March 11 Is Deadline for Bylaws Vote & Board Candidate Petitions

Next Friday, March 11, is the deadline for ABA member stores to vote on an amendment to the American Booksellers Association’s bylaws and to submit petitions to have additional director candidates added to this year’s Board ballot.

ABA regular bookstore members are voting on a bylaws amendment that, if approved, would move the association from a nine-person Board to a 10-person Board by making the position of Board president a separate and distinct position that serves one two-year term. (Currently, the function of president is filled by an existing director, who serves a one-year term.) The potential change would affect the next ABA president, whose term begins in May.

Electronic voting on the bylaws amendment began on February 9 and ends March 11. All regular ABA bookstore members are encouraged to cast their ballots via secure bylaws voting pages on BookWeb.org.

March 11 is also the deadline for ABA member stores to submit petitions to have additional director candidates added to the 2011 Board ballot, beside the names of booksellers already nominated by the Board. Upon receipt of a valid petition, the ABA Nominating Committee will add the candidate’s name to the electronic ballot to be sent via e-mail to ABA bookstore members at the end of March.

Petitions in support of additional candidates must reflect at least two percent of ABA bookstore members as of January 1, 2011 (a minimum of 28 signatures). The petition must contain original signatures and the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of bookstore members in at least five states, with representatives of no one state constituting more than 50 percent of the total number of petition signatures. (See further requirements.)

Booksellers nominated as candidates by the ABA Board for this year’s elections are John Evans of DIESEL Bookstores in Brentwood and Oakland, California; Matt Norcross of McLean & Eakin Booksellers in Petoskey, Michigan; and Ken White of San Francisco State University Bookstore in San Francisco, California. White currently serves on the Board and is eligible for a second three-year term.