Rules and Regulations Concerning American Radio Relay League Division and Section Manager Elections

 Revised July 2021

Campaign Statements

Each candidate for Director, Vice Director, or Section Manager may submit a 300-word statement for inclusion with the ballot. The submission of this statement shall be filed as elsewhere required, and must be, in all material respects, truthful and not misleading_. With this statement, the candidate may submit his or her black and white photograph not larger than 3 inches high and 2 inches wide to likewise be included with the ballot. Alternatively, an equivalent electronic photograph in .jpg format at a minimum of 200 dpi may be submitted.   The standard of truth applies to all campaign material by a candidate. Campaign statements may include opinions (stated as such). Only complaints from a member eligible to vote in that election shall be accepted. All matters with respect to campaigns, including remedies for issues that arise, will be conclusively determined by the Ethics and Elections Committee.  

Mass Communications at League Expense

In any contested election for Director, Vice Director, or Section Manager, during the campaign period no mass communication at League expense, in whole or in part, dealing with any candidate in any way or issued by a candidate, or any League official in the Division of the candidate, shall contain election campaign material.  

Definitions

Campaign material isdefined as any material that might reasonably be expected to affect the outcome of suchelection.   The campaign period for Director and Vice Director is defined as the period from July 1st until the day ballots are due in the election. The campaign period for Section Manager is defined as the period from the official “Call for Nominations” date until the day ballots are due in the election.   Mass communication is defined as communications by mail, electronic distribution, posting to a web site, email, hand- delivery or by any other means of distribution to League members in the particular Division or Section involved in the contestedelection.   “Campaign” address labels, mailing lists, or other membership data are furnished upon request, to any election candidate whose eligibility has been properly certified for the purpose of campaigning for office in the League. All requests shall be made in writing on a form to be provided by ARRL Hq. (No telephone requests will be honored.) The form will require that the purpose for requesting the list be stated and will require a signed statement that the list is being used only for the purpose requested. Lists are furnished at the cost of production. An electronic or physical copy of all material mailed, using address labels provided by ARRL Hq, shall be sent to the ARRL Secretary.
Please refer to “Terms and Conditions Governing Availability of Mailing Lists from HQ” for detailed and precise instructions concerning the use of membership lists.  

Ethics

It may not be appropriate for candidates to conduct on-the-air campaigning for elected office in the League. The ARRL does not, therefore, sanction such on-the-air activity. Because incumbent directors are in a policy-making role in a corporation, it is better if their campaign activities are conducted in some fashion other than via Amateur Radio.   Articles by or about, or photos of, an incumbent director, or a candidate, will not be published in an issue of QST that will appear during the campaign period.   No candidate or person on behalf of a candidate shall distribute campaign literature on official ARRL stationery, except that ARRL member or club stationery may be used. “Campaign literature” is defined as any item in support of a specific person for the office of Director, Vice Director, or Section Manager.  

Timetable for ARRL Director and Vice Director Elections

First business day of July – “Call for Nominations” announcement published on ARRL website and in July QST  

Noon -- 2nd Friday of August -- Deadline to request official nominating petition forms  

Noon -- 3rd Friday of August -- Deadline for receipt of completed nominating petition forms by Secretary  

Monday after 3rd Friday of August -- The Secretary notifies each candidate of the names and callsigns of other candidates in his or her specific race.  

4th Friday of August -- Deadline for the Ethics and Elections Committee to determine eligibility and notify candidates  

7 days after the 4th Friday in August -- Deadline for receipt by the Secretary of 300-word statement and photo, if candidate desires, to accompany the ballot. This date is also the deadline for protests of qualification decisions.  

September 10 -- Membership cutoff date (By-Law 19). Begin printing ballots.  

September 23 - October 1 -- Ballot mailing period (By-Law 19)  

Noon -- First Monday of November -- Deadline for petitioners or their representatives to request to watch the ballot counting (By-Law 20)  

Noon -- 3rd Friday of November -- Deadline for return of ballots (By-Law 20). Ballots will be counted that day. Candidates will be notified of results electronically.

