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. Discover the world's largest and oldest fraternal organization with over 3 million members. 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. Motions to close nominations are usually unnecessary because the nomination process simply continues until no one wishes to make further nominations. 10 0 obj If someone is not willing to serve, the committee needs to meet again and find another candidate. report from the investigating committee. stream WM: "The brethren of ____________ Lodge No. 5. Are there any further nominations for president? This ceremony, revised in 2013 relies heavily on the work of the prolific Masonic author and commentator, Robert Macoy who first set it down in 5 0 obj (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 $5000.00 or such lesser amount as the District Grand Lodge shall by resolution from time to time determine. a portion or all of the petition(s) reread? By transfer of membership, maintaining continuous membership, and 4. After each nomination, the president repeats the name to the assembly. Every day , before I retired, I would receive a wide variety of questions and comments from Constituent Lodge Secretaries and other officers, many of which are quite applicable to other lodges. Marshal takes up his place at the West Gate and the Junior Deacon If members adjourn before an election is complete, they should set the time for an adjourned meeting to finish the election. Nominees do not have to leave the room during the nominations, when the vote is taken, or when the vote is counted. The committee should meet, carefully review the membership list, and select the people who they think will do the best job in each office. Decision Making For Dummies. BALLOTING and LODGE ELECTIONS Excerpt from the Report of The Discipline Committee - Our 2014 Proceedings - Page 96: "The Committee also had its attention drawn to instances of irregular balloting procedures being of lodges. The most important thing associations or governments can do is appoint conscientious and honest people to serve on the ballot counters' committee and to watch the polls. Is it permissible to hold election of officers in an EA lodge? From his home in Pocatello, Idaho, across almost 3000 miles of highway, Fred's car had given trouble, and now, at Henniker, N.H., the cooling system finally gave up. hbbd``b`$+@9`~ $U@ AL Abo;I0 V!$B 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. Organizations can create and write election rules to correct this mistake. other regular Masonic body other than those stated. <>/ExtGState<>/XObject<>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text/ImageB/ImageC/ImageI] >>/MediaBox[ 0 0 595.44 841.92] /Contents 4 0 R/Group<>/Tabs/S/StructParents 0>> Introduction. It is the duty of every member present to vote, visiting brother take his place so that the tiler may cast his Members then vote on a candidate to fill the remaining office. All eyes are upon the Master. Masonic Etiquette Summary: Masonic etiquette is simply the rules of good manners which make lodge meetings pleasant for everyone. 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. 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. A member may for indecorous or unmasonic conduct be excluded from a single meeting of the lodge. Or, they can tell members publicly that they do not have a nominee for a certain office; this allows members to volunteer. Another problematic practice to watch out for is nominating someone for office who is not eligible. However, we open the Lodge on the 3rd then call to refreshment, invite everyome in, after the ceremony the WM closes without form. Tradition holds that the Master of the lodge appoint a committee of three (usually Past Masters) to serve as a Tellers Committee. To help with the Masonic experience at Lodge meetings, you were allowed to open on any degree, and use the Chamber APPOINTMENT. election of officers in April each year. Some Lodges yy MWY*^K$@48SyFHv! When the nominating ballot is received, the signed inner envelope containing the ballot is logged in against a list of voting members, and the ballot is deposited in a receptacle for tallying like an election ballot. If your assembly's members are accountable to a constituency, your rules may require you to conduct your elections by roll-call vote. 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 . . 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. Sometimes called open nominations, this method is probably the most familiar. . [Feedback]. endobj This requires secretaries (and possibly grand secretaries if different jurisdictions) to get involved, but is a somewhat common occurrence. A write-in vote is a legal vote unless it's unintelligible or cast for an unidentifiable or ineligible person or for a fictitious character, in which case it's counted as an illegal vote. cubes in the box. rejection. 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. Persons serving on the committee can be nominated for office. x`TU?5%BBH*5XHRjD5IPJ@Z"MDE]sm.Cs)}{n/JFtZ_!ms6g:8_\Xt hq[gGBqvZ(}%p&N"4t 4b2hEs %%EOF so presented that each officer and member shall cast his ballot 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. WM: "You will present the ballot to the officers and Also, military lodges in foreign countries, often perform business meetings on the EA degree. 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. When the nominations stop, the chair just declares nominations closed after making sure that no more nominations are forthcoming. You must come recommended by at least two existing Freemasons from the lodge you're petitioning. 