschal or their designee at Meetings, on the Baronial Yahoogroup email list, and published in the Newsletter on an ongoing basis.

c. No later than seven months prior to the month selected for Investiture the Seneschal or their designee will commence the selection of a form of ballot. The decision of the form of ballot will be made by the Populace as set forth in Section VI(4) of the Custom.

d. No later than six months prior to the date selected for Investiture nominations will close and the Seneschal or their designee will finalize the form of ballot and send it to the Kingdom for approval.

e. No later than four months prior to the date selected for Investiture, the Seneschal or their designee will send the ballots to those members of the Populace who are eligible to vote as determined by the Governing Documents and Kingdom Law. Ballots will include:

i. The form of ballot;

ii. A self-addressed stamped envelope for the return of the ballot;

iii. A copy of the election issue of the Newsletter.

2. Newsletter.

A special edition of the Newsletter will be prepared for the election, containing the following:

a. The sections of Kingdom Law that address pollings for the Baronage;

b. The Election Policies of the Barony;

c. The list of candidates, including both SCA and legal names;

d. If they so choose, letters from the candidates, subject to the following guidelines:

i. One letter per candidate or candidate slate;

ii. The subject matter is at the candidates’ discretion;

iii. Letters may be up to 1,000 words in length;

iv. Letters must be received by the deadline for publication set by the chronicler;

v. Letters will be published without editing by the chronicler; and

vi. Letters may be submitted in any format legible to the chronicler;

e. The special edition of the Newsletter will be published as usual, and will also be printed and sent with the ballots. Funds necessary for the printing will be provided by the Barony and will not require approval by the Financial Committee.

III. Changes to the Election Policy.

The Election Policy may be amended at any time by the following process:

1. The proposed changes must be presented by a paid member, in writing, to the Seneschal and the Baronage.

2. The proposed changes must be discussed and voted upon by the Populace present at a regular Meeting. The changes will be deemed approved upon receipt of a simple majority.

3. Approved changes must be published in the Newsletter.

Category: Process
Section VII. Branches
C. Polling Procedures
The Crown may poll any land group at any given time for any reason they see fit. The Heirs may poll any land group at any given time for any reason they see fit with the permission of The Crown. Polling processes mandated by East Kingdom Law must adhere to the following criteria.
1. A gentle may participate in the polling who:
a. Holds a current Society membership. Any gentle who joins the SCA or cures a lapse in Society membership during a  polling process will not be sent a ballot but may obtain one from the Officer administering the poll, if they provide proof of Society membership and residence.
b. Resides within the formally approved boundaries of the branch.
2. Ballots and the Polling Process
a. The members of a branch must be polled by ballots mailed via the postal system.
i. Ballots must be prepared by the Local Seneschal in accordance with one of the Kingdom ballot templates (available on the Documents page of the Kingdom Seneschal’s website), and be approved by the Kingdom Seneschal or his appointed Deputy.
ii. Expenses of preparing and mailing the ballots will be borne by the branch. However, a branch may petition the Kingdom Seneschal and the East Kingdom Council of the Exchequer to have the costs covered by the Kingdom.
iii. Ballots must be mailed to the voting members no less than 30 days but no more than 45days before the closing date of the polling.
iv. A voting member may obtain a ballot from the Local Seneschal if one was not received by mail.
b. Ballots must be printed with:
i. A statement of the purpose of the polling.
ii. The closing date of the polling.
iii. Instructions for completing and returning the ballot.
iv. The recipient and address to which the completed ballots must be returned.
v. A choice of statements allowing the ballot recipient to certify whether or not they are at least fourteen years of age.
vi. A list of candidates or choices, including the option to abstain.
vii. Spaces for the ballot recipient to fill in their Society membership number and legal name.
viii. A space for the ballot recipient’s legal signature.
c. For ballots to be counted, they must:
i. Be returned to the Branch Polling Deputy and received, in a sealed envelope, by the closing date of the polling as printed on the ballot.
ii. Be properly completed and signed with the voting member’s legal name legibly printed on it.
d. At a minimum, ballots will be tallied by the Branch Polling Deputy, a Regional Seneschal, and the Kingdom Seneschal (or designate). Talliers must not reside in the branch conducting the polling or have any other conflict of interest regarding the polling. Returned ballots may only be viewed by the talliers, the Kingdom Seneschal and/or the Kingdom Seneschal’s designates, and The Crown.
e. At least one-half (50%) of the polled members must respond to the polling for a polling to be considered valid. If a polling fails to be valid by this criterion, the disposition of the polling falls to The Crown.
i. Properly executed ballots from members less than 14 years old shall count to establish the polling validity.
ii. Only properly executed ballots from members 14 years old or more shall count toward the preference tally.
iii. Any ballot returned by a member which is not properly executed shall be declared invalid and shall not count at all.
f. For pollings in which a single-choice ballot template is used, the outcome of the polling will be determined by a simple majority of valid returned ballots. If a polling fails to result in such a simple majority, the disposition of the polling falls to The Crown.
g. The results of the polling must be reported to The Crown and Kingdom Seneschal within three weeks of the closing date of the polling.
h. Upon The Crown’s receipt of the results of the polling, The Crown has four weeks to inform the Kingdom Seneschal, the Seneschal of the polled barony, the polled barony’s current Territorial Baron/Baroness, and the newly-selected successor(s) which of the candidate(s) presented in the poll has been selected to be the next Baron/Baroness. Should the four-week period overlap the Coronation of Their Heirs, the current Crown may either make the selection, or defer to the Heirs. If the selection is deferred, the new Crown shall make the selection within four weeks after their Coronation.
i. The selection of a Baronial Seat once made shall be binding regardless of the date of the Baronial Investiture.
j. If the Kingdom Seneschal and The Crown agree that a variance from this process is reasonable and will not impact the integrity of the process, one may be granted.
3. Proxies
a. Proxies are not valid for use in any polling mandated by East Kingdom Law.
b. The use of proxies in local voting is discouraged. However, if local policy or custom allows their use, proxies must:
i. Be signed and legibly printed with the signatory’s legal name.
ii. Be dated.
iii. Be worded for use for one or several specific issues that will be addressed at a specific date or meeting.
iv. Be accompanied by proof of the signatory’s Society membership, if local policy or custom requires Society membership for the matter being voted upon
Category: Process

Candidates

Questions and Answers

May 2017 Chanticleer: Announcement of Candidates

December 2017 Chanticleer: Announcement of Heirs

May 2018 Chanticleer: Farewell from Dorian and Eloise

June 2018 Chanticleer: Greetings from Mark and Gwenllian