I do hereby acknowledge that I have read, understand, and agree to comply with the Ohio REALTORS’ campaign and election rules, (see below). By signing this document, I also indicate my willingness to serve in the position I have applied for.

I understand that if a campaign violation is deemed to have been committed, sanctions may include warnings, up to prohibition from running for any current or future Ohio REALTOR related office. I further acknowledge that I may request clarification on existing campaign rules, and that such questions, along with the relevant committee’s response, will be provided to all candidates.
Nominating, Election & Campaign Policy #85 CAMPAIGN POLICY

CANDIDATE APPLICATIONS
A.    Applications for candidates for Ohio REALTORS® and NAR office may be submitted by any board in which the candidate holds membership or may be submitted directly by a candidate.
B.    Applications for Ohio REALTORS® District Vice President must be submitted no sooner than August 1 of the year preceding the year in which the candidate is running for office, but no later than September 30
C.    Applications for Ohio REALTORS® Treasurer must be submitted no sooner than August 1 and no later than September 30 of the year preceding the year in which the candidate is running for office.  Applications must include the information required in policy # 85-C

CANDIDATE APPLICATION REVIEW & VERIFICATION
The Candidate Credentialing Committee shall review all applications submitted by candidates for the following positions: OHIO REALTORS® Treasurer, OHIO REALTORS® District Vice President, NAR Regional Vice President and At-Large Positions on the NAR Board of Directors. The purpose of this review is to verify that a candidate meets the minimum qualifications for the position sought. Said review shall be conducted in person or remotely and reviews will be conducted as outlined below:
·     District Vice President qualification verification shall be completed within 30 days of the application deadline
·     Treasurer qualification verification shall be completed within 30 days of submission of the legal audit and criminal background check as outlined in policy.
·     NAR director qualification verification shall be completed within 10 days of the deadline established by the Candidate Credentialing Committee as outlined in policy.
·     NAR Regional Vice President qualification verification shall be completed within 30 days of the deadline established by NAR.
CAMPAIGNING
All applicants for elected office are required to sign a statement acknowledging that they have read, understand and agree to comply with the Ohio REALTORS® campaign and election rules. Potential candidates and eligible candidates may request clarification on existing campaign rules, and such questions, along with the candidate credentialing committee’s response, will be provided to all candidates.

The following rules apply to all individuals, including, but not limited to, members of the Candidate Credentialing Committee, the eligible candidate and their campaign staff:

A.     In the interest of absolute neutrality, Ohio REALTORS® staff shall not be permitted to endorse or support any candidate for elective office and may not wear campaign apparel or buttons, display campaign materials at any staff workstation, including meeting registration desks, or distribute campaign materials for any candidate for elective office.
B.     During the Ohio REALTORS® meetings, each verified candidate will be provided with a table near the Ohio REALTORS® registration desk for purposes of displaying campaign materials. 
C.      Shall not begin campaigning for elected office any sooner than the date notified that qualifications have been met.
D.     Shall not state or imply Ohio REALTORS® campaign support or endorsement.
E.      Shall not solicit, accept, state or imply an endorsement or campaign or financial support from the Candidate Credentialing Committee, elected officers or Executive Committee members.
F.      Shall not send more than four (4) campaign emails to the Board of Directors during a campaign.
G.     Must make best efforts to address and resolve any campaign violation committed by the eligible candidate or a member of their campaign team.
H.     Must submit all campaign materials to Ohio REALTORS® Legal Services for advance review and approval prior to use. Campaign materials that include previously approved language and logos do not need to be resubmitted for approval.
I.     Must ensure that Ohio REALTORS® trademark is used properly in all campaign materials.
J.      Must ensure that all campaign materials contain truthful and accurate information.
K.     Must accurately specify the office and year for which the eligible candidate is running for election in all campaign materials.
L.      Must comply with Ohio REALTORS® rules and policies for displaying or distributing campaign materials.
M.      Shall not hold campaign events or display campaign materials at any Ohio REALTORS® meeting or event except the winter conference and annual convention.
N.     Shall not distribute campaign materials to a REALTORS®’ hotel room.
O.     Shall not display campaign advertising on a REALTORS®’ hotel room television.
P.       Shall not display campaign advertising on any electronic screen in a hotel’s public spaces.
Q.       Shall not campaign at any Ohio REALTORS® sponsored virtual meeting, including but not limited to: committee meetings, educational sessions, and workgroups. Examples of prohibited campaigning include, but are not limited to, verbal campaign messages or campaign messages in virtual chat rooms; wearing or displaying buttons, pins or other campaign paraphernalia during an Ohio REALTORS® sponsored meeting or event; and using virtual backgrounds or web banners containing campaign messaging.
R.     May provide a video (not to exceed three (3) minutes in length) that is able to be loaded to the Ohio REALTORS® candidate page on the Ohio REALTORS® website.
S.     May distribute approved materials at the Ohio REALTORS® Winter Conference and annual Convention prior to the following events: (a) opening general session, (b) member & director forum, (c) Ohio REALTORS® trade show, (d) candidate forums, (e) district caucuses with prior approval by the District Vice Presidents.
T.     May display campaign posters in designated areas.  The candidate will be notified of said designated areas prior to said meetings.

