USA Cricket has announced the election timelines for the inaugural voting process being conducted by the new national governing body, filling the void left by the expelled USACA administration, with the main vote for the seven-member constituent board of directors taking place from May 18 to 28.
New members of USA Cricket must register by April 24 to be eligible to vote in the elections. Once registration closes, members will have until May 8 to declare nominations for the positions of club director, league director, two elite player directors, and three individual director positions.
All eligible candidates - cleared by the nominating and governance committee formed by USA Cricket last week - will be announced to voters on May 13, ahead of the opening of the voting polls five days later. Should there be any tie, a run-off election will be conducted from June 1 to 8, before winners are announced on June 11.
Following the announcement of the election results for the seven-member constituent board, the nominating and governance committee will identify three independent directors to be installed, to complete the 10-member board prior to this year's ICC annual conference. A preliminary list of all eligible voting clubs, leagues and other members is expected to be released by USA Cricket on April 27.
At least two members on the new USA Cricket board will be female - one of the two elite player directors, and one of the three independent directors. It's a noticeable change from the previous USACA administration, which had no female board members during its existence. Dr Vincent Adams, member of the ICC's sustainable foundation advisory group, believes that the inclusion of women is a step that will make for a stronger and more united board of directors going forward.
"We have worked incredibly hard to develop a constitution and a membership base that unites the wonderfully diverse cricket community in the USA," Adams said in a USA Cricket press release. "Our hope and our expectation is that this diversity is reflected in the inaugural USA Cricket Board, and we are very excited to announce this process, which we are confident will attract the best possible candidates."