CON:Governing Bodies (New)

Do not make any changes to this area unless you are part of the Constitution Rewrite Committee.
Unauthorized changes will be reverted.

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NOTE: These documents/proposed changes are drafts and are NOT in effect.
For the current Constitution that governs our group, visit UFOP Constitution.

IMPORANT: This page is part of the defunct Constitution Rewrite project from 2004. None of its provisions are in effect, but the contents are kept here for historical purposes and for reference as certain ideas are considered for implementation. The latest version of our constitution and its bylaws can be found here: UFOP Constitution.

Constitution Rewrite series

Current UFOP Con Original UFOP Con at time of project The drawing board/rewrite version Group Identification Mission Statement Inconsistency Preliminary Statements Amendments Membership Ship Organization Governing Bodies Executive Council Captain's Council Discipline Administration SOTFA FCA Federation Records Original Bylaws Command of Ships Promotion of COs Voting Procedure New Races Returning Officers Monthly Reporting Edit this nav

GOVERNING BODIES & Voting Procedure for the Executive and Captains Councils

1. The governing body of UFOP:SB118 is composed of the Executive Council and the Captain's Council, which shall determine and administrate such matters as from time to time may be required to operate the group and effectuate the purposes of this CONSTITUTION in the manner hereafter related.
2. Voting for the EC and CC apart from emergency votes: In order for a vote to pass by "majority" on either the EC or CC, and unless otherwise stated in this CONSTITUTION or any bylaw, rule or regulation, voting shall be conducted in the following manner:
   1. The vote shall be deemed passed when “YES” receives the greater majority of votes cast. The vote shall only be valid if at least 60% of the members of said committee have participated in the vote.
   2. Each calendar year, the CC and the EC shall each designate a magistrate from one of its membership to serve the function of administrating votes on all issues. The position of magistrate is elected by the general CC membership. Upon vacancy of the position, a member of the EC or the leaving magistrate should call for nominations to the position of magistrate. The nomination period should last one week. At the close of the nomination period, a vote should be called to decide which of those persons who have been nominated will fulfil the position. In the event of two or more candidates interested in the same magistrate position, the winner shall be by majority vote, the vote administered by the current magistrate. The magistrate shall serve for the calendar year. At the close of the calendar year, he shall notify the council of his intent to continue holding the post, or to resign from the post. The Magistrate may appoint any assistants or substitutes to stand in their place during the year for any temporary period. Each December, the current magistrate must make a public statement to the CC list as to whether or not he or she wishes to remain in the position for the next year. If so, no vote is required. If the officer wishes to vacate the position, a nomination should begin as outlined above. If the magistrate decides to hold the position for two full years, he or she must, at the beginning of the third year, ask if any other officers wish to run for the position. If an officer is nominated, a vote must be called to decide the officer who will hold the position. Should the magistrate be appointed to a higher office, such as Captain At Large, or Executive Council member, he or she must call for the nomination of a new magistrate, and vacate the position upon the successful appointment of a new magistrate. For more specific binding details please consult The CC Magistrate procedural Document which was passed in 2383 (2005). In the event of two or more candidates interested in the same magistrate position, the winner shall be by majority vote, the vote administered by the current magistrate.
   3. The function of the magistrate for each year shall be to administrate votes and assure that first, sufficient numbers of the council in question have participated; and, secondly, that the votes were validly counted.
   4. Before any voting period the Magistrate will convene a discussion on the matter in question. During this time, any and all members of the involved council (including non-voting observers i.e. Commanders and First Officers) may comment as often as they deem necessary and proper and may exchange ideas and debate the matter as fully as they may deem proper. Each discussion period must last a minimum full 3 days before a vote is called on the matter. Council members ought to express their views and discuss the issue prior to a vote being called.

3. Voting Procedure: Any issue that is brought before a Council (EC or CC) and which requires a vote of said council’s members to reach a decision, or any issue upon which a vote is called for of said council, should be decided by a vote of said council in the following manner:

1. 1. The council magistrate, in response to a call for a vote or in anticipating the need for a clear decision on any issue, assigns the issue a unique, sequential index code. This should be done for each separate question or issue which is to be subject to a vote, and the number sequence shall progress from year to year for the purpose of accurate history. The index code shall be of the form ccyyyy-iiii. Where cc represents the council in question (EC or CC), yyyy represents the UFOP: SB 118 year during which the voting period begins and iiii is a sequential index number beginning 0001 for the first issue voted upon in the year;
   2. The magistrate sends an e-mail to the council, clearly referenced with the issue’s unique index code, setting out a specific question with a clear list of possible answers, the default answers being YES or NO;
   3. In the said e-mail the magistrate shall in the exercise of their discretion set a specific time period during which all votes are to be transmitted via e-mail on any issue and the time by when if not received, no further votes will be counted. magistrate must include a set time period for which voting is valid. . With the exercise of the Magistrate’s discretion, this should be no more than ten days, nor less than seven at the end of which no further votes may be accepted. (The Magistrate may, however, close a vote if votes have been cast by ALL eligible ACTIVE Members (as defined in ARTICLE VII).
   4. Framing of Questions for vote: It is the function of the magistrate to make every effort to accommodate the agreed upon phrasing of a question for vote and to first obtain majority consensus on the phrasing of the question before formal debate and voting begins. If, after consultation and informal comment among the voting members of the relevant committee the phrasing of the question cannot be agreed upon (which period shall not last more than ten days), the magistrate shall have the discretion to adopt such phrasing as he feels most accurate.
   5. The magistrate may also include, with the question, a brief explanation of the issue upon which the vote is to be held, any pertinent information or reference any previous votes which may be relevant;
   6. Once a vote has been called there will be no further discussion of the matter by any council member. Any votes may be officially transmitted by any voting member during that time period for recordation and may be changed before the deadline as often as desired. A vote shall be distinguished from a colloquy or commentary on the issue by utilizing the specific format of: "(member) votes YES or votes NO or ABSTAINS on the question" shall be utilized so that there is no confusion.
   7. Votes must be clearly referenced to the relevant issue (preferably by use of the unique issue index code) and be of the form "(member) votes YES or votes NO on the question";
   8. At the end of the voting period the magistrate tallies the votes, ensures that the vote was valid (at least 60% of members voted) and announces, by way of an email to said council, the council’s decision on the issue.
   9. The magistrate must also make a note of the vote in permanent logs, including at least the issue index number, the question proposed and the result of the vote. These logs are to be maintained and handed over to the EC at the end of each year. The CC magistrate should also notify the EC of the vote’s result.

4. Voting and discussion rights on the Captain’s Council are as outlined in Article VII (below.)

Sidenote

The voting procedures in this new article would also replace bylaw 3. The above is how we run votes nowadays regardless of the old constitution and bylaws. (eg A major change being that no discussion is allowed after the voting period opens and the discussion period ends) And (I feel) this all needs to be reflected and made official in a new constitution.