5 days after the 3rd Friday of November -- Any protests must be received by the Secretary in writing and forwarded to the Ethics and Elections Committee.

Rules and Regulations Concerning Advisory Committees

The following rules and regulations provide for the establishment of national Advisory Committees. Such committees shall be composed of amateurs qualified in various specialty areas of concern to the League. The Committees, acting in their areas of specialty, shall undertake studies, review proposals, and make recommendations to the League management. League members interested in serving on Advisory Committees should make themselves known to their Director.

Each ARRL Division is represented on each Advisory Committee. The Division representatives to the national Advisory Committee also serve as special advisors to the Division Director. The Radio Amateurs of Canada (RAC) may also appoint a representative to each Advisory Committee.

1. Authority for establishing, terminating, or modifying terms of reference of any Advisory Committee rests with the Board of Directors.

2. Any proposal to the Board for the establishment of an Advisory Committee shall outline the purpose of the proposed Committee, the proposed scope of its activities and the Standing Committee of the Board to which it shall report. The proposal shall explain why its objectives cannot be met through the existing organizational structure of the ARRL.

3. The membership of any Advisory Committee shall consist of one Full Member of the League from each Division plus the representative to that Advisory Committee from the RAC who shall be a member of the League. Advisory Committee members are to be residents of the Division from which they are appointed and may not hold any League elective office (Officer, Director, Vice Director, Section Manager) during their tenure as a member of an Advisory Committee.

Each committee member is appointed by the respective Division Director for a term concurrent with that of the Director. It is recommended that Advisory Committee members shall serve a maximum of six (6) years so as to provide diversity of views within the Division. The Advisory Committee members serve at the pleasure of the Director and shall be responsible to him for the proper performance of their duties. Directors should consider the following in selecting appointees to an Advisory Committee:

a. Willingness to serve and participate in committee deliberations;

b. Possession of knowledge and expertise in the committee's field of endeavor;

c. The ability and willingness to communicate with others in writing and verbally.

Communications includes the use of electronic media;

d. The ability and willingness to participate in public forums.

4. Each year, the President shall designate one member of each Advisory Committee as chairman for that calendar year. Chairmen will serve in that post for no more than two one-year terms consecutively. Each chairman shall designate a vice chairman to assist him and to assure continuity in the committee's operation.

5. Each Advisory Committee shall report to an appropriate Standing Committee of the Board. The ARRL President shall appoint a Director member of the appropriate Standing Committee to serve as liaison to the full Board for each Advisory Committee. The Chief Executive Officer may designate Headquarters Staff to fulfill the functions of Resource and Administrative Liaison to each Advisory Committee.

6. Advisory Committees initiate studies upon request by the Standing Committee of the Board to which they report. Proposals for studies may be made to the responsible Standing Committee by any of the following groups or individuals:

a. By the Board of Directors;

b. Between meetings of the Board, by the Executive Committee or the President;

c. By a committee of the Board;

d. By the Chief Executive Officer;

e. By the Committee at its own initiative.

The Board shall be advised promptly of the responsible Standing Committees' disposition of proposed studies.

Advisory Committee recommendations shall be made in a timely manner to the appropriate Standing Committee and shall be advisory in nature. Status reports shall be submitted, to the Board Secretary, at least (30) days prior to any regular meeting of the Board.

7. Members wishing to express their opinion on a matter being studied by, or within the terms of reference of, an Advisory Committee are encouraged to communicate with their Division representative. To this end, the names, callsigns, and e-mail contact information for Advisory Committee members shall appear on the ARRL website. Space in QST and other League publications shall be available to the committees, as appropriate.

8. Advisory Committee members are entitled to the same privileges accorded Assistant Directors.

9. Incidental expenses are reimbursable according to guidelines adopted by the Board. Any expenses for the Radio Amateurs of Canada (RAC) representative to any Advisory Committee shall be paid in accordance with RAC policy.

