May 21, 2024

Announcement of Democrats Abroad Japan 2024 Special Election


UPDATE JUNE 14TH 2024

Voting is now open for the 2024 DAJ Special Election. There are two ways for members to vote.

1. Fill out a digital ballot

2. Print and fill out a PDF of the ballot

Please fill out and send in your ballot by Sunday July 7th 2024 at 23:59.

See below for the original announcement of the special election.

The 2024 Nomination and Election Committee (NEC) of Democrats Abroad Japan (DAJ) is proud to call a special election for current vacancies, and call upon our membership to submit their nominations for the 2024 DAJ Special Election. The call for nominations is for the following positions:

National Secretary

Member-at-Large, Eastern/Northern Honshu

Member-at-Large, Western/Southern Honshu

Member-at-Large, Hokkaido

Member-at-Large, Shikoku, Kyushu, Okinawa

 

If you are interested in holding an officer position, you must fulfill the following requirements in order to qualify:

  • Be a member in good standing pursuant Article III of the By-Laws of Democrats Abroad Japan. You can confirm your membership by signing into democratsabroad.org and going to “Account Settings”.
  • Not be completing a 2nd consecutive term for the office in question, as per the term limits set out in our by-laws pursuant to Article X, Section 1: “No National, or Chapter Officer, nor any Members-at-Large can serve more than two (2) consecutive terms in the same position.”

Roles of the Secretary
The Secretary shall maintain a current database of members including a list of members of the organization and containing the name, mail and e-mail addresses, telephone and fax numbers, U.S. voting district/State and such other information as the DPCA (Democratic Party Committee Abroad) may from time to time require, minutes of all meetings, and all files and administrative records of the organization. The minute books shall be open for inspection by members. The Secretary shall be responsible for communication with the DAJ membership and shall maintain privacy of the membership in accordance with applicable privacy and data protection laws. The Secretary shall be a DPCA voting representative with one vote.

Roles of Members-at-Large 
Members-at-Large are elected representatives from defined areas within Japan that do not have sufficient membership to have an active Chapter. The current areas are Eastern/Northern Honshu, Western/Southern Honshu, Hokkaido, and Shikoku, and Kyushu/Okinawa.  These areas may be redefined by the NEC prior to each national election up to a maximum of five such areas.

DA Japan Bylaws are available here:
https://democratsabroad.atlassian.net/wiki/pages/viewpageattachments.action?pageId=5285216801&preview=%2F5285216801%2F5329521017%2FDA-Japan-Bylaws-Rev-2019.pdf

Nomination Procedure
In order to join the election process, members may nominate themselves or another member by sending an e-mail to [email protected] no later than 11:59pm Japan time on June 12, 2024.  All nomination emails should include the following:

  1. Complete name of the person nominated.
  2. Contact information including phone number and email address.
  3. Name of the nominated position.

Election Calendar

  • Wednesday May 22nd: Nominations Open
  • Wednesday June 12th: Nominations Deadline
  • Friday June 14th: Ballots Distribution
  • Sunday July 7th at 11:59pm: Deadline for Returning Ballots
  • Monday July 8th at 7pm: Election Meeting (ballots counted)*

*Election Meeting will be held online via Webex.
Link: https://democratsabroad.webex.com/webappng/sites/democratsabroad/meeting/info/5d01934df2daa5bf9e3a7430fd1745a8
Password: dems

Distribution of Ballots
Ballots will be distributed electronically on Friday, June 14th. A link to the ballot will also be available here on this post. 

Voter Eligibility
In order to vote, you must be a DAJ member in good standing. Voters casting a ballot for a Member-at-Large candidate must live in the corresponding region. 

 

Sincerely yours,
2024 Democrats Abroad Special Election NEC
Raymond K. Terhune (Chair)
Gwen Catley (Secretary)
Patrick Shumaker