Bylaws

 See official Google Docs version of the Bylaws here.

ARTICLE I: DEFINITIONS

I.1: Name

A. The name of this corporation is National Parliamentary Debate League.

B. These Bylaws may also refer to National Parliamentary Debate League as ‘NPDL’ or ‘league’ or ‘corporation.’

I.2: Purposes

A. This corporation is organized exclusively for charitable purposes, including for such purposes, the making of distributions to organizations that qualify as exempt organizations under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or the corresponding section of any future federal tax code.

B. This corporation is a nonprofit public benefit corporation and is not organized for private gain of any person. It is organized under the Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation Law

C. The specific purpose of this corporation is to facilitate democratic participation in the parliamentary debate community and promote education of parliamentary debate students (see Article III of NPDL Articles of Incorporation).

D. To accomplish its purposes, NPDL shall aim to do the following:

1) Organize the NPDL Tournament of Champions.

2) Report on important news in the parliamentary debate community.

3) Oversee the creation and compilation of free and publicly available educational resources for parliamentary debate students and coaches.

4) Support the tournaments, high school clubs, and other events that offer parliamentary debate.

5) Increase access to parliamentary debate for socioeconomically, racially, or regionally disadvantaged students and schools.

6) Provide democratic representation to the high school parliamentary debate community.

I.3: Inclusion, Harassment, and Non-Discrimination Policy

A. The National Parliamentary Debate League is committed to providing its participants, judges, coaches, staff, and volunteers the opportunity to pursue excellence in their endeavors. This opportunity can exist only when each member of our community is assured an atmosphere of mutual respect. The NPDL prohibits all forms of harassment and discrimination.

B. All forms of harassment and discrimination are antithetical to the NPDL’s mission. This includes all harassment and discrimination (whether written or oral, and whether at the NPDL-TOC or in other contexts connected to the League) based on race, color, ethnicity, religion, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, marital status, citizenship, national origin, age, disability, genetic information; or based on any other characteristic protected by any applicable federal, state, or local law; or based on any aspect of a person’s identity or inherent characteristics.

I.4: Structure

League Rules consist of the Bylaws and the Code. The Code consists of the Legislative Code and the Board Code.

I.5: Hierarchy of Authority

A. The NPDL hierarchy of authority shall be as follows:

1) The Bylaws

2) The Legislative Code and the non-expired decisions of the Legislature

3) The Board Code and the non-expired Board decisions

4) The decisions of directors performing their duties

B. If two rules/decisions contradict each other, the one higher on the hierarchy shall be followed. If two rules/decisions on the same level of the hierarchy contradict each other, the one adopted more recently shall be followed.

I.6: Deadlines

A. A deadline stated as being ‘N’ days prior to a given event shall be defined as being exactly ‘N×24’ hours prior to 11:59:59 PM (Pacific Time) of the day on which that event starts.

B. A deadline stated as being ‘N’ days after a given event shall be defined as being exactly ‘N×24’ hours after 11:59:59 PM (Pacific Time) of the day on which that event ends.

C. If something is allowed no earlier than ‘N’ days after a given event, then it is allowed no earlier than exactly ‘(N−1)×24’ hours after 11:59:59 PM (Pacific Time) of the day on which that event ends.

D. A deadline stated as being on a given day shall be defined as being at 11:59:59 PM (Pacific Time) of that day.

E. If a section stating a particular deadline conflicts with this section, the section stating that particular deadline shall take precedence.

I.7: Parliamentary Debate

For purposes of membership eligibility, “parliamentary debate” is a debate between two two-student teams. The exact text of the resolution is given to students no earlier than 60 minutes prior to the start of the round and no later than 10 minutes prior to the start of the round. The combined duration of all speeches in the round is at least 30 minutes. Each team delivers at least three speeches. This definition does not limit what types of arguments the teams may present in the round or the discretion of tournaments to be managed independently.

I.8: Term

A term shall last one year, shall begin on July 1 and end on June 30.

I.9: Fiscal Year

Unless changed by the Board, the fiscal year of NPDL shall begin on July 1 and end on June 30.

I.10: School

A “school” is an institution in the United States of America that serves students in grades 9 (or 10) through 12, is an accredited public school or a registered private school, and graduating from which grants its students a high school diploma.

