Election Procedures Committee Report
Where there is no law, but every man
does what is right in his own eyes,
there is the least of real liberty.
-Henry M. Robert
Executive Summary
Due to concerns arising from the election of officers at the 2001 Annual Meeting, President James Truscott appointed the Election Procedures Committee to look into our current election and voting procedures and determine if there were any improvements that could be made.
The main concerns were ones of fairness and order. A careful reading of our Constitution and By-laws shows that the election of officers at the 2001 annual meeting was permissible under the letter of our rules. We also note that no previous notice was given regarding changes in our customary election procedures. This serves to bring to light certain inconsistencies in our rules, which need to be addressed in order that the spirit of fairness be restored to our proceedings.
As the committee looked at our election procedures, we determined that we had to focus on two areas –
1. What we could do in the short-term, and
2. What procedures our Association ought to adopt for the long-term.
Also, we found differences between:
1. Election of officers
2. Voting on motions
The committee found that our Association has a long history of relying on a form of parliamentary procedure and recommends that we formalize this tradition by adopting Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised as our official rules of order where they are not inconsistent with our Constitution and By-laws. We intend to present a motion at the next annual meeting to cover this both in the short-term and in the long-term.
In our research, we found that our Annual Meetings are "deliberative assemblies" as defined by Robert's Rules of Order. One of the key ideas involved in the notion of a deliberative assembly is that those present act on behalf of all the members because they are present to deliberate with one another on the content and implications of proposed actions.
Previous Notice
An important concept regarding the smooth flow of our meetings is the idea of previous notice. This means that sufficient notice must be given before any motion is presented about major changes in the organization or its procedures.
Election of Officers
Short Term Considerations
In reviewing our Constitution and By-laws, we found that for the short-term we could recommend the following procedures:
Long Term Considerations
Nominating Committee
In addition to this change, we recommend the formalizing of a long tradition of having a Nominating Committee, which would be responsible for collecting nominations from the membership and presenting a slate or slates of officers for consideration by the membership. This committee would be appointed by the Executive Committee and would be a Standing Committee.
Proxies
Article V of our Constitution talks about "proxies". We found this word to have a different meaning than was intended and ought to be changed to the word "absentee vote". We determined that allowing absentee votes to be highly problematic for a deliberative assembly, which was at the root of the election controversy at the 2001 Annual Meeting. Therefore, we recommend amending Article V of our Constitution.
Quorum
The committee recommends that due to the growth of the Association our requirement for a quorum should be increased from ten voting members to forty voting members.
Resolutions
The result of our efforts are the following resolutions:
At the next Annual meeting, the following Special Rule of Order to be good for that meeting:
| Resolution 1 |
"The rules contained in the current edition of Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised shall govern this meeting in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with the By-laws of the Association and any other special rules of order the Association may adopt."
Also, at the next Annual Meeting, the following resolution to govern us in the future:
| Resolution 2 |
"Resolved, that the rules contained in the current edition of Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised shall govern the Association in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with these By-laws and any special rules of order the Association may adopt.
Resolved, that the Association purchase a hardcover copy of Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised, to be held by the President and passed down to succeeding Presidents.
Resolved, that section 4 of our By-laws which currently states:
4. - Quorum.
(A) Ten voting members in good standing shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business of the Association.
(B) In case the attendance of ten voting members cannot be engaged by a date one week in advance of the annual meeting, or if a quorum is not obtained at an annual meeting, the election of officers shall be held by mail ballot, the results of which shall be certified to the Association by the Executive Committee.
be amended as follows:
4. - Quorum.
(A) Forty voting members in good standing shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business of the Association.
(B) In case the attendance of forty voting members cannot be engaged by a date one week in advance of the annual meeting, or if a quorum is not obtained at an annual meeting, the election of officers shall be held by mail ballot, the results of which shall be certified to the Association by the Executive Committee.
Resolved, that Article V of the Constitution which currently states:
Article V - Proxies
(A) General proxies shall not be recognized, but members not able to attend any meeting shall have the privilege of filing with the Secretary their votes for officers and upon specific questions upon which they may desire to record a vote in case such questions may be brought before the meeting. Any such vote in writing, except for officers, will be subject to challenge by any member present as to its applicability to the question before the Association, and it may be thrown out by a majority of the votes of the members actually present, if not deemed pertinent to the question under consideration.
be amended, as follows:
Article V – Proxies & Absentee Voting
(A) Proxies and absentee ballots shall not be recognized.
