Alabama Administrative Code
Title 630 - ALABAMA BOARD OF OPTOMETRY
Chapter 630-X-4 - NOMINATING AND ELECTING NOMINEES FOR BOARD APPOINTMENT
Section 630-X-4-.03 - Voting

(a) Prior to the annual meeting the secretary-treasurer shall cause to be prepared a sufficient number of ballots containing the names of those persons listed the highest number of times on the forms as hereinabove provided and such ballot shall contain blanks for the insertion of the names of persons who may be nominated by petition at the annual meeting.

(b) At the end of the 30 minute period hereinabove provided for nominations by petition, the secretary-treasurer shall cause the names of all persons so nominated by petition to be inserted on the ballots. The ballots so prepared by the secretary-treasurer shall be the official ballot and shall be used in conducting the election.

(c) As each licensed optometrist holding a current annual registration is given a ballot, said optometrist shall sign a form signifying the receipt of said ballot and also signing his license number next to his signature. Balloting is by secret ballot and the optometrist need not sign the ballot sheet. No ballots will be given out prior to the voting and each optometrist shall be given only one ballot as they sign the form provided for above.

(d) The president shall appoint a committee of ten licensed optometrists in attendance at the meeting to serve as election clerks and it shall be the duty of the election clerks to take up, count, and tabulate the ballots, and to report the tabulation to the president who shall announce the results.

(e) No cumulative or proxy voting shall be permitted and each optometrist voting must vote for five nominees in order for his ballot to be valid. Any ballot indicating votes for more or less than five nominees shall be null and void and shall not be counted.

(f) After all valid ballots are counted, the five persons receiving the greatest number of votes shall be the five persons certified to the Governor for appointment to the Board, without substitution.

(g) Within three days after the meeting, the secretary-treasurer shall notify those licensees whose names shall be certified to the Governor that their names shall be submitted to the Governor. Ten days after the meeting, the secretary-treasurer shall submit the list to the Governor. In order for a person to withdraw from the list to be certified to the Governor, the person must do so in writing and present it to the secretary-treasurer prior to the submission of the list to the Governor. If a person withdraws their name from the list, the list shall be composed solely of those names remaining.

(h) In the event of ties, run-off elections will be conducted using blank ballots furnished by the secretary- treasurer with votes being cast by writing in the name(s) of the nominees involved in the run-off selected by the persons voting.

Author: Dr. Larry Carter