I.11: Tournament

For the purposes of membership eligibility, a “tournament” shall consist of at least three preliminary rounds of parliamentary debate (see 6) held during a given term on one day or on consecutive days and shall fall into at least one of the two categories below:

1) The tournament is open to all schools, and is open to any high school student a school wishes to enter. A tournament may, however, restrict the number of entries per school and/or cap the total number of entries.

2) The tournament is directly run by

- NPDL; or

- NYPDL; or

- CHSSA or one of its constituent leagues; or

- OHSSL-CA or one of its constituent districts.

I.12: Debate Program Supervisor

A. A “debate program supervisor” is a person officially authorized by the school to supervise the debate club/team. This may be a school administrator, a club adviser, or a head coach.

B. The Board Code may establish a procedure to verify the debate program supervisor.

C. In case of a dispute, the school principal shall have final say over who shall count as the debate program supervisor.

I.13: Region

A. A “region” is any state in the United States of America, with the exception of California, that contains at least three members.

B. In addition, the following sets of California counties shall be regions, so long as they contain at least three members:

1) Alameda, Contra Costa, Del Norte, Humboldt Lake, Marin, Mendocino, Monterey, Napa, San Francisco, San Benito, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Siskiyou (West of Yreka), Solano (South-West of Highway 12), Sonoma, Trinity;

2) Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Colusa, El Dorado, Fresno, Glenn, Inyo, Kern, Kings, Lassen, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, San Joaquin, Modoc, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Sacramento, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou (East of Yreka), Solano (North-East of Highway 12), Stanislaus, Sutter, Tehama, Tulare, Tuolumne, Yolo;

3) Los Angeles (Except Bonita, Claremont, and Pomona school districts), San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura;

4) Imperial, Los Angeles (Only Bonita, Claremont, and Pomona School Districts), Orange County, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego.

I.14: Numbering

A. Changing the order and/or numbering/lettering of articles/sections/subsections in the League Rules without changing their text or their place in the hierarchy of authority shall not require an amendment and may be done by the Board.

B. When the League Rules or the California Codes are amended, the Secretary shall adjust the numbering and references throughout the League Rules to maintain consistency. The Secretary shall inform the Board of the adjustments made.

I.15: Construction

Unless the context requires otherwise, the general provisions, rules of construction, and definitions in the California Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation Law shall govern the construction of these Bylaws.

ARTICLE II: MEMBERSHIP

II.1: Voting Members

A. Meeting both of the following criteria is necessary and sufficient to be eligible to become an NPDL member:
1) Being either
- a non-charter public school (see I.10), or
- a private or charter school (see I.10) that enrolls at least 100 students in grades 9 (or 10) through 12.
2) Attending at least three tournaments (see I.11). A tournament shall only count if
- at least one team consisting of students from that school
- competed in parliamentary debate (see I.7) at that tournament
- during the current term or the immediately preceding term.
B. A school becomes a member (or renews its membership) upon
- completing its membership registration for the current term, and
- notifying the Secretary in writing that it meets all membership criteria (see A).
The Code may determine the registration and notification procedures.

II.2: Observers

A. A school (see I.10) that has current registration (see 1.B) but does not meet one or more criteria for membership (see 1.A) shall be classified as an observer school.
B. An observer school shall have the same rights as a member school, except the right to vote.

II.3: Termination of Membership

A. A school’s membership registration for a given term shall expire (see CORP § 5340) no earlier than September 1 and no later than June 30 of the next term, as specified by the Code. If the Code does not specify a date, membership for a term shall expire on September 1 of the next term.
B. Other than expiration because of nonrenewal, a school's membership may be terminated only by the school itself, upon written notice to the Board by the debate program supervisor or representative (see CORP § 5340). If a school no longer satisfies the membership criteria at a time prior to the expiration of its membership, that shall not affect the good standing of its membership.
C. Being ineligible for renewal (see 1.B) does not constitute an expulsion, a suspension, or a termination of membership (see CORP § 5341).