[Note - This requires majority vote of the current voting members of the Association. See page 13 for further discussion.].
Resolved, that the By-laws be amended as follows:
8. - Committees.
(A) Standing Committees of the Association shall be as follows, the members and chairmen thereof being appointed annually by the President, subject to the limitations established by these By-laws.
(B) A Committee of Interments; to consist of the Custodian (ex officio) and not less than two nor more than four other members who shall serve for one-year terms. The Committee on Interments shall undertake to determine space allotments in the graveyard desired by individuals and family groups, and shall advise members regarding locations for interments, to guide them in accordance with stated policy of the Association, and to promote an orderly and desirable plan of the graveyard. It shall make a report annually to the Association.
(C) A Membership Committee; to consist of a Chairman, the Secretary (ex officio), the Treasurer (ex officio), the Historian (ex officio), and such other members as may be necessary. The Membership Committee shall work to interest eligible persons in the Association and to encourage them to enroll as members. It shall make nominations at the annual meetings for election of associate members, and it shall make a report annually to the Association.
(D) A Nominating Committee; to consist of a Chairman, and not less than two nor more than four other members who shall serve for one-year terms. The Nominating Committee shall be appointed by the Executive Committee.
(E) On Standing Committees, ex officio members shall not serve as chairmen; appointed members may be re-appointed.
(F) The President may, from time to time, appoint temporary committees as needed.
The same recommendation regarding proxies as outlined above also holds for voting on motions before the Association. Voting on motions will normally follow the guidelines in Robert's Rules. One notable exception is in the event that a motion comes before the Association requiring a change in our Constitution. Constitutional changes require an affirmative vote of a majority of the voting members of the Association.
From time to time, the Association may deal with substantial issues drawing the attention of the entire membership including those not able to attend an Annual Meeting. We propose in such instances that a "Special Rule of Order" be adopted requiring any "Substantial Issue" decisions, including constitutional amendments, be placed before the entire membership as the interest in such questions does extend to every member. Such a "Special Rule of Order" would require a two-thirds majority approval by the members present at an annual meeting for passage.
Sample Special Rule of Order:
Resolved, that any decisions regarding [insert substantial issue] be placed before and be voted upon by the entire membership. A majority vote of all current members in good standing is necessary for passage.
It is highly recommended, for full understanding of the issues this committee addressed and the complete reasoning used, that readers continue on by reading the Main Report.
Main Report
Introduction
Due to concerns arising from the election of officers at the 2001 Annual Meeting, President James Truscott appointed the Election Procedures Committee to look into our current election and voting procedures and determine if there were any improvements that could be made.
The main concerns were ones of fairness and order. A careful reading of our Constitution and By-laws shows that the election of officers at the 2001 annual meeting was permissible under the letter of our rules. We also note that no previous notice was given regarding changes in our customary election procedures. In other words, fault can be found in several areas. This serves to bring to light certain inconsistencies in our rules, which need to be addressed in order that the spirit of fairness be restored to our proceedings.
As the committee looked at our election procedures, we determine that we had to focus on two areas –
1. What we could do in the short-term, and
2. What procedures our Association ought to adopt for the long-term.
Also, we found differences between:
1. Election of officers
2. Voting on motions
Parliamentary Procedure
We began with the consensus that we did not want to rewrite our Constitution and By-laws. Having looked at Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised, we are convinced that making them our parliamentary authority will solve many of these issues both now and in the future. It is our intent to fairly establish order in our annual meetings by using a standard, which is generally accepted by organizations of all kinds.
Historically we stand on solid ground. Our Association has followed a form of parliamentary procedure since its inception. In addition, at the last two annual meetings, an official parliamentarian has assisted our President. [see Robert's page 449].We seek to formalize this long standing practice. A reading of our Constitution and By-laws (written in 1915) along with the pertinent section from Robert's (first written in 1918) will show that the founders of our Association were familiar with parliamentary procedures and order.
At one point in our deliberations we looked at using our common ancestor's famous "Manual of Parliamentary Practice", but decided against as it is geared more toward legislative assemblies rather than organizations such as ours.
"The position of Jefferson's Manual is unchallenged as the first to define and interpret parliamentary principles for our democratic republic and to offer a base pattern of rules and a measure of uniformity for the legislative processes of the United States. The authority of the Manual became established through the adoption by state legislatures and by other groups. The House of Representatives also adopted Jefferson's Manual; however, differences between the House and the Senate would cause the House to develop and become governed by a separate body of rules and practices largely superseding Jefferson's work."
