Problem: Elections have not been held before positions have normally been passed to certain friends of officers. We are attempting to implement the by-laws election process.

Question: Once we have nominees for a position how do we give each canidate a fair opportunity to be elected if other officers don't know them? Instead of voting being based on a popularity process.

Steps Taken: When a nomination is submitted we ask the nominee to please introduce themselves to us, on paper, and please let us know what skill, experience, knowledge they possess that may aid in completing the duties of the position but people still tend to vote on popularity versus the best suited nominee for the position.

LJB,

We are having the same problem at our school. During Open House we had parents sign up for offices on the PTO and only 1 person for each station signed up! I was wondering if we should even bother holding elections or if we should just assign everyone to the posts?

Hi LJB & SCoolidge-
Even in large PTOs, officers are not elected based on a platform or a particular point of view. So there really is no need for a formal campaign or debate. However, to ensure the election is more than just a popularity contest, it is good practice to have the nominees introduce themselves at the election meeting. Nominees should share why they want to be elected, highlights of their PTO service, and any special skills they bring to the PTO.

Regarding the question about whether to just appoint the officers, it's a good idea to go through the formality of elections. When there's only one candidate for each office, they can be elected by voice vote as a slate (all at once). But the group should open the floor for nominations first, to make sure no one else is running. Your bylaws undoubtedly require you to hold elections. But beyond that, transparency is important. Don't want people down the line making accusations about the PTO being a clique that doesn't even hold elections.

~ Lisa


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Our by-laws include that all prospective officers have to have chaired a PTS event...if you have chaired an event it shows some responsibility and commitment - and also means that more PTO members (should) know who they are.

The thing with our school is there was no formal PTO before this year. We haven't had a standing PTO since 2000. I was asked by the new principal to re-write our bylaws. I did this along with standing rules. I have basically taken over the role as president without being voted in. Our bylaws do state that we need a quorum of 6 people in order for voting, at our last meeting we were 1 person shy. Any suggestions?

There is much to know about the process of nominations and elections. If you don't already have one, I highly suggest you pick up a copy of Robert's Rules of Order at your nearest bookstore.