A. Timing
The fiscal year for each Section will correspond with the fiscal year of the Bar, July 1 through June 30. Each year, coinciding with the election of the Board of Governors and Bar officers, the membership of each Section will elect Section members to the Section Steering Committee for a term of three years, commencing July 1.

The Director of Sections will establish a schedule governing election procedures and notify Section members and the Bar at large of the election schedule, including petition procedures.

B. Section Nominating Committees.
The Steering Committee of each Section shall select a Nominating Committee consisting of at least three but no more than five Section members in good standing, of which at least one shall be a Steering Committee member. The Nominating Committee may not be composed entirely of Steering Committee members. A Steering Committee member shall serve as the Nominating Committee Chair. The Nominating Committee shall nominate at least two, but no more than three, Section members in good standing for each vacancy on the Steering Committee. No member of a Nominating Committee shall be eligible for nomination. If the Section Nominating Committee fails to nominate the appropriate number of candidates, pursuant to the schedule prepared by the Director of Sections, the Steering Committee has the authority to nominate candidates. If the Steering Committee fails to nominate the appropriate number of candidates per vacancy, the size of the Steering Committee shall be reduced accordingly.

C. The Nomination Process.
The Sections Office shall assist the nominations process by soliciting input from the Section membership, the Bar at large and the voluntary bar associations for Steering Committee candidates. The Director of Sections will provide the Section’s Nominating Committee Chair a Section membership roster. The Nominating Committee shall actively encourage the participation of all segments of the Bar, including women, minorities and members under 35.

All Bar members are eligible for nomination, except that no person will be eligible for election to the Steering Committee if he or she is a current member of the Board of Governors or Officer. He or she will also not be eligible if his or her election would extend his or her service on the Section Steering Committee beyond seven years. To be eligible, each candidate must be a member of the Section for which he or she is nominated

The Director of Sections shall distribute to the membership of each Section a candidate interest form, which notifies members of the election process and the number of Steering Committee vacancies. Interested Section members shall submit their candidate interest forms along with their resumes to the Director of Sections. The Director of Sections shall forward copies of the resumes to the respective Nominating Committee Chairs. Any Bar member may offer his or her candidacy or that of another member.

After the deadline for submission of interest forms and resumes, the Nominating Committee shall meet to review the candidates. The Committee may solicit additional candidates as it deems appropriate. The Nominating Committee shall prepare a slate that fairly represents the diversity of the Bar and the diversity of views within the Section’s area of legal practice. If possible, the Nominating Committee will not nominate more than two members from the same institution, e.g., a law firm or government agency.

The Bar President will review each Section’s candidate slate. If the Bar President determines that the slate is not balanced, the Section’s Nominating Committee shall attempt to nominate such additional persons as are appropriate, and the limit on the number of candidates under paragraph V.B. will be waived for this purpose.

The Director of Sections will submit a list of the Steering Committee candidates for all Sections for inclusion in The Washington Lawyer and other publications.

Nominations by petition may be made in writing with the signatures of not less than ten Section members. Such petitions shall be filed with the Director of Sections, pursuant to the schedule prepared by the Director of Sections.

D. The Election Process.
1. Campaigning.
Campaigning by candidates in the form of distribution of leaflets, paid announcements in legal publications or other forms of mass solicitation is allowed. However, pursuant to the D.C. Bar Policy on Mailings Regarding Bar Elections, adopted March 10, 1988, Section letterhead shall not be used by individuals endorsing specific candidates for election, nor shall Section funds be used in any manner to support individual candidates. Bar and Section mailing lists are available from the Bar’s Mailing List Representative, typically at a candidate discount from the retail price as determined by the D.C. Bar Board of Governors.

2. Preparation of the Ballot.
The Director of Sections or designee shall prepare a formal ballot containing the names of all nominees with a biographical statement of not more than seventy-five words on each nominee. Only the first seventy-five words, submitted by mail, fax or e-mail, shall be included on the ballot. The ballot order will be determined by lot under the supervision of the Chair of the D.C. Bar’s Election Board. The Election Board Chair will review the election ballots prior to the deadline for submission of the ballots to the printer. Complete voting instructions will appear on each ballot.

Three working days prior to the deadline for submission of biographical statements, a letter will be emailed or faxed to candidates whose statements have not been received. If a candidate fails to submit his or her biographical statement on a timely basis pursuant to the schedule prepared by the Director of Sections, only the candidate’s name will appear on the ballot.

3. Vacancies Arising During Election.
In the event of death, disability or resignation of any member of the Section Steering Committee, after the election ballots are mailed to Section members, but before those elected commence their terms of office, the nonelected candidate receiving the next highest number of votes shall fill the vacancy. The candidate so elected shall serve the remainder of the unexpired term.

4. Voting.
Voting shall be by mail. Only those who are Section members as of ten working days prior to the date the ballots are mailed by the Bar, may vote.

5.Counting of Ballots.
In the event of a tie vote, the successful nominee will be decided by lot as determined by the Chair of the D.C. Bar’s Election Board. All ballots will be stored for sixty days.

All challenges to the results of the election shall be lodged in writing and shall be submitted to the Chair of the D.C. Bar’s Election Board within 14 days after the results of the election have been announced. The D.C. Bar’s Election Board shall decide the challenge, and its decision shall be final.

The results of the election will be published in a Bar-wide periodical and in other appropriate publications within a reasonable time. Upon request, a candidate may obtain from the Sections Office the following actual vote count information on that candidate’s election: the total number of votes cast, the number of votes the candidate received and the number of votes received by the winning candidates.