Parish Pastoral Council
Nomination and Election Process
(Final Version, November 13, 2012)

Note that the dates for this process will need to be revised each year by Council. Hence this is a living document, prepared anew for each yearly election.

 The purpose of the council Election Committee is to:

1. Prepare for the nomination process by readying the necessary form. (Father actually has the form on his computer. Father Cole prints up about 500 copies for the nomination weekend.) On the nominating ballot, list the continuing Council members as well as those members who may not be eligible for nomination due to recent service. Check with Father Cole, but you won’t have to prepare/print the nomination forms.
2. Prepare bulletin announcements to inform and encourage all confirmed parishioners to consider nominating others or self-nominating themselves for council. These should appear the weekends of October 13/14 and October 20/21.
3. The weekend of October 20-21, two members of Parish Pastoral Council will give a short talk after announcements encouraging folks to run for council. Recommend that we discuss doing this on a regular basis, maybe every year or every other year.
4. On the last Sunday of October (27-28), the Election Committee will place nomination forms and pencils in all pews of the church, including the choir area. This activity should be completed at least 60 minutes before mass begins in order to not disturb parishioners who come early to pray, have quiet time, or who are there for the rosary. Place enough forms in the pews on Saturday for all weekend masses. The Election Committee will have a collection box at each entrance to the church; completed nomination forms are collected at the conclusion of mass. After the last mass on Sunday, the Election Committee will collect the pencils and blank nomination forms from the pews. It is suggested that the two ballot boxes be saved and reused for the election in the following year.
5. During the week of October 29, the Election Committee will review the parishioners who have been nominated and discuss the nominees with Father Cole. The by-laws call for council to approve the slate of nominees. The Election Committee will email the list of nominees to council members and any necessary discussion re the nominees’ suitability will take place via email or phone calls. Any objections should be raised with Father Cole ASAP. This is because the parish council meeting for November is on November 15, which would not support having the questionnaire results appear the weekend of November 17-18.
6. Contact those nominated and vetted by council and make sure they are willing to run for council. If they agree, Father Cole will send the blank questionnaire to each nominee. The questionnaires need to go out by October 31^st in order for the nominees to receive the questionnaire, prepare their answers, and return the package to Father Cole in time to appear in the bulletin. We also need their pictures taken to be part of the insert – the Election Committee will handle the picture-taking.
7. If we want the nominees’ answers to the questions to appear as an insert for the bulletin the weekends of November 17-18 and 24-25 (Thanksgiving weekend), the questionnaires have to be returned to the rectory by the end of Sunday Mass on November 11. The answers can then be submitted for inclusion within the bulletin for November 17-18. We had talked about having two weekends with the responses in the bulletin, since we (Council) were worried people would be gone for Thanksgiving weekend.
8. The weekend of December 1-2: the Election Committee will draw up a ballot and the election will take place at the beginning of December. (Father Cole actually put the election ballot together last year, made copies, and provided the ballots to the Election Committee.) The Election Committee will collect the blank ballots from Father prior to the Saturday Mass. Place the blank ballots and pencils in the pews in the same manner as for the nomination process. Place a ballot box at both entrances to the church to collect completed ballots at the end of each weekend mass. After the last mass on Sunday, the Election Committee will collect the pencils and blank ballots from the pews and return them to the sacristy.
9. The Election Committee tallies the ballots on Sunday, December 2. Once the ballots are tallied, the committee notifies Father Cole and the rest of council (via email), notifies the selectees, and finally, the candidates who did not win.  You do not tell anyone how many votes anyone received.
10. Newly elected council members are traditionally invited (with a guest) to the December Council meeting in the rectory. This is an opportunity for the outgoing members, the new members, and the rest of council to have some fellowship. The new council members will attend their first formal meeting at the Council meeting in January.

Note that the dates for this process will need to be revised each year by Council. Hence this is a living document, prepared anew for each yearly election.