A. ELIGIBILITY, PUBLISHED STATEMENTS, CAMPAIGN
RESTRICTIONS
1. Eligibility and appropriateness of
members of the Board of Directors to stand for the APA
Presidency. The Board of Directors represents all segments of
APA and, since the Board is a representative body, it is only
reasonable to expect that one or more members of the Board may
be nominated at any particular time. Members of the Board of
Directors are eligible to stand for and accept nominations for
the APA Presidency.
2. Eligibility and appropriateness of
standing for the APA Presidency while standing for another APA
office. Individuals serving in the APA Presidency cycle shall
not hold offices within the Association other than the
ex-officio positions that accompany that office. A person
elected to the APA Presidency shall, during the term of
President-elect, President, and Past President, be restricted
from holding any other APA office, including divisional
offices, that is not an ex-officio extension of the
Presidential office.
3. Call to membership of potential
presidential nominees. An announcement will be made in the
December Monitor informing potential presidential nominees
of the opportunity to speak at the February Council meeting and
to submit a brief statement (50 words or less) that would
accompany the President-Elect Nomination ballot. The deadline
for submission of the statement will be January 15.
4. Statement on the issues facing
psychology. The candidates' statement accompanying the
ballot should be confined to discussion of issues facing
psychology and the APA and should not exceed 1,000 words. The
APA Monitor will provide coverage of the candidates in a
question and answer format. At the Fall Consolidated meeting,
each board and committee reporting to Council or the Board of
Directors will be asked to develop questions, which will be
reviewed by the Election Committee. Six (6) final questions
reflecting important issues to APA's various
constituencies will be selected and presented to each
candidate. Their written responses will be edited for APA style
by Monitor editors and returned to the candidates for approval
and will appear, in a table format, over three subsequent
issues of the APA Monitor. The answers will be limited to
100 words each. Each candidate will also be given the
opportunity to write a short statement, not to exceed 300
words, as a lead into their questions and answers. The Past
President, as chair of the Election Committee, is responsible
for enforcing these limitations.
5. Appropriateness of a member of the Board
of Directors endorsing a particular candidate. Since the Board
of Directors is the executive committee of the association as a
whole, it should be viewed as being nonpartisan, and as a
matter of protocol, Board members should not publicly endorse
candidates for the office of President-elect.
6. Appropriateness of campaign methods and
expenditures. Expenditure of the candidate's own funds or
those of other individuals or organizations for mass
communication has traditionally been regarded as undesirable
and inappropriate. However, it is acceptable for APA divisions,
state and provincial associations, and established continuing
coalitions to give their support to particular candidates in
their newsletters or via electronic communications (electronic
mail, electronic bulletins or faxing) to an established
network. Recipients of campaign material that goes beyond such
endorsements should understand that campaigning by expensive
mass communication strains the political fabric of APA, and be
wary of it. The membership is put on notice that "caveat
emptor" applies in regard to political communications.
7. Use of APA mailing labels. The use of
APA mailing labels on behalf of candidates for office in APA,
divisions, state or provincial associations is not approved.
Additionally, APA will not sell or provide mailing labels for
campaign purposes.
8. Use of list servers (electronic lists).
APA Central Office will not establish, provide, or sell list
servers for campaign purposes.
B. STATEMENT OF COMPLIANCE WITH
GUIDELINES
After the Election Committee announces the
candidates, each one is mailed a copy of these Guidelines. Each
candidate is asked to sign a statement acknowledging that he or
she has received the Guidelines and that he or she will report
to the Election Committee immediately any deviations from the
Guidelines of which he or she becomes aware.
C. PROMULGATION OF THESE GUIDELINES
The Guidelines in their entirety shall
appear in the December or January and the May issues of the APA
Monitor. Each January, the Election Committee will send
the Guidelines to divisions, state and provincial associations,
coalitions and newsletter editors.
The American Psychological
Association's Board of Directors and Council of
Representatives have established these election guidelines for
election to the office of President-elect. They are printed in
the Monitor twice a year.
It is the intent of these Guidelines to
keep the amount of campaigning and electioneering for the
office of President-elect within reasonable limits and to
assist in the maintenance of a spirit of collegiality and
essential fairness in such elections. These Guidelines shall
apply to the nomination and election process for the office of
APA President-elect.
REVISED: MARCH 2001