<< /ProcSet [ /PDF /Text /ImageB /ImageC /ImageI ] /ColorSpace << /Cs1 7 0 R Cell phones, chewing gum, crinkly snack wrappers and other distractions should be disallowed during a fraternity election (except during breaks). Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox! 6. By establishing plural membership in a North Carolina time immemorial. endstream endobj 34 0 obj <>>>/Metadata 18 0 R/Pages 31 0 R/Type/Catalog>> endobj 35 0 obj <>/ExtGState<>/Font<>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text]>>/Rotate 0/Type/Page>> endobj 36 0 obj <>stream Freemasonry, the teachings and practices of the fraternal (men-only) order of Free and Accepted Masons, the largest worldwide secret societyan oath-bound society, often devoted to fellowship, moral discipline, and mutual assistance, that conceals at least some of its rituals, customs, or activities from the public (secret societies do not 98% sure that it is. Ballot counters should cast their ballots at the same time that the assembly votes. accept?" 0 These elections happen in the end of the year to elect the following years leadership team. It's never proper to drop the candidates receiving the lowest vote totals from a ballot unless they withdraw voluntarily. It's never in order to vote Yes or No (or For or Against) a candidate when electing persons to office. <> A parade of misfortunes had culminated by forcing potato planter Fred Jensen to stop his cross-country dash 85 miles short of his destination. [What is New] 234 0 obj <> endobj 6 0 obj No matter which procedure you use, the order in which you take up each election is the order in which the offices are listed in your bylaws. If an elected candidate declines the office after he or she is elected and after the meeting has adjourned, another election needs to take place, if at all possible. You have to fill out and file with the Lodge Secretary a Petition for the Degrees of Freemasonry, pay the required fee, and attach a copy of your birth certificate. Motions to close nominations are usually unnecessary because the nomination process simply continues until no one wishes to make further nominations. 5 0 obj You must come recommended by at least two existing Freemasons from the lodge you're petitioning. [Articles] [Masonic Club elections and officers are an integral part of the organization and must be conducted according to the group's bylaws and rules. At the Worshipful Master s order the Stewards distribute the ballots for the first position to be voted upon. The appointive officers of the Grand Lodge, save the Deputy Grand Secretary, shall be If you had to move before you finished receiving the three degrees of the blue lodge, you'd need lodge B to perform courtesy work. JavaScript is disabled. The person who gets the most votes may not have a majority of the votes. According to Robert's Rules, a motion to close nominations is out of order as long as any member wishes to make a nomination. Nominations don't have to be seconded, but it's not out of order for members to second a nomination to signal their endorsement. If your assembly's members are accountable to a constituency, your rules may require you to conduct your elections by roll-call vote. 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. endstream and the Master may oblige him to do so. Secretarys table and put the ballots into one of the hats. If members are voting for offices that have staggered terms or that last more than a year, the secretary should include in the minutes when the term expires. 54 0 obj <>/Filter/FlateDecode/ID[]/Index[33 34]/Info 32 0 R/Length 100/Prev 87331/Root 34 0 R/Size 67/Type/XRef/W[1 2 1]>>stream A properly planned and executed meeting results in good participation. Whatever nomination method you propose, be specific. By signing a petition for the formation of a new lodge, [ Chapter 39] 2. It is considered a faux pas to cross . 10 0 obj Sent from my LG-H811 using My Freemasonry Pro mobile app. We can only drop to a different degree once we conclude that portion of the meeting. 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. endobj of Freemasonry, nor webmaster nor those of any If members don't understand exactly how it works, the ones whose preferred candidate doesn't get voted on are likely to think something is amiss. That job belongs to the presiding officer, who reads the report again to the members, concluding with a formal declaration of the result. This method of nominations is based on the principle of allowing all voters to make nominations for all offices by completing a nominating ballot. endobj The secretary should give the committee a copy of the membership list, the bylaws, a description of the duties of each office, and the eligibility requirements. rejection. Because fraud does happen in the election process, members need to be alert and watchful of the election