II.4: Disclaimers

A. NPDL is organized with members, but without capital stock.
B. Membership in NPDL does not constitute an ownership interest in any asset of NPDL at any time. Termination of membership for any reason shall not give rise to any liability by the NPDL or its directors. Each member is received into membership on its express agreement to this provision. This provision is not for the purpose of penalizing any school whose membership shall be forfeited, or otherwise terminated, but rather because no membership will have any real or intrinsic value.
C. A membership or any right arising from membership may not be transferred to another school or person.
D. No school shall hold more than one membership in NPDL.
E. Except as limited by law, no member is liable for NPDL’s debts, liabilities, or obligations.

II.5: School Representatives

A. The Board Code shall create a procedure for schools to designate or change their representatives. The debate program supervisor (see I.12) must be notified of any designation or change. In case of a dispute, the debate program supervisor shall have final say over who shall count as their school’s representative(s).
B. The initial adult representative shall be designated by the debate program supervisor. The adult representative of a member school must be a natural person who is a high school graduate, is at least 18 years old, and works with the school’s parliamentary debate club/team. No person shall be the adult representative for more than two schools.
C. The debate program supervisor may create a procedure for the selection of a student representative from the same school.
D. No school may have more than one adult representative. No school may have more than one student representative. A school need not have an adult representative and need not have a student representative.

II.6: Legislature

A. The Legislature shall be composed of representatives of the member schools.
B. Every representative shall have one vote.
C. Any decision of the Legislature not codified in the League Rules shall expire at the end of the term that immediately follows the term during which the decision was passed, unless an earlier expiration date is specified in the decision.

ARTICLE III: LEGISLATION BY WRITTEN BALLOT

III.1: Scope

A. The Legislature may pass proposals by a Written Ballot.
B. All voting on Written Ballot proposals shall occur during a voting period. Representatives may vote by submitting their ballots to the Board email. The Code may establish additional ways for representatives to vote.
C. There shall be two regular voting periods per term, scheduled by the Legislative Code.
D. A Written Ballot proposal may amend the League Rules.
E. A Written Ballot proposal may exercise legislative review (see IV.1.B) or give direction to the Board or to individual Board members.
F. The Written Ballot shall include all proposals submitted as prescribed by Section 2, Section 3, or the Code.

III.2: Proposal Submission by the Board

A. The ballot shall include all eligible proposals approved by a two-thirds majority of the Board.
B. Proposal drafts must be submitted to representatives for review and comment at least 10 days (see I.6.A) prior to the final vote by the Board.

III.3: Proposal Submission by a Legislative Committee

A. The ballot shall also include all eligible proposals approved by
- a majority of a legislative committee, not counting explicitly abstaining votes, AND
- at least 4 members of that legislative committee, AND
- members of that legislative committee from at least 2 different regions.
B. A legislative committee is a teleconferencing meeting of representatives called to review proposals for a voting period. Any representative may attend a legislative committee. A legislative committee must include at least two adult representatives at all times.
C. A legislative committee member is any representative present for the vote who attended that legislative committee for at least 20 minutes.
D. Any representative may sponsor a proposal for approval by a legislative committee. To do so, the sponsor should submit the draft text of the proposal in writing (or have the Secretary submit it on the sponsor’s behalf) to the other representatives.
E. The legislative committee meeting time shall be set by the sponsor, provided that:
- the committee may meet no earlier than 10 days after the proposal was submitted to the representatives (see I.6.C);
- committees may meet during weekdays between 4 PM and 7PM (Pacific Time);
- committees may meet during other time slots, but only if no representative who wishes to serve on the committee objects;
- committee meeting times must be announced to representatives at least 3 days in advance (see I.6.A).
F. Legislative committees may revise the text of proposals submitted to them.
G. Each legislative committee may approve no more than 3 proposals.
H. After a committee approves a proposal, the final draft and the vote count must be submitted to the Board in writing within 7 days. The proposal shall then be included on the first Written Ballot scheduled to start at least 7 days after the proposal was submitted to the Board.

III.4: Proposal Submission Guidelines

A. The Code may:
- specify how proposals ought to be submitted, and
- create proposal formatting criteria.
Notwithstanding Sections 1-3, proposals that do not satisfy these requirements shall be excluded from the Written Ballot.
B. If a proposal draft (see 3.D) does not satisfy a requirement in sub-section A, but the sponsor was not notified of this in writing prior to the legislative committee meeting, that requirement shall not be enforced.
C. Any Board amendment to the Code language pertaining to this section shall take effect immediately after the end of the first subsequent regular voting period.

