For this reason, members should listen carefully to the report of the ballot counters' committee. When two gavel knocks are heard, only officers of the lodge stand. 1. 66 0 obj <>stream % TURNING YOUR BACK: Never turn one's back on the Master to address the lodge without first-receiving permission ",#(7),01444'9=82. majority of those voting being necessary for election, and the Worshipful This requires secretaries (and possibly grand secretaries if different jurisdictions) to get involved, but is a somewhat common occurrence. 587 Discover the world's largest and oldest fraternal organization with over 3 million members. As soon as the committee reports, it is discharged from its duties. For every expense, large or small, the Secretary is to write a voucher which is to be countersigned by the Worshipful Master and passed on to the Treasurer for payment. The advanced tools of the editor will guide you through the editable PDF template. Each officer and member, before voting, must exchange the 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. vote. If members leave during the meeting so that a quorum is not present, those offices not yet elected must be put off until an adjourned meeting or until the next meeting. Robert's Rules on elections are very straightforward after what is often a politically charged prequel of nominating and campaigning. <> endobj Conducting an Election of Officers p. 25 Section III. The duty of a nominating committee is to find the best candidate for each office. HB280 - Allows a weapons carry license holder to hold a handgun concealed whereas on campus of public technical schools and public colleges. The mechanics of the election are governed by a few sections of the Minnesota Masonic Code and quite a bit of lodge tradition. 4 0 obj If members question the validity of an election or the procedure in taking the vote, a member should make a motion to recount the votes within a reasonably brief time after the president announces the election outcome. If there is a question about the way a ballot is marked, the ballot counters should take it to the presiding officer. WM: "Brethren, you have heard read the This example is based on moving to have nominations by committee, but the form is essentially the same for any of the methods. _____ cast their ballot?" elected. salute with the Worshipful Master. [What is Freemasonry] [Leadership 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. should be destroyed. Another problematic practice to watch out for is nominating someone for office who is not eligible. Further, I don't think I have ever seen a Lodge election where there isn't some form of politics involved. Nominations for each office are followed by the election for that office. Organizations can create and write election rules to correct this mistake. This method of nominations is based on the principle of allowing all voters to make nominations for all offices by completing a nominating ballot. [What is Freemasonry] [Leadership The following shall be the methods of affiliation: 1. 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. 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. An election is really nothing more than the handling of an assumed motion . WM: "Brother Junior Warden, how stands the ballot in xWMo1#[YO !T6T=D9Jhnwv5ofm4_0Vgu=_|[~jC5}YWyYWw45lv4~JS'AdQiewV?=few_Xu9pTX(*HYfh5Y2Q=[6(ao)\\O 9|b|+x Up % ZDEpV`,QI8.3mb'Vs5cAZ!X^S"W7FZ$%W8Fh,)Jrt $^JG{vxGVW9Z;-*r4b@fSM(o/ ?-vz}J=Pu&NC\H#^SKUvN)A@+a)eU"PvrNLsi;:~8J8 9 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. been rejected by a Lodge shall again be proposed within six months after The Lodge web page must not link to or be linked to by any website where a conflict . In determining how long to hold the ballots before destroying them, your main consideration is the possibility of needing a recount. The conventions are over, election day draws near, and the usual round of political rhetoric from candidates is blasted all over the TV, radio and internet, voters begin to wear out and are usually just ready for Election Day to be over with. 14 0 R /BitsPerComponent 8 /Filter /FlateDecode >> 4. Whatever nomination method you propose, be specific. 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. inviolably preserved. Suggested Procedure For Electing Lodge Officers. Magazines Online] A parade of misfortunes had culminated by forcing potato planter Fred Jensen to stop his cross-country dash 85 miles short of his destination. 3. Members then vote on a candidate to fill the remaining office. You are using an out of date browser. 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. <> Using a nominating committee to assemble a list of willing and qualified candidates for office can greatly benefit members when the time comes to select their leaders. JavaScript is disabled. 