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Baronial Selection Procedure – The Barony of Ben Dunfirth

December 31, 2014

(updated to meet Kingdom Law definitions June 11, 2022)

In the event that a single or pair of Baronial Nobles need to be selected in the Barony of Ben Dunfirth, the populace of the Barony will be polled, and the Crown will invest a fitting candidate or set of candidates.

When our existing Baronial Nobles have announced their intent to step down, an existing solitary Baronial Noble seeks to add a partner, or the Crown instructs our Barony to start our selection procedure, we will begin the following process. Ideally this process will begin at least four months before the expected investiture of the Baronial seat.

Announcement

The selection process will be announced in a kingdom court, and the important dates laid out in advance of the process will be announced on the Baronial website. Further notices made by email groups, baronial meetings, kingdom website, the kingdom newsletter, or other methods of dissemination will be appreciated but not required. (Melee Court, Saturday June 18)

Nomination of Candidates

If a new Baronial Noble or Nobles are being chosen, there will be at least three consecutive nomination meetings for either a single Baronial Noble, or a paired set of Baronial Nobles to be accepted by the Baronial Seneschal. Anyone in attendance of the meetings may make a nomination, and an individual or pair of individuals may nominate themselves. (Baronial Meetings on Monday June 27, July 4, July 11)

If an existing solitary Baronial Noble is seeking to add a partner, they will nominate to the Barony an additional person to serve alongside them, and the nomination meetings will serve as notice to the membership.

To be nominated for the position of Baronial Noble, candidates must meet the following requirements:

a) Be a paid member of the Society in good standing

b) Be at least 18 years of age.

c) Meet any further requirements set out by Corpora and Kingdom law.

After the third nomination meeting, all nominees must indicate to the Baronial Seneschal whether they accept or decline the opportunity to participate in the poll, and the Crown will be consulted by the Baronial Seneschal to determine that that all candidates are acceptable to them. The Kingdom Seneschal will also be consulted to determine that all candidates meet the requirements of Corpora and Kingdom Law.

If the Baronial Seneschal is considered as a candidate, they will step aside from their office, and a deputy or interim seneschal will administer the Barony until the end of the procedure.

At the baronial meeting following the three nomination meetings and the confirmation of the Crown, the final nominated candidates will be announced. (From TRM before Pennsic)

Candidate Meeting

For at least one meeting, the candidates will make themselves available to meet with the members of the Barony, explain how they intend to serve the Barony, and answer questions from the membership, unless exceptional circumstances arise as dictated by the Crown. (Baronial Meetings Mondays August 22, August 29)

Polling Meetings

For at least two meetings following the Candidate(s) Meeting, the Baronial Seneschal will have polling forms available to be filled out by the populace attending the meeting and collected that same evening. The Baronial Seneschal will keep a tally of who has returned a poll, and whether they are paid members or not. (Baronial Meetings Mondays September 5, September 12)

To participate in the baronial polling, the baronial populace must meet one of the following requirements:

a) Be a paid member of the Society in good standing living in the boundaries of the Barony of Ben Dunfirth.

b) Served at some point in the past two years as a baronial officer.

c) Received from the Barony of Ben Dunfirth at any point a baronial award.

d) On their honour, claim to be participating members of the Barony and claim to have attended at least six baronial meetings in the last year.

e) Attend a baronial polling meeting

Blank polling forms will be numbered but not tracked or correspond to specific members of the populace. Polling forms will ask for whether the voting person is a paid member or not, and list the nominated candidates to be ranked numerically (i.e., “1”, “2”, “3”, etc), with “1” being the most preferred choice, and higher numbers being less preferred choices. Polls that are not filled out completely, and with/or without unique sequential ranks for all the candidates will be considered spoiled and not counted.

If only one candidate is participating in the selection, the poll will be a simple vote of confidence of “0” for confidence and/or support, or “1” for no confidence or support (following the same kind of process used for multiple candidates — the closer the score is to 0, the more approved the candidate is.

At the end of the polling meetings, the Baronial Seneschal will choose a scrutinizer or second impartial person to participate in the tallying of polls — this could be the baronial pursuivant, or another member of the group who is not a nominee, or a representative of the kingdom. The polls will then be totalled, with subtotals counted for members and non-members, with the lowest total for a candidate indicating the most desired selection by the Barony. The results will be conveyed to the Crown within the week of the end of the polling meetings, and the physical polling forms will be turned over to the Kingdom Seneschal within 30 days. The results of the tally will be kept in strict confidence of the Crown and not shared with any other person.

Announcement of the New Baronial Office

After the considering the results of the poll, the Crown shall select from the list of candidates a choice not substantively not opposed by the populace, and meets the requirements of Corpora and kingdom law. They will then notify all the candidates of their decision privately, and publicly announce their intent to invest the polled candidates of their choice into the Baronial seats. If the Crown’s chosen candidates for the baronial office hold a position disallowed by a territorial baronial noble, they will step down from that office. (Kingdom Court, Coronation September 17)

The Crown’s choice for the baronial office will be invested in a kingdom court of their choosing. (Huntsman’s Harvest, October 1)