Siobhan Hughes, Chairwoman, Wall Street Journal

Peter Urban, Secretary, Stephens Media Group

Colby Itkowitz, Washington Post

Kate Hunter, Bloomberg

Emily Ethridge, CQ/Roll Call

ARTICLES OF PROCEDURES GOVERNING THE STANDING COMMITTEE OF CORRESPONDENTS ELECTIONS

Article I.

There shall be elected by and from the membership of the Congressional Press Galleries, a Standing Committee of Correspondents consisting of five members selected in the following manner:

(a) Three members shall be elected in odd-numbered years and two in even number years.

(b) The Committee shall elect its officers (See Article IV(m)).

(c) Vacancies shall be filled by special election.

(d) Elections shall be held in January.

Article II.

Following an election notice by the Standing Committee, nominating petitions for membership on the Committee shall be in order on the first Monday in December, Provided:

(a) No petition shall be posted prior to 9:30 a.m. on the first eligible day.

(b) A petition, bearing less than fifteen signatures of Gallery members, may not be posted.

(c) Candidates, or their managers, shall provide a petition for each Gallery to be posted in a conspicuous space as determined by the Superintendent.

(d) No nominating petition may be posted after 5:00 p.m. on the eve of the convening of Congress, and those previously posted shall be removed from public display.

Article III.

Prior to the opening of the poll, the Chairman of the Standing Committee, or any member of the Committee he or she may designate, shall attend in the area where the votes are to be taken for the purpose of receiving the Secretary’s financial report; any member of the Galleries may raise a question that is relevant to the report.

Article IV.

Elections shall be held in the House Press Gallery in even-numbered years, and in the Senate Press Gallery in odd-numbered years, on the third Thursday in January, and the fourth Thursday in January of every fourth year in which the Presidential inauguration ceremony occurs, and will be conducted in conformity with the following:

(a) The ballot box shall be examined by the election judges, or the Gallery officials attending the poll, before being closed.

(b) The poll shall open at 9:30 a.m. on the day prescribed or immediately following the presentation of the financial report. Inquiries relative to the report shall not prevent the opening of the poll.

(c) Campaign activities by candidates, or their managers, within fifteen feet of the poll is prohibited.

(d) The poll shall be supervised by the Superintendents and first Assistant Superintendents of the House and Senate Press Galleries in a manner they deem appropriate.

(e) Members casting a ballot shall place a suitable mark in the box adjacent to the name of the candidate or candidates of their choice. Members casting ballots must vote for a number of candidates equal to the number of places to be filled on the Standing Committee.

(f) A ballot containing a “single-shot” vote, or one or more write-in votes, shall be excluded from the tally and shall be declared invalid. Any ballot that, in the opinion of the election judges appointed as hereinafter provided, is marked in a manner not in conformity with practice or custom, or in a manner that makes it impossible to determine in whole or in part the selections of the voter shall be rejected from the tally and declared invalid. The determination of the election judges in such cases shall be final.

(h) The poll shall close at 5:30 p.m. on election day.

(i) The Standing Committee may, with three members concurring, extend the voting period when in their judgment extraordinary circumstances or severe weather conditions will affect the proceedings.

(j) The Superintendent of each Gallery shall, at the direction of the Standing Committee, appoint a member of his Gallery to serve as an election judge, and together with the Superintendent and the first Assistant Superintendent of each Gallery, acting as tellers, they shall be charged with the counting of the ballots.

(k) Following the completion of the count, the judges and tellers shall present a signed report to each Gallery containing their findings and tally.

(l) Determination of a contest in which votes are equally divided among candidates, and in which the outcome would affect the membership of the Standing Committee, shall be by the toss of a coin, in the event that the two candidates receive an equal number of votes, or by lot, in the event that three or more candidates receive an equal number of votes. The election judges shall conduct such toss of the coin or selection by lot.

(m) In any organization meeting of the Standing Committee wherein the election of officers does not occur, as set forth in Article I(b), the selection of Standing Committee Chairman and Standing Committee Secretary, from among holdover members whose membership on the Committee resulted from election declared by the Standing Committee in the instance where nominations equaled occurring vacancies to be filled, shall be by the toss of a coin when being decided by two candidates and by lot for three candidates. The election judges shall conduct such toss of the coin or selection by lot at the organizational meeting of the Standing Committee.

Article V.

The Standing Committee shall adopt additional election procedures to be found necessary.