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

[David Evans]

Dear Joe,

The request for a secret ballot is not dependent on the majority wanting it, 
but the single member who request it.
We can not just over ride the Constitution without making a change to the 
constitution.
It then has to be reviewed by the state board and then approved by the 
National Board as well
It can then be instituted at the next state convention and not the one in 
which it was voted on.

Maybe the state needs to hold a Constitutional Convention just to discuss 
this issue and to pass some changes that can be brought to the National and 
then back to the state convention to be voted on.
It will take some time, but we must follow the process.  There are no short 
cuts.

David Evans, NFBF
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Joe Minichiello" <jbmini at comcast.net>
To: "'NFB of Florida Internet Mailing List'" <nfbf-l at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Sunday, May 20, 2012 12:00 PM
Subject: Re: [Nfbf-l] Important: Submitted for your Approval --Proposed 
Constitutional Amendment.


>I agree with the proposed change. I think if that a majority should call 
>for
> a secret vote we should have the vote. I think we can determine who people
> are voting for through a voice vote when we have multiple people running. 
> I
> agree that we should determine our leaders individually, but we can save
> time. We can still use a secret ballot if necessary. Joe Minichiello
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nfbf-l-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfbf-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On 
> Behalf
> Of Dan Hicks
> Sent: Saturday, May 19, 2012 1:47 PM
> To: 'NFB of Florida Internet Mailing List'
> Subject: [Nfbf-l] Important: Submitted for your Approval -- Proposed
> Constitutional Amendment.
>
> 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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