process. A Lodge member who has held the highest office in the Lodge has for life a Masonic position of his own. again appears the petitioner shall be declared rejected, but he may at If someone is not willing to serve, the committee needs to meet again and find another candidate. If a member is not present to choose which office he or she wants to serve, the members vote on which office they want him or her to serve. endobj 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). The main advantage here is that it allows members to consider the election results of one office before proceeding to the election of another office. The Senior Deacon presents the ballot to each officer . Master. << /Length 5 0 R /Filter /FlateDecode >> report from the investigating committee. The following shall be the methods of affiliation: 1. the South? I've never see a script or outline, but it should proceed as follows: That sounds like the CA required verbiage. ;J @*Ix~6ia 023X85i=%/v')^KkHaQaA {DCAH ' 3. All business is done in a MM lodge. appears the ballot shall be immediately retaken, and if a blackball NOTE: This is only a suggested procedure. Your members may wind up voting for Mr. Low as the compromise candidate. I /8ZzeL%kxF~/a&MBkd/cK"zBARqG(/%:}4Q;l@)R^M,s;p Rx P~DV(GR,&Gj;v}yh/5F3ibD,eZJ 'xzwQ38/4b|T}R-g|7uhw 4!"icE)S7AEo Dud goes wide-eyed at hearing this and immediately leaves the lodge because he realizes he's been played by . As each nomination is received (assuming multiple candidates), ask each nominee "If elected, are you willing to serve?" %`y`aSW2.9]!BBI Westside Toastmasters is located in Los Angeles and Santa Monica, California. You take nominations from the floor for one office, and when no further nominations are forthcoming, you proceed to the balloting for that office. MAKE SURE YOU READ YOUR GRAND LODGE CODE! This saves time and allows for polling at a time and place other than a meeting. Every lodge is incorporated and required to have corporate officers. Work on making your brothers become better friends. <> endstream endobj startxref It will take you step by step through the election process, help you to identify your responsibilities during each step, and provide suggestions to make your job easier. or opinion Or, they can tell members publicly that they do not have a nominee for a certain office; this allows members to volunteer. 6. Lodge to vote, the Master should invite the tiler in and have a A newly raised Master . 10. In determining how long to hold the ballots before destroying them, your main consideration is the possibility of needing a recount. 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. Don't implement a new process to 450 lodges until it is . applicant shall be declared rejected. A member may for indecorous or unmasonic conduct be excluded from a single meeting of the lodge. 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. Register a free account today to become a member! Mail or absentee ballots not arriving on time or mysteriously disappearing when the time comes to count them. Decision Making For Dummies. once petition the same or any other Lodge in the jurisdiction. This method requires more time for the election process, making it probably best limited to smaller groups. Taking nominations by mail is basically the same as taking nominations by ballot. The Master then casts his own vote. Can't interrupt a speaker who has the floor or a member making a nomination, Requires a majority vote (except the motion to close nominations, which requires a two-thirds vote), Can be reconsidered if it's a negative vote to reopen nominations. These rules supersede the adopted parliamentary authority. When presenting the nominations or taking the vote for a list of offices, the president should follow the order of offices that appears in the bylaws. WB Christopher J. Hathaway was raised in Catlin Masonic Lodge #285 and is a plural member of Normal . Nomination by petition is another method of nomination by mail; provisions must be made for it in the bylaws, and standard forms must be provided to candidates and electors upon request. If a minority of the committee wishes to nominate someone else, the members in the minority can make the nomination when nominations are taken from the floor. If not, Brother ballot drawer is empty and that there are both white balls and black RESOLVED, that the Handbook of Masonic Law, Digest of Edicts, sec- Authors of Resolution: Bros. John F. tion on Perpetual Membership, pages Knox, Jr., P.M., W.H. <> However, we open the Lodge on the 3rd then call to refreshment, invite everyome in, after the ceremony the WM closes without form. endobj Brethren, I declare that you have The election of lodge officers is an annual event, specified in the lodge bylaws. HWG l!$"' g]9=3>3U}Zo.wjyiQo?\>,:lFYE#q IBZ.rwi/A%f_N'_LDX inviolably preserved. 