other regular Masonic body other than those stated. The Code has two primary chapters that describe the process of voting in subordinate lodges. Nominees do not have to leave the room during the nominations, when the vote is taken, or when the vote is counted. A member has the right to vote until the polls are closed. << /ProcSet [ /PDF /Text /ImageB /ImageC /ImageI ] /ColorSpace << /Cs1 7 0 R endobj Motions to close nominations are usually unnecessary because the nomination process simply continues until no one wishes to make further nominations. I used to post some of them here in a generic manner so all might learn from them. A Lodge supporting this vital outreach of the Foundation, will be properly noted. If there is a question about the way a ballot is marked, the ballot counters should take it to the presiding officer. collect the ballots, the Deacons approach the altar, pick up the hats, To help with the Masonic experience at Lodge meetings, you were allowed to open on any degree, and use the Chamber Because fraud does happen in the election process, members need to be alert and watchful of the election process. If the committee does its job well, the membership can enjoy some basic assurance that the candidates nominated have at least expressed interest in the job, have agreed to serve, and are qualified for the offices for which they're nominated. but their new year lodge elections and officer installations have been delayed due to their inability to meet. A parade of misfortunes had culminated by forcing potato planter Fred Jensen to stop his cross-country dash 85 miles short of his destination. majority of those voting being necessary for election, and the Worshipful REG. hbbd``b`n@` ! The person who gets the most votes may not have a majority of the votes. visiting brother take his place so that the tiler may cast his If it's determined that enough illegal votes were cast by illegal voters to affect the result, and these votes can't be identified and removed from the count, then the vote is deemed null and must be retaken. << /Length 5 0 R /Filter /FlateDecode >> places. xU]o@|_cZR%q"b$*/}E(k nK6hb'_ D(|}5Dsq PBY%_'Dru.{,dW9PeOw9 d6!=#3r/iby+4C~9^-GT.d Suggested Procedure For Electing Lodge Officers. 2 0 obj Voting machines having wedges inserted to prevent the lever from going down all the way. {V++6o <>`ulr<>[lLDdTVVQ4Mt{<1iz;E endobj A member shouldn't offer more than one nomination to a position if there are several seats for the same office such as for nominees to a board or a committee until all other members have had the opportunity to make nominations. If the ballot vote decides an election, you're instructed to write the name of the nominee of your choice on your ballot. WM: "The brethren of ____________ Lodge No. You simply say, "Mr. Chairman, I move that the chair appoint a committee of three to consider and make recommendations on the replacement of Mr. Exeter, who has resigned as chairman of the membership committee." And whenever you want to specify when nominations can be made, you use a motion to open or close nominations. Jewels of Masonic Secretary The Secretary's official duties include issuing the summons (a formal notice of an impending meeting, with time, date and agenda), recording meeting minutes, completing statistical returns to the Grand Lodge, and advising the Worshipful Master on matters of procedure. altar. Lodge elections are performed via a Masonic Ballot Box. <> _____ stream If members adjourn before an election is complete, they should set the time for an adjourned meeting to finish the election. Elections are decided by majority vote unless your bylaws provide differently. The Master may approve a collective ballot if there 1 0 obj %%EOF JavaScript is disabled. If a member leaves one part blank, the votes entered on the other questions still count. He or she should present it to the assembly to decide what to do with the vote - whether to count it and toward what name to credit the vote. (1) A District Grand Lodge Fund shall be established for charitable and other Masonic purposes to which every Lodge in the District shall make in respect of each of its subscribing members annual contributions of $5000.00 or such lesser amount as the District Grand Lodge shall by resolution from time to time determine. By signing a petition for the formation of a new lodge, [ Chapter 39] 2. Join a brotherhood of over 2,000,000 men of all ages, from all races, religions, and countries, and from all walks of life. The bylaws should not tie the hands of the committee to find more than one person to fill each slot; the committee should find the best candidate for each office. <> 10 0 obj ojx&^ 64>"> |&`mkG l[o;5``ek l[;5zk Vhp 5Pq_t.Z1lhp3M \H{Tl nF$UkavOv1nT#-`mkp;m ~l 3ohG nF_..}$38~?g}z+O}?.]7?"kR7tFWo'E^ "EJ*F/'NPTAT,4)/ItJl8KgHC#unG &;iL-;G[_gC 6{-sMIa{vN_CwNeCE +]`7)$k,2? Secretary prepares ballots for each position to be elected. Since it is the obligation of every brother of the If someone is not willing to serve, the committee needs to meet again and find another candidate. The following shall be the methods of affiliation: 1. Masonic Lodges, Masonic Organizations, and Youth Orders may conduct in-person meetings and events in compliance with county and city restrictions, if any. Only one (1) official website per Lodge will be recognized by the Grand Lodge and linked to by the Grand Lodge of Georgia's website. Ballot counters present during the voting should be carefully instructed in their duties and should be able to explain to other members how to use the machine. The only way you can vote against a candidate is to vote for another person. If anyone is elected, and it is discovered after the election that the person is not eligible, the