Comment: ACS elections in the hybrid era

The Committee on Nominations and Elections (N&E) comprises 15 councilors, elected by their peers, who are tasked with overseeing the nomination and election process as required by the ACS Governing Documents. As part of its duties, N&E creates slates (that is, a list of potential nominees) and conducts elections for the ACS Board of Directors, president-elect, Council Policy Committee (CPC), Committee on Committees, and Committee on Nominations and Elections (N&E). (CPC creates the slate of potential members of N&E.) N&E also conducts votes at ACS Council meetings.

While ACS has evolved over its 145-year history, in the past 2 years, the society and its members have experienced some of its most significant challenges and changes. The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated a shift from in-person and electronic elections to a new, hybrid election format that serves both in-person and virtual participants equally.

N&E has also demonstrated its commitment to providing diverse, qualified slates of candidates and for that purpose has created the N&E Nomination Submission form. The candidate-selection process determines the society’s current and future leaders. N&E is committed to the ACS core value of diversity, equity, inclusion, and respect. We recognize that diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives enhance the quality of the governance decision-making process and that all members should have the opportunity to seek leadership roles in the society. N&E welcomes your self-nomination or suggestions of qualified nominees at nominations.acs.org/form.

Historically, the council required in-person attendance, with the option to send an alternate councilor to the meeting if a councilor was unable to attend. Originally, paper ballots were used for voting; later, an electronic response system (“clickers”) for in-person voting was introduced. In 2020, due to the pandemic, council meetings moved to a virtual-only format, necessitating use of an electronic voting platform that allowed credentialed councilors to log into the meeting and vote. The platform enabled N&E to monitor quorum and ensure that only certified voters were able to cast ballots and that each voter cast only one ballot.

In Chicago this past August, we had our first hybrid council meeting. It was attended by 427 councilors; 56% of participants attended in person, and 44% participated virtually. To ensure that everyone had the same voting experience whether they attended in-person or remotely, N&E had all councilors vote using their personal devices. N&E and ACS staff members were available to help in-person attendees log into the system and use their devices to vote. For those participating virtually, staff members were available to assist, with oversight from N&E, should questions arise that required their input or decisions. N&E members, along with staff and voting platform representatives, carefully monitored the voting—as they had done during fully remote meetings. The feedback from all the councilors was very positive, and we considered the inaugural hybrid voting a success.

What happens if councilors cannot vote electronically? Power failures, Wi-Fi outages, and other events beyond our control may occur. In the past, if there was a technology failure with the clickers, we could resort to paper ballots. But that is not an option for virtual participants. For the virtual and hybrid council meetings, N&E recommended and CPC approved a plan B: in the event of a natural disaster or a technology failure that impacts the ability of a significant number of councilors to vote during a meeting, the vote would be suspended and followed by the distribution of electronic ballots sometime after the meeting. This decision to invoke plan B would be made by agreement between the ACS president and the N&E chair.

Fortunately, we have not had to use plan B, but N&E would like to guarantee that it is added to standing rules as we move into the era of hybrid meetings. This spring, N&E is bringing a petition before the council to amend the standing rules to include the plan B language. We hope this amendment will provide clear direction should an unexpected event disrupt voting. Please refer to your spring council agenda (available Feb. 15, 2023) for the full details of the petition.

N&E has the privilege to oversee the nomination and election process in this time of rapid change. We appreciate your support and patience as we navigate this transition together. We are committed to ensuring that diverse, qualified nominees are put before our members during each election, and we hope you will continue to help us identify strong leaders ready to serve in elected positions using the N&E Nomination Submission form.

Questions or feedback? Contact nomelect@acs.org.

Views expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of C&EN or ACS.