 

Rules and Regulations of the ARRL Field Organization

Revised January 2011

1. The League maintains a Section level Field Organization whose programs provide opportunities for volunteers to further the objectives of the ARRL, provide assistance to fellow radio amateurs, and promote amateur radio's service to the American public. Principal areas of responsibility of the Field Organization are emergency communications, message traffic relay, technical activity / problem-solving, volunteer monitoring, government relations, public relations in the general community, information services for amateurs, and cooperation with affiliated clubs. 

2. For the activities of the ARRL Field Organization, the territory of the League is defined as consisting of territorial Divisions described in By-Law 30. The ARRL Divisions are further subdivided into ARRL sections for the administrative purposes of the Field Organization. Information and guidance on proposals for changes to the boundaries of the administrative sections are available from ARRL Headquarters. 

3. In each section there will be an elected Section Manager (SM) who will have authority over the section's Field Organization, and, in cooperation with the Division Director, will foster and encourage ARRL activities and programs within that section. No Section Manager shall have the authority to commit, obligate or bind the League in any dealings with individuals, entities or governmental units or agencies unless the agreement has been reviewed by the Membership & Volunteer Programs Manager and approved by the ARRL President or the President's designee. 

4. Any candidate for the office of Section Manager must be a resident of the section, a licensed amateur of Technician class or higher, and a Full member of the League for a continuous term of at least two years immediately preceding receipt of a petition for nomination and throughout the subsequent term of office. A Section Manager shall not simultaneously serve as an Officer, Director or Vice Director. A person who is removed from the office of Section Manager by a recall election or by action of the Executive Committee shall not be eligible to be a candidate for Section Manager in the next election following removal from office. Further, any person who is removed from the office of Section Manager by action of the Executive Committee must receive the consent of the Executive Committee to be eligible to run for that office again. 

5. Each Section Manager shall be elected for a two-year term of office in accordance with the following procedure:

a) The Field Services and Radiosport Manager shall solicit petitions of nomination on or before December 31, March 31, June 30, or September 30. The solicitation shall show the name, call and term ending date of the incumbent in each section solicited, and shall give full instructions for filing. On any date not later than 4:00 P.M. Eastern Time of the Friday prior to or corresponding to the tenth day of March, June, September and December, respectively, of each year, nominating petitions signed by five or more Full members of specified sections and naming a Full member of each such section as candidate for Section Manager may be filed with the Field Services and Radiosport Manager.  Nominating petitions may be made by facsimile or electronic transmission of images, provided that upon request by the Field Services and Radiosport Manager the original documents are received by the Manager within seven days of the request.

b) If there is only one eligible nominee on the appropriate listed closing date for receipt of petitions, the Field Services and Radiosport Manager shall declare the nominee elected without balloting. If there is more than one eligible nominee, then on or before April 1, July 1, October 1 or January 2, respectively, the Field Services and Radiosport Manager shall send by mail a ballot to each person who on the date coinciding with the respective closing date from paragraph 5a above of that year was a Full Member of the League in the section in which the election is being held. If that mailing date falls on a Saturday or a Sunday, then ballots shall be sent out no later than the following Monday. The ballot shall be accompanied by information on the Amateur Radio background of each candidate. 

c) Ballots to be counted shall reach the Field Services and Radiosport Manager not later than 4:00 P.M. Eastern Time of the Friday prior to or corresponding to the 20th of May, August, November or February, respectively, and shall be counted the following Tuesday, under the supervision of the Field Services and Radiosport Manager. The candidate receiving the greatest number of votes in each case shall be declared elected. The candidates shall be notified by mail and the results of election for Section Manager terms beginning July 1, October 1, January 1 or April 1, respectively, shall appear in the first available issue of QST. 

d) If there is no eligible nominee, the procedure in 5a, b and c shall be repeated in six months and the term of office of any Section Manager elected under this resolicitation procedure will be shortened to 18 months. If there again is no eligible nominee, the person holding office shall continue in office until the next regular election established by these rules for said section. 