III.5: Passing a Proposal

A. For each proposal, the ballot shall include four options:
- Yes;
- No;
- Abstain;
- Table until the next meeting of members.
B. A proposal that amends the Bylaws (or both the Bylaws and the Code) shall be considered passed by the Legislature if during the voting period:
- 90% of the representatives who submit their vote, not counting representatives who explicitly abstained, vote Yes on the proposal, and
- 20% of the total number of representatives in the league, not counting representatives who explicitly abstained, vote Yes on the proposal.
C. A proposal that amends the Code (but not the Bylaws) shall be considered passed by the Legislature if during the voting period:
- two thirds of the representatives who submit their vote, not counting representatives who explicitly abstained, vote Yes on the proposal, and
- 20% of the total number of representatives in the league, not counting representatives who explicitly abstained, vote Yes on the proposal.
D. A proposal that exercises legislative review (see IV.1.B) or gives direction to the Board or to individual Board members (but does not amend the League Rules) shall be considered passed by the Legislature if during the voting period:
- a majority of the representatives who submit their vote, not counting representatives who explicitly abstained, vote Yes on the proposal.
E. A proposal shall be considered rejected by the Legislature if during the voting period:
- a majority of the representatives who submit their vote, not counting explicitly abstaining votes, vote No on the proposal.
F. All other proposals on the Written Ballot shall be tabled until the next meeting of members.

III.6: Contradictions

A. The Board may, within the limits established by the Code, determine that two or more proposals on the same Written Ballot contradict each other.
B. The Written Ballot shall then include another question asking representatives to rank the proposals that were determined to contradict each other.
C. The winning proposal shall be determined using the IRV (Instant Runoff Voting) method. The Code may specify the implementation of this method. The winning proposal shall be considered passed by the Legislature if it satisfies the criteria listed in Section 5.
D. Notwithstanding Section 5, all proposals that were determined to contradict the winning proposal shall be considered rejected by the Legislature.

III.7: Special Voting Periods

A. The Code may create a procedure for scheduling special voting periods.
B. The Code may create additional requirements for submitting a proposal for or passing a proposal during a special voting period, beyond those specified in this article.

ARTICLE IV: MEETINGS OF MEMBERS

IV.1: Powers of the Legislature at a Meeting of Members

A. The Legislature may amend the League Rules.
B. The Legislature shall have the power of legislative review: it shall have the final say in interpreting League Rules and enforcing the NPDL hierarchy of authority.
C. The Legislature may give direction to the Board or to individual Board members.

IV.2: Scheduling

A. The Code or the Board shall schedule a special meeting of members between the end of each regular voting period and the start of the next regular voting period.
B. Additional special meetings of members may be scheduled as specified in the CA Corporations Code (see CORP § 5510(e)).
C. A written notice of a meeting of members shall be given to the representatives at least 35 days prior to that meeting. The notice shall include:
- the date and time of the meeting;
- the location of the meeting (a physical location and/or a teleconferencing platform).

IV.3: Quorum

A. The quorum for a meeting of members shall consist of 20% of the total number of representatives in the league, present physically or via teleconferencing or represented by proxy.
B. The members present at a duly called or held meeting at which a quorum is present may continue to transact business until adjournment notwithstanding the withdrawal of enough members to leave less than a quorum, if any action taken is approved by at least a majority of the members required to constitute a quorum (see CORP § 5512).
C. The Board may amend subsection A of this section to lower the quorum. Notwithstanding Article III and Article IV, such an amendment shall not require ratification by the Legislature. The amendment shall take effect 35 days after the Board provides notice to the membership.

IV.4: Agenda

A. The agenda for a meeting of members shall include all proposals tabled during any of the voting periods (see III.5.F) held since the immediately preceding meeting of members.
B. The Code may create additional ways to add proposals to the agenda for a meeting of members.

