Section 1

Club Year. The Club's Fiscal year shall begin on June 1st and end on May 31st.

The Club's official year shall begin on August 1st and end on July 31st. The elected officers and directors shall take office August 1st. Each retiring officer and director shall turn over to his/her successor in office all properties and records relating to that office by September 1st.

Section 2

Voting. At the annual meeting, or at a special meeting of the Club, voting shall be limited to those members in good standing who are present at the meeting, except for the annual election of Officers, Delegate and Directors, amendments to the constitution and bylaws and the standard for the breed, and such other specific questions as the Board of Directors may decide to submit for decision of the members by written ballot cast by mail in accordance with Section 4(d) of this Article. Voting by proxy shall not be permitted.

Section 3

Annual Election. The election of Officers and Directors, and Delegate to the American Kennel Club (who may but not need be a Director or Officer of the Club) shall be conducted by ballot. Ballots, to be valid, must be received by the Recording Secretary by July 1st. Ballots shall be counted by three inspectors of election who are members in good standing and who are neither members of the current Board nor candidates on the ballot and who shall be appointed by the Board to count ballots. The Board may designate an outside accounting firm to receive and count results mailed to the current Officers and Board by July 15th. The person receiving the greatest number of votes for each office shall be declared elected. The nominated candidates for the other positions on the Board of Directors who receive the greatest number of votes for such positions shall be declared elected. If any nominee, at the end of the meeting, is unable to serve for any reason, such nominee shall not be elected and the vacancy created shall be filled by the new Board of Directors in the manner provided by Article III, Section 3.

Section 4

Nominations and Ballots. No person may be a candidate in a Club election who has not been nominated in accordance with these bylaws. A Nominating Committee shall be chosen by the Board of Directors before January 1st. The Committee shall consist of five members from different areas of the USA and two alternates, all members in good standing, no more than one of whom may be a member of the current Board of Directors. The Board shall name a chairman for the Committee. The names of the Nominating Committee shall be included in one of the official Club publications prior to February 1st. The Nominating Committee may conduct it's business by mail.

(a) The Nominating Committee shall nominate from among the eligible members of the Club, one candidate for each office and the other positions on the Board, as specified in Article III, Section 1, and a candidate for the Delegate to the American Kennel Club and shall procure the acceptance of each nominee so chosen. The Committee shall consider the geographical representation of the membership on the Board to the extent that it is practicable to do so. The Committee shall then submit it's slate of candidates to the Recording Secretary by March 1st. The name of each candidate and the name of the state in which he/she resides, shall be included in any one of the Club's official publications on or before April 1st, so that additional nominations may be made by the members if they so desire.

(b) Additional nominations of eligible members may be made by written petition addressed to the Recording Secretary and received at his/her regular address on or before May 1st signed by five members and accompanied by the written acceptance of each such additional nominee signifying his/her willingness to be a candidate. Except for the position of Delegate, no person shall be a candidate for more than one position and the additional nominations which are provided for herein may be made only from among those members who have not accepted a nomination of the Nominating Committee.

(c) If no valid nominations are received by the Recording Secretary on or before May 1st the Nominating Committee's slate shall be declared elected on July 15th and no balloting shall be required.

(d) If one or more valid nominations are received by the Recording Secretary on or before May 1st he/she shall, on or before June 1st, mail, first class, to each member in good standing a ballot listing all the nominees for each position in alphabetical order, with the names of the states in which they reside, together with a blank envelope and a return envelope addressed to the Recording Secretary (or an outside accounting firm) marked "Ballot", and bearing the name of the member to whom it was sent. The Ballots shall be returned to the Recording Secretary by July 1st. So that the ballots remain secret, each voter, after marking his/her ballot, shall seal it in the blank envelope which in turn shall be placed in the second envelope addressed to the Recording Secretary (or an outside accounting firm). The inspection of election shall check the returns against the list of members whose dues are paid for the current year prior to the opening of the outer envelopes and removing the blank envelopes and shall certify the eligibility of the voters.

(e) Nominations cannot be made at the annual meeting or in any manner other than as provided above.