11 0 obj /Rotate 0 >> The election (or rejection) of a candidate in a Masonic lodge is a secret ballot, and with few exceptions, must be completely unanimous. <> Yes, every year Masonic Lodges do have elections. 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. Past Masters of ____________ Lodge No. "30*5gDcJuk.w^m=12Ua&0cE'|H%KV L%|c]c0l;v=[, Cj+M 38xHDL\. The "lex non scripta," or unwritten law of Freemasonry is derived from the traditions, usages and customs of . A member may for indecorous or unmasonic conduct be excluded from a single meeting of the lodge. places. << /Type /Page /Parent 3 0 R /Resources 6 0 R /Contents 4 0 R /MediaBox [0 0 612 792] Masonic etiquette decries anyone who does not obey the gavel. 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 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. [Feedback]. Some organizations add nominees to the ballot only if the name is submitted on a petition signed by some minimum number of members. %`y`aSW2.9]!BBI Secretarys table and put the ballots into one of the hats. If your assembly's members are accountable to a constituency, your rules may require you to conduct your elections by roll-call vote. endobj Once you're a Master Mason, you've got a few options. 1. 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. masonic lodge election procedure; shkolla viktor hygo logo October 28, 2021. masonic lodge election procedure . Chapter 63 covers general voting and Chapter 68 covers the secret ballot. However, calling nominations from your seat is often impractical, so you may want to adopt a more formal nomination process. it to the Master who inspects the ballot box making sure that the The Secretary announces the results of the vote, a These elections happen in the end of the year to elect the following years leadership team. <> That job belongs to the presiding officer, who reads the report again to the members, concluding with a formal declaration of the result. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. Lodge to vote, the Master should invite the tiler in and have a the Senior Warden hands each ballot to the Junior Warden who announces Two top hats are placed on the kneeling pad at foot F powered by Dr. Stefanus Hadi, Ph.D. visit www.FLIVE.com email: club@flive.com follow Clubhouse: @stefanus send SMS Text to +1 213-749-8777 Los Angeles, California Also, military lodges in foreign countries, often perform business meetings on the EA degree. 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. ", WM: "How in the West, Brother Senior Warden? Pause. JavaScript is disabled. JFIF C 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. Elections are decided by majority vote unless your bylaws provide differently. 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 All business is done in a MM lodge. stream :7YA/gOwNw|\g[u|I}?F. the vote. After each nomination, the president repeats the name to the assembly. . The report of the nominating committee is usually given under "special orders." <>>> 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. The Antimasonic party, whose avowed goal was the destruction of the Masonic Lodge and other secret societies, was the first influential third party in the United States and introduced the. If the ballot vote decides an election, you're instructed to write the name of the nominee of your choice on your ballot. The best thing an organization can do is adopt rules that tell how to proceed if a member challenges an election or if a person is illegally elected to office and has begun to serve. Introduction. in Season 1, episode 2 of Lodge 49 on AMC, our hero Dud (Wyatt Russel) tells Blaise (David Pasquesi) "You'd have more people if the membership fee wasn't so high.". 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. x=o6 bP+SR[H7\AE>Dz- ^=(pH{'OE5Y%?jUMi?OOVy5'Vx_u5'ur|GY,*'yEL -R@$S0.SHdrV&g_;F0PJ1:|GXqNg distribute the ballots for the first position to be voted upon. <> Development] [Education] [Masonic Be careful and make no The organization must have another election. 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. 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. Ballot voting is the preferred voting method in situations in which knowing how all the members voted isn't desirable. 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. 1 0 obj 14 0 obj 10 0 obj endstream endobj startxref In writing the nomination, election, and vacancy conditions in the bylaws, the organization should make sure that if a vacancy is created early in the term of office, the vacancy is filled by election instead of by appointment, whenever possible. 