Vote Smart is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation and as such is required to be governed by a board. Our Founding Board in 1992 included national leaders as diverse as former U.S. Presidents Jimmy Carter (D) and Gerald Ford (R), former U.S. Senators Barry Goldwater (R) and George McGovern (D), former U.S. Representatives Newt Gingrich (R) and Geraldine Ferraro (D), and Senator John McCain (R) and Vote Smart's President Richard Kimball (D, running opposite McCain). These members have ideological opposites that provide balance and ensure impartiality in Vote Smart's programs and materials.
The Board is governed by its bylaws (attached below).
As of 2021, we have an Active Board that consists of approximately 30 members. These include some of the political leaders above, political scientists, advisors, and nonprofit leaders.
Executive Committee
The Board is represented by an Executive Committee of 10 members that does much of the active governance. This includes the Board Chair, Secretary, Treasurer, President, and Vice President. Many of these members have long histories with Vote Smart and several were former staff. The Executive Committee meets approximately quarterly and specifically each March, although some business is conducted on a rolling basis (for example, approvals to the Political Courage Test). The Executive Committee reviews/approves substantive actions such as:
- Updates to PoliciesandProcedures
- Questions on the Political Courage Test
- Hiring the National Director
- Major expenditures or sales of property (such as the 2019 Montana ranch sale)
Votes may be taken and recorded by the Secretary as part of regular meetings. Executive Session may be entered for closed-door discussion, although results of any votes in Executive Session will be recorded in the minutes. Executive Session excludes non-Executive Committee members, such as the National Director.
The National Director typically serves as the liaison to the Board, reporting to the Executive Committee the organization's procedures and progress. Staff proposals - such as updates to PoliciesandProcedures or the Political Courage Test - will typically be voiced by the National Director with their recommendation to the Board. Although they attend and report at Executive Committee meetings, they do not have a vote on the Executive Committee.
Minutes of Executive Committee meetings are stored on the /hr/ network drive and distributed to the full Active Board (as well as staff). Votes and decisions made by the Executive Committee are technically tentative; the Active Board has six weeks to voice any concerns or objections. After six weeks, if there are no concerns, or all those stated have been remedied, the changes have been adopted.
It is also common for Executive Committee to offer important feedback to major projects, such as website redesign.
In addition to being the legal representation of Vote Smart's corporate entity, the Board serves as a valuable review and innoculation for the organization's activities.
| File | Last modified | Size |
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| Center for National Independence Corporate Bylaws.odt | 2021-06-09 09:09 | 20Kb |
CategoryAllStaffandInterns
