☐ Share the call to conference with your members at the September meeting.
Encourage attendance – in-person (if possible) or virtually – before 9/15/23 to get the early-bird rate. Registration form and
payment instructions.

☐ Review the Business items that will be on the ballot to identify questions or concerns.
All are invited to submit questions to info@zontadistrict1.org and to attend a Zoom information session on 10/23/23 to meet
the candidates for 2024-2026 and to review the District Proposals that need a vote.

☐ Select club delegates and alternates for on-line voting; complete and submit the Conference Credentials before
the 10/10 23 deadline. Note that the forms require both President's and Secretary's signatures. The Zoom information
session on 10/23/23 will include voting instructions. 

☐ Ask members if they are interested in donating a club or individual gift to the online auction. Donators choose
whether the District or Foundation will receive the auction proceeds. Item should be something easily delivered to the
winner by mail or in-person. Details about what is needed and where to send it can be found at
2023fc.zontadistrict1.org/auction. The auction link will be live the week before Conference and bidding closed that Saturday
night.  Let's have some fun with this! 

☐  Ask members if they are interested in donating a club or individual gift for the Fill a Purse service project.  We
are looking for 50 each of the following items to fill donated purses:  Shampoo. Conditioner, Nail clippers, Short socks,
Tampons, Deodorant, Hairbrush, Lip balm, Pen, and Notepad. If there is a club that wants to handle one or more of these
items, email info@zontadistrict1.org ASAP; otherwise, an Amazon wish list will be set up. 

☐ Send information on any Zontian who passed away during the biennium.  Details about what is needed and where
to send it can be found at 2023fc.zontadistrict1.org/memorial-service/

☐ Many clubs have a budget line item for the District 1 Governor's gift at the end of her biennium. We will present a
monetary gift to Past District Governor Beatrice Schori (2020 – 2022) at the Fall Conference. Beatrice will decide which fund
in the Foundation for Women that she would like to support with this honorarium.
Please notify District Treasurer Janice Severance of the amount you will be donating by emailing her at
zdist1treasurer@gmail.com. You can mail your club’s donation via check made payable to Zonta International District 1 to
her at 14 South Spring St., Concord, NH 03301; or go to www.zontadistrict1.org and under Resources/Finance you can
process a Square donation. Please be sure to include your contact information and Club name. Donations must be
received by October 20, 2023. Thank you for your generosity.

We have speakers on topics of importance to all Zontians and planned breakout sessions that promise to generate a lot of discussions.

In-person opportunities to meet new people and reunite with past colleagues abound. In addition to sightseeing, we will gather at the Lobster dinner on Friday, at lunch and dinner on Saturday, and on Sunday.

Listen to nominated candidates for 2024-2026 Leadership _ elections will be held during the week before Conference. Connect with representatives from the Zonta Foundation for Women. Learn from Zonta International Vice President Fernanda about the future of Zonta and Zonta’s legacy and mission; how we will sustain our programs and projects to support us in the future; and where Zonta goes from here.

District 1 Conference 2023

VOTING MEMBERS
The voting members of the district conference are the governor, lieutenant governor, area directors, treasurer, and delegates from each club in good standing.  ‘Good standing’ eligibility will be based on the club’s position and membership as of 8/1/2023.

To best manage the electronic voting environment:  

• If a club has more than one vote, they must have more than one delegate. Weighted votes for a single individual will not be permitted under electronic voting. Meaning one individual may not carry two or three votes.
• Proxy votes will not be allowed.
• Voting members must respect confidentiality and may not advise each other how to vote or announce how they have voted until after the voting period has closed.

CREDENTIALING
The Credentials Committee supervises the registration of voters. The delegate registration period will open on September 1^st and close on October 15^th but may be extended based on the recommendation of the committee. The Credentials Committee will conduct a virtual training session pre-conference and provide informational materials.

Prior to the opening of the electronic voting platform, the Credentials Committee shall report the number of voting members registered. This will establish the quorum (see below).

Once the election and voting period is open, the Credentials Committee will offer voter support including:

• Management of a special email: info@zontadistrict1.org
• Changes from delegates to alternates

NOMINATING 
The Nomination Committee maintains direct communications with all candidates. The Nomination Committee will inform candidates of guidelines related to written bios and, if possible, speeches.  Anyone wishing to suggest an additional candidate for an elected position must do so in writing to the Nomination Committee at nominating@zontadistrict1.org by October 15th. Once validated, the candidate’s name will be inserted after the candidates who were named to the slate.

QUORUM AND RULES
A majority of the voting members registered shall constitute a quorum. For example, if 60 voting members are registered at least 31 voting members must cast a ballot for the vote to be considered valid.

Voting members who cast a ballot will be considered ‘present and voting’. This number will be used to determine majority or two-thirds for passage.

A majority vote shall be necessary for election of the district board members. If no candidate receives a majority of the votes cast, the balloting for the office shall continue. Only the two candi­dates receiving the largest number of votes shall remain on the second ballot.

A two-thirds vote shall be necessary for a proposed amendment to pass for the District Bylaws and Rules of Procedure.

A majority vote shall be necessary for a District Resolution to be adopted and it shall remain in effect for the biennium proposed.

A majority vote shall be necessary for submitting a proposed amendment for Bylaws of Zonta International, a proposed international resolution or other international-level business. (See Zonta International Bylaws Article XIX, SECTION 2.)

The members of the district Bylaws and Resolutions Committee will prepare the report of the Committee as soon as possible after the voting period has concluded and all the votes have been tabulated.

The district governor must submit any district-approved proposed amendment for Bylaws of Zonta International, a proposed international resolution or other international-level business to the Zonta International Bylaws and Resolution Committee within 30 days of the conclusion of the district conference.

A Zoom meeting will be held a week before the Conference to meet candidates nominated for 2024-2026 and review/answer questions on items for voting. In addition, the voting procedure will be explained to delegates and elected board members.  Electronic voting will be held over three days October 23 – 25, 2023.

ELECTIONS VOTING
Election voting will take place in advance of the District Conference. The voting platform being used is Google Forms.  Email addresses will be collected and confirmed to prevent duplication of votes and the form will be set to only allow one voting per email..

The official language of the platform shall be English.

The Elections Committee supervises the setup of the elections and voting platform and will provide delegates with sample ballots that can be printed out as a guide sheet prior to the opening of online voting.

The voting period will open on October 23rd and close on October 25^th but may be extended based on the recommendation of the Elections Committee if a quorum still needs to be achieved.

The members of the Elections Committee will prepare the report of the Committee as soon as possible after the voting period has concluded and all the votes have been tabulated.

The results of the election will be disclosed at the live District Conference and published in the district newsletter.

DISTRICT BUSINESS
The following items will be voted on by all:

• Adoption of the District Budget
• Adoption of the District Bylaws
• Amendments to the District 1 Rules of Procedure
• Resolutions for Consideration by the Zonta International Convention

PRIVACY: RECORDINGS AND PHOTOGRAPHY

When conducting meetings electronically, the privacy, safety, and well-being of participants should always be protected. Business meetings/sessions should never be recorded.

• The potential of a recording could inhibit debate.
• Recordings could be taken out of context.
• Recordings could be improperly edited.
• Recordings could be distributed beyond an intended audience.
• Individuals who were not active meeting participants should only receive minutes of the meeting indicating the decisions made.

Additionally, participation also does not automatically equate to permission to take photographs. If photographs and screen shots will be taken, an announcement should be made at the beginning of the event or prior to the photographs being taken.