e) Should a dispute arise concerning the qualifications, campaign, balloting or ballot-counting pertaining to a Section Manager election, a summary of the dispute, together with all correspondence specifically relating thereto, shall be promptly forwarded to the Election Committee which shall render a decision thereon. Appeals to the Board from a decision of the Election Committee shall be processed as provided in disputes pertaining to elections of Directors and Vice Directors. 

f) Vacancies in the office of Section Manager occurring between elections shall be filled by appointment by the Membership & Volunteer Programs Manager in consultation with the Director. The outgoing Section Manager's recommendation may be solicited as part of this procedure. 

g) The Section Manager shall, within the section of responsibility, be subject to the provisions of By-Law 24 and Article 7 of the Articles of Association and By-Laws regarding recall petitions, except that the cutoff date shall be not less than six months prior to the expiration of the Section Manager's term of office, and the territory embraced shall be the Section represented, rather than the Division, and the affected Section Manager shall be notified of the fact of receipt of a notice of proposed recall. 

6. The Section Manager is accountable for carrying out the duties of the office in accordance with ARRL policies established by the Board of Directors and shall act in the best interests of Amateur Radio. In discharging these responsibilities, the Section Manager: 

a) Recruits, appoints, and supervises section-level staff to administer the Field Organization's principal areas of responsibility in the section. These areas are emergency communications, message traffic relay, technical activity / problem solving, volunteer monitoring, government relations, public relations in the general community, information services for amateurs, and cooperation with affiliated clubs. 

b) Appoints qualified ARRL members in the section to other volunteer positions in support of Field Organization objectives, and may authorize section-level staff to make such appointments. 

c) Keeps well informed concerning matters of ARRL policy so as to administer the Field Organization in accordance with current policy and so as to provide correct information in response to members' inquiries. 

d) Supervises the activities of the section-level staff, monitors the performance of the Field Organization volunteers, and provides guidance as necessary to ensure that appointees act in the best interests of Amateur Radio and in accordance with ARRL policies. 

e) Maintains liaison with the Division Director; makes periodic reports to the Director regarding the status of Section activities; receives from the Director information and guidance pertaining to matters of mutual concern and interest; serves on the Division Cabinet and renders advice as requested by the Director. 

f) Conducts correspondence and other communications with ARRL members and affiliated clubs in the Section; makes personal visits to clubs, hamfests, and conventions; responds to members' questions and concerns or refers them to an appropriate person or office in the League organization; maintains liaison with representative frequency coordinator(s) having jurisdiction in the Section. 

g) Writes, or supervises preparation of, a monthly "Section News" column; uses electronic communications, such as the Internet, to distribute information about Section activities and to encourage member participation in the Field Organization. 

h) Promotes recruitment of new amateurs and new ARRL members; encourages attitudes and actions which welcome new radio amateurs and integrate them into League and club activities. 

7. The office of any Section Manager may be declared vacant by the Executive Committee whenever it appears to be in the best interests of the ARRL to do so. Grounds for declaring the office vacant include, but are not limited to, move of permanent residence outside the Section from which elected, expiration of ARRL membership, and expiration or cancellation of Amateur license. On such declaration, the Field Services and Radiosport Manager will appoint a new Section Manager as provided in Rule 5f. 

8. Section-level staff appointments in the Field Organization, made by the Section Manager, shall be available to qualified ARRL Full Members in each section. These are Assistant Section Manager (optional at the discretion of the Section Manager), Section Emergency Coordinator, Section Traffic Manager, Official Observer Coordinator, State Government Liaison, Technical Coordinator, Affiliated Club Coordinator, Public Information Coordinator, and Bulletin Manager. 

9. In support of the Section-level staff, other Field Organization appointments shall be available to qualified ARRL Full Members in each section. These are Official Relay Station, Official Bulletin Station, Official Emergency Station, Official Observer, Technical Specialist, Public Information Officer, Local Government Liaison, District Emergency Coordinator, Emergency Coordinator, and Net Manager. The Section Manager may authorize Section-level assistants to make these appointments. 

