621—15.2(20) Election calendar.

1. 15.2(1)  Fall election.

   1. a. The fall election shall be conducted by electronic voting provided for by a vendor selected by the agency.

   2. b. The fall election shall commence on the second Tuesday in October at 8 a.m.

      and shall apply to all collective bargaining agreements which expire the following year on June 30 or on a date between 270 and 365 days after the end of the election.

   3. c. Voting in the fall election shall cease at 9 a.m.

      on the fourth Tuesday in October following the commencement of the election.

   4. d. The fall election calendar shall be as follows (if any event designated by this subrule occurs on a Saturday or Sunday or any day on which the agency’s office is closed due to a state holiday, the time for the event shall be extended to include the next business day):

      Event Date	Event
      August 1	Employers may voluntarily begin to upload voter lists in suPERB.
      August 15	The agency files notices of intent to conduct a retention/recertification election.
      August 18	Any contract extensions must be received by the agency. If the parties reach an agreement on an extension and have notified the agency in writing by this date, an election will not be conducted. Additionally, if either party chooses to file an objection to the notice of intent to conduct a recertification/retention election, such objections must be filed in EDMS.
      August 25	Deadline for an employer to upload a voter list in suPERB.
      August 26	If an employer fails to upload the voter list, the agency will file a notice of show cause hearing to be held.
      August 28	Employer show cause hearings, if necessary, must be completed.
      September 1	Deadline for employee organizations to approve the employer’s voter list in suPERB.
      September 2	If an employee organization fails to approve the voter list, the agency will file a notice of show cause hearing to be held.
      September 4	Employee organizations’ show cause hearings, if necessary, must be completed.
      September 9	The agency shall notify employee organizations of the applicable fees for the retention/recertification election.
      September 19	Deadline for employee organizations to submit the retention/recertification fee. This is also the last day for the parties to agree to changes to the voting list.
      September 20	The agency shall issue the order directing the retention/recertification election.
      Second Tuesday in October	Commencement of election period beginning at 8 a.m.
      Fourth Tuesday in October	Cessation of election period at 9 a.m.
      Ten days following the fourth Tuesday in October	Deadline for e-filing of objections.

2. 15.2(2)  Spring election.

   1. a. The spring election shall be carried out by mail ballot.
   2. b. The spring election shall commence with the mailing of ballots to eligible voters no later than the first Tuesday in March and shall apply to all collective bargaining agreements that expire the following year on a date between 270 and 365 days after the end of the spring election.
   3. c. The spring election will end with the tallying of the ballots on the fourth Friday in March at 9 a.m. All ballots must be received by the agency by this time, or they will not be counted.

   4. d. The spring election calendar shall be as follows (if any event designated by this subrule occurs on a Saturday or Sunday or any day on which the agency’s office is closed due to a state holiday, the time for the event shall be extended to include the next business day):

      Event Date	Event
      January 1	Employers may voluntarily begin to upload voter lists in suPERB.
      January 15	The agency files notices of intent to conduct a retention/recertification election.
      January 18	Any contract extensions must be received by the agency. If the parties reach an agreement on an extension and have notified the agency in writing by this date, an election will not be conducted. Additionally, if either party chooses to file an objection to the notice of intent to conduct a recertification/retention election, such objections must be filed in EDMS.
      January 25	Deadline for an employer to upload a voter list in suPERB.
      January 26	If an employer fails to upload the voter list, the agency will file a notice of show cause hearing to be held.
      January 28	Employer show cause hearings, if necessary, must be completed.
      February 1	Deadline for employee organizations to approve the employer’s voter list in suPERB.
      February 2	If an employee organization fails to approve the voter list, the agency will file a notice of show cause hearing to be held.
      February 4	Employee organizations’ show cause hearings, if necessary, must be completed.
      February 9	The agency shall notify employee organizations of the applicable fees for the retention/recertification election.
      February 19	Deadline for employee organizations to submit the retention/recertification fee. This is also the last day for the parties to agree to changes to the voting list.
      February 20	The agency shall issue the order directing the retention/recertification election.
      First Tuesday in March	Commencement of election period begins with the mailing of ballots.
      Fourth Friday in March	Cessation of election period at 9 a.m. All ballots must be received to the agency.
      Ten days following the fourth Friday in March	Deadline for e-filing of objections.

3. 15.2(3)  Date of the election. For the purposes of this chapter, the date of an election shall be the date on which the ballots were tallied.

   The board will determine which bargaining units are subject to retention and recertification election in the immediate state fiscal year based on the contract uploaded to suPERB. Changes or extensions to contracts uploaded to suPERB after August 18 for fall elections and January 18 for spring elections will not alter the date of the election. If a collective bargaining agreement indicates the agreement is for a term of one year but does not clearly specify the effective commencement and termination dates, the agency will presume the collective bargaining agreement is for a term of one year commencing July 1 and ending June 30 unless the agreement clearly states an alternate term and effective dates.

[ARC 7011C, IAB 5/3/23, effective 6/7/23]