NOTICE BY THE BOARD OF ELECTIONS

2011 PUERTO RICO VACANCY STATE DELEGATE ELECTION

Pursuant to §6.3(e) of the ABA’s Constitution, Puerto Rico will elect a State Delegate to fill a vacancy due to the demise of Armando Lasa-Ferrer. The term commences immediately upon certification by the Board of Elections and expires at the conclusion of the 2014 Annual Meeting.

PETITIONS
Nominating petitions must be filed with the Board of Elections at Association headquarters not later than Friday, August 19, 2011. A minimum of twenty-five signatures of lawyer members of the Association is required.

While it is desirable that more than the required minimum of twenty-five names of members of the Association appear on the nominating petitions, only twenty-five names of signers of any petition will be included with the ballot. Only signatures of lawyer members of the Association will be counted. Each nominating petition must be accompanied by a typewritten list of names, addresses, and ABA member ID’s of the signers in the order in which they appear on the petition. The petition must also be accompanied by a one-hundred-word biographical sketch of the nominee. Forms for this purpose will be provided. The biographical sketch and a list of twenty-five signers from the nominating petitions will be included in the ballot material sent to each Association lawyer member in Puerto Rico.

The candidate and all signers must be lawyer members of the Association whose membership is accredited to Puerto Rico. There is no limit to the number of candidates who may be nominated in any state, and the nominations are made only on the initiative of members themselves.

Each nominee for the office of State Delegate is entitled to receive one list of the names and addresses of the Association members in his/her state. The list is to be made available only after the proper filing of nominating petitions and after the petition filing deadline, upon written request. The nominee should allow up to fourteen days from receipt of the request until delivery of the list. In addition, ABA staff will send one email on behalf of the candidates to the ABA lawyer members in his/her contested state.

Nominating petitions may be obtained from the Board of Elections at the headquarters office of the American Bar Association, 321 N. Clark Street, Chicago, Illinois 60654, and must be filed before the close of business at 5:00 P.M. (Central), Friday, August 19, 2011.

Ballots will be sent to Association lawyer members in good standing, accredited to Puerto Rico, no later than Friday, September 9, 2011.

In accordance with §6.3(e) of the ABA Constitution, no ballots will be mailed to members when a State Delegate election is uncontested. If only one valid nominating petition is filed, the Board of Elections will certify that the sole nominee is elected.

2012 REGULAR STATE DELEGATE ELECTION

The following jurisdictions will elect a State Delegate for a three year term beginning at the adjournment of the 2012 Annual Meeting:

 Arkansas
Colorado
Delaware
Georgia
Idaho
Indiana
Louisiana
Maryland
Minnesota
Nevada
New Hampshire
New York
Ohio
Oregon
Rhode Island
Utah
West Virginia

PETITIONS

Nominating petitions for State Delegates to be elected in 2012 must be filed with the Board of Elections at Association headquarters not later than Friday, December 9, 2011. For each state in which more than one valid nominating petition is filed, the Board of Elections shall have the name of each nominee and the names of 25 signers of the nominating petition published in the February 2012 issue of the ABA Journal.

While it is desirable that more than the required minimum of twenty-five names of members of the Association appear on the nominating petitions, only twenty-five names of signers of any petition will be published as provided by §6.3(b) of the Association's Constitution. Only signatures of lawyer members of the Association will be counted. Each nominating petition must be accompanied by a typewritten list of names, addresses, and ABA member ID’s of the signers in the order in which they appear on the petition. A one-hundred-word biographical sketch of the nominee must also accompany the petitions. Forms for this purpose will be provided. The biographical sketch will be included in the ballot material sent to each Association member in the state in which the nominee is a candidate for the office of State Delegate.

A candidate for nominee and all signers must be lawyer members of the Association whose membership is accredited to the state where the election is being held. There is no limit to the number of candidates who may be nominated in any state, and the nominations are made only on the initiative of members themselves.

Each nominee for the office of State Delegate is entitled to receive one list of the names and addresses of the Association members in his/her state. The list is to be made available only after the proper filing of nominating petitions, after the filing deadline, and upon written request. The nominee should allow up to fourteen days from receipt of the request until delivery of the list. In addition, ABA staff will send one email on behalf of the candidate to the ABA lawyer members in his/her contested state.

Nominating petitions may be obtained from the Board of Elections at the headquarters office of the American Bar Association, 321 N. Clark Street, 21st Floor, Chicago, Illinois 60654 and must be filed before the close of business at 5:00 P.M. (Central), Friday, December 9, 2011.

Ballots will be sent to lawyer members in good standing, accredited to the state in which elections are to be held, no later than Friday, January 20, 2012.

In accordance with §6.3(e) of the constitution, no ballots will be sent to members when a State Delegate election is uncontested. If only one valid nominating petition is filed, the Board of Elections will certify that the sole nominee is elected.

All questions should be directed to Carri L. Kerber at 312/988-5161.