2. a. The council shall annually elect from among its members a chairperson, vice-chairperson, secretary, and treasurer. The term of office for each of those offices shall be one year, commencing April 1st and extending to March 31st of the following year. If for any reason an officer of the council is no longer a member of the council as defined pursuant to subsection a. of section 6.1 of P.L.1979, c.111 (C. 13:18A-7), the officer shall be deemed to have resigned from the office as of the date of loss of membership and the office shall be deemed vacant. In the event of a vacancy in the office of the chairperson, the vice-chairperson shall assume the duties of the office of chairperson until the next annual election as provided in subsection b. of this section. An incumbent officer shall be eligible for reelection to the same or a different office, if nominated.

b. Elections for the offices of chairperson, vice-chairperson, secretary, and treasurer of the council shall be conducted each year in the following manner:

(1) Between January 15th and January 25th, the chairperson of the council shall notify by mail all members of the council that they may submit nominations for the various offices on the council. Nominations shall be accepted if received at the address specified on the notice by February 10th.

(2) Ballots shall be prepared listing the nominations submitted for the various offices and shall be mailed to all members of the council by February 15th. Members of the council shall submit their marked ballots by mail to the address specified on the ballot. Only ballots postmarked by March 1st shall be accepted. The ballots shall be counted, and the results of the election announced, at a meeting of the council held not later than March 10th. For each office, the nominee on the ballot receiving the most votes after all properly submitted marked ballots have been counted shall be declared the winner.

(3) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraphs (1) and (2) of this subsection to the contrary, the election of officers first held pursuant to the requirements of this section shall be conducted on behalf of the council, and the ballots counted and results of the election announced, by the Secretary of State; thereafter, each such annual election shall be conducted by the council through its officers as prescribed in this section.

L.1995,c.272,s.2.