IV.5: Motions

A. The Code may prescribe the procedures and the majority/supermajority requirements by which the Legislature may pass motions during a meeting of members to:
- split a proposal into multiple proposals;
- modify proposal text.
B. During a meeting of members, the Legislature may, by a two-thirds vote (see 8.B), pass a motion to add to the meeting agenda a proposal to exercise legislative review (see 1.B) or give direction to the Board or to individual Board members.

IV.6: Remote Participation

The Code may create procedures for representatives to participate in and vote in meetings of members remotely.

IV.7: Proxies

A. Any adult representative can choose another school’s adult representative to serve as a proxy and empower that proxy to cast a vote on any given proposal on the representative’s behalf at a meeting of members.
B. Any student representative can choose another school’s student representative to serve as a proxy and empower that proxy to cast a vote on any given proposal on the representative’s behalf at a meeting of members.
C. No representative may hold more than six proxies.
D. No proxy shall be allowed to cast more than 20% of the votes on any proposal.
E. The representative designating a proxy must correspond with the Secretary in writing to make this official.
F. If a meeting of members is held at a tournament, a representative shall not transfer their vote to a proxy if that representative’s school is attending the tournament.
G. A vote cast by a proxy on a representative’s behalf is final and shall count as that representative’s vote on any proposal voted on by the Legislature.

IV.8: Passing a Proposal

A. Except where specified otherwise in these Bylaws, being passed by the Legislature shall require approval by a simple majority of the representatives who cast a vote at a meeting of members, not counting representatives who explicitly abstained.
B. Amending the Bylaws shall require a two-thirds vote of the Legislature. A two-thirds vote of the Legislature means approval by a two-thirds majority of the representatives who cast a vote at a meeting of members, not counting representatives who explicitly abstained.

IV.9: Dissolution

A. The process for dissolving this corporation shall be the same as the process for amending the bylaws (see III, IV). If the membership votes in favor of dissolution, the directors shall promptly cease operations and proceed to dissolve the corporation.
B. Upon the dissolution of the corporation, its assets remaining after payment, or provision for payment, of all debts and liabilities of this corporation shall be distributed to a nonprofit organization which is organized and operated exclusively for charitable purposes and which has established its tax exempt status under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

ARTICLE V: BOARD OF DIRECTORS

V.1: Powers

A. The Board of Directors (“Board”) shall have the power to make all decisions about the league, so long as these decisions are consistent with the Hierarchy of Authority (see I.5).
B. Except as specified otherwise in the Bylaws or the Legislative Code, the Board may amend the Board Code.
C. The Board shall have the power to determine its internal procedures, within the limits established by these Bylaws and by the law (see CORP § 5210-5215).

V.2: Composition

A. There shall be 7 Board seats.
B. The 5 Board positions shall be:
- President (1 seat),
- Secretary (1 seat),
- Treasurer (1 seat),
- TOC Director (1 seat),
- Outreach Director (3 seats).
C. Each seat shall be held by one natural person, who may be referred to as a director or a Board member.
D. No person may hold more than one Board seat at a time.

V.3: Board Meetings

A. The Board may hold meetings in person or via teleconferencing.
B. 4 directors present at the meeting shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.
C. Regular Board meetings shall be scheduled by the Board Code.
D. The Board may only amend the regular Board meeting schedule by a unanimous vote.
E. The Board may not amend the regular Board meeting schedule between March 1 and June 30.
F. A regular Board meeting may be canceled prior to that meeting by the Board or by a written request of any 4 directors.
G. A special Board meeting may be scheduled, rescheduled, or canceled by a written request of any 4 directors.

V.4: Board Decisions

A. Every director shall have one vote on the Board.
B. Directors may not, in their capacity as directors, vote by proxy.
C. Except as specified otherwise in the Bylaws or the Legislative Code, the Board shall make decisions by a simple majority vote.
D. When calculating Board majority or supermajority requirements, the denominator shall include all directors who vote Yes, vote No, are absent, or did not vote. The denominator shall not include directors who explicitly abstained.
E. Board decisions made without a meeting shall require unanimous written consent of the directors (see CORP § 5211(b)).
F. Except as specified otherwise in the Bylaws or the Legislative Code, the Board shall appoint people by a plurality vote if there are multiple candidates.
G. Any Board decision not codified in the Board Code shall expire at the end of the term during which it was made, unless an earlier expiration date is specified in the decision.