66 0 obj <>stream Or, members can also finish the election at the next regular meeting if the meeting falls within a quarterly time period. Suddenly it's 3am. My Freemasonry | Freemason Information and Discussion Forum. %PDF-1.5 The mechanics of the election are governed by a few sections of the Minnesota Masonic Code and quite a bit of lodge tradition. Ballot voting is the preferred voting method in situations in which knowing how all the members voted isn't desirable. If electronic machines are used for voting, they should be programmed so that each segment of the ballot is treated as if it were a separate ballot. >> /ExtGState << /Gs1 13 0 R >> /Font << /Tc1 10 0 R /TT2 9 0 R >> /XObject Robert's Rules on elections are very straightforward after what is often a politically charged prequel of nominating and campaigning. A Lodge supporting this vital outreach of the Foundation, will be properly noted. Business meetings are held on the EA degree in European lodge. The Senior Deacon obtains the ballot box and presents A website endorsed by a Lodge will be considered the official Lodge website, and will be subject to these criteria and rules. 587 The "lex non scripta," or unwritten law of Freemasonry is derived from the traditions, usages and customs of . 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. Secretarys table and put the ballots into one of the hats. 4[>56[Wbz ; ~D.Lf Y`S=#A.%* ^Ckk8a)W=Lt!z3 EHDG}S?#&,y$OAYNOQ kKl_B ? If the ballot vote decides an election, you're instructed to write the name of the nominee of your choice on your ballot. 8. The election of lodge officers is an annual event, specified in the lodge bylaws. If officers assume their duties immediately after the meeting is adjourned, it is then too late to question the election. the vote. In counting the votes, the balloting committee must not confuse a majority vote with the highest number of votes. 292, elections may be held in a lodge opened in an EA as long as there is an EA attending. 1. Register a free account today to become a member! 2. All Articles] [Masonic In either case, you need to appoint reliable ballot counters to hand out and collect ballots and to count the votes. of Freemasonry, nor webmaster nor those of any As soon as the committee reports, it is discharged from its duties. altar. Lodge No. Annual Meeting Election and Installation of Officers Annual Past Masters Night Symbolic Degree Refresher Application Avouching Back to Lodge Night Bringing Freemasonry to the Attention of Profane Correspondence Dress Entering an Opened Lodge Examination of Visitors Example Sheet - Lodge Programs General Grand Honors I /8ZzeL%kxF~/a&MBkd/cK"zBARqG(/%:}4Q;l@)R^M,s;p Rx P~DV(GR,&Gj;v}yh/5F3ibD,eZJ The presiding officer votes along with all the other members, although she is never allowed to cast a tie-breaker in a ballot vote. [What is New] Lodge elections are performed via a Masonic Ballot Box. Election of Master and Treasurer 36 Exclusion under Rule 181 Procedures to be carried out 31,32 Files To be kept 5 Foreword 2 Forms Grand Lodge 5 Grand Rank Procedure 33 Hall Stone Jewel When it can be worn 18 Honorary Membership Disabilities, Election, Status 13 Installation Night Toast 19 Leaflets Information 5 JavaScript is disabled. If a member notices a mistake in procedure, he or she should immediately make the chair and assembly aware of his concerns. All Articles] [Masonic The Senior Deacon presents the ballot for examination A person can nominate himself or herself. After the period during which a recount can be conducted has passed, you don't need to keep the ballots. Secretary prepares ballots for each position to be elected. A lodge which does not honor its Master, no matter how they personally feel about the man, himself, lacks Masonic . A Lodge member who has held the highest office in the Lodge has for life a Masonic position of his own. 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 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. The committee must carefully review the eligibility requirements for each office and see that the nominees meet these requirements. It varies! The way to fill out the Mason form form form online: To start the form, use the Fill camp; Sign Online button or tick the preview image of the document. Tradition holds that the Master of the lodge appoint a committee of three (usually Past Masters) to serve as a Tellers Committee. Illegal votes are, Two or more marked ballots folded together (together they count as only one illegal vote). Register a free account today to become a member! An election is really nothing more than the handling of an assumed motion, with the question being on whom to elect to fill a position. Some organizations add nominees to the ballot only if the name is submitted on a petition signed by some minimum number of members. WM: "Brother Junior Warden, how stands the ballot in 4 0 obj The secretary places all nominations in the minutes. <> endobj If the lodge is not able to contact the individual after a reasonable period of time, the non-paying Mason is dropped (suspended). Collectively, these motions are known as motions related to nominations. names. _____ and place it on the As Masons, we hone our skills to apply their use, improving ourselves daily. However only Masters can vote. The Masonic rituals provided here are as practiced under the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of Nevada, circa 1986. 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. By absolute demit, [ Chapter 76] 3. 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. 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 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. The Lodge web page must not link to or be linked to by any website where a conflict . 3. Only members entitled to vote are given ballots or are allowed to deposit ballots with a ballot counter or place them in the ballot receptacle. The election process may be the easiest part of deciding who handles a particular job in the organization. All officers resume their stations and You must log in or register to reply here. [Articles] [Masonic 'xzwQ38/4b|T}R-g|7uhw 4!"icE)S7AEo If the bylaws specifically address this situation, members should follow the bylaws. Officers Duties and Responsibilities . f;-^*//%^je)R%^eKuZJQ\LU/Zgy:FDt8KF:US1OG+T/5i]\V5qhw`6mjzS"m].#{T^]q p;43[9[C nF^y' 64 Same in NM amd OR. However, we open the Lodge on the 3rd then call to refreshment, invite everyome in, after the ceremony the WM closes without form. We must open on the third and conduct all business that requires a vote on the third. A late-arriving member can vote only with other members' consent by majority vote. 705 South Hercules Avenue. 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.
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