Academy/Membership & Annual Meetings
Floor nominations
Know when a member can nominate someone from the floor, and what stops them.
A floor nomination is a candidate nomination made by a member from the meeting floor rather than through a nominating committee's slate. Under Robert's Rules, floor nominations need no recognition or second and stay open at some point before the election, even when a nominating committee exists, unless your bylaws say otherwise.
What a floor nomination is
A floor nomination is exactly what it sounds like: a member stands up during the meeting and names a candidate for the ballot, instead of that name coming only from a nominating committee's slate. Under Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (RONR), the parliamentary authority most association bylaws name by default, a member does not need to be recognized by the chair to make a nomination, and the nomination needs no second. Even when a nominating committee has already reported its slate, RONR's default keeps the floor open for additional nominations at some point before the election itself begins.
"A member need not be recognized by the chair of the meeting in order to make a nomination and no second is required."
Source: Robert's Rules: Nominations from the Floor, Dummies.com
No advance consent required
A nominee does not have to agree in advance to run in order to be validly nominated from the floor. The only requirement under RONR is that the nominee qualify for the office; the nominee does not need to be contacted, asked, or even present when the nomination happens. In practice, most nominators check with the person first out of courtesy, but that courtesy is not what makes the nomination valid.
"The nomination is valid provided the nominee is qualified for election to the board; the nominee need not be contacted in advance of being placed on the ballot."
Source: Candidate Nomination, FindHOALaw
What your bylaws can change
RONR's floor-nomination default only fills the gap where your governing documents are silent. Whether your bylaws let a nominating committee close the floor early, or set their own nomination timeline or process, varies by association and, in some states, by election statute. Check your bylaws and any election rules on file before assuming a member can nominate from the floor at your annual meeting, or before shutting a nomination down because it did not follow the usual process.
Check yourself
Answer before you read the explanation, recalling it is what makes it stick.
A nominating committee has already presented its slate of three candidates. A member stands and nominates a fourth candidate from the floor without waiting to be called on. What happens to that nomination?
A member is nominated from the floor for treasurer. She never agreed in advance to run and is not at the meeting to hear it. Is the nomination valid?
An association's bylaws state that only the nominating committee may place names on the ballot. A member tries to nominate a candidate from the floor anyway. What controls?
Sources
- Robert's Rules: Nominations from the Floor, Dummies.com (C. Alan Jennings, PRP)
- Candidate Nomination, FindHOALaw
Related elsewhere in the Academy
Membership & Annual Meetings
See how a floor nomination becomes a name on the ballot in Nominations.
Whether floor nominations are allowed to close early, restricted to a nominating committee's slate, or governed by a state election statute depends on your association's bylaws and, in some states, on election law.