[Note – for purposes of clarification, we are referring to Robert's Rule of Order Newly Revised, 10th edition, published by Perseus Publishing, ISBN 0-7382-0307-6 (paperback), ISBN 0-7382-0384-X (hardback)]
Deliberative Assembly
The Annual Meetings of the Monticello Association are not simply social gatherings. They are designed to transact the business of the Association. As such, they are "deliberative assemblies". Robert's defines these as follows:
A deliberative assembly – the gathering to which parliamentary law is generally understood to apply – has the following distinguishing characteristics:
As deliberative assemblies, our Annual Meetings should therefore follow parliamentary procedure to maintain order and fairness.
Previous Notice
An important concept regarding the smooth flow of our meetings is the idea of previous notice. This means that sufficient notice must be given before any motion about substantial changes in the organization or its procedures are presented. This would hold true regarding changes in our long-held customary practices. Of course, what is deemed a "customary practice" may be open to some interpretation. For example, it can be shown that the Association has not always followed the practice of our Vice-President necessarily being nominated as President [see 1971 Annual Report]. Fairness dictates, however, that notice be given of any substantial change to be presented before the membership at an annual meeting.
"The term previous notice (or notice), as applied to necessary conditions for the adoption of certain motions, has a particular meaning in parliamentary law. A requirement of previous notice means that announcement that the motion will be introduced – indicating its exact content as described below – must be included in the call of the meeting at which the motion will be brought up, or, as a permissible alternative, if no more than a quarterly time interval will have elapsed since the preceding meeting, the announcement must be made at the preceding meeting. The call of a meeting is generally mailed to all members at a reasonable time in advance, which may be prescribed in the bylaws. …
… The adoption or amendment of special rules of order require either (a) previous notice and a two-thirds vote or (b) a vote of the majority of the entire membership…
…
Subject to any rules of the organization that provide how notice shall be given, it can be given as follows:
If previous notice is given at a meeting, it can be given orally unless the rules of the organization require it to be in writing…
Instead of being given at a meeting, a notice can also be sent by mail to every member with the call of the meeting at which the matter is to come up for action, except where the rules of the organization provide otherwise. In such a case, the member desiring to give the notice writes a letter to the secretary alone, requesting that the notice be sent with the call of the next meeting; and the secretary should then do this at the expense of the organization." RONR, 10th ed. pp. 116-118
This also points out to the membership and the Executive Committee that the membership is going to want previous notice of any substantial motions to come up at the 2002 Annual Meeting.
Parallel Courses of Action
However, we cannot forget about the current status of our Constitution and By-laws, which will be in effect for the coming Annual Meeting. Therefore, we have come up with solutions for the short-term and the long-term.
General Election Issues
1. Rules of Order
Quoting Robert's:
"The term rules of order refers to written rules of parliamentary procedure formally adopted by an assembly or an organization. Such rules relate to the orderly transaction of business in meetings and to the duties of officers in that connection. The object of rules of order is to facilitate the smooth functioning of the assembly and to provide a firm basis for resolving questions of procedure that may arise.
In contrast to bylaws, rules of order derive their proper substance largely from the general nature of the parliamentary process rather than from the circumstances of a particular assembly. Consequently, although the tone of application of rules of order may vary, there is little reason why most of these rules themselves should not be the same in all ordinary societies and should not closely correspond to the common parliamentary law. The usual method by which an ordinary society now provides itself with suitable rules of order is therefore to include in its bylaws a provision prescribing that the current edition of a specified and generally accepted manual of parliamentary law shall be the organization's parliamentary authority, and then to adopt only such special rules of order as it finds needed to supplement or modify rules contained in that manual. If a society has already adopted bylaws that do not designate a parliamentary authority, one may be adopted by the same vote as a special rule of order. … Special rules of order supersede any rules in the parliamentary authority with which they may conflict. …
When a society or an assembly has adopted a particular parliamentary manual – such as this book – as its authority, the rules contained in that manual are binding upon it in all cases where they are not inconsistent with the bylaws (or constitution) or any special rules or order of the body, or any provisions of local, state, or national law applying to the particular type of organization." RONR (10th ed.), p.15-16
Short-term
Adoption by Special Rule of Order:
An organization which has bylaws that do not designate a parliamentary authority should amend its bylaws as described above under "most common method." However, amending bylaws may be a difficult process that takes considerable time. In some cases it may be desirable to adopt a parliamentary authority more rapidly than the bylaws can be amended. This may be done (in an organization that already has bylaws in a meeting that is not part of a convention) by adopting a "special rule of order" either with previous notice by a two-thirds vote or, without notice, by a vote of the majority of the entire membership. RONR § 2, p. 17.