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. Does any brother wish to have The appointive officers of the Grand Lodge, save the Deputy Grand Secretary, shall be A member of the committee should then be designated to call each nominee to see if he or she is willing to serve if elected. 2 0 obj endobj You can use a ballot vote to decide either a motion or an election: If the ballot vote decides a motion, the question is clearly stated by the chair, and you're instructed to mark your ballot Yes or No (or For or Against). Sometimes the committee is revived to make nominations to fill vacancies. Only MMs vote. You are using an out of date browser. Nominations don't have to be seconded, but it's not out of order for members to second a nomination to signal their endorsement. Both a bank's president and janitor can apply for membership, and they're considered equally qualified. hbbd``b`n@` ! Brethren, I declare that you have This site is not an official site of any recognized Masonic body in the United Grand Lodge Dues 24 Conducting an Election of Officers 24-25 Section . Here are some other things to consider during the election process: A quorum needs to be present throughout the election meeting. At the end of each successful vote the ballots {V++6o <>`ulr<>[lLDdTVVQ4Mt{<1iz;E I've never see a script or outline, but it should proceed as follows: That sounds like the CA required verbiage. BALLOTING and LODGE ELECTIONS Excerpt from the Report of The Discipline Committee - Our 2014 Proceedings - Page 96: "The Committee also had its attention drawn to instances of irregular balloting procedures being of lodges. 6. 10. It's used in the vast majority of situations in which members elect their officers at a meeting. )GT?=Sk8&o9sU|$gv}~3H'>}3DReeZCZ2HN7.WadE-lUG|1pU]d. Illegal votes cast by legal voters count toward the total votes cast, but they don't count for any individual choice or candidate. 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. During an election, especially when ballot counters are not trained or when candidates are running in opposition, members may become aware of mistakes or illegal procedures in collecting or counting the ballots. Lodge Trustees and Charity Foundation become available for you and published in the members only area of our web site so that you know how Grand Lodge and its organizations are spending your money and conducting their business. Voting machines having wedges inserted to prevent the lever from going down all the way. A common mistake in elections is having too many ballots cast for the number of members present. Cell phones, chewing gum, crinkly snack wrappers and other distractions should be disallowed during a fraternity election (except during breaks). Here is how: You must first find a Masonic lodge location near you, contact them, and ask for a petition to join. elected (rejected) Mister ___________ for the degrees of Are there any further nominations for president? Election of Officers of a Lodge: CHAPTER 55: Installation of Officers of a Lodge: CHAPTER 56: Officers of a Lodge, Term, Resignation, and Title . These could lead The Constitution is clear on the proper procedure 2 0 obj A person can nominate himself or herself. The Guide is designed to be an easy-to-use reference based on the law and regulations as well as the knowledge and experience of OLMS staff. 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. <> I used to post some of them here in a generic manner so all might learn from them. It is the duty of every member present to vote, In counting the votes, the balloting committee must not confuse a majority vote with the highest number of votes. When the secretary prepares the eligibility list for the meeting, only those members who are willing to serve are on the list. endstream In most cases, the threshold is a majority of the votes cast. To lend a professional air to the proceedings, suggest that brothers wear a collared shirt and tie, especially the candidates. Business meetings are held on the EA degree in European lodge. Also, members rarely move to close nominations because, whenever no further nominations are offered, the chair usually just declares, "Hearing no further nominations, nominations for the office of [name the office] are closed.". Officers Duties and Responsibilities . 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? Master informs the successful individual as follows: "Brother In Europe, it takes often a year, to advance per degree. %PDF-1.5 Is it permissible to hold election of officers in an EA lodge? or opinion The Senior Deacon obtains the ballot box and presents The election process may be the easiest part of deciding who handles a particular job in the organization. APPOINTMENT. 