election of that officer is null and void. When the secretary prepares the eligibility list for the meeting, only those members who are willing to serve are on the list. endobj Announce that you are about to conduct the election of Lodge officers for the ensuing Masonic year and state that you will now accept nominations for the office of WM. Tradition holds that the Master of the lodge appoint a committee of three (usually Past Masters) to serve as a Tellers Committee. All business is done in a MM lodge. Take security measures to protect the privacy of the nominating ballot; each member is instructed to fold his or her ballot inside a signed envelope and mail it back in an outer envelope. Doing this may allow an unpopular or hand-picked candidate to get the office even though he or she was not elected. <> 6. Depending on your organization and the decisions being made, balloting may take place during a meeting, or polls may be open during polling periods including times when no meeting is in progress. Same in NM amd OR. The committee should meet, carefully review the membership list, and select the people who they think will do the best job in each office. The organization must have another election. Chairman of Nominating Committee: Madam President, the nominating committee submits the following nominations: for president, Alex Shaw; for vice president, Bianca Fernandez; for secretary, Raymond Platt; and for treasurer, Donna Agnese. LODGE VISITATION - A PRIVILEGE. Sometimes the committee is revived to make nominations to fill vacancies. endstream endobj startxref At the Worshipful Masters order the Stewards In counting the votes, the balloting committee must not confuse a majority vote with the highest number of votes. It is for informational purposes only and does not necessarily reflect the views 1. 3 0 obj endobj 3. Master informs the successful individual as follows: "Brother (The chair usually just announces the opening of nominations at the appointed time when they are in order. If not, Brother If your bylaws don't require you to conduct an election by ballot, and if candidates are unopposed or there's no major contest for an office, you can save time with a simple voice vote (or viva voce). JFIF C If a person is elected to two different positions, she can either choose which office to accept or serve in more than one position, if that's allowed. Another problematic practice to watch out for is nominating someone for office who is not eligible. endobj HWG l!$"' g]9=3>3U}Zo.wjyiQo?\>,:lFYE#q IBZ.rwi/A%f_N'_LDX "If so, I declare the This method is applicable when, Appointing members to committees, if specified in the motion creating the committee, or if prescribed in the bylaws, Electing a presiding officer in a mass meeting. Lodge No. If not, the members can vote again during that meeting for another candidate. At the end of each successful vote the ballots A motion to close nominations is usually not necessary unless it is apparent that members are nominating people just to honor them, and that the nominees have no intention of serving. Illegal votes are, Two or more marked ballots folded together (together they count as only one illegal vote). Two top hats are placed on the kneeling pad at foot of altar. rejection. If no candidate is found, the committee can leave that slot open for nominations from the floor. Register a free account today to become a member! For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. Masonic Lodge Election Procedure HB89 - Tightens the time frames for issuance of firearms licenses by probate judges. * (rap once). *.MXPY!~@Aa%^ N&4D1la`:v@Ai,^t #. My Freemasonry | Freemason Information and Discussion Forum. After the person elected to office assumes the position, it is too late to nullify an illegal election. The Grand Lodge was founded shortly after George I, the first Hanoverian king of the Kingdom of Great Britain, ascended to the throne on 1 August 1714 and the end of the first Jacobite rising of 1715.. Officially, the Grand Lodge of England was founded in London on St. John the Baptist's day, 24 June 1717, when four existing Lodges gathered at the Goose and Gridiron Ale-house in St. Paul's . Magazines Online] My Freemasonry | Freemason Information and Discussion Forum. endstream When nominations are taken from the floor or when a nominating ballot is used, a good practice is to provide the members with an eligibility list so that they are not nominating people who will not be able to serve. Development] [Education] [Masonic [ 11 0 R] The brother responds. gjzUS&31+W&nck')*Uf{|mON6E4GKIpFT(o o.RJ MXqy-) MR I've never performed or even practiced the role before, though via "osmosis," should be able to piece it together to at least a minimally functional level. These elections happen in the end of the year to elect the following years leadership team. Achieve this by asking them to hang out with you. Every day , before I retired, I would receive a wide variety of questions and comments from Constituent Lodge Secretaries and other officers, many of which are quite applicable to other lodges. or opinion It's never proper to drop the candidates receiving the lowest vote totals from a ballot unless they withdraw voluntarily. Ballot voting is the preferred voting method in situations in which knowing how all the members voted isn't desirable. Freemasonry's Requirements for Membership. If the motion is adopted, the assembly can adjourn before the vote is announced if it has another meeting scheduled. 