| "Resolved, that the rules contained in the current edition of Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised shall govern this meeting in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with the By-laws of the Association and any special rules of order the Association may adopt. |
Long Term
Amendment to By-laws
| "Resolved, that the rules contained in the current edition of Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised shall govern the Association in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with these By-laws and any special rules of order the Association may adopt. |
We believe that in order to be fair, the membership must be notified in advance that we intend to make such a special motion at the beginning of our Annual Meeting.
We also propose:
"Based on the experience of many groups, it is recommended that an organization which adopts Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised as its parliamentary authority purchase a hardcover copy of the book to be held by its chairman and passed down to succeeding chairmen. In addition, other officers and committee chairmen will benefit from having their own copies of the book to refer to, and members should be encouraged to familiarize themselves with Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised.
| Resolved, that the Association purchase a hardcover copy of Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised, to be held by the President and passed down to succeeding Presidents. |
2. Quorum
We noted that our present By-law regarding quorum is outdated. Therefore we propose the following:
Long Term
Amendment to By-laws
Current:
4. - Quorum.
(A) Ten voting members in good standing shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business of the Association.
(B) In case the attendance of ten voting members cannot be engaged by a date one week in advance of the annual meeting, or if a quorum is not obtained at an annual meeting, the election of officers shall be held by mail ballot, the results of which shall be certified to the Association by the Executive Committee.
Proposed:
| 4. - Quorum.
(A) Forty voting members in good standing shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business of the Association. (B) In case the attendance of forty voting members cannot be engaged by a date one week in advance of the annual meeting, or if a quorum is not obtained at an annual meeting, the election of officers shall be held by mail ballot, the results of which shall be certified to the Association by the Executive Committee. |
Specific Election Issues
We had separated the issues before us in two categories. Those involving:
1. Election of officers
2. Voting on motions
However, with the adoption of Robert's Rules, we found solutions, which effectively bridge these two areas.
Election of Officers
1. "Proxy" - [Constitution]
Present
Article V - Proxies
(A) General proxies shall not be recognized, but members not able to attend any meeting shall have the privilege of filing with the Secretary their votes for officers and upon specific questions upon which they may desire to record a vote in case such questions may be brought before the meeting. Any such vote in writing, except for officers, will be subject to challenge by any member present as to its applicability to the question before the Association, and it may be thrown out by a majority of the votes of the members actually present, if not deemed pertinent to the question under consideration.
Commentary:
"Proxy" is the wrong word usage. Proxy means one has appointed someone else to vote for them. The intent here is for an "absentee" vote.
Robert's advises us:
"ABSENTEE VOTING. It is a fundamental principle of parliamentary law that the right to vote is limited to the members of an organization who are actually present at the time the vote is taken in a legal meeting, although it should be noted that a member need not be present when the question is put. Exceptions to this rule must be expressly stated in the bylaws. Such possible exceptions include: (a) voting by postal or electronic mail, or facsimile transmission (fax), and (b) proxy voting. An organization should never adopt a procedure in which the votes of persons who attend a meeting are counted together with ballots mailed in by absentees. The votes of those present could be affected by debate, by amendments, and perhaps by the need for repeated balloting, while those absent would be unable to adjust their votes to reflect these factors. Consequently, the absentee ballots would in most cases be on a somewhat different question than that on which those present were voting, leading to confusion, unfairness, and inaccuracy in determining the result. If there is a possibility of any uncertainty about who will be entitled to vote, this should be spelled out unambiguously and strictly enforced to avoid unfairness in close votes." RONR (10th ed.), pp. 408-409 [Emphasis ours]
Proposed new language:
| "Article V – Proxies &
Absentee Voting
(A) General proxies and absentee ballots shall not be recognized." |
We found that all/any of us would move immediately to nullify any absentee/proxy ballot which would come in related to any question before the Association no matter what the position for the reasons stated above by Robert's. As for the election of officers, we have a comprehensive solution, which will be detailed.