10. Guidelines concerning the qualifications for and duties of Field Organization and all appointments shall be provided to appointees, and published in appropriate ARRL publications and on the ARRL Website. 

11. Any Field Organization appointment may be canceled by the Executive Committee whenever it appears to be in the best interest of the ARRL to do so. 

12. These Rules and Regulations of the ARRL Field Organization may be amended by a majority vote of the ARRL Board of Directors.

 

Rules and Regulations Concerning Affiliated Societies

1. It shall be the policy of the League to affiliate with itself organized, non-commercial Amateur Radio groups or societies of kindred aims and purposes with a view to forming a homogeneous organization for unity of action in matters affecting amateur welfare. This policy shall embrace four categories of affiliation as follows:

Category 1 -- Local Amateur Radio clubs.

Category 2 -- Regional or National organized Amateur Radio groups.

Category 3 -- Local school or youth group Amateur Radio clubs, or Amateur Radio clubs in homes for the elderly or disabled.

Category 4 -- Groups of Amateur Radio clubs joined together in common purpose.

2. Any such society which suitably expresses its sympathy with and allegiance to the aims and policies of the League in accordance with these Rules and Regulations is eligible for affiliation. Applications for affiliation shall be submitted to the Executive Vice President and referred to the respective Division Director who, in discretionary consultation with the respective Affiliated Club Coordinator and Section Manager, shall determine that the society is worthy and well qualified. The applicant thereupon shall be referred to the Executive Committee for its approval. A suitable certificate shall be issued to the society in recognition of its affiliation.

3. The affiliation of any society may be terminated and its charter recalled by the Executive Committee at any time for any cause deemed prejudicial to the best interests of the League.

4. In a Category 1 or 2 society, at least 51% of the voting membership must be members of the League, and at least 51% of the voting members must be licensed amateurs to be eligible for and to maintain affiliation status. In a Category 3 society, affiliation status may be granted if the sponsor, faculty advisor, president or trustee of the society is a licensed amateur and a League member, and where the society's name clearly shows that it falls within this grouping. In a Category 4 society, at least 51% of the member clubs must be actively affiliated with the ARRL for affiliation status to be granted. Category 4 affiliated club groups are not eligible to participate in club competitions, but individual clubs are encouraged to submit entries. A Category 1 affiliated club must have no fewer than four members.

5. The Executive Vice President shall be responsible for the general supervision of the affiliated societies and their welfare, and for the relations existing with them; he shall keep the records and conduct the correspondence with them.

6. These Rules and Regulations shall have the force and effect of By-Laws of the League. They may be amended as necessary from time to time by the Executive Committee. Amendments or revisions shall become effective as of the date of their publication in QST.

7. In addition to meeting the normal requirements for affiliation, as outlined in the Rules and Regulations Concerning Affiliated Societies, an amateur radio club outside the League operating territory must submit a statement from the IARU member society of the country in which it is located approving ARRL affiliation of the club. Upon receipt of this letter and the usual forms, the club's application will be submitted to the Executive Committee for approval.

 

Terms and Conditions Governing the Availability of Mailing Lists from Headquarters

Category 1 labels--Lists furnished without charge to further the organizational purposes of the League.

"Admin" labels are furnished to incumbent division directors and section managers for use in routine and administrative mailings to members in their respective geographical territories.

"Convention" and "Hamfest" labels are furnished, upon request, to sponsors of ARRL sponsored and approved events for use in making mailings promoting the event. They may not be used for any other purpose, specifically for campaign mailings during an ARRL election.

Category 2 labels--Lists furnished at cost of production.

"Campaign" labels are furnished, upon request, to any election candidate whose eligibility has been properly certified for the purpose of campaigning for office in the League.

"Non-commercial" labels are furnished to any Full member of the League for any non-commercial purpose which is designed to further Amateur Radio and the purposes of the League. Such lists may be furnished up to a division in size.

