Committee Chair & Vice-Chair Election Policy

Approved by Intersect Steering Committee on 2nd March 2026

1. Purpose

This policy establishes the process by which Intersect Committees may elect, confirm, and, when necessary, remove the Committee Chair and Vice-Chair. The objective is to ensure clarity and legitimacy to chair elections, continuity of Committee operations, flexibility to run a chair election if needed, accessibility to every committee member to candidate themselves, and freedom for the committee to decide who is the right person to lead them in that particular moment.

2. Applicability & Scope

This policy applies to all Committees of Intersect and governs the roles of:

• 2.1 Committee Chair: The Committee Member elected and responsible to lead and coordinate the committee to deliver against their agreed remit with support from the Committee Secretary, as well as represent the Committee as a whole.

• 2.2 Committee Vice-Chair: The Committee Member that supports the Chair in their duties and covers Chair’s duties when the Chair is not available.

3. Officer Election Requirements

3.1 Election Triggers

An election must be held when:

1. No Chair (or Vice-Chair if Vice-chair is missing) is currently in place

2. The term of the committee member currently serving as Chair (or Vice-Chair) has expired, or the chair resigns, is removed, or becomes unable to continue (including prolonged non-participation, unresponsiveness, or failure to perform Chair duties). Concerns about non-performance or abandonment may also be addressed through the No-Confidence procedure in Section 6. The secretary will action the election within the following 2 official committee meetings.

3. The term of the committee member currently in the Chair (or Vice-chair) position expires, the Chair resigns, is removed, or becomes unable to continue

4. After a committee election, committee members propose their candidacy for the Chair position

If the current chair is happy to continue, and the remainder of the Committee agree, it is not a mandatory requirement to run an election.

If there is only one candidate after the application period, the voting will still run to allow the committee members to approve the selection. If there is just one candidate then only a chair can be elected so a separate election for Vice-Chair will need to be run.

In the event of a Chair vacancy, the Vice-Chair may serve as Acting Chair until the election process is completed, provided they are willing to do so.

4. Election process

The recommended length of the overall election process is the time in between two consecutive meetings of the committee.

4.1 Nomination Process

1. Any Committee Member in Good Standing may self-nominate or may nominate another Member

2. The candidate should declare if they are already Chair of another committee, but are not disqualified from serving as Chair or Vice-Chair of two or more committees

3. Nominees must confirm willingness to serve

4. Nominations may occur verbally during a Committee meeting or through written submission ahead of the official nomination in the election process

4.2. Voting Process

4.2.1 Permitted Voting Methods

Voting must occur using one of the following:

1. Open vote during a Committee meeting (recorded in minutes), or

2. Voting Tool within the Intersect Member Area (Recommended for Transparency)

Secret ballots are not permitted under this policy.

4.2.2 Voting Thresholds

1. Voting during the election will run with multi-selection simple majority, where each voting seat will be asked to select up to two candidates (if available)

2. The candidate with the most votes will be elected as Chair. The candidate with the next greatest number of votes will be elected as Vice-Chair (the person elected as vice-chair could decline the role. In this case the next candidate with most votes will get the role, and so on)

3. If there is a tie for votes, a second-round (run-off) vote will be held between the tied candidates to determine the winner. After this vote, the candidate with the most votes will become the Chair and the next one will become the Vice-Chair

4. For the election to be valid, a quorum of at least ⅔ of the committee voting members need to participate in the vote. If the vote is not valid, the election process needs to be repeated.

4.2.3 Record Keeping

All voting outcomes must be:

1. Recorded in Committee minutes

2. Communicated to the Intersect Secretaries and to other committees via the Intersect Steering Committee

5. Term of Office & Succession

1. Because Committee elections will run annually, the term of the Committee chair will also be 1 year (from April to April), when Chair elections are held within the committee

2. The Chair term might also end if the Chair resigns or if the Chair is voted down with a vote of no-confidence

3. The Vice-Chair term will always end when a new Chair election is held (unless in the case specified in point 6.3)

To encourage rotation in leadership and the innovations it brings, no individual may serve as Chair of the same Committee for more than two consecutive terms (this doesn’t apply to the Vice-chair role).

​​If the Chair resigns, is removed, or becomes unable to continue, the Vice-Chair may serve as Acting Chair during the period leading up to a new Chair election, if willing.

1. The Vice-Chair:

2. Supports the Chair

3. May serve as Acting Chair when the Chair is temporarily unavailable

4. May run for Chair but is not automatically appointed

6. No-Confidence for Chair and Vice-Chair role

6.1 Initiating a No-Confidence Motion

A motion of No Confidence against the Chair or Vice-Chair may be introduced by:

• Any Committee Member in Good Standing

6.2 Removal Threshold

Removal of Chair or Vice-chair from the related role requires:

• A supermajority vote

• Recommended: at least two-thirds (⅔) of Members present and voting

6.3 Succession Following Removal

Upon removal:

• The Vice-Chair can become Interim Acting Chair, if they are willing and are endorsed with a simple majority committee vote

• Otherwise, a new election must be initiated in accordance with Section 3

6.4 Documentation

The decision must be:

• Recorded in Committee minutes

• Communicated to the Intersect Secretaries and to other committees via the Intersect Steering Committee

7. Governance Review

This policy shall be reviewed annually, or earlier if governance structures or Bylaws evolve. Amendments require Committee approval and, where applicable, acknowledgment by the Intersect Board or Governance Steering Committee.

8. General

In general, following Robert’s rules, any member of the committee may raise a motion to trigger an election at any time. The motion needs to be seconded by at least one voting member and can pass with a simple majority.

*Some groups, such as the Intersect Steering Committee, operate on a “round table” basis, and therefore do not have a Chair or Vice Chair. This policy does not currently cover those groups.