2. Nominating Committee
We have researched through as many old Annual Reports which were immediately available to us (which are now placed on the Association web site and make for interesting reading) and discovered that it has generally been the tradition of the Association to have a Nominating Committee, even if that were a committee of one member. Of course, often that person would simply present a list given him/her by the Executive Committee, but nonetheless we have a good precedent which we believe needs to be instituted on a more formal basis with some modifications in respect to other committees.
"NOMINATIONS BY COMMITTEE. In the election of officers of an ordinary society, nominations often are made by a nominating committee. Usually in such cases a nominating committee is chosen in advance to submit nominations for the various offices for which elections are to be held at the annual meeting.
Designation of the Nominating Committee. The nominating committee should be elected by the organization wherever possible, or else by its executive board. Although in organizing a new society it may be feasible for the chair to appoint the nominating committee, in an organized society the president should not appoint this committee or be a member of it – ex officio or otherwise. The bylaws may provide that "the President shall appoint all committees except the Nominating Committee" and that "the President shall be ex officio a member of all committees except the Nominating Committee"; the exception should not be omitted in either case.
Nominees. Although it is not common for the nominating committee to nominate more than one candidate for any office, the committee can do so unless the bylaws prohibit it. It is usually not sound to require the committee to nominate more than one candidate for each office, since the committee can easily circumvent such a provision by nominating only one person who has any chance of being elected (see also p. 431)
Members of the nominating committee are not barred from becoming nominees for office themselves. To make such a requirement would mean, first, that service on the nominating committee carried a penalty by depriving its members of one of their privileges; and second, that appointment or election to the nominating committee could be used to prevent a member from becoming a nominee.
It is desirable policy for the nominating committee, before making its report, to contact each person whom it wishes to nominate, in order to obtain his acceptance of nomination – that is, his assurance that he will serve in the specified office if elected. The bylaws can make such a practice mandatory.
Report of the Nominating Committee. The time at which the nominating committee's report is made is a matter to be determined by rule or established custom of the particular organization – depending on its own conditions. In some societies this report is not formally presented to the voting body until the election is pending; but in any organization where advance interest in the election may develop, the nominations submitted by the committee should be made known to the membership earlier. These nominations can be mailed to all members, for example, several days before the regular meeting – usually the election meeting itself – at which the chair calls for additional nominations from the floor (see below). The report should always be formally presented at a regular meeting, even if the names of the committee's nominees have been transmitted to the members of the society beforehand. Sometimes – in societies that hold frequent regular meetings – the nominating committee's report is presented at the regular meeting preceding the annual meeting (9) at which the election is to take place.
…
A minority within a nominating committee, as a group, may propose other nominees for some or all of the offices in any case where nominations from the floor are permitted.
A nominating committee is automatically discharged when its report is formally presented to the assembly, although if one of the nominees withdraws before the election, the committee is revived and should meet immediately to agree upon another nomination if there is time.
Call by the Chair for Further Nominations from the Floor. After the nominating committee has presented its report and before voting for the different offices takes place, the chair must call for further nominations from the floor. This is another stage of nomination and election procedure for which a number of details should be established by rule or custom of the particular organization. In many organizations, nominations from the floor are called for immediately after the nominating committee's report – while the election is pending or earlier. …" RONR (10th ed.), p.419-421.
The earlier quote from Robert's about not mixing absentee voting with votes of those present is now shown by our own experience to be quite wise. Our current Constitution & By-laws now allow absentee voting and nominations from the floor. This is a flaw in our procedures, which was used in our last Annual Meeting. Keep in mind that our Constitution & By-laws take precedence over Robert's.
This is why it is the committee's desire to move towards a system where we have only nominations by committee and from the floor with no absentee voting. Once again, it is a principle in deliberative assemblies that only those attending should be voting.
The Nominating Committee can receive nominations from the membership at large prior to an Annual Meeting and can produce multiple nominations for an office or offices.
Proposals:
Short Term:
|
These measures will be used until the "Long-Term" recommendation has been implemented.
Long Term
1. Constitution change.
(See discussion of Amending the Constitution below)
Article V
Present:
Article V - Proxies
(A) General proxies shall not be recognized, but members not able to attend any meeting shall have the privilege of filing with the Secretary their votes for officers and upon specific questions upon which they may desire to record a vote in case such questions may be brought before the meeting. Any such vote in writing, except for officers, will be subject to challenge by any member present as to its applicability to the question before the Association, and it may be thrown out by a majority of the votes of the members actually present, if not deemed pertinent to the question under consideration."