Category 3 labels--Lists furnished at commercial mailing list rates.

"Commercial" labels are furnished for any legitimate business purpose. Such lists are made available under a cost schedule prepared from time to time by the Executive Vice President of the League.

Any member of the League may, upon request, have his name deleted from any Category 3 commercial lists which are furnished by League Headquarters. Such a request may be made upon renewal by an annual member or any time by a Life Member of the League.

All requests shall be made in writing on a form to be provided by the Headquarters. (No telephone requests will be honored.) The form will require that the purpose for requesting the list be stated and will require a signed statement that the list is being used only for the purpose requested.

Two copies of material mailed using address labels provided by Headquarters shall be sent to Headquarters, and one copy shall be sent to each director concerned, via first class mail, at the time of the first mailing.

(Revised January 16, 2010)

1. American Radio Relay League Hamfests and Conventions are meetings of persons interested in Amateur Radio which are authorized and conducted in accordance with the rules that follow. ARRL Conventions may be sanctioned at the Section, State, and Division levels, and in some cases as Operating-Specialty conventions; there will be not more than one Convention at each level in a given area per year. “Operating-specialty” is defined as an operating or technical activity that is of interest to a subset of the ARRL membership.

2. Neither the name of the American Radio Relay League, nor the initial letters thereof, nor its emblem, shall be used in connection with any meeting or convention, or in the advertising thereof, unless it has been approved in the manner set forth below.

3. Parties desiring to conduct an ARRL-sanctioned Convention shall submit an application (setting forth the place and date of the proposed convention, the area to be served, the clubs, associations or groups who propose to sponsor it, and the names and addresses of the officers chosen to conduct it) to ARRL’s Convention Program Manager. The Convention Program Manager will then seek the approval of the Director of the division in which the convention is to be held. When the Director is satisfied that the approval of such convention will be in the best interests of the League, he or she will notify the Convention Program Manager who will then submit the application to the Executive Committee for its formal approval. State conventions held in states that are partly in two ARRL divisions must be approved by both Directors. Upon such final approval the Convention Program Manager will notify the chairman of the convention group. The program of every such convention shall be subject to the approval of the Director of the division in which the convention is to be held. ARRL-sanctioned conventions will make provisions for an ARRL forum or meeting and for an ARRL display booth or table and shall make every effort to use the ARRL diamond prominently displayed on the front of all advertising and program materials. On its part, the League will make every effort to provide a speaker from among the Headquarters staff or from among the officers of the League at no cost to the convention treasury; to provide editorial support in QST for the event; to accept paid advertising at rates lower than for commercial purposes; and to contribute awards or prizes.

4. Parties desiring to conduct an ARRL-sanctioned hamfest shall submit an application (setting forth the place and date of the proposed hamfest, the area to be served, the clubs, associations or groups who propose to sponsor it, and the names and addresses of the officers chosen to conduct it) to ARRL’s Convention Program Manager. The Convention Program Manager will then seek approval of the Director of the division in which the hamfest is to be held. When the Director is satisfied that the approval of such hamfest is in the best interests of the League, he or she will notify the Convention Program Manager and the chairman of the hamfest. ARRL hamfests will make space available for an ARRL display, and those ARRL hamfests which include formal speaking programs will schedule time for an ARRL meeting if so requested by the Director or another elected League official. There is no limit to the number of ARRL hamfests which may be held, but care should be taken to avoid conflict with other hamfests serving the same general area. Headquarters will provide editorial support in QST for the event, will provide for advertising in QST at rates below commercial rates, and will on request provide awards or prizes.

5. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions, the Board of Directors may authorize or direct upon such terms as it may prescribe, the holding, as a National Convention, of a meeting of persons interested in Amateur Radio from throughout the operating territory of the League. The President will assign a member of the Board to work with the staff to evaluate National Convention applications and negotiate ARRL participation. The program of every such convention shall be subject to the approval of the Executive Committee.