Post by MTD on Mar 19, 2004 0:27:10 GMT -6
I threatened (see campechesteel.proboards15.com/index.cgi?board=Division&action=display&thread=1079586617) Bylaw change proposals. Here is the 14th. It puts in writing, once and for all, who votes in Division votes. I'm sorry this one is so complicated but, as noted in the overview, part of the complication is so the USFA can change its Bylaws without making ours obsolete, and so we can have votes before February even though the USFA hasn't thought about how to handle them.
"Proposition 14": Clarify once and for all in the Division's own Bylaws who the Division allows to vote on divisional matters.
Overview:
The Bylaws do not specify which members of the Division are entitled to vote when there are votes involving members. The USFA Bylaws are also silent on the matter. The USFA Bylaws do refer to eligibility to vote, but in one case refer generically without clarifying whether national votes or local votes are covered, and in another case explicitly specify applicability to national votes. Nonetheless, common practice, including common practice in this Division, is to use the USFA's own rules about national votes for eligibility for Division votes.
The USFA Bylaws prescribe three criteria which must be met to earn a vote. It is a minor problem that the version of their Bylaws available on their Web site is missing two generations of amendments! Only the first two criteria are listed, and not the third which was added in the second last round of changes. The criteria are:
1. The person must be a member (as reckoned by headquarters receiving the paperwork, not reckoned by preparing the application, or writing the check, or putting it in the mail, etc.) before February.
2. The person must be 18 before February.
3. The person, by what he specifies on his membership application or through other communication with headquarters, must before February cause headquarters to believe that he will be 18 before February. (In particular, this prohibits withholding age information in January and then trying to use proof of age at the time of a vote.)
The USFA rules do create some interesting paradoxes, though!
1. A person who is not yet 18 can cast a vote! If the person Joins September 1, and turns 18 on the following January 1, then he would be permitted to vote at a hypothetical vote on November 1!
2. The criteria for eligibility to vote can be satisfied by actions postdating the vote! If an old person joins September 1 without divulging his age, and on January 1 he convinces headquarters that he is old, then he is eligible to vote even if the vote already happened.
These paradoxes disappear if one considers only votes in the spring and summer. Indeed, that is exactly what the USFA normally has for national votes, and divisions and sections hold their elections in the spring too. But, the Division can have meetings which occur during the fall. In fact, the Division Bylaws actually require that a meeting of the members be convened early in the fencing season! So, for votes between August and January inclusive, the USFA rules do not really fit. There are two logical ways to deal with these six months: 1) Let people vote if they had satisfied the rules involving the previous February, provided they are even still USFA members any more. 2) Let people vote if they have already satisfied the rules involving the coming February (with the resulting anomaly, unless deliberately prevented, of people who are almost 18 already having votes). I prefer this second approach, because the first one would mean that a person who joins during February needs to wait almost an entire year before the Division would allow him to vote.
Current text:
None.
Motion:
In the Gulf Coast Division Bylaws, Article VII, add Section 5 reading: "Eligibility: A member of THE DIVISION is entitled to vote, and is counted toward a quorum, if he satisfies such requirements as USFA, INC. may establish. 1. If USFA, INC. establishes requirements for eligibility to vote in division affairs, these requirements shall apply. 2. In the absence of such requirements, such requirements as USFA, INC. has established for eligibility to vote in national affairs shall apply instead. 3. If USFA, INC. requirements specify that a member must act to cause a condition to be satisfied before a specific calendar date during the membership year, and the vote occurs prior to that date, then it shall be sufficient if the member is known to have caused the condition to be satisfied by the time of the vote. 4. If USFA, INC. requirements specify that a member must inherently satisfy a condition before a specific calendar date during the membership year, and the vote occurs prior to that date, then it shall be sufficient if the member is known to have satisfied the condition by the time of the vote. 5. Unless specifically required by the USFA, INC., no member shall be eligible to vote or be counted toward a quorum if less than 18 years old."
Translation into everyday English:
Under current circumstances, the USFA does not explicitly specify what is necessary to vote in division votes (1). So, for votes in February through July, one must be a USFA member before February (2), one must be 18 before February (2), and one must have convinced headquarters about age before February (2). But, if the vote is August through January, one must be a member at the time of the vote (3), one must be 18 at the time of the vote (4), and one must already have convinced headquarters about age (3). And, just to make sure nobody misunderstands, there is a specific prohibition (5) against voting before age 18.