Proposed:
"Article V – Proxies & Absentee Voting
(A) General proxies and absentee ballots shall not be recognized."
2. By-laws - Addition
Section 8-Committees
Resolved, that the By-laws be amended as follows:
8. - Committees.
(A) Standing Committees of the Association shall be as follows, the members and chairmen thereof being appointed annually by the President, subject to the limitations established by these By-laws.
(B) A Committee of Interments; to consist of the Custodian (ex officio) and not less than two nor more than four other members who shall serve for one-year terms. The Committee on Interments shall undertake to determine space allotments in the graveyard desired by individuals and family groups, and shall advise members regarding locations for interments, to guide them in accordance with stated policy of the Association, and to promote an orderly and desirable plan of the graveyard. It shall make a report annually to the Association.
(C) A Membership Committee; to consist of a Chairman, the Secretary (ex officio), the Treasurer (ex officio), the Historian (ex officio), and such other members as may be necessary. The Membership Committee shall work to interest eligible persons in the Association and to encourage them to enroll as members. It shall make nominations at the annual meetings for election of associate members, and it shall make a report annually to the Association.
(D) A Nominating Committee; to consist of a Chairman, and not less than two nor more than four other members who shall serve for on-year terms. The Nominating Committee shall be appointed by the Executive Committee.
(E) On Standing Committees, ex officio members shall not serve as chairmen; appointed members may be re-appointed.
(F) The President may, from time to time, appoint temporary committees as needed.
Voting on Motions
The same recommendation regarding proxies as outlined above also holds for voting on motions before the Association.
Voting on motions will normally follow the guidelines in Robert's Rules which also has been the practice of our Association since its inception.
"Business is brought before an assembly by the motion of a member. A motion may itself bring its subject to the assembly's attention, or the motion may follow upon the presentation of a report or other communication.
A motion is a formal proposal by a member, in a meeting, that the assembly take certain action. The proposed action may be of a substantive nature, or it may express a certain view or direct that a particular investigation be conducted and the findings reported to the assembly for possible further action, or the like"
…
The vote on a motion is normally taken by voice (or viva voce), unless under certain conditions, it is taken by rising or … by a show of hands." RONR (10th ed.), p.26,43
Amending the By-laws
One exception is in amending the By-laws. Our constitution states:
9. - Amendments.
(A) These By-laws may be amended by a two-thirds affirmative vote of the voting members in good standing at any duly called meetings of the Association at which a quorum is present. Such amendment shall become effective three months after such affirmative vote, which shall be announced by the President.
Amending the Constitution
Another important exception is in the event that a motion comes before the Association requiring a change in our Constitution. Constitutional changes require an affirmative vote of a majority of the voting members of the Association.
Article VI - Amendment
(A) Amendments to the Constitution shall require the affirmative vote in writing of a majority of the voting members of the Association. Such amendment shall become effective three months after the affirmative vote of such majority, which shall be announced by the President.
Substantial Issues
From time to time, the Association may deal with substantial issues drawing the attention of the entire membership including those not able to attend an Annual Meeting. We propose in such instances that a "Special Rule of Order" be adopted requiring any "Substantial Issue" decisions, including constitutional amendments, be placed before the entire membership as the interest in such questions does extend to every member. Such a "Special Rule of Order" would require a two-thirds majority approval of the members present at an annual meeting for passage. (See RONR p. 15-17) Essentially, the Committee felt that "Substantial Issue" decisions should not be made solely by the small percentage of the membership able to attend the annual meetings.
Sample Special Rule of Order:
Resolved, that any decisions regarding [insert substantial issue] be placed before and be voted upon by the entire membership. A majority vote of all current members in good standing is necessary for passage.
We ask that the Executive Committee approve these recommendations and move expeditiously to implement the procedures for the short-term.
Further, we ask that the final report of this committee be made available to the general membership as soon as possible so that the membership may be fully informed as to our recommendations and proposals in advance of the Annual Meeting. While we feel strongly that fairness and order in our Annual Meetings is necessary, it is not our desire to take up an inordinate amount time at the next Annual Meeting with these particular issues. Therefore, we desire to make ourselves available in the mean time to answer any questions or concerns our cousins may have in order that these procedures may be expeditiously discussed and decided upon.
Please direct all questions to the chairman of the Election Procedures Committee.
David Works, Chairman
John Esser
John Hubard
Robert Eppes