[Nfbf-l] Important: Submitted for your Approval -- Proposed Constitutional Amendment.

[Cathy Koyanagi]

Parliamentary law is a delicate balance between the rights of the 
majority, the rights of a sizeable minority (one-third) and the rights 
of the individual.  What is being proposed here takes something 
typically reserved as an individual right (the calling for a secret 
ballot) and makes it a right of the majority, instead.
This can be a problem because it has the possibility of affecting the 
outcome of an election.    For instance, an incoming president (or any 
other officer) of an organization may act differently towards someone 
whom he knows has voted against him or her in an election.  Therefore, 
a person who will be running for lower office might avoid voting 
against someone with whom they may later have conflicts with because of 
their vote being public.  They may abstain from voting or even vote for 
someone they don’t really want to win.  This is one example why the 
right to ask for a secret ballot is typically preserved as an 
individual right, not a majority right.
All organizations have to deal with the amount of time motions, 
elections (and secret ballots) take, and they find a way to do it.  The 
key is to find ways to improve the way secret ballots are handled and 
counted, not to start eliminating individual rights for expediency.
Cathy-Alice Koyanagi and David Clarke
Palm Beach County



Original message:
> Fellow NFBF Members,



> As Rod Serling used to say in the beginning minutes of "The Twilight Zone,"
> 'Submitted for your approval."



> Some of you may recall that at our 2011 NFBF Convention, we approved an
> amendment to the constitution which changed and simplified the way chapters
> designate their representatives.



> During this convention, I mentioned another amendment that I wish to see
> passed, and will be voted on at this year's convention.





> ARTICLE IV:  ELECTIONS



> Now reads:



> ARTICLE IV:  ELECTIONS



> Elections shall be conducted by a majority vote of the active members
> present and voting at an annually held business meeting.  Election shall be
> by voice vote, standing vote, show of hands, roll call vote, or secret
> ballot.  Secret marked ballots shall be required upon the request of any
> active member present and voting.  There shall be no proxy voting.  If no
> nominee receives a majority vote on the first ballot, the name of the person
> receiving the fewest votes shall be dropped from the list of nominees, and a
> second ballot shall be taken.  This procedure shall continue until one of
> the nominees has received a majority vote from the active members present
> and voting.





>  Proposed Change:



> ARTICLE IV:  ELECTIONS



> Elections shall be conducted by a majority vote of the active members
> present and voting at an annually held business meeting.  Election shall be
> by voice vote, standing vote, show of hands, roll call vote, or secret
> ballot.  Secret marked ballots shall be required upon the request of a
> majority of the active member present and voting.  There shall be no proxy
> voting.  If no nominee receives a majority vote on the first ballot, the
> name of the person receiving the fewest votes shall be dropped from the list
> of nominees, and a second ballot shall be taken.  This procedure shall
> continue until one of the nominees has received a majority vote from the
> active members present and voting.



> I am putting this out now so that we can talk about it and debate its merits
> via NFBF-L before the start of convention.



> Let me just say that we spend something like 45 minutes each convention
> passing out, collecting, and counting secret ballots at our conventions.
> This year, the number of offices up for vote could make this time grow to an
> hour or more. We usually have about 120 people voting the final day of
> convention. That's 120 collective hours - the equivalent of five twenty-four
> hour days - of valuable convention time that we waste on a procedure which a
> majority of us may not want.



> Please note that my proposed amendment does not eliminate secret balloting;
> it just changes our constitution to call for a secret ballot only if the
> majority of the members present and voting wish to have it.



> Please take a look at this and give it your consideration. Feel free to
> share your thoughts.



> Dan Hicks, President

> NFB of Florida





> "It's a shallow life that doesn't give a person a few scars."


>                                                      -Garrison Keillor





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