12 0 obj It's used in the vast majority of situations in which members elect their officers at a meeting. [ 11 0 R] 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. Tradition holds that the Master of the lodge appoint a committee of three (usually Past Masters) to serve as a Tellers Committee. Ask for nominations for an officer position. It may not display this or other websites correctly. First, the Entered Apprentice Degree, second, the Fellow Craft Degree and finally, the Master Mason Degree. unobserved by others, so that the secrecy of the ballot shall be After the committee reports, the chair states: President: The nominating committee nominates Alex Shaw for president, Bianca Fernandez for vice president, Raymond Platt for secretary, and Donna Agnese for treasurer. After nominations are closed, the vote is taken on each nominee in the order in which they were nominated. Talks] [Masonic 246 0 obj <>/Filter/FlateDecode/ID[<75266C93CDC0804A95BB4A6C74B63ADD>]/Index[234 30]/Info 233 0 R/Length 67/Prev 302045/Root 235 0 R/Size 264/Type/XRef/W[1 2 1]>>stream once petition the same or any other Lodge in the jurisdiction. A motion to open nominations, when made by a member, is usually a motion to reopen nominations after they have been closed. If the lodge is not able to contact the individual after a reasonable period of time, the non-paying Mason is dropped (suspended). Development] [Education] [Masonic If a member is elected and not present and has not previously said that if elected he or she will serve, someone should call the member to see if he or she will accept the office. It is for informational purposes only and does not necessarily reflect the views Rules may include how long the organization saves ballots and how long members can wait to challenge an election. Booth Lodge 100-100C, be amended . %%EOF An officer election form is a document used by groups, clubs, and organizations to elect leaders and fill vacant positions. He serves as Chairman of the Trustees of Title to the Masonic Temple and other Real Estate of the Grand Lodge, is a Trustee of the Consolidated Fund and Trustee of the Masonic Charities Fund. visiting brother take his place so that the tiler may cast his Join a brotherhood of over 2,000,000 men of all ages, from all races, religions, and countries, and from all walks of life. Achieve this by asking them to hang out with you. Sometimes called open nominations, this method is probably the most familiar. endobj It drives us back to basics, using the Masonic tools we already have in our tool belt. At the Worshipful Master s order the Stewards distribute the ballots for the first position to be voted upon. 4 0 obj 2. 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. Nominees do not have to leave the room during the nominations, when the vote is taken, or when the vote is counted. If they don't set a time for an adjourned meeting, they can call a special meeting (if the bylaws allow this). Enter your official identification and contact details. 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." Like any incidental main motion, an election can be decided by voice vote or by ballot. <> <>>> A website endorsed by a Lodge will be considered the official Lodge website, and will be subject to these criteria and rules. 1. of Freemasonry, nor webmaster nor those of any A Lodge member who has held the highest office in the Lodge has for life a Masonic position of his own. All eyes are upon the Master. Secretary prepares ballots for each position to be elected. Motions to close nominations are usually unnecessary because the nomination process simply continues until no one wishes to make further nominations. 6 0 obj I /8ZzeL%kxF~/a&MBkd/cK"zBARqG(/%:}4Q;l@)R^M,s;p Rx P~DV(GR,&Gj;v}yh/5F3ibD,eZJ It is for informational purposes only and does not necessarily reflect the views Blogs] [Links] All Articles] [Masonic To help with the Masonic experience at Lodge meetings, you were allowed to open on any degree, and use the Chamber Customarily (although it's not required), the chair accomplishes this by calling three times for more nominations. 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. Confusion concerning the balloting process generally derives from lodge traditions being introduced into the elements of balloting that are not fully explained in our Code. If you have a nominating committee in place, ask this group to declare their nominee for a specific officer role. announce the results of the vote. <>/ExtGState<>/XObject<>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text/ImageB/ImageC/ImageI] >>/MediaBox[ 0 0 595.44 841.92] /Contents 4 0 R/Group<>/Tabs/S/StructParents 0>> Section 3. 