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1. Campaigning
2. Withdrawals
3. Publicity
4. Appeals

1. Campaigning
A candidate may not campaign during the professional workday as defined in the Negotiated Agreement. This would include the use of telephone, email, and other electronic medium.
1. Campaigning may not begin until after the slate is announced at the January Representative Council meeting. Literature may be passed out at any Representative Council meeting following the announcement of the slate of nominees.
2. Endorsement of candidates is permitted.
1. Candidates may be endorsed by individuals or groups.
2. Endorsements of candidates may be made by any PGCEA officer and Board member only if they do so as individuals, independent of the Association.
3. Candidates should stress issues in their campaign.
4. A candidate is responsible for any materials circulated by his/her campaign workers or campaign committee. All campaign materials shall bear the signature of the candidate certifying his/her approval of said material. Materials without a signature shall not be distributed.
5. The use of all technology by candidates for campaign purposes must follow the technology policy for Prince George’s County Public Schools. The complete document can be found on the internet at www.pgcps.org.
6. Use of the Prince George’s County Educators’ Association’s email system for campaigning is expressly prohibited.
7. A candidate running for President, Vice President, Treasurer or Board of Directors shall only declare for one (1) office.

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2. Withdrawals

Candidates withdrawing after the official cut off date will incur the expense of printing new ballots.

Any candidate wishing to withdraw shall submit in writing to the NEC Commission his/her decision to do so. If a candidate withdraws on the date designated for the NECC to announce the names of eligible candidates, ballots must be reproduced to reflect the names of the official candidates only. The cost of reproducing previously printed ballots must be borne by the candidate that withdraws. In the event a candidate withdraws after the announcement date, the NECC reserves the right to reschedule an election.

Refer to Nominations and Elections Schedule for withdrawal date.

1. Finances
1. Monetary limits for expenditures for campaign purposes shall be $750 per candidate for all offices such as President, Vice President, Treasurer and Board of Directors.
1. Contributions from individuals and supporting groups (other than the PGCEA flier) shall be included in these monetary limits.
2. Contributions or anything of value, goods or services donated to or made available to candidates shall be included in these expenditure limits.
1. Examples: printing costs, graphic work, photography, hall rental(s), and refreshments.
2. Donated volunteer time is not included.
2. A financial statement must be received by the Commission on the form provided. Forms must be delivered to Prince George’s County Educators’ Association (PGCEA) by 5:00 p.m. on the date stated in the Schedule of Nominations and Elections.
1. Only one financial statement is required; however it shall be complete and inclusive of all campaign expenses including contributions and other sources of funds.
2. All candidates must submit a financial statement regardless of the amount spent.

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3. Publicity

Check Schedule for Regular Nominations and Elections of PGCEA Officers for necessary dates. Deadline dates will be strictly enforced.

1. For the PGCEA Election “Educator” publication, only those candidates who have submitted Letters of Intent to run for office by the specified deadline and who have been certified as eligible to run by the NECC may submit a biographical sketch with a photograph and a statement explaining why he/she is seeking the office. Said biographical sketch and statement will total no more than 500 words.
1. The PGCEA Election “Educator” shall not contain biographical sketches, statements, or photographs of write-in candidates.
2. A biographical sketch should include current position, number of years in other school systems, NEA, MSTA, PGCEA and other organizational activities.
3. Along with the biographical sketch, candidates may submit a photograph.
4. Reasonable efforts will be made to provide each candidate the opportunity to proofread the election “Educator” publication for grammatical content only.
5. The NECC reserves all rights to review and approve all submitted materials.
2. At the Association’s expense, flyers will be reproduced according to the number of PGCEA members at each site. The faculty representative will be responsible for distributing or posting the flyer. PGCEA will be responsible for providing to each site, one flyer per Faculty Rep. entitlement based on the formula in use at that time.
1. Candidates may provide layout material to go on 8 ˝ x 11 flyer. Material must be ready to be reproduced.
2. PGCEA staff may not be used to help set up the flyer.
3. Flyers reproduced by PGCEA will be sent out at the same time.
3. All campaign literature will be properly identified as official literature from the candidates or from the candidates’ campaign committee and bear the signature of the candidate certifying his/her approval of said material.
1. The PGCEA logo or facsimile may not be used on the flyers or any campaign literature.
2. All campaign materials to go through the Pony must be sent from PGCEA Center and must be Pony ready. (Must be ready for delivery and placed in proper pony envelope.)
3. One copy of all campaign materials must be sent to the NECC, c/o PGCEA Center, 8008 Marlboro Pike, Forestville, Maryland 20747
4. Candidates must follow the current policy established by the PGCEA Board of Directors on use of mailing and phone lists. (See PGCEA Policy handbook, page 5, Number 5 – Mailing Lists.)
5. Candidate Speeches
1. At the appropriate Representative Council meeting, candidates for office will be introduced and allowed to speak for three (3) minutes each. In the event a candidate cannot be present to speak, the candidate may select a designee to speak on his/her behalf. The NEC Commission must be notified before the start of the Rep Council meeting. All oral communications must be followed within five (5) business days by written confirmation.
2. Representatives will be allowed to ask questions of the candidates. These procedures will be handled by the NEC Commission.

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4. Appeals
In accordance with Article 10, Section 3 of the By-laws of PGCEA, Inc., the following will be adhered to:

“Any member may request a hearing before the Nominations, Elections, and Credentials Commission to appeal its denial of his/her nominations, to report any election irregularities, or challenge any other Commission action within five (5) school days of the act or incident. Upon receipt of a proper appeal, the Commission shall hold a hearing within five (5) school days and render a decision. The Commission chairperson may request legal counsel or other assistance through the Executive Director.” All appeals must be made in writing to the NECC, c/o PGCEA Center, 8008 Marlboro Pike, Forestville, Maryland 20747.

1. Challenges

   Any candidate who desires a recount must put the request in writing to the NECC Chairperson at the PGCEA Center, 8008 Marlboro Pike, Forestville, Maryland 20747 within five (5) days after the candidates for the same office have been notified of his/her status.

   Any concerns must be submitted in writing.

   If there is a difference of 1% or less in the vote count between and/or among candidates, the Association must bear the expense of any recount requested. If the difference is more than 1%, the candidate(s) bringing the challenge must bear the expense.

2. Election Results

The NEC Commission, an arm of the Representative Council, may declare null and void the election of a candidate who violates this Fair Campaign Practice Code, after appropriate notice and hearing was afforded the candidate. Such hearing must be made prior to certification of the election results. The NEC Commission can declare the candidate disqualified or the election null and void. If the candidate is declared disqualified, he/she shall be so notified at the conclusion of the hearing. The candidate shall have the right to appeal to the Representative Council and shall notify the NEC Commission of such intent in writing within five (5) days of his/her notification of the decision of the NEC Commission. If the appeal is denied by the Representative Council, the NEC Commission will conduct another election, if needed, immediately for the office left vacant.

Revised Fair Campagin Practice Code(PDF Version)