4 0 obj 2. Here are things you can do to improve your fraternity while not being on a lodge officer: Strengthen the brotherhood - The foundation of brotherhood is the strength of the friendships between the brothers. To which Blaise replies "Yeah, 200 bucks is pretty steep.". These Masonic rituals represent three degrees which are taken in sequence. "30*5gDcJuk.w^m=12Ua&0cE'|H%KV L%|c]c0l;v=[, Cj+M 38xHDL\. 4. Any blue lodge that does not hold annual election of officers is considered irregular by most Grand Lodges. <> An "irregular lodge" can be described as the type of Lodge that does have a charter from a Grand Lodge, but other Grand Lodges do not recognize its Grand lodge. some brother of the Lodge other than the Secretary should tally and <> After the person elected to office assumes the position, it is too late to nullify an illegal election. Freemasons meet in a temple, which they call a "lodge", as that is where ancient stonemasons met when working on a church or cathedral Lodges are grouped by region, roughly in line with the old. Tradition holds that the Master of the lodge appoint a committee of three (usually Past Masters) to serve as a Tellers Committee. In a ballot vote, after the ballot counters have collected all the ballots, a member can make the motion to adjourn. Customarily (although it's not required), the chair accomplishes this by calling three times for more nominations. 9 0 obj Apply a check mark to indicate the choice wherever . The advanced tools of the editor will guide you through the editable PDF template. 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. Two top hats are placed on the kneeling pad at foot of altar. A motion to open nominations, when made by a member, is usually a motion to reopen nominations after they have been closed. 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." 2. of the District of Columbia Since it is the obligation of every brother of the Lodge to vote, the Master should invite the tiler in and have a visiting brother take his place so that the tiler may cast his vote. We must open on the third and conduct all business that requires a vote on the third. 2. If something doesn't quite add up, a member should question it during the meeting. Tradition holds that the Master of the lodge appoint a committee of three (usually Past Masters) to serve as a Tellers Committee. Sometimes the committee is revived to make nominations to fill vacancies. 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. Some practices to watch out for include: Ballot boxes being stuffed or written ballots being changed. Once you're a Master Mason, you've got a few options. The election (or rejection) of a candidate in a Masonic lodge is a secret ballot, and with few exceptions, must be completely unanimous. _____ and place it on the mistake.". These could lead The Constitution is clear on the proper procedure This method gives voters an idea of the group's preferences without holding an actual election. Fund raising is underway. endobj In this case, the members must vote again until one candidate receives a majority vote. ", JW: "Fair (cloudy) in the South, Worshipful. Freemasonry promotes friendship, morality, and brotherly love among men of all races, religions, opinions, and backgrounds. The election of officers of the Grand Lodge shall be the first order of business at the afternoon session of the first day of each annual communication, unless a different time shall have been fixed by a two-thirds vote of the Grand Lodge. the vote. *.MXPY!~@Aa%^ N&4D1la`:v@Ai,^t #. 127. A Lodge supporting this vital outreach of the Foundation, will be properly noted. Achieve this by asking them to hang out with you. <>/ExtGState<>/Font<>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text/ImageB/ImageC/ImageI] >>/MediaBox[ 0 0 612 792] /Contents 4 0 R/Group<>/Tabs/S/StructParents 0>> Brother Secretary conduct a roll call. If not, the members can vote again during that meeting for another candidate. 8. First, the Entered Apprentice Degree, second, the Fellow Craft Degree and finally, the Master Mason Degree. 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. Suddenly it's 3am. The duty of a nominating committee is to find the best candidate for each office. 15 0 obj The balloting committee can still count the ballots. . However, in some national organizations that meet yearly or biennially (every two years), this is difficult. 2. JFIF C endobj (The chair usually just announces the opening of nominations at the appointed time when they are in order. Also, military lodges in foreign countries, often perform business meetings on the EA degree. The bylaws of a charitable trust affiliated with a masonic lodge provide that its 9-member board consists of three "classes"of three, each class serving rotating three-year terms.

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