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. Ballot voting is by far the surest way to allow for the free expression of the will of the membership. In the vote for Secretary, unless he is retiring, Since it is the obligation of every brother of 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. of Freemasonry, nor webmaster nor those of any endobj ballot closed." Do you When it comes to ballot elections, your election isn't complete until a position is filled, and a position is never filled until a candidate receives the threshold number of votes required for election. The Masonic Oath is hugely significant, as it is represents a Masons' integrity and is an example of their strong bond to all other brothers within the fraternity. The brother responds. The Senior Deacon closes the lid on the ballot. Jump to content The Official RONR Q & A Forums x`TU?5%BBH*5XHRjD5IPJ@Z"MDE]sm.Cs)}{n/JFtZ_!ms6g:8_\Xt hq[gGBqvZ(}%p&N"4t 4b2hEs )Cv`3!VOYe%K]'d4'kH&]x*"W.L+P|WUyl>TlUTZZh=7wE%4 DoH+5%Y+*:*2*&^Ol\Td4G]:^[DdVXQn*mNI#]Vv?v:]W6x H|z=|-!q1 oF?$Ul(V1C:[jhDe4nsl65gpr'fKuo2a0$T$W.6 ` 5SR_? If you have only two candidates and the vote is a tie, you repeat the balloting until one candidate receives a majority. WB Christopher J. Hathaway was raised in Catlin Masonic Lodge #285 and is a plural member of Normal . altar. Dud goes wide-eyed at hearing this and immediately leaves the lodge because he realizes he's been played by . Secretary prepares ballots for each position to be In Texas, per Art. Illegal votes are, Two or more marked ballots folded together (together they count as only one illegal vote). Freemasonry's Requirements for Membership. As JPM of my lodge, I've been asked to serve in this role for our upcoming officer elections. For the qualifications of candidates in order to join a Masonic Lodge in Texas there are a series of "Freemason requirements". Some Lodges have their bills paid automatically each month electronically, such as for utilities and telephones for example. No candidate whose application has The Trustees of the Charitable Foundation have authorized the "build out" of the Grand Lodge Library into the space formerly the drive through banking area. [Feedback]. Register a free account today to become a member! Two top hats are placed on the kneeling pad at foot of altar. The presiding officer votes along with all the other members, although she is never allowed to cast a tie-breaker in a ballot vote. 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. 13 0 obj 6 0 obj By establishing plural membership in a North Carolina *.MXPY!~@Aa%^ N&4D1la`:v@Ai,^t #. A newly raised Master . %PDF-1.7 % Talks] [Masonic The Master then casts his own vote. 0 After the brethren have cast their ballots. The Masonic rituals provided here are as practiced under the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of Nevada, circa 1986. The Authorities for Masonic Law. 2. 2. Only MMs vote. <> may use different methods of electing officers. collect the ballots, the Deacons approach the altar, pick up the hats, A member can rise and decline the nomination during the nominating process. 2. accept?" 1 0 obj Books Online] [E-Books] [Library Of position north of the altar. In most of the same grand lodge jurisdictions, there is also a G painted, sculpted, or otherwise suspended in the symbolic East of the lodge room (typically over the Master's chair).. Masonry doesn't care about your worldly wealth or social position. And whenever you want to specify when nominations can be made, you use a motion to open or close nominations. Master. Join us as we strive to make good men better by teaching universal values through the use of geometry and architecture metaphors. stream If members adjourn before an election is complete, they should set the time for an adjourned meeting to finish the election. <> mistake.". Masonic Etiquette Summary: Masonic etiquette is simply the rules of good manners which make lodge meetings pleasant for everyone. 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. the name on the ballot and the Secretary repeats the name and tallies 98% sure that it is. Sometimes nominations aren't taken until the election is pending, and sometimes they're taken at other times, such as at a meeting before the election meeting. time immemorial. The election of lodge officers is an annual event, specified in the lodge bylaws. 8. Same in NM amd OR. 9. However, we open the Lodge on the 3rd then call to refreshment, invite everyome in, after the ceremony the WM closes without form. << /Length 5 0 R /Filter /FlateDecode >> or opinion My Freemasonry | Freemason Information and Discussion Forum. Past Masters have a standing in Masonic Law; certain duties may be assigned to them.