V.5: Term Limits

A. No person shall serve on the Board (regardless of the specific position) for more than five consecutive terms, with serving for part of a term counting the same as serving for a full term.
B. A break in service allowing a person to run for and serve on the Board again after being term-limited is defined as one full term.
C. Notwithstanding subsection A, serving on the Board during the 2017-2018 term and/or the 2018-2019 term shall not count toward the five-term limit. Subsection C (i.e. this subsection) shall be removed from the Bylaws in July 2024.

V.6: Vacancies

A. A proposal to remove a director from the Board shall require the approval of 5 directors. That director can then be removed from the Board, with or without cause, by the Legislature via a Written Ballot in which at least 20% of the representatives vote Yes, No, or Abstain.
B. The Board may adopt a resolution of vacancy in the office of a director who has been declared of unsound mind by an order of court, convicted of a felony, or found by final order or judgment of any court to have breached a duty under the California Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation Law.
C. Any director who misses 3 consecutive regular Board meetings for any reason shall automatically lose their seat on the Board.
D. A director may resign by submitting a resignation in writing to the Board.
E. A Board vacancy may occur if no candidates run for a position or if a single candidate runs for a non-Outreach position but a majority of ballots cast are explicitly against the candidate, or if there are fewer Outreach Director candidates than there are Outreach Director positions. A ballot that contains no vote for the race in question will not be considered “against the candidate.”
F. In the event of a Board vacancy, the remaining directors shall, as soon as possible, appoint a replacement director (see 4.F). If there are fewer than 4 remaining directors, the remaining director(s) may fill the director vacancies by unanimous written consent. Once appointed, the replacement director shall, unless removed, serve until June 30.

V.7: Contracts

A. Only the Board and its designees shall have the power to enter binding contracts on behalf of NPDL.
B. The Board and its designees shall not, without the approval of the Legislature, incur debts on behalf of NPDL that exceed what the total monetary assets of NPDL are at the time that the debt is incurred.
C. The Board and its designees shall not, without the approval of the Legislature, make any non-monetary commitments on behalf of NPDL that bind NPDL for longer than two years.
D. The Board will adopt a Conflict of Interest Policy and each Board member shall annually sign a statement that they have received, read, understood, and agreed to comply with such policy.

V.8: Compensation and Reimbursement

A. Directors shall not receive compensation for their services on the Board.
B. Directors may receive such reimbursement of expenses as the Board may determine by resolution to be fair and reasonable at the time that the resolution is adopted.

V.9: Property Rights

No director shall have any property rights in any assets of the corporation.

V.10: Officers

A. Each director shall be an officer of this corporation. Only directors may be officers of this corporation.
B. The 7 officer positions shall be:
- President,
- Secretary,
- Treasurer (who shall be the chief financial officer),
- TOC Director,
- 3 Outreach positions, as defined by the Board Code.
C. No person may hold more than one officer position at a time.
D. The Board Code shall, in a manner consistent with the Bylaws, define the duties of each officer position.
E. The Board may only amend officer duties by a unanimous vote.
F. The Board may not amend officer duties between March 1 and June 30.
G. The director who placed first in the STV election shall choose any one of the three Outreach positions. The director who placed second shall then choose either one of the two remaining Outreach positions. The director who placed third shall then serve in the remaining Outreach position. Declaring a candidacy for Outreach Director indicates willingness to serve in any Outreach position.
H. All officers shall have read through the full current text of these Bylaws.
I. Any officer may temporarily transfer some of their duties to a designee.

ARTICLE VI: BOARD ELECTIONS

VI.1: Scheduling

Regular elections for all Board positions shall be scheduled by the Code to occur in March, April, or May and shall be announced to the representatives at least 30 days prior to the start of the elections. The Code shall designate a voting period during which representatives can vote on candidates for the Board.

VI.2: Inspector of Elections

A. The Board shall appoint the Inspector of Election. Any two Board members may jointly appoint an assistant Inspector of Election, but no Board member may do so for more than one assistant.

B. Board elections shall be conducted via written ballot in a manner determined by the Inspector of Election within the limits established by the League Rules.

