[NFBV-Announce] Proposed 2021 NFBV State Convention Principles of Engagement

Wed Aug 4 03:05:18 UTC 2021

>From Tracy Soforenko, President

Hi Virginia Federationists,

In the National Federation of the Blind of Virginia, the state convention is
the governing body of our organization. In our constitution, we identify
procedural expectations about how we do the work of our movement.

For our hybrid 2021 convention, we are proposing  the below principles of
engagement. This topic will be discussed  at the August 7 Board meeting.

The document is also attached.

Proposed 2021 State Convention Principles of Engagement

Nothing in these rules of engagement is intended to change Article IV,
Section 2 of the National Federation of the Blind of Virginia's (NFBV)
constitution. The Convention remains "the supreme authority of the NFBV. It
is the legislature of the NFBV . As such, it has final authority with
respect to all issues of policy. Chapter board delegates and members in
attendance may participate in all convention discussions as a matter of
right. Any member of the NFBV may make or second motions [and] propose
nominations." These procedures simply implement the method for following the
constitution in a hybrid or electronic convention.

The below principles and procedures are intended to provide clarity and
advanced notice on how the convention will be managed in 2021.

This document will be read at the NFBV board meeting on Saturday, August 7
and then a second time on Saturday, October 30 during the General Session.
The intention is for it to be voted on the morning of October 30. Those
eligible to vote on this proposal will be any enrolled voters present and
voting at the session on October 30 as described below.

A subcommittee of the Board of Directors comprising those who are not
standing for election this year shall deal with questions and issues of
credentials for voting. The subcommittee will include: Patrick Johnson of
the At-Large Chapter and Mausam Mehta, Recording Secretary, from the
Virginia Association of Blind Students.

Voting

1. Every member in good standing who registered for the convention by
Friday, October 8, 2021 by 11:59 PM, will be offered an opportunity to
enroll in the NFBV21 voting system by providing a voting phone number in
their registration. All voters must be enrolled by Friday, October 8, 2021,
at 11:59 p.m. EDT.

2. All individuals who are paid members, are registered for the convention,
and who opt into the voter enrollment system by the specified time, will
constitute the pool of convention voters.

3. All voting will be done electronically. A system will be identified that
is as inclusive as possible for all members. The exact procedure will be
published no later than Friday, October 1.

4. Any matter must receive 51 percent support of the votes cast by the
convention voters present and voting in order to be affirmed.

5. Present and voting will mean the subset of convention voters who actually
cast a vote on a given question. Thus, voters who are indifferent to a
matter cannot block its consideration by the Convention by choosing not to
cast a vote.

6. All votes will be allocated two minutes for vote time.

7. After two minutes, if the outcome to the question under consideration is
unclear, the chair will poll the chapter board delegates by voice vote for a
definitive outcome.

8. If voting indicates 75 percent support for or against a question prior to
the two-minute period elapsing, the chair may elect to move to the next
order of business.

9. An opportunity to practice voting will be offered in the convention on a
question that has no impact on the policy of the organization.

Motions and Nominations from the Floor

1. Only National Federation of the Blind of Virginia board delegates will be
able to make motions, second motions, and nominate candidates from the floor
during the convention.

2. Should a member of a delegation wish to make a motion or nominate a
member for election by the Convention, their board delegate must bring it
forward on their behalf.

3. A member may petition another chapter board delegate to support their
motion, especially if the delegate from their own chapter will not support
the motion.

Resolutions

1. Resolutions to be presented to the Convention must proceed through the
resolutions committee process as usual.

2. Resolutions being recommended to the Convention by the committee will be
posted to the web at

http://www.nfbv.org/resolutions

by 8:00 p.m. EDT or three hours after the committee meeting (whichever is
later) on Friday, October 29, 2021.

3. Those wishing to speak for or against a resolution on the floor of the
Convention must submit their interest in doing so by sending an email to
resolutions at nfbv.org <mailto:resolutions at nfbv.org>  by 5:30 p.m. EDT on
Saturday, October 30. The email must contain the individual's full name,
chapter name, the number of the resolution they wish to discuss, whether
they are for or against the resolution, and a phone number where they can
best be reached in case there is an issue with the Zoom platform.

4. Reminders will be given at each of the general sessions prior to the
deadline regarding the above process.

5. In determining the amount of debate a resolution requires, the chair may
use the Zoom polling option to get a sense of the crowd, ask the chapter
board delegates for their feeling on cutting off the debate, or engage some
other strategy outside of the voting system to gauge the sense of the
Convention. 

Tracy Soforenko

President, National Federation of the Blind of Virginia

202 285-4595

Tracy.soforenko at gmail.com <mailto:Tracy.soforenko at gmail.com> 

www.nfb.org <http://www.nfb.org> 

www.nfbv.org <http://www.nfbv.org> 

National Federation of the Blind. Live the Life You Want

The National Federation of the Blind is a community of members and friends
who believe in the hopes and dreams of the nation's blind. Every day we work
together to help blind people live the lives they want.

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