10. Electing a presiding officer in a mass meeting Nominations From The Floor Sometimes called open nominations, this method is probably the most familiar. However, calling nominations from your seat is often impractical, so you may want to adopt a more formal nomination process. It varies! ___________, you have been elected to serve as ____________ of [Articles] [Masonic If you become a Free Mason, you will: Join both the oldest and the largest fraternity in the world. 9 0 obj Persons serving on the committee can be nominated for office. Blogs] [Links] It is considered a faux pas to cross . <> In Freemasonry, a brother's word is of paramount importance, so revealing the secrets of the ceremonies and rituals within the lodge after reciting the Masonic Oath is not permitted. distribute the ballots for the first position to be voted upon. petition(s) of _______________ for the degrees of Freemasonry, It is important to remember that once someone is elected, the election can't be rescinded unless there is some provision for it in the bylaws. <>>> stream Masonic Lodge Officer Duties For Their Term in Office: 1 Year Appointed Lodge Officer Positions: The other officers, which include the Senior Deacon, Junior Deacon, Senior Steward, Junior Steward, Marshal, Tiler and Chaplain are appointed positions by the Worshipful Master. If the organization uses a nominating committee and then takes nominations from the floor, the secretary records the nominating committee's report first and then lists nominations for each office in the order they are presented as given by the members from the floor. Chapter 63 covers general voting and Chapter 68 covers the secret ballot. No officer of a Masonic lodge may take up his elected or appointed duties until formally installed to his office by proper authority. Your members may wind up voting for Mr. Low as the compromise candidate. %PDF-1.3 endobj Small technical errors, such as spelling mistakes or marking an X when a checkmark is called for, don't make a vote illegal as long as the voter's intent is discernible. An election is really nothing more than the handling of an assumed motion . At the Worshipful Master s order the Stewards distribute the ballots for the first position to be voted upon. TURNING YOUR BACK: Never turn one's back on the Master to address the lodge without first-receiving permission The committee must carefully review the eligibility requirements for each office and see that the nominees meet these requirements. of Freemasonry, nor webmaster nor those of any Or, members can also finish the election at the next regular meeting if the meeting falls within a quarterly time period. mistake.". 75-3 METHODS OF AFFILIATION. Usually the president closes nominations when no further nominations come forward from the assembly. shall be immediately retaken, when, if a blackball again appears, the <> I've never see a script or outline, but it should proceed as follows: That sounds like the CA required verbiage. Crossing the G. In most grand lodge jurisdictions, rituals call for an altar to be placed in the center of the lodge room holding the respective Volume of Sacred Law. Senior Deacon,", WM: "Prepare and present the ballot box.". One example occurs if a person is elected and then resigns, the office is considered vacant, and the president or board fills it by appointment instead of having another election. The election of lodge officers is an annual event, specified in the lodge bylaws. a portion or all of the petition(s) reread? When called on to give the report, the chairman of the nominating committee states the nominations for each office. WM: "Have all of the brethren of _______________ 292, elections may be held in a lodge opened in an EA as long as there is an EA attending. Club elections and officers are an integral part of the organization and must be conducted according to the group's bylaws and rules. In Europe, it takes often a year, to advance per degree. (rap). Interestingly, some years ago, Virginia implemented a dues amnesty program. <>/ExtGState<>/Font<>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text/ImageB/ImageC/ImageI] >>/MediaBox[ 0 0 612 792] /Contents 4 0 R/Group<>/Tabs/S/StructParents 0>> As Masons, we hone our skills to apply their use, improving ourselves daily. Fund raising is underway. vote. Sometimes there is a split in the nominating committee over who to nominate. No one should be nominated without his or her consent because, if elected, the person may decline to serve and members will have to hold another election. If a person has been nominated to more than one office and is elected to two offices, he or she can choose which office he or she wants. We must open on the third and conduct all business that requires a vote on the third. Customarily (although it's not required), the chair accomplishes this by calling three times for more nominations. After the brethren have cast their ballots. A person can nominate himself or herself. Votes cast by illegal voters must not be counted at all, not even included in the number of total votes cast. Books Online] [E-Books] [Library Of j]Ic[faPhgcP0U0.!boS/]9[[3+:;:+:Q1DX. appears the ballot shall be immediately retaken, and if a blackball I guess that would depend on the jurisdiction. The Senior Deacon presents the ballot to each officer Depending on the Grand Lodge, this can be anywhere from 18 to 25. The only exceptions are: (1) a newly instituted lodge, (2) one that has received written approval from the General Governor, based upon membership action, or (3) an emergency situation requiring the election to be changed or waived. Robert's Rules sets out several methods of making nominations for positions: An organization can nominate candidates in several ways: This method is used whenever the membership wants to rely on the presiding officer to recommend candidates but also wants to reserve for itself (or its designee, such as the board of directors) the approval of the nominee.