C. Counting votes and other elections logistics shall be the duty of the Inspector of Election.

D. An Inspector of Election (including assistants) may not be a candidate in the elections they supervise.

VI.3: Candidacy Declarations

A. Candidacies must be declared in writing to the representatives by the candidate (or the Inspector of Election declaring on behalf of the candidate) at least 15 days prior to the elections.

B. The Code may establish additional candidacy declaration procedures.

C. No person may run for more than one Board position at a time.

D. No person who is younger than 18 years old or who is enrolled in high school may run for or serve on the Board.

E. No person who is term-limited may run for or serve on the Board (see V.5).

F. All other people may run for the Board, so long as they follow the candidacy declaration procedures.

VI.4: Election Procedures

A. All directors other than Outreach Directors shall be elected as follows:

1) If there is only one candidate for a Board position, that candidate shall be elected if they are confirmed by a simple majority vote of all representatives who cast a ballot.

2) If there are two candidates for a Board position, the candidate receiving more votes shall be elected.

3) If there are three or more candidates for a Board position, the IRV (Instant Runoff Voting) method shall be used. The school representatives shall rank the candidates from most to least preferred. The ballots shall be counted, and the candidate with the smallest number of voters who picked them as their top choice shall be eliminated. The voters who voted for the eliminated candidate shall have their ballots re-distributed to their second choice, if indicated, then their third choice, and so on. This procedure shall be repeated until only one candidate remains. That candidate shall be elected.

B. Outreach Directors shall be elected using the STV (Single Transferable Vote) method.

C. A tie at any of the steps shall be resolved in favor of the candidate who is the top choice for the greater number of people, then, if that is also a tie, the second choice, and so on.

If the election takes place during an even calendar year, otherwise unbreakable ties shall be broken in favor of the candidate whose last name, as it appeared on the ballot, comes first alphabetically. If the election takes place during an odd calendar year, otherwise unbreakable ties shall be broken in favor of the candidate whose last name, as it appeared on the ballot, comes last alphabetically.

D. The Code shall create procedures to ensure that

- all voters are guaranteed a secret ballot,

- the vote count is verifiable, and

- no person casts more votes than they are entitled to cast.

VI.5: Term

A. Once elected, a director’s term shall start on July 1 and shall conclude on the following June 30.

B. If a director is elected to fill a vacancy, that director’s term shall start immediately after the election and shall conclude at the end of the term during which the election was held.

VI.6: Special Elections

A. Special elections for all Outreach Director positions and/or for one or more non-Outreach Director Board positions, whether vacant or not, may also be called at any point during the term by a petition listing the proposed special voting period (see III.7) for the elections, the Inspector(s) of Election, and supported in writing by the majority of all representatives in the league.

B. If the incumbent director declines to run in the special election or loses the special election, their term shall end as soon as the election results are certified. The winning candidate shall then become a director, and shall serve until June 30.

ARTICLE VII: RECORDS AND REPORTS

VII.1: League Rules

The Board shall ensure that the official copies of the Articles of Incorporation, the Bylaws, and the Code are available to the membership and are updated within 60 days of any amendment (see CORP § 5160).

VII.2: Minutes

A. The Board shall ensure that the minutes from any meeting of members or of the Board (see CORP § 6320) are made available to the membership within 60 days of the meeting.

B. For every vote of the membership at a meeting or via written ballot, the Board shall keep a record of how many representatives voted for each option (see CORP § 6325).

VII.3: Board Roster

A. The Board shall keep a record of each director’s name, address, telephone number, and email address.

B. The Board shall ensure that the membership is notified of any change in the composition of the Board within 60 days of the change.

VII.4: Member Roster

A. The Board shall ensure that prior to any vote of the membership, a roster listing the names and school affiliation of all representatives eligible to participate in that vote is made available to the membership (see CORP § 6330).

B. For each member school that requests to receive notices electronically, the Board shall record the email(s) of the school’s representative(s) and debate program supervisor. For each member school that requests to receive notices by regular mail, the Board shall record the school’s mailing address (see CORP § 6320).

VII.5: Finances

A. The Board shall keep adequate and correct books and records of account (see CORP § 6320).

B. Every director shall have the absolute right at any reasonable time to inspect and copy all books, records and documents of every kind (see CORP § 6334).

C. The Board shall release an annual financial summary to the members.