Any violations to the above campaign rules will be addressed by the Candidate Credentialing Committee. Sanctions may include verbal warning, written warning, cease and desist letter, letter of censure, publicly read letter of censure, and prohibition from running for elected office.

ELECTION INFORMATION
A.    Upon request, nominated candidates will be emailed the name, brokerage, mailing address, email address, local board and district of all Ohio REALTORS® Directors.
B.    Information on the elections and nominated candidates, including the applications and biographical information submitted by the candidate, will be provided as follows:
        1.    Posted on the Ohio REALTORS® website 30 calendar days before the election
        2.    Included in one edition of Ohio REALTORS® eConnections
        3.    Emailed directly to the Ohio REALTORS® Directors no sooner than 10 calendar days prior to the election.

A link to a nominated candidate’s website may be included in the above communications upon request, provided the website is limited solely to information regarding their qualifications for office.

CANDIDATE SPEECHES
Each candidate is allowed no more than five (5) minutes for opening remarks to address the Directors in the Candidate Forums. No other person may speak on behalf of a candidate unless the candidate is unable to speak due to extenuating circumstances as determined by the Ohio REALTORS® President. No candidate audio-visual presentations are permitted at the Candidate Forums or Board of Directors meetings.

Treasurer candidates will be allowed no more than five (5) minutes to address the directors at the Board of Directors meetings. No questions will be allowed.

At least 30 calendar days prior to the convention the Candidate Credentialing Committee shall establish the time(s) and format for candidate forums. Information will be provided to the candidates.  Candidates will be permitted to make opening and closing remarks and candidates will be asked pre-set questions.  No questions will be taken from the audience.
VOTING
A.    Voting shall be by ballot. For DVP races, only directors from the District for which a candidate(s) is running for DVP shall vote.
B.    The total number of ballots cast for each candidate will be made available to any member upon request.
C.    Ballots will be destroyed five business days after the election is held unless a candidate in such election has submitted a written request for a recount. All candidates in the subject election shall immediately be notified of the requested recount.
D.    The recount shall take place as soon as possible and shall be conducted jointly by the following:
        ·The Chairman of the Candidate Credentialing Committee
        ·One District Vice President from each of the districts from which there was a candidate in the election that is the subject of the recount. Said DVP shall be appointed by the Ohio REALTORS® President. In the event that there is more than one candidate from the same District, both DVPs from that District shall participate in the recount.
E.    If any of the above individuals are unable to participate in the recount due to a conflict of interest (i.e., was a candidate in the subject election), the Ohio REALTORS® President shall appoint an alternate DVP or Candidate Credentialing Committee member to participate in the recount.
F.    Prior to the Board of Directors meeting held during the Winter Conference, the Candidate Credentialing Committee shall verify the qualifications and credentials of applications received for the office of Ohio REALTORS®’ Treasurer and District Vice President. After the verification process a slate of candidates shall be posted prior to the Board of Directors meeting and the names of the verified candidates shall be listed in alphabetical order on the ballot.

        The election of Ohio REALTORS® Treasurer and District Vice Presidents, shall take place at the Board of Directors meetings held during the Annual Convention.

G.    To be considered duly elected, a nominee must receive a majority of the total votes cast by the Directors or in the case of a District Vice President, a majority of the Directors in the District the nominee is seeking to represent.  In the event that none of the nominees receive a majority vote on the first ballot, the nominee receiving the least number of votes shall be dropped from the ballot and another vote shall be conducted.  This procedure shall be repeated as necessary until a nominee receives a majority vote.
H.    Ohio REALTORS® Officer and District Vice President terms shall commence as provided for in Article 5, §5.2 of the Code of Regulations.
I.     District Vice Presidents must hold primary membership in a Board within the District they are applying to serve.  Only directors within a District are eligible to vote for that District’s Vice President position. District Vice Presidents should not hold primary membership within the same board unless no candidate from another local board within the district submits an application for the position, or when the nominees, as a result of a board merger, become primary members of the same board.
By typing my name below, I acknowledge that I have read, understand, and agree to comply with the Ohio REALTORS’  campaign and election rules and I also indicate my willingness  to serve in the position I have applied for.

Question Title

* 1. Name

T