Bylaws

Article 1. Membership and Dues

1.  The Section comprises all members of the American Political Science Association who elect membership in the Section and pay the Section's membership dues.
2.  The Section Steering Committee sets Section membership dues.
3.  Non-members are free to attend Section events and subscribe to Section publications.  However, because Section events and services are subsidized by Section dues, non-members may be asked to pay higher attendance and subscription fees than Section members.
Article 2. Officers and Steering Committee

1. Ultimate responsibility for the Section rests with its members. The Section’s officers and Steering Committee act for the Section’s members on a day-to-day basis.
2.   The elective officers of the Section are the President, the President-Elect, the Treasurer, and the Secretary. The Steering Committee comprises the elective officers and three members at-large. The Steering Committee conducts business between meetings of the Section; its members may discuss and resolve issues in person or using any means of communication on which they may agree by majority vote.
3.   The members of the Section, voting by secret ballot, elect each elective officer and each member of the Steering Committee. The President and President-elect serve one-year terms, and all other members of the Steering Committee serve two-year terms.
4.   The members of the Section may reelect officers and Steering Committee members to their previous posts or to new posts.  However, no person who has served as President-Elect may serve as President-Elect until four years after the end of her or his previous term as President-Elect, and no member of the Steering Committee can serve on the Committee, in any capacity, for more than four consecutive years.
5.   The President:

a. coordinates the activities of the Section;
b. oversees the organization of the Section’s annual meetings;
c. distributes relevant information to the Section’s members, reporting to them as needed on the Section’s activities;
d. facilitates appropriate relationships between the Section and groups with similar concerns;
e. appoints ad hoc Section officers and the members of Section committees and task forces with the approval of the Steering Committee;
f. designates appointive Section officers in accordance with rules approved by the members of the Section; and
g. directs the selection of recipients for any honors or prizes awarded by the Section.
6.   The Vice-President/President-Elect:

a. serves as program co-chair, in accordance with APSA regulations, for the Section’s annual meeting held one year after his/her election, in particular issuing a “call for paper” each year at an appropriate time; and
b. acts in the President’s place when the President is absent from an official Section event or a meeting of any Section committee of which the President is anex officio member.
7.    The Vice President Designate

a.    serves as program co-chair two years after his/her election
b.     with the approval of the Steering Committee, becomes Vice President/President Elect one year after his/her election as Vice President Designate.
8.   The Treasurer:

a.   oversees the financial affairs of the Section;
b.   disburses Section funds as necessary;
c.   maintains the Section’s financial records;
d.   communicates regarding membership applications with the appropriate office of the American Political Science Association; and
e.      reports annually in writing to the Section’s members on the state of its finances.
9.   The Secretary:

a.   maintains the non-financial records of the Section, including minutes of the Section’s meetings, and makes them available to the Section’s members;
b.   prepares ballots for elections and oversees the administration of elections;and
c.   publicizes the Section’s activities, honors, and awards.

Article 3. Business Meetings and Elections

1.   A Section business meeting takes place in conjunction with each annual meeting of APSA.
2.  Section elections take place at each business meeting.
3.   At least three months before each election, the Steering Committee notifies the members of the Section that it will take place and encourages them to serve as candidates.
4. Any member of the Section may be a candidate for elective Section office or at-large membership on the Steering Committee. A member may nominate her- or himself at any time before an election takes place. However, if, two months before an election is to take place, no member of the Section has expressed interest in serving as a candidates for a given elective office or if at least three members of the Section have not expressed interest in serving as candidates for at-large seats on the Steering Committee, the Steering Committee nominates additional candidates as necessary.
5.   To be included on the ballot, a candidate must be present during the election for the office.   To be elected to an office, the candidate must receive the largest number of votes cast for that office.
6. Immediately after the ballots in a given election have been counted, the Secretary publicly announces the winners and the vote totals for all candidates.

Article 4. Removal from Office

1.   An elective officer or at-large member of the Steering Committee may be removed from office by a two-thirds vote of the Steering Committee.
2.   If the President resigns or is removed from office, the President-Elect serves out the remainder of the President’s term before beginning her or his own term as President.
3.   If an elective officer other than the President, or an at-large member of the Steering Committee, resigns or is removed from office, the Steering Committee selects a replacement to fulfill the responsibilities of the office till the next business meetings and elections.

Article 5. Meetings

1.   The Section holds a business meeting in conjunction with each annual meeting of the American Political Science Association.
2. Any member may speak and vote at any Section meeting.
3. Any member may participate in the meeting of any Section committee. The time and place of any committee meeting that takes place in conjunction with the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association must be publicly announced to all Section members.

Article 6. Amendment

1. Any member of the Section may propose an amendment of the bylaws.
2. Amendments should be discussed and voted on during the business meetings.  To be valid, an amendment must be approved by a two-thirds of the members present at the business meeting.