"Proposition 14": Clarify once and for all in the Division's own Bylaws who the Division allows to vote on divisional matters.
Overview:
The Bylaws do not specify which members of the Division are entitled to vote when there are votes involving members. The USFA Bylaws are also silent on the matter. The USFA Bylaws do refer to eligibility to vote, but in one case refer generically without clarifying whether national votes or local votes are covered, and in another case explicitly specify applicability to national votes. Nonetheless, common practice, including common practice in this Division, is to use the USFA's own rules about national votes for eligibility for Division votes.
The USFA Bylaws prescribe three criteria which must be met to earn a vote. It is a minor problem that the version of their Bylaws available on their Web site is missing two generations of amendments! Only the first two criteria are listed, and not the third which was added in the second last round of changes. The criteria are:
1. The person must be a member (as reckoned by headquarters receiving the paperwork, not reckoned by preparing the application, or writing the check, or putting it in the mail, etc.) before February.
2. The person must be 18 before February.
3. The person, by what he specifies on his membership application or through other communication with headquarters, must before February cause headquarters to believe that he will be 18 before February. (In particular, this prohibits withholding age information in January and then trying to use proof of age at the time of a vote.)
The USFA rules do create some interesting paradoxes, though!
1. A person who is not yet 18 can cast a vote! If the person Joins September 1, and turns 18 on the following January 1, then he would be permitted to vote at a hypothetical vote on November 1!
2. The criteria for eligibility to vote can be satisfied by actions postdating the vote! If an old person joins September 1 without divulging his age, and on January 1 he convinces headquarters that he is old, then he is eligible to vote even if the vote already happened.
These paradoxes disappear if one considers only votes in the spring and summer. Indeed, that is exactly what the USFA normally has for national votes, and divisions and sections hold their elections in the spring too. But, the Division can have meetings which occur during the fall. In fact, the Division Bylaws actually require that a meeting of the members be convened early in the fencing season! So, for votes between August and January inclusive, the USFA rules do not really fit. There are two logical ways to deal with these six months: 1) Let people vote if they had satisfied the rules involving the previous February, provided they are even still USFA members any more. 2) Let people vote if they have already satisfied the rules involving the coming February (with the resulting anomaly, unless deliberately prevented, of people who are almost 18 already having votes). I prefer this second approach, because the first one would mean that a person who joins during February needs to wait almost an entire year before the Division would allow him to vote.
Current text:
None.
Motion:
In the Gulf Coast Division Bylaws, Article VII, add Section 5 reading: "Eligibility: A member of THE DIVISION is entitled to vote, and is counted toward a quorum, if he satisfies such requirements as USFA, INC. may establish. 1. If USFA, INC. establishes requirements for eligibility to vote in division affairs, these requirements shall apply. 2. In the absence of such requirements, such requirements as USFA, INC. has established for eligibility to vote in national affairs shall apply instead. 3. If USFA, INC. requirements specify that a member must act to cause a condition to be satisfied before a specific calendar date during the membership year, and the vote occurs prior to that date, then it shall be sufficient if the member is known to have caused the condition to be satisfied by the time of the vote. 4. If USFA, INC. requirements specify that a member must inherently satisfy a condition before a specific calendar date during the membership year, and the vote occurs prior to that date, then it shall be sufficient if the member is known to have satisfied the condition by the time of the vote. 5. Unless specifically required by the USFA, INC., no member shall be eligible to vote or be counted toward a quorum if less than 18 years old."
Translation into everyday English:
Under current circumstances, the USFA does not explicitly specify what is necessary to vote in division votes (1). So, for votes in February through July, one must be a USFA member before February (2), one must be 18 before February (2), and one must have convinced headquarters about age before February (2). But, if the vote is August through January, one must be a member at the time of the vote (3), one must be 18 at the time of the vote (4), and one must already have convinced headquarters about age (3). And, just to make sure nobody misunderstands, there is a specific prohibition (5) against voting before age 18.